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{{trope}}
[[File:Dahak.jpg|thumb|400px|link=Pathfinder (tabletop game)|There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!]]
A brave knight facing down an imposing dragon
While malevolent dragons are a universal concept that has existed since the beginning of recorded history, Christianity's influence has played a big part in the '''Draconic Demon'''
Expect there to be plenty of overlap with [[Eldritch Abomination]] for the most horrific, otherworldly dragons, though more grounded and animalistic ones are still forces to be reckoned with. [[Dracolich
A subtrope of [[Our Dragons Are Different]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The Apostle Grunbeld from ''[[Berserk]]'' wears armor that invokes the image of a snarling dragon, but his true form reveals that he hasn't merely adopted the aesthetics of one: he ''is'' a dragon, and a gigantic one with tons of crystal growths all over his body. He's one of [[Noble Demon|the more noble Apostles]], but is still a major threat.
* Machinedramon from ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' is a mechanical dragon with a penchant for cold-blooded cruelty in the original Japanese version, while the English dub portrays him as a terrifying, sadistic ''maniac''. No matter which version you're watching though, he's easily the most threatening of the Dark Masters.
* King Piccolo's youngest son Cymbal from the original ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is a goofy-looking, tubby dragon, but is still a dangerous demon and one of his father's most powerful servants.
* The ''[[Godzilla Anime Trilogy]]''
** Ghidorah from the same trilogy has been given a similar overhaul, and is a [[Eldritch Abomination|Lovecraftian horror in the form of a three-headed dragon
* Kaido from ''[[One Piece]]'' is one of the Four Pirate Emperors, making him one of the strongest pirates in the series ''period''. He's a cruel tyrant who rules the kingdom of Wano with an iron fist, and his Devil Fruit allows him to transform from an already gargantuan human to a truly titanic Eastern dragon with control over fire, lightning, and wind.
** This technically applies to many of his highest-ranked crewmates by way of [[Dinosaurs Are Dragons]]: Zoan Devil Fruits that give their wielders dinosaur transformations are part of the "Dragon Dragon Fruit" family, and the draconic traits are especially apparent in King (a [[Ptero-Soarer|Pteranodon man]]), Queen (a Brachiosaurus man), and Sasaki (a Triceratops man).
** A heroic example of this trope would be {{spoiler|Monkey D.}} Dragon, leader of the Revolutionaries and father of {{spoiler|protagonist Monkey D. Luffy}}. He's a wild-looking, intimidating man whose very name causes people to shudder in fear and awe, and is the one leading a powerful resistance movement against the corrupt, tyrannical World Government. To them, of course, he's very much a straight example of this trope.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Barbatos from the [[DC
* Somewhat obscure ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' villain Savanti Romero is a powerful sorcerer who looks like a cross between a demon and a humanoid dragon, and seeks to conquer every aspect of time itself: the past, the present, and the future.
== [[Film]] ==
* King Ghidorah from the ''[[Godzilla]]'' films is often portrayed as a sadistic sociopath who lives to destroy everything in his path, and is one of Big G's most hated enemies. Legendary Pictures' ''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' in particular makes him out to be the Kaiju equivalent to Satan, complete with hellish imagery during his rampages.
* While Smaug was already a force to be reckoned with in
* ''[[Reign of Fire]]'' is a very rare movie centered around a ''dragon apocalypse'', with the dragons in question being a collective of dangerous, terrifying beasts responsible for the end of civilization as we know it. They even slumber deep underground, and when the protagonist accidentally wakes the alpha male up as a boy, the monster's rampage and escape make him look as if he's a demon clawing his way out of Hell itself.
* Maleficent from [[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Disney's ''
== [[Literature]] ==
* Perhaps unsurprisingly, the dragons of [[C. S. Lewis]]' ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'' are embodiments of sin, specifically the sin of greed. It's hinted that all dragons were once humans before being transformed into monsters thanks to their greed consuming them, which happens to Eustace when he finds and sleeps in a dragon's hoard while his mind is clouded with thoughts of greed.
* Dragons from the world of ''[[Harry Potter]]'' are among the most dangerous magical creatures due to their aggression and strength, which varies from species to species. The most dangerous
* Smaug of ''[[The Hobbit (novel)|The Hobbit]]'' fame is a huge, greedy, sociopathic red dragon who rests upon a hoard of gold and jewels plundered from Dale and Erebor. He's prideful to a fault, and the smallest insult or instance of theft from his hoard is enough to throw him into a murderous rage.
