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{{trope}}
[[File:
Need to make piggies much more badass? Simple, add tusks.
Basically, pigs with tusks and a personality to match. While non-tusked swine are generally shown as greedy and [[Messy Pig|somewhat messy]], boars are generally seen as their [[Ax Crazy]] cousins. Why? Basically, pig noses are awesome and adding [[Spikes of Villainy]] should only make them even more awesome!
[[Truth in Television|Wild Boars can be dangerous]] and are quite capable of killing a man. Boar-spears were designed with specially shaped spear-heads to keep the animal at arms length because otherwise a boar could still kill you even after you'd stuck a spear through it, even if doing so involved it [[Badass|charging down the spear]] [[Taking You with Me|and goring itself in the process.]] Even then, those spears were more commonly used by hunting nobility who were in it for sport, as traps were still much safer.
Wild boars have one of the worst reputations among wild ungulates. They are reputed to have a pleasure to kill humans, especially if you stumble upon a [[Mama Bear|sow]] with piglets. At least, this is what most people think about these animals. In [[Real Life]] boars are not more dangerous than most other ungulates of similar size. If they are not provoked, they'll not charge you anymore; they do battle only for self-defense against their predators.
It's true, however, that sows might charge if they see their young menaced; but again, this is a common thing among wild mammals. Try to menace elk or deer fawns and you'll probably get a similar response. And nobody in Fictionland seems ever to consider that baby boars [https://web.archive.org/web/20190924182426/http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01404/Boar-Jack-Russell_1404041i.jpg are among the cutest young mammals], with their brightly colored stripes. Never mind boars are among the most intelligent ungulates in [[Real Life]], they are easily tamed if raised young and can be used in the same way as their domestic tusk-less descendants (like searching for truffles).
Boars make really one of the few exceptions, along with bulls, [[Rhino Rampage|rhinos]] and buffalo, of ungulates qualifying as [[Carnivore Confusion|bad guys]] in pop-consciousness. See [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?]].
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The name [http://www.yourdictionary.com/full-bore is] [[Just for Pun]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Ryoga of ''[[Ranma ½]]'' has faced wild boars on at least two occasions. His preferred tactic is stopping the rampaging pig in his tracks with the tip of his umbrella, then flip him up and away. Bystanders are always impressed.
** As well they should be: that boar was [[Foe-Tossing Charge|tossing plow trucks]] like they were pillows, and neither Ryouga nor his umbrella budged one inch.
* [[Fruits Basket|Sohma Kagura]]. Okay, so she ''isn't'' a boar, but she [[Involuntary Shapeshifting|can turn into one]].
* Bonnie and the other pigs owned by Ganju in ''[[Bleach]]''
* The boar gods in ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', who unfortunately end up [[Dying Like Animals]] or succumbing to [[The Corruption]].
* There's a small handful of pig [[Digimon]], but the most noteworthy is Vikaralamon, a [[Kaiju]]-sized boar who stomped all over Shinjuku in ''[[Digimon Tamers]]''.
** Continuing on that, there's also Boarmon, which appears to be a tank-sized boar... ''[[Incendiary Exponent|that's on fire]]''. A horde of them attack the human world in ''[[Digimon Savers]]'' (along with some mecha pterodactyl Digimon), and served as a staple of the beast army in the ''[[Digimon Frontier]]'' movie.
** Cho*Hakkaimon of ''[[Digimon Xros Wars:
* Botan of ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' averts the usual depiction of boars in media by proving that [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|Everything's Cuter With Boars]]. {{spoiler|Even when fully grown in ''After Story'', he's still an adorable kindergarten pet. Gof! Gof!}}
== [[Card Games]] ==
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* The ''[[Asterix]]'' series has boars, but they don't quite fit, primarily they are underpowered compared to the Gauls.
** But delicious!
* The Boar in Rod Espinosa's classic ''[[The Courageous Princess]]''. He's an aversion in that he's actually quite a nice guy. Gives muddy kisses though.
