Mythology Upgrade: Difference between revisions
Content added Content deleted
m (clean up, replaced: Category:Pages Needing Example Sorting → Category:Examples Need Sorting) |
(sorted and grouped the examples, removed the "Examples Need Sorting" category) |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{trope}} |
{{trope}}{{Needs Image}} |
||
Need a totally awesome magical beast to make your show that much more awesome? Why make one up when mythology's done it for you? The Behemoth, the Leviathan, maybe a dragon or two. In works involving the afterlife, you can even expect Cerberus to make an appearance. |
Need a totally awesome magical beast to make your show that much more awesome? Why make one up when mythology's done it for you? The Behemoth, the Leviathan, maybe a dragon or two. In works involving the afterlife, you can even expect Cerberus to make an appearance. |
||
Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
Note that the Mythology Upgrade refers specifically to an already established creature of legend who gets entirely new powers, not one that just mysteriously got more powerful. Compare [[Public Domain Artifact]]. |
Note that the Mythology Upgrade refers specifically to an already established creature of legend who gets entirely new powers, not one that just mysteriously got more powerful. Compare [[Public Domain Artifact]]. |
||
{{examples}} |
{{examples}} |
||
== Multimedia == |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | * Cerberus deserves a special mention in any appearance he makes, since the original creature, depending on which myth you're going by, had snakes growing from his back and was formed by/had skin made of the ''squirming souls of the dead.'' Which practically makes many of his appearances a Mythology ''Down''grade. |
||
⚫ | ** It should also be noted that Cerberus originally only had one head, not the three he is famous for having. That didn't come until the Romans got to him (making this an [[Older Than They Think]] trope in and of itself). He was also often portrayed as an average sized dog, rather than the gigantic monstrous beast many relate him to. This is of course assuming that Hades is an average sized man, which is difficult to tell with gods... |
||
* Dragons are perhaps the greatest recipients of this trope. Look up old paintings of dragons and they're often smaller than the hero's horse. Besides their fire breath and animal ferocity, most myths didn't give them many additional powers. [[Newer Than They Think|Modern sources]], however, almost always depict dragons as gigantic beings of incredible physical and magical strength. ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' is one of the worst offenders. See [[Our Dragons Are Different]] for the various permutations. |
* Dragons are perhaps the greatest recipients of this trope. Look up old paintings of dragons and they're often smaller than the hero's horse. Besides their fire breath and animal ferocity, most myths didn't give them many additional powers. [[Newer Than They Think|Modern sources]], however, almost always depict dragons as gigantic beings of incredible physical and magical strength. ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' is one of the worst offenders. See [[Our Dragons Are Different]] for the various permutations. |
||
** Earlier than [[Dungeons and Dragons]], [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s dragons were huge, highly intelligent, possessed magical powers (particularly mind-bending magic), and were quite possibly incarnate minor deities, if evil ones. [[Word of God]] admitted a certain fondness for this particular creature, so he used them sparingly but when he wanted to go for grand effect. |
** Earlier than [[Dungeons and Dragons]], [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s dragons were huge, highly intelligent, possessed magical powers (particularly mind-bending magic), and were quite possibly incarnate minor deities, if evil ones. [[Word of God]] admitted a certain fondness for this particular creature, so he used them sparingly but when he wanted to go for grand effect. |
||
** Dragons were always ''described'' as huge; those paintings that show them as smaller than the knights slaying them are using symbolism to show that the heroic and chivalric knight is ultimately more powerful than the monster. |
** Dragons were always ''described'' as huge; those paintings that show them as smaller than the knights slaying them are using symbolism to show that the heroic and chivalric knight is ultimately more powerful than the monster. |
||
** And the magic powers and wisdom come from the Asian dragons that are essentially minor gods or elemental powers. |
** And the magic powers and wisdom come from the Asian dragons that are essentially minor gods or elemental powers. |
||
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] == |
|||
⚫ | |||
== [[Tabletop Games]] == |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | * White Wolf also generally did this with their ''[[Werewolf]]'' game lines. It's not enough that they're shapeshifting killing machines -- to fit roughly in with the themes of works such as ''The Howling'' and ''Wolfen'', werewolves also have ties to nature that give them access to the [[Spirit World]] and a special relationship with its denizens. Whether this relationship is "stalwart defenders" or "border police" depends on the gameline. |
||
== [[Video Games]] == |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | ** Not to mention giving Cerberus some wicked ice powers. Or Beowulf turning from a human [[Badass Normal]] to a [[Light Is Not Good|light]]-flinging demon. Or Geryon having time-control powers. Although, Cerberus's ice makeover does work nicely as a homage to the coldness of hell in Dante's Inferno. Complete with him guarding the gateway to hell (temen ni gru). |
||
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' pretty much owns this trope, since several of its enemies and almost all of its summons are taken from mythology, and then powered them [[Up to Eleven]]. List examples below: |
