Dem Bones: Difference between revisions

[[File:skeletons 663.jpg|link=Jason and the Argonauts|frame|[[Punch Line|And that's the way it goes]].]]

 

 

 

There are human, [[Non-Human Undead|non-human]], and weirder variants, and in 99% of their appearances, they're enemy [[Mooks]]. Their prevalence in [[RPG]]s is owed to ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', which established them as the slaves of necromancers. When they aren't Mooks, they're usually liches, which are much nastier, because they tend to be powerful mages.

A prominent variation is being composed of [[Nothing but Skulls|just a skull without a body]]. In this case, their ability to attack may be a simple bite, or through magic spells. They may or may not also have the power to defy gravity to compensate for the lack of legs. As trope examples indicate, there are a noticeably greater number of friendly talking skulls compared with the rare friendly skeleton.

 

 

 

 

Not to be confused with [[Star Trek: The Original Series|Bones McCoy]], who has [[The McCoy|his own trope]] too. Also not to be confused with the [[Alice in Chains]] song "Them Bones" or the ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' Gamestop Preorder map. See also [[Bad with the Bone]] if bones are used as [[Improvised Weapon]]s, and [[Ballistic Bone]] if they're used as [[Abnormal Ammo]].

 

{{examples}}

* Used by a [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|Faust VII]] in ''[[Shaman King]]'', quite drastically - in his fight against the main character, he insisted it be held on a Western (Christian) graveyard, where the dead were not cremated, so he could use their skeletons to launch a mass attack at our protagonist. On top of it, he carried his deceased wife's skeleton under his clothes and used it as a secret weapon.

* ''[[One Piece]]'': In the Thriller Bark arc, the Straw Hats meet Brook, who's eaten a Devil Fruit that lets him come back to life once. But due to the fog in the area he was in, he got lost on his way back to his mortal body. By the time he found it, it was nothing but bones. Although initially freaked out by his own appearance, he eventually adapted and grew a habit of making [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]s about it. Constantly.

* These show up in the second manga story of ''[[Berserk]]'', and are the remains of soldiers who died in battle against each other. They're animated by evil spirits that want Guts because of the [[Magnetic Plot Device|Brand of Sacrifice]] that he bears. It's implied that these aren't the only things that Guts has to face at night because of the Brand.

* The [[Gratuitous Japanese|Kotsuhizoku]] "Flybone Tribe" from ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh!]]'' are [[Winged Humanoid]] skeletons who don't seem to have much in the way of combat ability. They can't speak, but they do communicate in rattling noises. They are typically spies and messengers, and they are capable of [[Pulling Themselves Together]] in an emergency. [[Naive Newcomer|Yuuri]] attempted to bury one when it got smashed protecting him, and Conrad had to stop him before he actually killed it with his good intentions to honor its sacrifice.

 

== Comic Books ==

== Fan Works ==

* Key antagonists in the battle on the Plains of Death in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. Paul loves them because destroying them doesn't compromise his [[Actual Pacifist|Actual Pacifism]].

 

== Film ==

* Extraordinarily common in early cinema. Sprightly, dancing and otherwise animated skeletons appear with great regularity in the trick films of Georges Méliès and his contemporaries.

* In a memorable film example, [[Ray Harryhausen]]'s animated skeletons make up half of a [[Chroma Key]] battle scene in ''[[Jason and the Argonauts]]'', after they sprout from the earth where hydra teeth are sown. This depiction is likely to yet further [[Sadly Mythtaken|simplify the original story]] by letting Jason kill [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|apparently]] mindless [[Mooks]], since in the original myths, the dragon's teeth grow into the perfectly sentient warriors called ''[http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Spartoi.html spartoi]'', none of whom Jason left alive.

* An army of skeletons appears at the end of big budget porno film ''[[Pirates XXX]]''.

* In ''[[A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors]]'', Freddy's bones come to life when the characters try to give him a proper burial.

 

== Fine Art ==

* Medieval and early Renaissance artwork often featured images of skeletons dancing with the living, known as a ''danse macabre'' or "the triumph of death". Belgian painter Pieter Breughel painted [http://mikemonaco.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/bruegel-triumph-of-death-supersize.jpg a landscape] with an army of skeletons attacking a country village.

