Multipurpose Tongue: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

So, you have a character who's a lizard of some kind. He may look amazing, but what can he do in particular, especially when it comes to combat, platforming or just day-to-day activities? Sure, some can [[Super Not-Drowning Skills|breathe underwater]], others can blend in with their surroundings, but let's not forget that a lot of them tend to have the long, sticky tongues that their real world counterparts use as their feeding mechanism.

 

Comes with massive [[Power Perversion Potential]], natch.

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Naruto]]'': Orochimaru has a [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|snake]] [[Animal Motifs|motif]]; one of the most unsettling applications of this is his repeated use of his tongue as a weapon, which he does so efficiently that he was still able to defend himself when {{spoiler|he was briefly deprived use of his hands}}. All of this, of course, invokes ''[[wikipedia:Yamata no Orochi|Yamata-no-Orochi]]'', the so-called "Japanese Hydra."

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* Anole, also from the [[Marvel Universe]], uses his prehensile tongue as a weapon and to reach distant objects.

* Sugar-Man, from ''Generation Next'', uses his long tongue as a weapon.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''La lengua asesina'' (The Killer Tongue), a woman gets a giant tongue that speaks and kills people. At first, the woman wants to get rid of it, but eventually learns to use it as a weapon against others.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* ''Murasaki'' includes one alien species whose tongues also function as sexual organs. The human visitors have been known to cause scandals now and then by opening their mouths in public.

* In [[Larry Niven]]'s [[Known Space]] Verse, the two-headed puppeteers use the long, dextrous tongues in their mouths as hand-substitutes, together with the mobile, fleshy knobs on their lips.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Silurians in the revived ''[[Doctor Who]]''. The [[Power Perversion Potential]] is all but outright stated in "A Good Man Goes To War"...

* [[Juken Sentai Gekiranger|Mele]] can use her tongue to ''stab'' people, or hit their pressure points and disrupt the flow of their chi.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* [[Gex]] uses his tongue for several things, especially volleying out fire, ice and slime when he's eaten a powerup, as well as to grab ledges in lieu of his hands.

* Sting Chameleon of ''[[Mega Man X]]'', pictured above, uses this for two of his primary attacks. His melee attack comprises of a painful metal tongue lash, but he can also hang from the roof with it to cause multiple spikes to come out of the ceiling.

* This is the main mechanic of [[Chameleon Twist]].

* The ''[[Resident Evil]]'' games feature the Lickers, who often use their elongated tongues to decapitate or impale people.

 

 

== [[Web Original]] ==