Our Werebeasts Are Different: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

{{quote|''I'm looking forward to two fantastic monthly events now. One of which turns me into a vicious monster and [[Bait and Switch Comparison|the other one into a were-cat]].''|'''Katie McBride''', ''[[The Wotch]]''}}

 

 

By far the most common form of werebeast depicted in fiction inspired by European folklore is the [[Our Werewolves Are Different|Werewolf]], but many stories use other animals as the basis of their werebeasts. Some of these are inspired by real world mythologies and others are purely the invention of the authors. Other than wolves, potentially dangerous predatory mammals such as cats, panthers, lions and bears are the most frequently depicted werebeasts (due to their [[Rule of Cool]]). However, many other types of creature has been used as the basis of a werebeast. Sometimes authors use normally harmless creatures as the basis of a werecreature for the sake of [[Rule of Cute]] or [[Rule of Funny]]. Some works will even use extremely unconventional ideas such as were''cars''. It should also be noted that while werebeasts normally have humanoid shapes as their default form, sometimes a work will reverse the order and make a werebeast an animal that [[Humanity Ensues|transforms into a human]]. The wolf version of this is sometimes called a "wolfwere".

* Zoan fruits in ''[[One Piece]]'' turn the recipents into werebeasts. They tend to be dangerous mass of muscle even if the template creature was relatively harmless (this is also a general tendency among werebeast. A werehamster can be as dangerous as a werewolf).

** Essentially, it depends on the user's own skills and creativity, as with all devil fruit users. Used properly, a devil fruit can enhance a person's already powerful skills. Used improperly, the person becomes overly dependent on that devil fruit and can easily be defeated by anyone who has actual fighting skills. Thus, if someone has an elephant zoan fruit, but is an average joe otherwise, they can be easily defeated by someone with a mouse zoan if the mouse zoan has more expertise.

* The manga ''[[Cowa]]'' has the main character who is a werekoala and also part vampire.

* Evangelion Unit-02 from [[Rebuild of Evangelion]] can "shed its human form" when [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NZESmjjJM given the secret password] "The Beast".

* Blair from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' is a cat that frequently takes a [[Catgirl]] form that looks mostly human except for her cat ears and tail.

 

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Ladyhawke]]'' features a couple of young lovers cursed to take on animal form at different times, as to keep them apart; the man turns into a wolf at night, and the lady into a... guess what.

* ''[[The Howling]] III: The Marsupials'' features were-thylacines (an extinct marsupial predator more commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger).

* In the film ''[[The Secret of Roan Inish]]'' the eponymous secret involves a selkie.

* ''[[Track of the Moon Beast]]'' (1976) features a rare were-lizard man! Caused by being struck in the head by a radioactive chunk of moonrock!

* ''The Turning'' by Helen Ellis has an werecats. It's genetic, starts sometime during puberty, then lasts for two weeks every year for five years before stopping permanently. The 'turning' is brought on by contact with a cat (real or 'turned'). {{spoiler|there is a cure, but it only works before the second time you 'turn'.}}

* In ''Warwolf: The Centurion Warrior Book 1: The Warriors'' has mentions of werecats and even a were''cobra'', in addition to the more typical werewolves.

* The children's novel, ''Prince of Pirates'', features an enchantress named Leonora, who can turn herself into a panther at will.

* Laurell K. Hamilton's ''[[Anita Blake|Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter]]'', in addition to werewolves, has wereleopards, werelions, weretigers ({{spoiler|including blue, red and black tigers in the last book}}), at least 3 weredogs (their abilities are inherited not infection), weresnakes (at lest 2 species cobra and anaconda), swanmen (some are cursed others inherit their abilities like the weredogs), wererats, werebears, and werehyenas.

* The ''Jill Kismet'' series by Lilith Saintcrow contains a number of werecat (or cat-were) characters.

* In the ''Otherworld'' series by Yasmine Galenorn one of the main characters is a werecat named Delilah D'artigo.

* In the first novel of the ''[[Merry Gentry]]'' series, ''A Kiss of Shadows'', Merry's lover is a selkie named Roan Finn who has temporarily lost his ability to change shape.

* James A Hetley's novels ''Dragon's Eye'' and ''Dragon's Teeth'' have a family with the hereditary ability to turn into seals.