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' pretty much owns this trope, since several of its enemies and almost all of its summons are taken from mythology, and then powered them [[Up to Eleven]]. List examples below: |
||
** Bahamut, who makes an appearance in almost every game, is the King and/or God of all dragons. In his FFX incarnation, he has a giant ring on his back which charges with energy to unleash his [[Limit Break|Overdrive,]] which is basically a [[Frickin' Laser Beams|giant blue laser.]] |
** Bahamut, who makes an appearance in almost every game, is the King and/or God of all dragons. In his FFX incarnation, he has a giant ring on his back which charges with energy to unleash his [[Limit Break|Overdrive,]] which is basically a [[Frickin' Laser Beams|giant blue laser.]] |
||
Line 24: | Line 39: | ||
** Both Bahamut and Shiva's cases are really examples for Mythology ''Down''grade since both are way more powerful in the original myths. Bahamut is a whale-like [[Eldritch Abomination]] that is larger than the world (and the world is so small compared to Bahamut, since it only floating in a small crack on a bull's head, said bull is standing on Bahamut's back). While Shiva can burn the world simply by opening his third eye. |
** Both Bahamut and Shiva's cases are really examples for Mythology ''Down''grade since both are way more powerful in the original myths. Bahamut is a whale-like [[Eldritch Abomination]] that is larger than the world (and the world is so small compared to Bahamut, since it only floating in a small crack on a bull's head, said bull is standing on Bahamut's back). While Shiva can burn the world simply by opening his third eye. |
||
*** And while we're at it, said bull shows up in [[Final Fantasy VII]] as a tri-elemental summon. Still a bit of a downgrade, but hey, random elemental powers! |
*** And while we're at it, said bull shows up in [[Final Fantasy VII]] as a tri-elemental summon. Still a bit of a downgrade, but hey, random elemental powers! |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | ** Not to mention giving Cerberus some wicked ice powers. Or Beowulf turning from a human [[Badass Normal]] to a [[Light Is Not Good|light]]-flinging demon. Or Geryon having time-control powers. Although, Cerberus's ice makeover does work nicely as a homage to the coldness of hell in Dante's Inferno. Complete with him guarding the gateway to hell (temen ni gru). |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | * Cerberus deserves a special mention in any appearance he makes, since the original creature, depending on which myth you're going by, had snakes growing from his back and was formed by/had skin made of the ''squirming souls of the dead.'' Which practically makes many of his appearances a Mythology ''Down''grade. |
||
⚫ | ** It should also be noted that Cerberus originally only had one head, not the three he is famous for having. That didn't come until the Romans got to him (making this an [[Older Than They Think]] trope in and of itself). He was also often portrayed as an average sized dog, rather than the gigantic monstrous beast many relate him to. This is of course assuming that Hades is an average sized man, which is difficult to tell with gods... |
||
⚫ | * ''Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic'' |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | * White Wolf also generally did this with their ''[[Werewolf]]'' game lines. It's not enough that they're shapeshifting killing machines -- to fit roughly in with the themes of works such as ''The Howling'' and ''Wolfen'', werewolves also have ties to nature that give them access to the [[Spirit World]] and a special relationship with its denizens. Whether this relationship is "stalwart defenders" or "border police" depends on the gameline. |
||
* This isn't a ''[[Nethack]]''-only feature but the lore change of [[wikipedia:Medusa|Gorgon Medusa]] is probably the most famous mythological ''downgrade'' of any mythological monster. Originally, Perseus faced the Gorgon by looking at her reflection in his mirrored shield and cutting her head off. Over time, a more pacifist approach was adopted that Medusa could stone herself by looking at her own reflection. |
* This isn't a ''[[Nethack]]''-only feature but the lore change of [[wikipedia:Medusa|Gorgon Medusa]] is probably the most famous mythological ''downgrade'' of any mythological monster. Originally, Perseus faced the Gorgon by looking at her reflection in his mirrored shield and cutting her head off. Over time, a more pacifist approach was adopted that Medusa could stone herself by looking at her own reflection. |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
* Many of the monsters from [[Will Rock]] have extra powers: the Minotaurs can [[Asteroids Monster|split in two lesser ones]] when slain, the Harpies shoot fireballs, Cyclops have goat legs and can eat and spit hot stone pellets and Orthuses can spit fire and acid from their heads. |
* Many of the monsters from [[Will Rock]] have extra powers: the Minotaurs can [[Asteroids Monster|split in two lesser ones]] when slain, the Harpies shoot fireballs, Cyclops have goat legs and can eat and spit hot stone pellets and Orthuses can spit fire and acid from their heads. |
||
== [[Web Comics]] == |
|||
⚫ | |||
== [[Western Animation]] == |
|||
⚫ | * ''Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic'': The animated short had Cerberus, who was already pretty frightening as a three headed fire breathing dog, re-envisioned as a giant colon like monster with many mouths and residing as a guardian in the third circle of Hell, Gluttony. The gluttonous souls swallowed by Cerberus are forever denied the pleasures they overindulged in while alive. Cerberus's stomach is also the realm that Dante had to cross to enter the next circle of Hell. |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
[[Category:Examples Need Sorting]] |
|||
[[Category:Video Game Tropes]] |
[[Category:Video Game Tropes]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] |