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[[File:snakesareevil.jpg|frame|Just once, we'd like to see an evil terrorist organization with a [[Fluffy the Terrible|fluffy]] [[Erfworld|hamster motif.]] ]]
{{quote|''"[[Trope Namer|Reptiles are abhorrent]] because of their [[The Long List|cold body, pale color, cartilaginous skeleton, filthy skin, fierce aspect, calculating eye, offensive smell, harsh voice, squalid habitation, and terrible venom]]; wherefore [[Blatant Lies|their Creator has not exerted his powers to make many of them]]."''
|'''Carl von Linné a.k.a. Carolus Linnaeus'''}}
[[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]] refers to the association between reptiles and villainy. This trope manifests itself in several basic ways. The simplest is to have reptiles that are consistently villainous. In [[Animal Tropes|animal stories]], villains might be anthropomorphic versions of [[Real Life]] reptiles, while the heroes are cute mammals and birds. In [[Speculative Fiction]], they might be fantastic beings such as [[Lizard Folk]], [[Snake People]] or [[The Reptilians|Reptilian aliens]].
Even when the bad guys are not actual reptiles, they may have some sort of reptilian theme. Perhaps they are an [[Animal-Themed Superbeing]] with reptile-related powers. The villain might have reptilian pets and/or exhibit a special empathy with reptiles. They may even be able to [[Scaled Up|turn into giant snakes]]. Even if they have no special powers related to reptiles, they might use reptile related [[Animal Motifs]] and/or [[Theme Naming]]. The trope even turns up, if only by metaphor, in non-fiction; saying that someone is "a snake" or "cold blooded" is enough to get across that you're dealing with a
This trope is generally not applied with equal frequency and intensity to all reptiles. Snakes (especially venomous ones) and [[Never Smile At a Crocodile|crocodiles]] tend to be the reptiles most associated with villains. Meanwhile, [[Turtle Power|turtles]] and various lizards seen as cute and harmless, such as geckos and frilled lizards, are less likely to be associated with villainy. Dinosaurs are also often exempt from this trope. Stereotypically reptilian features such as [[Fangs Are Evil|fangs]], claws, tails, visible scales, and slit pupils may distinguish villainous reptiles from friendly ones.
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Despite not even being closely related to them, Amphibians sometimes are portrayed this way too. Toads in particular have become heavily correlated with abhorrence due to their poisonous secretions, association with witches, and the myth that touching one will give you warts. However, there are many favorable depictions of frogs in fiction.
This is not a character trope. It is a pattern only visible when looking at an entire cast of characters. Merely having a few bad reptiles among a majority of good reptiles does not invoke this trope. When the only reptilian character in a work or the majority of the reptile-themed characters are bad guys, this trope is in play. This trope does not require that reptiles be [[Exclusively Evil]]
Sometimes the trope in invoked in-universe. Characters may assume that reptiles are more likely to be evil, whether or not it's justified. In these cases you may have Reptiles Are Abhorrent crossed with [[Fantastic Racism]].
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See also [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?]], [[Never Smile At a Crocodile]], [[Scaled Up]], and [[Fangs Are Evil]]. Compare [[Cats Are Mean]] and [[You Dirty Rat]]. Contrast with [[Turtle Power]] and [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs]]. This is also closely related to [[Species-Coded for Your Convenience]].
{{noreallife|just because this is a common [[:Category:Tropes of Hats|"hat"]] for reptilian races doesn't make it true.}}
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Media in General ==
* All of the various [[Attack of the Killer Whatever|killer snake/crocodile/komodo/whatever other reptile]] movies and stories thrive on this trope.
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* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' has the Zokugaku Chameleons, with their linebacker, Habishira, having long arms like a chameleon's tongue. The much tougher, [[Affably Evil]] Hakushuu Dinosaurs are another example.
* It isn't quite clear how ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' feels about this trope. {{spoiler|Machina}}'s alternate form (seems to be) a giant snake, and his first acts include {{spoiler|nearly killing the main character}} and acting like an all-around bad guy. But as of Ch. 255-ish, he starts being more than friendly with the heroes, even (jokingly?) asking Maria to marry him for her (and Sakuya's) hamburger-making skills.
