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Our Orcs Are Different: Difference between revisions
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* Are usually bigger than humans and [[Puny Earthlings|almost always stronger]]. A tall Orc will be probably a foot shorter than the Na'vi, but much more stocky and robustly built. Limbs are close to a foot thick.
* Are vastly more likely to be protagonists or supporting characters as opposed to [[Mooks]].
It's worth mentioning that the actual [[Warcraft|Blizzard orcs]] ''were'' originally the Evil Mook (still [[Villain Protagonist]]s though) template of "Tolkien" Orcs in the first two Warcraft games, but gained redemption in the cancelled [[Adventure Game]] ''Lord of the Clans'', the story of which was rewritten into a novel and later incorporated into the backstory of ''[[Warcraft]] III''. According to some, the first Warcraft game began as a Warhammer adaption that Blizzard was making before the license was rescinded. This may or may not be true, but the first Warcraft game Orcs were quite similiar to the older Warhammer Orcs.
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In a final note: While these two camps are sometimes well defined in many cases it is more of a sliding scale, such as the [[Warhammer 40,000|40K Orkz]] who while mostly being in the first category are actually [[Chaotic Neutral]] and also serve as the immune system of the galaxy. [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] orcs by contrast are nearly at a midpoint between the two styles, which should surprise no one since they may have been the keystone in the arc of the shift between them.
{{examples}}
== Comic Books ==
* A possible example in the [[2000 AD]] comic ''Kingdom'', in which the race of grey-skinned dog-human hybrid warriors are officially designated "Aux". Given that their human creators had a love of [[Punny Name|punny names]] (individual Aux include Gary the Old Man and Val Kill-More), this may have been deliberate.
* The Astonishing [[X-Men]] has the people of the Breakworld, who are a violent, domineering race of large, green skinned aliens that "stuff their pillows with diamonds" (probably not all that uncomfortable depending on size and cut).
== Film ==
* The Gamoreans of ''[[Star Wars]]'' are brutish, strong, green, pig-snouted and tusked, matriarchal, violent brutes with low intelligence. They're first seen in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' as literal [[Spear Carrier|spear carriers]] in Jabba's palace.
** Also the Tusken Raiders (or Sand People, if you prefer). We never actually see their faces, but they're brutal, primitive, and kill anything that isn't another Sand Person.
== LARP ==
* In NERO orcs are green and tusked. Half-Orcs generally look exactly like orcs but can be PCs. Whether they are of the Tolkienian or Blizzard variety seems to vary from tribe to tribe.
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* The 1993 short story "The Only Good Orc" by Liz Holliday features an orc trying to get out from under the usual stereotypes.
* Hradani from [[David Weber]] 's [[The War Gods|WarGod]] series would be either Dark Elves or Orcs depending on your viewpoint. 7 feet or higher, prone to rages, living in a tribal society, used in the past as cannon fodder by Dark Wizards. They fit the Blizzard mold by being a proud, honorable warrior race, and the Tolkien pattern by having been "twisted" in the last (wizard) war from being so very peaceful and even tempered that they were named for it.
* ''[[Discworld]]''{{'}}s orcs first appear in ''[[
** Interestingly, all of this is ''exactly the same'' as one of the conceptions Tolkien ''considered'' using for his Orcs (made from ruined humans, have free will, can turn good) but rejected (Tolkien had timing issues with orcs and the appearance of humans).
* In Larry Correa's ''[[Monster Hunter International]]'' has this in spades with the Urks who {{spoiler|work for MHI and healers and as the pilot for their Mi-24 Hind. }}
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* In ''The Yngling'' by John Dalmas, Orcs are simply what a nutcase warlord with a Tolkien fixation named his purely-human soldiers—an in-universe Shout-Out—in an [[After the End]] situation brought on by a global epidemic.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In an early episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', the [[Reality Warper|omnipotent]] [[Trickster Archetype|trickster]] Q creates an army of "animal-things", grunting humanoids with fur, tusks, and pig-snouts, in full Napoleonic regalia and muskets that fired phaser blasts. Orcs in all but name.