 

== Literature ==

* The Osteomechs from ''[[Dark World Detective]]''. They use advanced computers stored in their skulls and micro tractor/pressor beams as muscles. Strong as hell, but very light.

** And now there's Charlie, the Department of Necr- Post-Mortem Communications' resident skeleton, who's been there "forever".

* The [[Andre Norton]] novel ''Quag Keep'', which was based on [[Dungeons & Dragons]].

* [[The Bible]] had the story of Ezekiel and the 'dry bones' that came to life and inspired the 'Dry Bones'/'Dem Bonessong.

 

* ''[[The Goodies]]''. In one episode the Goodies are operating their own hospital. [[Mad Doctor|Graham]] gets a patient to step behind an X-Ray screen, which naturally displays his skeleton. The skeleton then walks out from the other side of the screen, causing Graham to flee in terror (this scene is included in [[Title Sequence]]).

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''Tabula Rasa''. A spell causes the Scooby Gang to lose their memories. Anya begins to try various spells in the hopes of reversing it, at one point conjuring up a skeletal swordsman which Giles fences with, all while shouting at Anya to 'try another book'.

 

== Music ==

* [[Megadeth]]'s mascot Vic Rattlehead is a skeleton who sees no evil (blindfolded), hears no evil (ears are closed with metal caps) and speaks no evil (mouth clamped shut).

* The [[Trope Namer]] is the spiritual song [[wikipedia:Dem bones|"Dem Bones."]]

== Mythology ==

* The Gashadokuro from [[Japanese Mythology]] is a super sized version of this. This monster is created from collecting the skeletons of people who have died of starvation. It is known to bite the heads off humans it encounters and to be forwarned by a ringing in the ears. They often grow up to 15 times larger than a man.

 

== Rock Opera ==

* In ''[[The Black Parade]]'', the eponymous parade contains some of these among their number.

 

* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'': Skeletons are a kind of mindless undead animated by appropriately evil magic users. Usually. Of course, there are also liches and their variants (archlich, baelnorn, banelich, master lich).

** While most [[Dungeons & Dragons]] settings are full of undead, [[Forgotten Realms]] are especially fond of this theme and has the remarkable collection of unusual bones. For example, there lived—until she tried to raid a big temple of the god of wizardry, that is—Tashara of the Seven Skulls who seduced and tricked into becoming spellcasting flying skulls ([[More Than Mind Control|under her control]]) 7 archmages, one after another. There's even [http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Skullport one city] ''openly [[The Necrocracy|ruled by]]'' floating skulls (no, ''not'' Tashara's seven). Realms also are the origin of both baelnorn and banelich. Plus utility/guardian bony constructs - [[Helping Hands|Crawling Claws]]. There are several spells magically enhancing a common undead skeleton (Enlarge Skeleton, Empower Skeleton, Skeletal Spellcraft), spell that disguises the caster as a skeleton (Become Bones - makes non-bony tissues invisible and fools mindless undead into ignoring the caster) and even at least two spells temporarily creating ''fake'' undead skeletons - Shadow Skeleton (not entirely corporeal, but can be given arbitrary garb and has stunning touch) and Skeletal Bride (clothing not included, has featureless blob head, but is fully solid and can carry things, though not heavy).

** Floating servo-skulls—although they're robotic rather than undead.

** Not to mention the Necrons. No really, don't mention them.

 

== Theme Parks ==

* These are seen in several of these at attractions in [[Disney Theme Parks]], including in ''[[The Haunted Mansion|Phantom Manor]]'' and ''Pirates of the Caribbean''. More cheerful versions are in the Mexico pavilion at EPCOT.

 

== Video Games ==

* Morte, your first ally in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', is a wise-cracking, floating skull. Inexplicably, he has unrotted eyes in his sockets, no doubt preserved through his sheer will to roll them at every opportunity.