* In ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' most of the Arcobaleno have cute mammals or birds as their pets. What do the [[
* ''[[Bleach]]'': As if Rukia hadn't made the connection several hundred chapters back, Ichimaru Gin himself gave this little monologue in Chapter 414.
{{quote|[[Animal Motifs|I am a snake.]] [[I Lied|My skin is cold.]] [[Ax Crazy|I have no heart.]] [[Devil in Plain Sight|I slither around,]] [[Affably Evil|seeking prey with my tongue]]. And I swallow my favorites whole.}}
* In ''[[Wild Rock]]'', a giant prehistoric alligator nearly eats Yuuen.
* The infamous snake scene from the anime adaptation of Takashi Yanase's ''[[Chirin no Suzu]]'', which has a green snake breaking every bone in a bluebird's body rather than eating as it would in real life before going on to her eggs. Chirin manages to put an end to this, though.
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** Played straight with the ''males'' of the Brotherhood of the Badoon. Somehow, though, [[Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism|the females of the race are neither reptilian nor evil]].
* A lot of [[Jungle Princess]] comics have our heroines fighting savage snakes and carnivorous crocodiles.
* ''[[Usagi Yojimbo]]'': Lord Hebi, a giant snake and the only non-mammal recurring character, is [[The Dragon]] of [[Big Bad|Lord Hikiji]], who's stuck as [[The Faceless]] since the author regretted making him [[Humans Are
* The Lizard League, ''[[Invincible]]'''s [[Alternate Company Equivalent]] to the Serpent Society.
* Teknophage from ''[[Mr. Hero:
* Alison Bechdel's ''[[Fun Home]]'' mentions how unsettling snakes are, and somewhat rhetorically suggests that this is because they are a strange mix of masculinity and femininity.
== [[Disney Animated Canon]] Examples ==
* ''[[The Rescuers (Disney film)|The Rescuers]]'' features an entire association of Rescue Aid mice, a friendly cat who sings about keeping faith, an extremely helpful dragonfly, and even a good
** ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'' feature a [[Punch Clock Villain]] Goanna who still liked to terrorize smaller animals, as well as a bunch of man-eating crocodiles. The frilled lizard (one of the cute species) is a good guy, however.
** Tellingly, none of the mean reptiles in either of the movies talk. And the crocodilians of both films seem to be rather useful at being the method of a [[Karmic Death]]...
* ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]'' has the [[Punch Clock Villain]] Sir Hiss. Oddly enough, he's a goofy [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]. Another villain is an axe wielding alligator. Two others are reptiles [[Punch Clock Villain|under the service]] of the Mammalian Prince John. The movie does feature a more sympathetic turtle: Toby, [[
* Kaa in ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'' is another funny villain, but some viewers think he had definitely paedophiliac undertones to him ("[[Sssssnaketalk|Trussssst in me / Jussssst in me]]"). Note that in the book, Kaa was one of the main mentors for Mowgli. In the Disney adaptation, he was [[Adaptational Villainy|transformed into a villain]].<ref>There's a whole chapter in the seminal [[Doorstopper]], ''The Illusion of Life'' in which the authors go on and on about how they struggled to make both Kaa and Sir Hiss "cute" so that they ''wouldn't scare the women in the audience''.</ref>
* In Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', Jafar uses of snake motifs throughout the movie, and when he wants to amp up the evil, he [[Scaled Up|turns into a giant snake]].
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== Films -- Live-Action ==
* In ''[[Alligator]]'', cute baby gator Raymond is flushed into Chicago's sewers and starts chowing down on pet corpses spiked with experimental growth hormone; so he isn't really mean, just hungry. Notable for being among the first of many, many ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' rip-
* The first ''[[Anaconda]]'' film, just in case the audience isn't already unsettled by gigantic snakes trying to eat people, asserts that anacondas will regurgitate their still-living prey after swallowing them, just for the malicious pleasure of ''eating them again.'' {{spoiler|This happens to the main antagonist of the first film.}}
* ''[[Snakes on a Plane]]'' had snakes as the designated villains, and in this case they were riled up by a spray of pheromones. It gets to the point that [[Samuel L. Jackson]] has [[Memetic Mutation|had it with these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane]].