* The comics continuation of [[Gargoyles]] introduced Coco, a gargoyle from the London clan who resembled a wild sow and was a pretty tough fighter.
* The monstrous, child-eating boar that haunted the town of Doglick in ''[[Hellblazer]]''
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== [[Literature]] ==
* The Pig a.k.a. Zhaa Buujie from ''[[Journey to the West]]''.
* The Celtic fantasy branch of [[Heroic Fantasy]] is prone to magical and very dangerous swine. [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''Forgotten Beasts of Eld'' has a major character that's a talking boar with magical knowledge. Her ''Riddle of the Stars'' trilogy has many allusions to the possibilities of talking swine. Similarly, in [[Teresa Edgerton]]'s fantasies set in [[Celydonn]], talking pigs are frequently alluded to a possible marvel; one two-headed and enormous boar does appear, and may even have spoken a few words (though they may have been grunts).
* In George R.R. Martin's ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', {{spoiler|King Robert}} gets killed by a giant boar. {{spoiler|Though it's also possible he was poisoned, or at least over-inebriated so he was an incompetent hunter}}
* In Meredith Ann Pierce's book ''Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood'', {{spoiler|the wizard}} turns into a giant gold boar and tries to kill Hannah.
* The [[
* In [[Belgariad|Pawn of Prophecy]] by David Eddings, Garion kills a boar and almost gets himself killed in the process.
* Though tuskless, domesticated, and female, Raz Buchanon's pet pig Marjorie (from the Maggody mysteries) once bit the leg off a mule, and {{spoiler|chased a man out an upstairs window, causing his death}}. This troper thinks she qualifies for Full Sow Action!
* In [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''The Book of Atrix Wolfe'', Tanis is dazed in the woods when the dogs harry a boar near him. He kills it on instinct, and everyone is dully
* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Neverwhere]]'', the Beast of London resembles an enormous boar.
** Only in the book, though; in the TV miniseries, it's a giant ox. They wanted a boar, but as it turned out, modern-day British boars are just too damn...
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The island from ''[[Lost]]'' is inhabited by wild boars, which are generally shown as being quite ferocious. In an early episode, Michael gets injured by one during a hunt.
** One stole Sawyer's tent.
* [[Animal Planet]]'s ''Hogs Gone Wild'' and ''Pig Bomb'' are about the [[Real Life]] destructive threat posed by feral pigs. Hunters who work to remove the animals face genuine danger from their tusks, and put kevlar jackets on their hunting dogs to prevent injury.
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* The Calydonian Boar. In the [[Greek Mythology|Greek myth]] of Atalanta, Meleager brings Atalanta to hunt it. When she kills it, Meleager offers her its hide and asks her to marry him.
* In [[Norse Mythology]], there is Hildesvini, which roughly translates to "Battle Swine", as Freya's mount whenever she's not using her cat-drawn chariot. Also Gullinbursti, the boar with golden mane (or, sometimes, hide made of gold) manufactured by dwarves for the god Freyr.
* Twrch Trwyth, the enormous boar from [[Celtic Mythology|Welsh mythology]]. Culhwch from the prose romance ''Culhwch and Olwen'' is tasked to hunt the boar for the magical scissors, comb and razor hidden in its hide, and he completes the challenge with the help of [[King Arthur]] and his warriors.
* The Boar of Ben Bulben which killed Diarmuid Ua Duibhne in the Fenian Cycle of [[Celtic Mythology|Irish mythology]].
* Varaha, an avatar of [[Hindu Mythology|Vishnu]], has the form of a large boar. He was credited with rescuing Prithvi (the Earth goddess) from the grasp of the demon Hiranyaksha.
* The Japanese folklore has Inosasao (lit: Boar King of the Bamboo Grove), a huge boar whose back is covered in leaves. He was killed by a hunter and came back as a shapeshifting ghost in order to obtain his revenge, but those whom he asked for help refused to do so. So he turned into the giant Ippondatara demon, a gargantuan one-legged hog demon who ate travellers.