* Also in Star Trek: Klingons. Think about it. Actually, since they came before most of the other examples and have the patriarchal, honorable-warrior society, they were almost certainly a profound influence on media use of orcs outside Tolkien.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' follows the Tolkienian model closely, although the possibility of using orcs as a player race can lead to [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|subversions on an individual basis]]. However, even as far back as Second Edition, D&D gave their orcs hints of the Blizzard model, including a shamanistic (albeit warlike) culture, and a more troll-like appearance. D&D may also be the first work that explicitly split orcs (large savages), goblins (small sneaks), hobgoblins (large troopers), and bugbears (large bullies) into separate races; in Tolkien, there were different strains of orcs with different traits, but they were still all one race. Earlier editions claim that orcs don't just have a warlike culture but are actually good strategists and tacticians (they are theoretically of human intelligence), but since almost everyone just had them as [[Stupid Evil]] berserkers anyway this detail was dropped.
** Orcs in ''[[Eberron]]'', on the other hand, are somewhat "Blizzard orcs," but somewhat fulfill the role of elves in other settings (Eberron elves are a [[Proud Warrior Race]]). They have little actual conflict with the other races, are the best druids in the setting (despite a fullblooded orc getting a Wisdom penalty) and actually have a sort-of company that finds Dragonshards - [[Applied Phlebotinum|crystals]] that are ''essential'' to create magic items. Oh—and their shamanistic culture is responsible for keeping one type of [[Cosmic Horror]] from causing [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
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== Video Games ==
* In the ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]'' in most campaigns orcs are the Tolkien type. They are mostly portrayed as [[Exclusively Evil|Pretty much Evil]], but sometimes they have motives beyond that as well. Some orcs are also allied to the (generally) good Knalgans. Appearance wise they have simian characteristics and brown or grey skin. Their massive numbers are explained by orcs being born in large litters, the runts being called [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|goblins]]. Strangely, the average orc soldiers seem to have better armor and weapons then the regular human soldiers.
* Orcs in ''Warcraft III'' and ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', of course. Interestingly enough, the latest [[Retcon]] states that they originally had brown skin, while the typical green skin is a result of the demonic corruption they were under in the first two games. Further demonic influence turns them red. [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]] !
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== Web Comics ==
* [[The
▲* [[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]], unsurprisingly, subverts the usual "Tolkienian" characterization of [[Dungeons & Dragons]] orcs. The orcs shown in the webcomic are just a primitive tribe; and those of the paperback prequel are just mistaken for hostile by townsfolk because they are heavy metal fans.
** Several characters are also half-orcs. While technically all of them are bad guys, Thog is a [[Psychotic Man Child]] who's mostly [[Obliviously Evil]], Bozzok is a business-minded gangster who negotiates with the heroes, and [[Stalker with a Crush|Therkla]] is more of an [[Anti-Villain]] with a good dose of [[Villainous Valor]]. Therkla also subverts the trope of halfbreeds being born of rape: her orc mother and human father were happily married.
** OOTS also features a race of green-skinned goblins that are more civilized, if still stuck living at the edges of civilization. Unlike most recent portrayals of goblins, they are the same height as humans, making them much like Blizzard model orcs. The conflicts between the goblins and the humans drive much of the backstory of the current conflict and are integral to the goblin villain Redcloak's [[Start of Darkness]].
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== Web Original ==
* Orcs have not been seen in ''[[Tales of MU]]'', perhaps because they're not native to the continent on which the story takes place, but they form part of the cultural backdrop. "Going orcshit" is a common expression, and a history class revealed that orcs occupied the role of Hessian mercenaries in the equivalent of the American Revolution; mooks for hire with a vicious rep. The same class revealed their racial [[Berserk Button]]: attacking orc women and children. There's also one character who appears to be part orc, and who is the biggest (or [[Your Mileage May Vary|second biggest]]) [[Badass]] in the series.
== Western Animation ==
* The ''[[Futurama]]'' movie "Bender's Game" featured [[Mork and Mindy|Morcs]], who wore rainbow suspenders and mumbled words like "Nanu-nanu" and "Shazbot".
* Wolverine is predictably depicted as a Blizzard variant (though he's referred to as a troll), in a fairytale told by Jubilee in one of the last seasons of the [[X-Men (animation)|X Men]] animated series.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]
[[Category:Our Tropes Are Different]]
[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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