One-Winged Angel: Difference between revisions

[[File:onewingedangel-sleepbeauty02_3279sleepbeauty02 3279.png|link=Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|frame|Maleficent [[A Worldwide Punomenon|scales]] [[Scaled Up|up]].]]

Classic [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]s have the tendency, when push comes to shove, to [[Power Makeover|turn into]] big honking monsters. A mad scientist in a fit of urgency might [[Psycho Serum|down his own mutagen]], or a [[Artificial Limbs|cyborg]] turns his body [[Explosive Overclocking|into a living bomb,]] or a [[Killer Rabbit|mild-mannered enemy]] reveals her terrifying [[This Was His True Form|true form.]] Bets are good they'll become way more [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|bloated, ugly, or plain disfigured]]. Sometimes this is [[Glamour Failure|more subtle]], and the character will look perfectly normal (or even [[Bishonen Line|attractive]]) save for [[Red Right Hand|a few glaring monstrosities]] that [[Sculpted Physique|give them]] a scary [[Game Face]].

Named in honor of Sephiroth, [[Big Bad]] of the video game ''[[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VII]].''<ref>Okay, named in honor of his theme music, as he has in fact ''seven'' wings, but just one in place of an arm.</ref> Video games in general absolutely ''adore'' having their final boss do this, even when their original form is scary enough anyway. In fact, it's gotten to be somewhat of an arms race: thanks to the popularity of [[Dragonball Z|Frieza]] in 1991, [[Rule of Three|three-form]] bosses are now somewhat common, and those games going for "epic" will sometimes go for even more. In JRPGs, particularly, it is rather common to see two stages of [['''One-Winged Angel]]''': the "bizarro" form, that is huge and scary, and the "angel" form, that is winged, eeriely beautiful and accompanied by [[Ominous Latin Chanting]] (the original One Winged Angel, Sephiroth, is the codifier of this subtrope). Once beaten, or on becoming even more powerful, the villain may cross the [[Bishonen Line]] and into safer territory for an [[Evil Makeover]] to work its magic (though it's a huge case of [[Tropes Are Not Bad]]; as much as it's used, you'd be hard pressed to complain when they turn into something ''fucking awesome'').