* From the folklore of Southern Sweden, we get the ''gloso'' ("glaring sow"), a ghost pig that runs on lonely country roads after dark. It tries to kill people using its literal razorback, running between your legs to split you in twain. It seems to not be the ghost ''of'' a pig, but a ghost which takes a pig's shape.
* The so-called "Bisterne Dragon", an unidentified livestock-killing beast that prowled the Avon valley in 1460, may have actually been one of southern England's last surviving wild boars. This ferocious animal was killed by Sir Maurice Berkeley, who died of infection from wounds suffered at the "dragon's" jaws, leaving no other witness to its real nature.
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* There is an [[Cursed with Awesome|epidemic of giant, razorback pig-boar hybrids]] roaming the swamps of the [[Deep South]] United States. No one knows where they came from, but they are [[
** Actually, at least one of these pics (the "Hogzilla" pic) has been debunked (by National Geographic, no less) and other pics of ''really'' huge pigs are thought to be [http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hogzilla.asp similar hoaxes] (basically, the photomakers have had just a BIT of fun with perspective). Still large wild hogs ("Hogzilla" turned out to be closer to 8 feet long and 800 pounds in [[Real Life]])--just not the 2-ton behemoths of urban legend.
*** That
** And actually, it's very well known where the hogs are coming
*** And, unfortunately, they're found all over the United States now, not just the South, because pigs are pretty good at escaping farms everywhere. Furthermore, because feral hogs are usually regulated as pests rather than game animals restrictions on hunting them range from "very generous" to "nonexistent", and a few less-than-ethical hunting enthusiasts have intentionally introduced them to the wild as a result. The entire feral hog population of Kansas is probably a product of intentional release. Feral hogs are a potential threat to both the environment and agriculture.
* Pigs and boars, particularly when cornered, can be very vicious.
** Also [[wikipedia:Entelodont|Entelodonts]], 10-foot long prehistoric pig-relatives from the Oligocene and Miocene eras, complete with nasty tusks and warthog faces. Worse, they were predominantly [[Nightmare Fuel|carnivorous]], and fed regularly on ''rhinos and [[Big Eater|elephants]]''.
** Peccaries are small and don't have external tusks, so they don't look menacing. Until [http://www.exzooberance.com/virtual%20zoo/they%20walk/peccary/Peccary%20471054.jpg they open their mouths], and you realise that there are around 20 of them together. They can drive jaguars off, and jaguars are strong animals that wrestle caimans and bite through skulls.
* Tourists who enjoy hiking in Germany, in deep woods rather than the Volksmarch trails, are advised on hearing the distinctly loud snort of a wild boar to immediately run up the nearest tree. If you value your life, there's really nothing else you can do. Make sure it's a sturdy one, because a persistent boar can uproot a leaner tree.
* The [[wikipedia:Babyrousa|babirusa]] has particularly fancy-looking upper tusks that grow upward through the skull and curl backward, and can in rare cases eventually grow into the brain.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Fantasy Tabletop RPG's sometimes have Wild Boars as possible opponents for player characters. Examples include ''Pendragon'' and ''[[Dungeons
** In the third editions of D&D, every boar has the Diehard feat which prevents it from falling unconscious when it's out of hit points; you have to keep going until it's dead dead (negative ten or so). This was also alluded to in the older editions of the game, which allowed boars to keep going for a few combat rounds even after their hitpoints went to zero. After that, or when they hit a certain negative number, they then died.
* Orcs in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' often ride boars. Orks in ''[[Warhammer
* ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' had Boar as a possible spirit for a pack totem. He was designed for packs of war.
** There were also wereboars, the Grondr, once upon a time. Notably, as every Changing Breed has a role in [[Gaia's Vengeance|Gaia's design]], their role was to clean up areas that had been tainted by [[Big Bad|the Wyrm]]. Sadly, this was when the Garou didn't know that other Changing Breeds existed, thought everything else to be "of the Wyrm," and [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|slaughtered them to the last]] in the Wars of Rage.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' gives us Isidoros, The Black Boar That Twists The Skies. Probably the least malevolent of the [[Eldritch Abomination|Yozis]], he acts as [[World's Strongest Man|the universe's upper limit of physical strength]], and spends most of his time absentmindedly wandering around [[Hell|Malfeas]] trampling things and leaving hoofprints the size of city blocks.