** Being based on a ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' setting with a heavy emphasis on death and unlife, the standard Dem Bones from the source material also exist in the game. As the necromantic Dustmen repair the bodies of decaying zombie slaves, eventually they are reduced to Dem Bones, held together with iron and leather.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]'' had the boss Skeldrich, which was basically a giant humanoid skull with an absurdly long neck.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' gives us Staldra - three-headed reptilian monstrosities from a bygone age whose heads must be destroyed simultaneously - and the Stalmaster - a four-armed and fully equipped Stalfos - in addition to regular Stalfos. The latter two [[Demonic Spiders|do not screw around]].

* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series is an obligatory mention here - there are dozens of varieties in each game, including a lot of simple [[Underground Monkey]] recolors. The red ones keep getting back up.

** Don't forget the laser-firing skeletons, the armor-wearing blade Masters, and the amusing skeletons in ''Aria of Sorrow'' that kick their skulls at you. There's even a medal-wearing champion runner Skeleton in ''Circle of the Moon'', the Skeleton Bartender who tosses drinks at you in ''Portrait of Ruin'', the Farmer Skeleton, the Waiter Skeleton, the [[Kamen Rider|Rider Kicking]] Skeleton, and the Ape skeleton that [[Donkey Kong|throws barrels at you]].

* ''Montezuma's Revenge'' had rolling skulls as enemies.

* The skeletons in ''[[Dark Souls]]'' aren't that tough. However, nearby necromancers (which fortunately don't respawn if you rest at a bonfire) will revive them if they aren't slain with a Divine weapon. The ''giant'' skeletons are much tougher but fortunately don't revive immediately like their weaker cousins.

* The original ''[[Golden Axe]]'' has an army of skeleton swordsmen. The first one appears as the boss of the second stage and the rest are [[Elite Mook|elite mooks]]. ''Golden Axe II'' also had skeleton warriors, while ''Golden Axe III'' has the Dead Frames, which are the reanimated skeletons of reptilian humanoids.

* ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has several [http://db.irowiki.org/db/search/?search=Skeleton&type=2 skeleton enemies].

* In ''[[Undertale]]'' there are Sans and Papyrus, skeleton brothers. Very friendly, too.

 

* Spoofed in [http://www.theprincessplanet.com/?p=19 this] ''[[The Princess Planet|Princess Planet]]'' strip.

* Codename Montezuma's Skeleton from ''[[Shortpacked]]''.

* Lore Sjoberg's "Talk with Monsters" comic, based on D&D, features a hero that scoffs at having to fight skeletons, maintaining that skeletons are not dangerous—they're what you get when you take a normal guy and remove things. In the dungeon, however, he sees the error of his ways: "Gaah! Super-pointy elbows!"

* ''[[Nedroid]]'' has a skeleton whose name is unpronounceable by above worlders, but you can call him [http://nedroid.com/2009/08/introducing-skeleton/ Ethan]. (His ex does.)

 

== Web Original ==

* On the virtual pets game ''[[Neopets]]'', [http://www.neopetshive.com/Hive/piratekiko.gif the old Pirate Kiko] was one of these.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Skeletons were a common sight in [[The Golden Age of Animation|old cartoons]], usually dancing and living it up like undead party animals. Disney's [[Classic Disney Shorts|Silly Symphony]] ''The Skeleton Dance'' (1929) is the most obvious example, but Disney also made ''The Haunted House'' (also 1929) and ''The Mad Doctor'' (1933) with the same dancing skeleton characters.

** Fleischer had skeleton characters in numerous [[Betty Boop|Betty Boop and Bimbo]] shorts...

* One episode of [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Disney's Aladdin]] TV show featured a big bad with skeleton minions. Aladdin and crew pulled off the standard "knock the minions together" knockout, only for the skeletons to [[Pulling Themselves Together|pull themselves]] [[Invincible Minor Minion|back together]] into ''new shapes''. Two got [[Grievous Harm with a Body|smashed together]] to form a centaur with four arms and two heads.

* In the ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' episode "The Phantom Brigade" a skeleton rises up from the floor to threaten Cobra Commander into giving up control of three spirits. The Commander is resonably freaked out and even the Joes who walk in on the scene can't believe what they're seeing.

 

== Multiple Media ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Undead Index]]

[[Category:Skeletal Tropes]]

[[Category:This Index Is Not an Example]]

[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]