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
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** The dragon famously slain by Saint George in ''[[Saint George and The Dragon]]'' is said to be an unholy beast, and has an appetite for human sacrifice. This monstrosity is a far cry from the majestic beasts dragons are usually portrayed as these days, and is usually shown in artistic interpretations to be a pathetically hideous, slimy little thing that breathes poison and is implied to be demonic in nature.
** Tales and sightings related to the infamous Loch Ness Monster date all the way back to the seventh century, and in 565 A.D, the first written sighting of the creature details it as a ferocious beast known to have attacked and killed people around the Loch. Legend has it that St. Columba, the missionary who bought Christianity to Ireland, stopped it from attacking another man by rebuking it in the name of God, which would in turn prevent it from ever harming another human again.
* While dragons are portrayed as serene
* There is still some debate among Assyriologists as to whether the primordial sea goddess Tiamat of [[Mesopotamian Mythology]] was, was not, or was sometimes this sort of dragon, although the predominant view is that she either always or sometimes was. It is definite that she was the mother of dragons: Bašmu (“Venomous Snake”), Ušumgallu (“Great Dragon”), Mušmaḫḫū (“Exalted Serpent”), and Mušḫuššu (“Furious Snake”), to name just four.
* Fáfnir (alternately "[[w:Fafnir|Fafnir]]
== [[Recorded and Stand Up Comedy]] ==
* [[Stan Freberg]]'s ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot4rRp2NBjw St. Geroge and the Dragonet]'' presents a particularly monstrous and obnoxious dragon, presumably Western in origin based on the setting of the piece.
{{quote|'''Knave:''' Well, he was, you know, he had orange polka dots...
'''St. George:''' Yes, Sir.
'''Knave:''' Purple feet, breathing fire and smoke...
'''St. George:''' Mmm-hmm.
'''Knave:''' And one big bloodshot eye right in the middle of his forehead and, uh, like that.
'''St. George:''' Notice anything ''unusual'' about him?
'''Knave:''' No, he's just your run-of-the-mill dragon, you know.}}
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* As the name would imply, ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' is home to all manner of frightening, dangerous dragons.
* Chromatic Dragons from ''[[Pathfinder]]'' are, in stark contrast to their typically noble metallic cousins, monstrous beasts who live to spread death and destruction. However, even they hate the dragon god Dahak, whose cruelty goes far beyond even theirs due to his love of sadistically killing his own kind. He even created the metallic dragons specifically to hunt them for sport, and created Hell itself so the dead could be subjected to eternal suffering.▼
** The Chromatic Dragons are this, contrasting with their benevolent Metallic brethren. Whether they're Red, Blue, White, Black, or Green ([[Remember the New Guy?|or once they were added, Purple, Gray, or Brown]]), they're savage beasts that are rotten to the core and delight in killing, plundering, and amassing hordes of treasure. In other words, they're just like Tiamat: Goddess of dragons and patron of the Chromatics.
** Tiamat herself is even nastier than the cruelest Chromatic. A prideful, five-headed terror of a goddess, Tiamat is one of the setting's biggest villains and a sadistic monster that revels in murder, torture, and burning entire countries to the ground.
** Hellfire Wyrms are literal Draconic Demons since they're dragons from Hell. While they can wield powerful fire magic, that's not what makes them threatening. What ''does'' make them threatening is the way they infiltrate towns, cities, and other societies and corrupt them by tricking the citizenry and leadership to perform depraved and evil acts. At this point, their victims have pretty much damned themselves to an eternity in Hell, much to the Wyrm's delight.
* Being something of an [[Alternate Company Equivalent]] offshoot to ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', ''[[Pathfinder (tabletop game)|Pathfinder]]'' has plenty of ferocious dragons of its own.
** Just like in ''D&D'', Chromatic Dragons. In stark contrast to their typically noble metallic cousins, chromatics are monstrous beasts who live to spread death and destruction. [[Dark Is Evil|Black Dragons]] with their love of torturing and scaring people with acid are the biggest offenders, and Red Dragons are just as sadistic and cruel, while also being prideful and arrogant [[A God Am I|to the point of declaring themselves gods]]. Blue Dragons are [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative schemers]] who will secretly control entire societies and make them dance to their whims, and White Dragons, while weaker than other Chromatics, are still ferocious and feral beasts. Green Dragons are the least malevolent of the bunch given their diplomatic, intellectual nature, but even they can turn cruel and bloodthirsty when sufficiently angered.