* [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orcs]] were frequently depicted in older editions of [[Dungeons
== Video Games ==
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* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'' the number of boars, and quests related to killing them, had become a bit of an in-joke among the players, and the developers are not above lampshading this. In the region of Evendim there's a quest that sends you to find some boars only to point out that there are no boars in this area. In Lothlórien, one questgiver who sends you kill a number of boars, asks why the players character is rolling his eyes at the mention of the word "boar". Another quest sends you picking boar-droppings. There's even a boar related title: Killing a boar in every region of Eriador awards you the title "Pork-Chopper".
* In the German ''[[Gothic]]'' community, the sentence "Lass uns Wildschweine jagen!" (Let's go hunt some boars) has become some kind of a meme, because in the earlier patch versions of ''Gothic 3'', boars were among the most deadly enemies one could face because of a broken game balance.
** Although the dreaded stunlock pretty much sums up why boars can be extremely dangerous when provoked.
* Some enemies (primarily the Bulbins) in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' have boars as mounts. If you don't know what you're doing, you could get boared to death. (The sister trope [[Pig Man]] is also quite popular in that series.)
* ''[[Pokémon]]'' has the small Swinub, its evolution Piloswine, and its final evolution Mamoswine, which more closely resembles a small mammoth than a swine.
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* Boars are all over the ''[[Tales (series)]]'', where their signature move is to lift you up with their tusks like a forklift and then throw you over their backs. A large boar was also featured in the beginning of ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'', where hunting one caused the heroes not to be in town when it was [[Doomed Hometown|burned down]]. When you return to the future, you can hunt them freely, and they usually come with several children that, if you can catch them before they flee, drop large amounts of Pork.
* ''[[Mother 3]]'' had boars as enemies. One of them, called the Agitated Boar, has the description of "The look on his face growls, 'Calm boars don't deserve to be called boars!'"
* ''[[Warcraft|Warcraft 3]]'' had both summonable boars and anthromorphised versions.
** ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has ''tons'' of boars; it's actually possible to level from 1 to 70 killing nothing but [[Underground Monkey|various forms of wild swine]]. They also make good Hunter pets, if not the most stylish, with their high health and stun ability.
*** The most extensive use of boars is in the Barrens, whre the Quillboars, the anthromorphic variant, train armored traditional boars and guard the body of their fallen boar god.
* First boss Boarax from [[Legend of Kay]].
* ''[[Brutal Legend]]'' has Razorfire Boars: half boar, half motorcycle, and their chrome skeletons make excellent laser guns.
* ''[[
* The Ippondatara boss (see above under Mythology) appears in both his forms (Ogre and Boar) as a boss in [[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]
* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls Four|The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]], the player sometimes encounters wild boar in the countryside. Unlike their [[Real Life]] equivalents, they attack on sight rather than running away.
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* Played with on an episode of [[Tiny Toon Adventures]]. When normally timid Hampton is challenged by some school bullies, who then start picking on Hampton's friends, this seems to hit Hampton's [[Berserk Button]]. Hampton then angrily tells the bullies(while breaking through walls and boards to get his point across), "In humiliating my friends, you have incurred the wrath of my piggy ancestors! The Wild Boar! The Razorback Boar! The Crashing Boar!" It's later revealed that Hampton had demolished some breakaway props to scare the bullies off, but his friends congratulate him on his quick thinking and on his [[An Aesop|standing up to the bullies]].
* The Thembrians from the Soviet Union stand-in Thembria in ''[[Tale Spin]]''.
* And of course there is ''[[South Park]]'' take on the ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', after which tedious repetitive grind in [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMOs]] is often referred to as Boar-killing amongst the community.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Just for Pun]]
[[Category:Mammal Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Full Boar Action]]
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