* [[Spider Robinson]]'s "Lady Sally" stories have a were-beagle.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', while Harry Dresden is researching werewolves, Bob also mentions that there have also been such things as werebuffaloes and weregoats.

* In Patricia Brigg's ''[[Mercy Thompson]]'' series features Mercy who is a were-coyote.

* The Fayth Hunter series ''[[Jane Yellowrock]]'' features a [[Skin Walker]] named Jane who is technically a classic shifter who can assume any form but prefers (or is forced to) take cat form mostly.

* People who can turn into animals are one breed of Other in ''[[Night Watch]]''. [[Werewolves]] are always Dark, but the rest can apparently be of any alignment.

* In ''[[The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries]]'', Sookie's brother Jason is abducted and bitten by a were-panther, so he turns into a sort of panther-man at the full moon.

* The ''[[River of Dancing Gods]]'' series has, in addition to werewolves and other common types of werecreatures, a variation simply called a "were", which transforms into whatever animal is nearest when the full moon takes effect.

* ''[[Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks]]'' has a werecat and a weretiger.

* Fred Saberhagen's novel ''Dancing Bears'' features, guess what, ursanthropes.

* Curtis Jobling's series of fantasy novels ''[[Wereworld]]'' has all sorts of werecreatures, not limited to mammals.

 

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Dinosaurs]]'': In an [[Halloween Episode|October 31st Episode]] Robbie scares Baby by telling him a story of becoming a were-caveman.

* The were-panthers in ''[[True Blood]]''.

** The series also shows that werewolves can interbreed with other supernatural beings. Specifically, Sam's [[Love Interest]] is a Shifter like him (like werewolves but can turn into any animal), who has a daughter fathered by a werewolf. The mother hopes her daughter will become a Shifter.

* In ''[[Grimm]]'' there are many people that have both a human form and a "creature" form, which have so far included werewolves, werebears, wereboars, wererats, satyrs, ogres, weresnakes, and weremice. There has been no indication of any limit to what "creatures" [[All Myths Are True|could be out there]]. And it is awesome.

 

** Bears (Russia)

** Boar (Greece and Turkey)

* Asia

** Crocodile (Indonesia)

** ''[[Mystara]]'' has Chevall. The centaurs who turn into full horses at will and can be hurt only by silver or magical weapons and... that's all.

** ''Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts'' is an AD&D 2nd Edition, ''[[Ravenloft]]'' book with a host of rules on werebeasts. Unlike most settings, lycanthropes in Ravenloft are almost universally evil, except for the [[Lawful Good]] wereravens.

** ''Dragon'' magazine also included a sillier variant in the form of the werehare. Among other things, the creature could only be harmed by magic weapons and [[Monty Python and The Holy Grail|holy hand grenades]].

* [[Warhammer Fantasy]] has Werebears living in the [[Grim Up North|Northlands]].

** With Innistrad and its accompanying marinade of [[Hammer Horror]] tropes come Werewolves.

* ''[[Rifts]]'' and other games in Palladium's ''Megaverse'' have them as multiple species, ranging from Wolves to Bears, and some of the big cats such as Werepanthers and Werejaguars.

* ''[[Ars Magica]]'' includes were-bears and were-lynxes.

* In the ''[[GURPS Supers]]'' supplement ''Wild Cards'', Sewer Jack is a were-alligator.

* ''[[Exalted]]'' features the Lunars, who are technically werebeasts in that they have one totem animal they strongly identify with and can easily shift to -- but then again, [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|they can shift into anything if they drink its heart's blood]]. Two of the signature Lunars (Red Jaws and Ma-Ha-Suchi) are technically werewolves, but if you go by signature characters alone, you've got wereowls, werecats, werebulls, wereorcas...

* The 1988 video game ''[[Altered Beast]]'' includes a stage wherepower-ups transform the player into a weretiger, which provides extra strength and firepower.

* In ''[[Bayonetta]]'', the main character has the ability to transform into a black panther at will, granting her cheetah-like speed. Likewise, the character Jeanne (a fellow witch in the game) can transform into a red lynx.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' universe features a variety of therianthropic creatures, including werewolves, wereboars, werelions, werecrocodiles, werebears werevultures and even [[Unreliable Narrator|possibly]] weresharks. Apart from werewolves and wereboars, all of these were only mentioned in the in-universe book "On Lycanthropy" in ''Daggerfall''.