▲**
** Primal Dragons as a whole aren't anywhere near as destructive as their Chromatic brethren, but Umbral and Magma Dragons are truly hellish monstrosities. The unholy Umbral Dragons have ''shadowbreath'', eat ghosts, enslave the souls of people they kill by twisting them into [[Living Shadow|Living Shadows]], and are [[Dirty Coward|cowards that exclusively hunt weak prey and will run for the hills when confronted by enemies that can fight back]]. Meanwhile, Magma Dragons look like they were carved out of brimstone and are so [[Ax Crazy|violent and murderously insane]] that other dragons give them a wide berth.
** While most of the bizarre and alien Outer Dragons are fairly neutral as far as their temperaments go, Void Dragons are (mostly) the exception of the rule. Twisted into shadowy monstrosities by terrifying [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], Void Dragons live only to kill and [[Mind Rape]] people with their unholy powers. However, there are some who are able to fight off the urge to do these terrible things, but most can't help but succumb.
** Nightmare Dragons. Think [[Friday the 13th|Freddy Krueger]] as a dragon, and you've got the gist of it. They're the most malevolent of the Esoteric Dragons, and will terrorize sleeping mortals with the most frightening dreams they can think of while helping Night Hags steal their souls.
** Planar Dragons will terraform the countryside they settle in to have it better resemble their native Planes. It's not necessarily a bad thing with the more benevolent ones... and then you've got Apocalypse, Rift, and Infernal Dragons who twist their surroundings into a [[Hell on Earth]]. It's the most literal with Infernal Dragons, who are Satanic beasts that revel in damning mortal souls to hell. But Rift Dragons are also cruel, iron-fisted tyrants who force mortals to worship them as gods, and as for [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Apocalypse Dragons]]... well, ''take a wild guess''.
== [[Theatre]] ==
* The story of Fafner in [[Richard Wagner]]'s opera ''[[The Ring of the Nibelung]]'' retells the story of Fáfnir from Norse Mythology (see above), with the change that Fafner was originally a giant, rather than a dwarf.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Tathamet is a seven-headed dragon described as ''the'' Prime Evil in the background lore of ''[[Diablo]]'', and his death turned out to be the birth of not just the Burning Hells, but of the Seven Great Evils, with each of his heads reincarnating as one of the series' powerful demon lords.
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'':
** Dragons
* {{spoiler|Rhea}} from ''[[Fire Emblem Three Houses]]'' {{spoiler|is for the most part a flawed, but otherwise benevolent Nabatean firmly on the side of good in most of the game's routes. But in the Crimson Flower route, she goes insane when Byleth refuses to kill Edelgard and mentally deteriorates into a bloodthirsty lunatic obsessed with killing him/her. And fittingly, her ferocious, intimidating dragon form is the route's final boss, and a scary case of [[Light Is Not Good]] since you fight her in a city that she herself set on fire}}. In the {{spoiler|Silver Snow}} route, she's even scarier and looks like a ''rotting corpse'', {{spoiler|but that's due to her unwillingly going feral due to stress from tanking several of Thales' javelins of light as opposed to her consciously crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon.]]}}▼
** Peryite, the Daedric Prince of Pestilence, Tasks, and the Natural Order, often appears in the form of a sickly, scrawny green dragon. He's every bit as dangerous as every other Daedra, complete with demonic imagery and allusions. But despite his love of disease and plagues, he's arguably one of the more ''benevolent'' Daedra and his tasks often involve either saving followers of his, or killing followers that abuse the powers he's granted them.
* The Crimson Dragon, ''[[Mega Man Star Force 3]]'''s [[Final Boss]] is a humongous red dragon made of Noise, and seeks to crash Meteor G into Earth. Despite its appearance it's no wild beast, but {{spoiler|the incredibly evil Mr. King's new form after fusing himself with Meteor G in one last desperate bid to defy Mega Man by destroying the Earth out of spite for having his plans of ruling it ruined.}}▼
▲* {{spoiler|Rhea}} from ''[[Fire Emblem: Three Houses]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]]'':
** While normally a gentle and peaceful creature, you first meet the spirit dragon Naydra when she's been corrupted by Malice, and she looks ''terrifying''. The Malice growths on her body look like some kind of demonic infection, and she has multiple hellish eyeballs growing from her face. She still manages to retain her peaceful nature, but she refuses to freely fly around and bless you with her materials out of fear of hurting people until she's been cured.
** Oddly enough, Calamity Ganon is drawn to look like a monstrous dragon in old artistic depictions. Whether this was a previous form of his or an interpretation of his boarlike wraith form is unknown, but his demonic appearance, corruptive influence, and the way he can be seen slithering and coiling around the ruins of Hyrule Castle definitely invoke this trope in spirit.
