Fangs Are Evil: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:lildevilbaby 7462.jpg|frame|Some habits die hard.]]

 

You know, fangs. Those pointy things that, whenever they're in the mouth of someone or something, [[Red Right Hand|indicate]] that they're [[Dark Is Not Evil|probably]] evil and probably looking for an excuse to bite you with them. They're usually paired with [[Femme Fatalons]] and [[Pointy Ears]] to create a predatory look, and they're ''[[Spikes of Villainy|pointy]]''. And really, what's the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|point]] in having pointy teeth if you don't do stuff with them like rip apart the flesh of the living? [[Mundane Utility|Opening beer cans for kicks? Removing the shrink wrap from DVD boxes?]]

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Taken to its logical conclusion by Hiruma of ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'': ''All'' of his teeth are fangly, they're visible pretty much any time he opens his mouth (which is often), and when you see them, [[Cheshire Cat Grin|he's definitely being a dangerous trickster.]]

* Both subverted ''and'' played straight in ''[[Inuyasha]]'', and by the same character: the main character has [[Cute Little Fangs]] most of the time, but when he transforms into his [[Ax Crazy]] [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] his fangs grow longer and get distinctly more terrifying.

* 9th from ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' in her more crazy and villainous moments tends to be draw with fang-looking teeth.

 

== Comic Books ==

* Spider-Man villains Venom, Carnage and the other evil symbiotes. Generally when a symbiote possesses someone good theres no mouth but when it possesses someone bad theres a mouth full of fangs. Toxin is a neat example. When the host is in control there are no fangs. When the host lets the symbiote take over it gets fangs.

** Similiar with Flash Thompson as Venom - his default mode has no mouth but fangs tends to appear when he is loosing control to the symbiote.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** The whole "being short wrinkly bald guys" thing probably has a lot to do with that.

** On the other hand the Klingons often pull it off. In the first episode of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'', Reed mentions with some apprehension that Klingons reputedly "sharpen their teeth before battle". Depending on which episode of ''[[Star Trek]]'' you're watching, the Klingons might be "Fangs are Tough" rather than "Fangs are Evil."

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* ''[[Nosferatu]]'' is interesting, because Count Orlock's fangs, rather than being his canines, are his front teeth, giving him a ratlike appearance and causing him to look far more grotesque than most vampires.

 

== Literature ==

* A card played by Elves against Humans in the [[The Witcher|''Witcher Saga'']]. Humans have canine teeth, and therefore are ''clearly'' hardly better than wild beasts. Incidentally, Elves in the Witcherverse are herbivorous.

* Every time Vlad in ''[[Count and Countess]]'' is about to take a bite out of someone, he grins. The glimpse of artificially sharpened teeth serves as the victim's first and last warning.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

* ''[[Candorville]]'' directly correlates the size of the fangs with the evil of whatever has them—Susan's dog even gets bigger fangs when it's being scary than when it's being friendly. It's uncertain whether this is an artistic conceit or something else, given that {{spoiler|the dog is apparently an evil shapeshifter, as is every fanged humanoid that has changed its fang length at one point or another.}}

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', this is a good way to tell a Kindred's mood. Generally, retracted fangs = good mood = [[Manipulative Bastard|keep watch]], showing fangs = angry, [[Horror Hunger|hungry]] or [[Super-Powered Evil Side|frenzying]] = RUN!

* In ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (and quite a few other fantasy works), sharp teeth are standard-issue for evil humanoids--[[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears]], [[Our Orcs Are Different|orcs]], [[The Ogre|ogres]], [[All Trolls Are Different|trolls]], etc.

** Also averted by the Blood Angels, who have fangs as part of their vampire motif, and are also among the nobler [[Space Marine]] chapters. Unless they hit the [[Unstoppable Rage|Black Rage]], in which case things can get...[[Kill'Em All|ugly]].

 

* Not quite sure if it's supposed to be to make them more intimidating, but as of patch 3.0, Night Elves in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' have fangs to show off their feral nature. And Orcs and Trolls have ''tusks''.

** Arguably [[Cute Little Fangs|subverted]] by the draenei, who have fangs more prominent than those of the night elves (and not only generally ''look'' like classic demons, but are actually ''kin'' to [[Our Demons Are Different|one type of demon]])...but are almost painfully honorable.

* In ''[[Ace Attorney|Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' the Interpol agent Shi-Lang has sharp fangs to compliment his wolflike nature. He hates prosecutors, arrests people for little to no reason, and is a bit of a jerk to Edgeworth. However, he is presented sympathetically {{spoiler|and even provides a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment when he gets Alba's diplomatic immunity revoked.}}

** Played straight with Furio Tigre, an intimidating and badly tanned loan shark who, through a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] and everyone else being idiots, managed to actually impersonate Phoenix Wright because they had the same spiky hair.

* Averted in the third installment of ''[[Star Control]]'' by the menacing but ultimately honourable Harika.

* [[The Legend of Zelda|Ganon's]] bestial forms generally have large curved tusks, though he typically doesn't actually use them in combat.

 

* And, of course, ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|Jagerkin]]. Although many of them have a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] bent and fight alongside the good guys. ([[Grey and Grey Morality|for a certain value of good]])

** The Always Evil [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|Goblinoids]] of this 'verse have fangs AND tusks. Eat your heart out.

* In a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], most of the time [[Freefall|Florence Ambrose]] doesn't show teeth, even when talking, but when [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff100/fv00098.htm she smiles], people start getting awfully cooperative, for some odd reason.

* Yigs in ''[[The Water Phoenix King]]'' have small fangs that protrude from the lower jaw, but despite this and other traditional Orcish attributes, they aren't any more Evil than humans or other races in this setting.

* Zimmy in ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' has her mouth full of jagged, sharp teeth. She has a hostile, insensitive personality, but she's hardly evil, making her something of an aversion.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Yuck from ''[[Yin Yang Yo!|Yin Yang Yo]]'', too.

* Demona from ''[[Gargoyles]]''. Strictly speaking, all gargoyles have fangs, but Demona really enjoys showing them off, and she's evil.

** Megabyte and Hexadecimal also have fangs. Megabyte's fangs are hard to notice until he drops his [[Faux Affably Evil]] persona and starts acting like the vicious predator he is. Hexadecimal's fangs only appear when she switches to her [[Nightmare Face]].

* [[Freddie as F.R.O.7|El Supremo]] has these, seemingly for no other reason than that he's evil.

* ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]'': [[Punny Name|NOS-4-A2]] and [[Involuntary Shapeshifting|Wirewolf]]. Since they're an energy vampire and robot-devouring werewolf, respectively, this obviously makes some sense.

* Mr. Burns in [[The Simpsons]], who in early seasons especially was cruel and corrupt to downright evil old man, is shown to have a pair of dentures with fangs on them.

 

== Real Life ==