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* They aren't reptiles, but while we're on the subject of horror movies that assume we think crawling, <s> scaly,</s> swamp-dwelling animals are inherently scary: ''[[Film/Frogs|Frogs]]''. Yes, ''Frogs''. (And the frogs in question aren't the poisonous or gigantic variety, either.) Funny thing is, the frogs themselves don't do anything. They just stand around being ominous. All of the mayhem and murder is done by alligators, moccasins, snapping turtles, and anoles (the last lock a guy in a greenhouse and cause a chemical reaction that asphyxiates the guy with vapors).
* In his original appearance, [[Godzilla]] was portrayed as a walking nuclear explosion, destroying everything in his path. In subsequent movies, however, he was depicted in a grayer light, and even became a hero at times.
* The [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]] ''[[Lake Placid]]'' has a giant, attacking, man-eating crocodile. This could be another case of [[Humans Are
* And in a case of Humans Are Stupid, ''[[Primeval]]'' stars SUV-sized "[[Never Trust a Trailer|Serial killer]]" Gustav, whose large kill record is largely due to idiot fishermen and similarly idiot photographers and big-game hunters. However, it's at least more factually accurate than ''Lake Placid''.
* ''[[Reptilicus]]'' is a giant, man-eating lizard-dragon-thing.
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* ''[[Dreamscape]]'' featured a little boy who suffered from nightmares about The Snake Man. The villain of the piece took on the hero by [[Scaled Up|turning himself into The Snake Man]].
* ''Zathura A Space Adventure'' (which is basically ''[[Jumanji]]'' <small>[[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE!]]</small>) gives us the villainous Zorgons, reptilian aliens who are attracted to heat sources.
* The original ''[[Star Wars]]'' films have very few reptilian sentients. Most of them are in the Cantina on Mos Eisley. The only exception is Bossk, a rather vicious Trandoshan bounty hunter. General Grievous was a Kaleesh, a reptilian species that are in war with the Huk, a mantid-like species. The Huk were the Invaders, and Grievous was very noble back then. The prequels have some other reptilian species, but none in a prominent role.
** From the "[http://www.yamara.com/yamara/rfw/rfw2/rfw2pg3.html Call Me MISTER Binks]" article (Radio Free WYHTL):
{{quote|"I'm addressing, of course, the vicious, bigoted pattern of lizard-hate in the culture, and in the media.
''[[Star Wars|The Phantom Menace]]'' doesn't just contain one species-ist character, it slurs the entire reptilian phylum." }}
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* ''[[Redwall]]''. While the mammals are split between being good or evil, pretty much every single reptile and amphibian is a bad guy. In the first book, a snake is given a demon's name (which it likes to chant for some reason) and likened to a giant, intelligent, evil dragon/monster. In one of the later books, a desert-dwelling character [[Furry Confusion|keeps a pet sand lizard]]; "Get 'em when they're young and they're good likkle critters." This was [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/bargain-book-bin-3.php lampshaded hilariously] by Something Awful, though it was in response more [[Carnivore Confusion|to the mustelids all being evil]].
* ''Ranger Rick'', of all places, used this trope off and on:
** Uncomfortably applied in one issue. There was a short story in which Rick and his gang help an Ocelot in the Everglades and are menaced by an alligator, who was explicitly described as a villain. This was '''jarring''' considering it was the only time an animal filled the antagonistic role; usually [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|Humans Are Bastards]] (and even then, they staunchly used the Humans Are Misguided subtrope). Even worse? The very next issue Rick and co. head back to Florida to help... alligators.
** ''Ranger Rick'' magazine also had a series of nonfiction books about animals and of those, one of the most beloved is ''The Unhuggables''. It did all it could to discredit this trope (though it's telling that snakes get their own chapter to themselves) as well as [[Carnivores Are Mean]] and (as you could probably guess from the so-close-to-being-the-[[Trope Namer]]-title) [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?]].