▲* The Crimson Dragon, [[Final Boss]] of ''[[Mega Man Star Force 3]]''
* In the ''[[Monster Hunter]]'' series, you can seldom throw a stone without hitting one or ten of these things. While all the draconic monsters in the series are dangerous to some degree, these monsters are outright hellish, scary, and in a few cases, downright ''wrong''.
** The crowning example would be the Fatalis, a ferocious black Western dragon considered to be the most dangerous Elder Dragon in existence. And it absolutely ''earned'' its reputation: it destroyed the entire kingdom of Schrade in a single night, melts hunters and uses their bodies as improvised armor, and is a generally cruel and sadistic beast. And it's not the only one of its kind: the Crimson Fatalis is even more hellish, and even the [[Light Is Not Good|angelic-looking White/Old Fatalis]] is as brutal and merciless as its brethren.
** The fearsome Alatreon has
** Dire Miralis and Zorah Magdaros look the part, being titanic dragons that are essentially living
** {{spoiler|Xeno'jiiva}} comes off as more [[Eldritch Abomination|eldritch]] than demonic thanks to its utterly alien appearance and deadly newborn innocence, but its adult form {{spoiler|Safi'jiiva}} goes all-in with the Satanic imagery. Like with Fatalis, its appearance invokes the image of a Western Dragon
** Gore Magala isn't ''quite'' an Elder Dragon
** Valstrax are fairly peaceful creatures who aren't typically aggressive towards humans, and are only a threat due to the supersonic speeds they fly at making it easy for them to crash into human settlements and airships on accident. But that is ''not'' the case for the Crimson Glow variant, which are mutant Valstrax that are driven mad by excess dragon energy their bodies create. These guys will devastate entire ecosystems with this rampant energy through bombing runs, and old legends paint them as harbingers of doom.
** Nergigante is a brutally powerful Elder Dragon with black scales, humongous horns, and nasty quills growing from almost every part of its body. It's actually more of a threat to other Elder Dragons since it actively hunts them, but is every bit as ridiculously aggressive towards any other monsters or humans unfortunate enough to cross paths with it. And it's that wolverine-style aggression that allows this comparatively mundane dragon to go toe-to-toe with its far more apocalyptic prey.
** Because ''World''
** {{spoiler|Shara Ishvalda}} looks like a huge pile of stones at first, but once you break its armor you're faced with easily the freakiest dragon in the series. It doesn't even ''look'' like a dragon, but rather an ugly Hindu demon with a disturbingly humanoid face. And its eyes... goddamn, its ''eyes''. Watch them closely, and shudder as you realize that they don't look at your hunter... [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You|but at '''you''', the player.]]
** Ibushi and Narwa from ''[[Monster Hunter Rise]]'' have a more regal, divine vibe to them than most of the examples on this page, but make no mistake: they're among the freakiest and most malevolent creatures in the series. These moray eel-looking abominations are capable of sentient thought and are knowingly cruel and murderous, with Narwa in particular being a full-on [[Omnicidal Maniac]] with a god complex.
** Merphistophelin and Disufiroa from the discontinued ''Online'' and ''Frontier'' spinoff games are
** The Deviljho is pretty much the end result of a one night stand between Satan and a T. Rex. It's far more rugged and brutal-looking than most monsters, and belches up streams of Dragon energy that looks like hellfire. And its Savage variant is constantly ''wreathed'' in a cloud of the stuff, and is even more dangerous than its already apocalyptic brethren. They aren't Elder Dragons, but are considered to be every bit as dangerous because their voracious appetites can devastate entire ecosystems if they're left unchecked.
** Diablos are, contrary to their hellish appearance, herbivorous cactus eaters. But make no mistake: These oversized, ceratopsian wyverns are every bit as dangerous as their demonic appearance and name would imply. They're ridiculously territorial and aggressive to begin with, but the Black Diablos dials it [[Up to 11]] thanks to being
* ''[[NetHack]]'' has Ixoth, the Knight quest nemesis, who is based heavily off this trope, and his tile even depicts him as a bipedal [[Big Red Devil]].
