Dem Bones: Difference between revisions

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|'''[[Larry Niven|Nevinyrral]]''', Necromancer's Handbook (as mentioned in ''[[Flavor Text]] for the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' card [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid{{=}}202275 Drudge Skeletons]'')}}
 
[[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|Beings made entirely of ossific material]] are a very common form of [[The Undead]] in video games, but much rarer in other media. They're a cousin to the [[Zombie Apocalypse|Zombie]] in spirit, but remain explicitly separated in the public consciousness by the lack of muscles and other juicy bits. This raises a [[Fridge Logic|troubling question]]: [[A Wizard Did It|where do the motor skills come from]]? And [[The Dead Have Eyes|how are they capable of seeing and hearing?]] What makes these [[Perpetual Motion Monster]]s keep going? In some depictions, even the connective tissue physically binding bones into a coherent whole is optional, making this creature firmly an inhabitant of [[Fantasy]] works. You might know them as '''Skeletons.''' We- we tropers like to call 'em '''"Dem Bones."'''.
 
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.
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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.
 
In video games, skeletal foes will often [[Ballistic Bone|attack by throwing bones]]. One cannot help but wonder where they get ''[[PunA Worldwide Punomenon|dem]]'' [[PunA Worldwide Punomenon|bones]] from. Some versions are difficult to harm with ordinary swords or arrows, but can be dealt with using blunt weapons or magic. But be warned: [[Sliding Scale of Undead Regeneration|many have the ability]] to [[Pulling Themselves Together|pull themselves back together]] after you knock them apart.
 
In [[Mexico]], '''Dem Bones''' are called ''calacas'' and are associated with the Day of the Dead holiday much the same way bunnies are associated with Easter, making them less common as stock spooky elements (they tend to be more comedic). It helps that said calacas are made of sugar and chocolate.
 
See also [[Stripped to the Bone]]. May or may not be [[The Dead Can Dance|prone to dancing]]. A unique example is [[The Grim Reaper]], so ubiquitous it'senough to have its own trope.
 
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]].
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* 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.
* In ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', a group of skeletons are seen working at the [[Celestial Bureaucracy|Afterlife Bureaucracy]].
 
== Fine Art ==
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== 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.
* There's a "very old zombie" in [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' book ''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'' who is basically a skeleton. Additionally, Death uses a living horse because he hates having to keep wiring the skeletal one together.
** 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]].
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* 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.
* ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' fought an army of skeletons in "Bustman's Holiday" and a crew of skeletal [[Ghost Pirate]]s in "Sea Fright". In both cases, these skeletons seemed to be incorporeal spirits rather than animated bones.
 
== Multiple Media ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Undead Index]]
[[Category:Skeletal Tropes]]
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[[Category:This Index Is Not an Example]]
[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]