* The main gimmick of ''[[Bloody Roar]]'' is that every character is some sort of werebeast. There's a weretiger, werebear, werelion, wererabbit, werefox, werecat, wereboar, weremole, werebat, werechameleon...

* ''[[Nethack]]'' has wererats and werejackals in addition to the usual werewolves. All three types can infect you with their flavor of lycanthropy.

* ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age: Origins]]'' a variety of werebeasts. Most werebeasts are actually humans or animals possessed by demons from [[Spirit World|the Fade]] and subsequently mutated.

* ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' features werecats as random monsters.

* The ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' game includes werebatlike creatures and weresharks which come as a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]] event.

* In ''[[The Muppets|Muppet Monster Adventure]]'' Fozzie Bear is turned into a Wocka Wocka Werebear.

* The Druid of ''[[Diablo]] II'' can turn into a [[Mighty Glacier|Werebear]] or [[Fragile Speedster|Werewolf]].

* Pictured above are the animal forms of the Norn race from ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'', they have a pantheon of animal spirits that they worship, but venerate four above all the rest for directly aiding them in an exodus from their homeland, besides the bear and wolf (they lack boar in-game, interestingly) pictured above, there's also the raven and snow leapord forms.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'':

** In ''[[A Link to The Past]]'': When people enter the Dark World, they turn into an animal (real or fantasy) that reflects their personality. Link becomes a pink bunny rabbit but keeps his trademark tunic.

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Peter Is the Wolf]]'': About one in every 1000 people in the world is some sort of were; werewolves are most common and have the most developed social structure, but there are plenty of other were species with their own idiosyncracies (werebears are antisocial, werelions are arrogant and lazy, etc.)

** Grace is sometimes referred to as a "were-squirrel", since she morphs between human, squirrel and squirrel/human (she does mix in the third base form, especially when upset, but early on this was rather subtle), due to genes of human, squirrel, and two shape-shifting aliens.

** Then a new term was coined from Dewitchery Diamond's purpose and nature of the last "curse" it "removed": ''[[Gender Bender|weregirl]]''.

* ''[[Clan of the Cats]]'' Chelsea's suffering from a Curse running in her father's family, making werecats out of every female member.

* ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' has werecats.

== Web Original ==

* The ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' has several "weres" that draw from numerous different archetypes.

* ''[[Above Ground]]'' also features all kinds of werebeasts, although the predominant one remains werewolves. Whatever their animal type, their bite is not infectious: it is a trait inherited genetically. Furthermore, the weres are [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|Voluntary Shapeshifters]] who learn how to control their change as they grow older. To be able to fully control the change back and forth is their passage into adulthood.

* [http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/253/a/d/nsa_files__terrordactyl_by_shadow_aspect-d3jrbr5.png Adam Squall], the [[Author Avatar]] in ''[[The Incredibles]]'' crossover fanfiction ''[http://fav.me/d3jaeor Rise of the Galeforces]'', is a were-''[[Ptero-Soarer|Pteranodon]]''.

* An episode of ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'' has Dave get bitten by a cow and turn into a werecow. Also halfway through the middle he gets turned into other things like a cat, Oswitch, a hamster, Lula, an egg beater, a gym teacher, and finally... himself! But the twist comes at the end where Faffy ends up turning into a weredave.

* Egon got turned into a were-chicken in ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]''.

* On ''[[Regular Show]]'', Rigby is attacked by a Were-skunk.

* An episode of ''[[Mona the Vampire]]'' has a wereclown.

* An episode of the ''[[Ace Ventura]]'' cartoon had Ace go to a village to hunt down a killer moose; it later turns out that it was a weremoose. Almost everyone Ace runs into in the village happens to be a weremoose, with even his own pet monkey Spike getting turned into one. Later on, it turns out that the very person who brought him there is the original weremoose and has the power to transform at will via a [[Transformation Trinket|special talisman]] and the very reason he brought Ace over to the village is so he could turn him into one, telling him that he'll be granted special powers and that together they'll create a race of moose men.

* In the ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' episode "Night Of The Werepuff", there is a creature called a werepuff- it's a furry creature that eats clothes. Mikey gets turned into one.

* One episode of ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' involved Flounder becoming a "Howling Hairfish".

* The new [[Halloween Episode]] of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' features Doofensmirtz turning into a werecow.

 

{{reflist}}