* Symmetra's Dragon skin from the ''[[Overwatch]]''
* Most Dragon-type ''[[Pokémon]]'' are friendly, dangerous yet awe-inspiring, or outright divine in nature. But there are a few exceptions to the norm:
** The Ghost/Dragon-type Giratina is a truly unholy creature with power over shadows and anti-matter, and is the Pokémon equivalent to Old Scratch himself, complete with being cast into hell/the Distortion World by God/Arceus for its brutal nature. When the player meets it in ''Platinum'' though, it's not characterized as evil so much as overzealous in protecting the fabric of reality from any and all threats.
** Guzzlord from the ''[[Pokémon Sun and Moon
** Eternatus from ''[[Pokémon Sword and Shield]]''
** Hydreigon and Dragalge are mundane in nature as opposed to the legendary Pokémon listed above, but are still aggressive and dangerous by nature. Hydreigon is a three-headed Ghidorah-esque Dark/Dragon type infamous for its violence and for being the signature 'Mon of Ghetsis (one of the most evil characters in the series), and Dragalge is a poisonous seahorse-looking dragon that attacks and sinks any ships unfortunate enough to sail through its territory.
* The very second Lady Dimitrescu from ''[[Resident Evil Village]]'' was revealed, people fell in love with her for her [[Statuesque Stunner|ridiculous height]], [[Gag Boobs|huge boobs]], and [[Baby Got Back|equally enormous ass]]... and they also expected her to transform into something far nastier and less attractive given the series' history. And they were proven right during the game's release: after Ethan Winters kills her daughters, she goes from sexy, sociopathic, torture-loving vampire to ferocious dragon abomination hellbent on killing him.
* Bowser from ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' invokes a lot of draconic and demonic imagery despite primarily being a turtle-like monster: he breathes fire, kidnaps Princess Peach on the regular, and rules over a volcanic wasteland. However, he's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him, and he's regularly invited to Mario's various parties, sporting events, and kart races. He's even saved the world a handful of times! Other draconic monsters in the series are a lot less nice, however.▼
* ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'':
** A trio of dragons serve as particularly malicious enemies in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'', and each is tougher and scarier than the last. Hooktail terrorizes Petalburg and the surrounding lands and is known to eat Koopas for fun, Gloomtail is {{spoiler|the Shadow Queen's guard dog}} and a poison-breathing menace, and Bonetail is a monstrously powerful skeletal dragon who waits at the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials as the game's toughest challenge. {{spoiler|Grifty's stories further implicate all three as having terrorized the world at large during the Shadow Queen's hellish reign millennia ago, as they were pets that she loved to feed people to.}}▼
▲**
** While Fracktail from ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'' is a benevolent robot dragon turned evil by Dimentio's interference, his prototype, Wracktail, is a malevolent psycho sealed away during ancient times due to his destructive tendencies.▼
▲** A trio of dragons serve as particularly malicious enemies in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'', and each is tougher and scarier than the last. Hooktail terrorizes Petalburg and the surrounding lands and is known to eat Koopas for fun, Gloomtail is a poison-breathing menace {{spoiler|and the Shadow Queen's guard dog}}
** {{spoiler|''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'''s Ruined Dragon is a '''huge''' black/purple dragon who can control bolts of powerful purple lightning. Heavily implied to have destroyed an entire civilization in ancient times, Bowser somehow tames him and sends him after Mario late into the game. Despite his massive size and apocalyptic powers, he's no match for the plumber and his friend Cappy.}}▼
▲** While Fracktail from ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'' is a benevolent robot dragon turned evil by Dimentio's interference, his prototype
▲**
** In ''[[Bowser's Fury]]'', Bowser's been transformed into a shadowy black colossus that terrorizes the peaceful Lake Lapcat. Dubbed Fury Bowser due to constantly being in a state of rage, every single one of his appearances causes a rainstorm to break out, followed by fire falling from the sky and Fury Bowser himself aggressively chasing Mario across the map. The only thing that can hold him at bay is light, either channeled through the lake's Cat Shines or Mario beating the tar out of him in a holy lion suit.
* While ''[[Warcraft]]'' dragons run the gauntlet of moral alignments, the entirety of the Black Dragonflight are evil bastards from top to bottom. And their leader, Deathwing, is a ferocious [[Omnicidal Maniac]] who wants to destroy everything in existence save for his followers.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Along with Savanti Romero, the 2012 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' show has Kavaxas, the [[Big Bad]] of Season 5 and self-proclaimed Demodragon. {{spoiler|Tiger Claw summons him in order to get him to revive the Shredder, but in true demonic fashion, Kavaxas takes advantage of his carelessness and uses it as a way to kickstart the apocalypse
== [[Real Life]] ==
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[[Category:Dragon Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]
[[Category:Infernal Tropes]]
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