* [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s stories invoke the trope only when applied to venomous snakes and crocodiles.
** In "[[The Jungle Book (novel)|Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]]", a pet mongoose defends his masters' home against the deadly snakes that are ''[[Everything Trying to Kill You|everywhere]]''.
** In "Kaa's Hunting", the "poison people" are self-absorbed. The mad cobra in "The King's Ankus" seems somewhat insane, claiming that a
** Likewise, in "The Undertakers", the chief villain is a vain old crocodile called the Mugger,<ref>
* [[Raymond E. Feist]]'s novel ''[[The Riftwar Cycle|A Darkness at Sethanon]]'' introduces the Panthathians, a race of snake-men who worship a race of evil [[Precursors]] that will [[Sealed Evil in a Can|destroy the world if ever freed]]. Naturally they are attempting to do exactly that.
* Played straight and occasionally subverted in ''[[Harry Potter]]'':
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* Played with in the novel ''Chester Cricket's Home'', a sequel to ''[[A Cricket In Times Square]]''. One of the residents of Chester's meadow, a water snake named Walter, realizes that many humans find him horrifying, a fact that he takes an inordinate amount of pride in. However, Walter is actually quite friendly and funny, if a bit of a wise guy at times.
* Subverted by David Eddings' ''[[Belgariad]]'' and ''Mallorean'' series. While the civilization most attuned to and appreciative of snakes, the Nyissans, are usually portrayed as a rather sinister, corrupt, and amoral people, eventually the chief eunuch Sadi becomes a rather amusing hero, and he brings his pet snake Zith, an intelligent, extremely lethal but extremely affectionate and endearing snake with almost cat-like habits. The only member of the party who doesn't take a shine to her is Silk, whose snake-phobia is more comical than rational. Zith's habit of curling up and sleeping in the bosom of Silk's love interest does not help this. Nor does how Silk finds out...
* ''[[Gator Gumbo]]'': The main character is an old alligator that can no longer catch prey. The other animals taunt him over this. In the end, he makes a batch of gumbo. The other animals refuse to help but want some. {{spoiler|So they get get close enough and he sweeps them into the pot, cooks, and eats them.}} It probably qualifies as a [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]] as
* Similar to the Disney's ''Aladdin'' example, the Queen of Underland in ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia|The Silver Chair]]'' turns into a giant snake when she finally runs out of subtler options for killing the heroes. Prince Rillian is glad of this, because it meant he [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|wouldn't have to kill a woman.]]
* Debora Chester's ''[http://www.lucasaliens.com/ Alien Chronicles]'' series has the Viis, who resemble giant frilled lizards. They're a despotic race that has enslaved various mammalian races, with the only other reptilian species being their allies instead. When the mammalian races leave to find a utopia, not even their Viis underclass allies go with them, and what becomes of the turtle-people is never said. The web page for the series even invokes this trope.
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* In Korney Chukovsky's children story ''[[Stolen Sun]]'', a crocodile swallows the sun (just go with it) and it takes a bear to tear him apart and release it.
* ''[[Villain Dot Net|Villain.Net]]'' plays with this one: upon encountering Chameleon, apprentice supervillain Jake Hunter presumes the reptilian shapeshifter to be a fellow evil-doer. He is quickly disabused of that notion. However, over the course of the first book, Chameleon shows himself to have a nasty edge, being perfectly willing to kill, and seeking revenge rather than justice.
* Pretty much anytime a reptillian character shows up in one of [[Terry Brooks]]' books, you can expect raw evil (although [[Our Dragons Are Different|Strabo]] is a noticeable exception). It's especially obvious with [[Lizard Folk|The Mwellrets]], who are the only species in the [[Shannara]] universe that hasn't featured a heroic member. Indeed, one of them, [[The Dragon|Cree Bega]], and his equally reptillian [[Big Bad|boss]], [[Brain Food|The Morgawr]], are the only characters in series who might qualify for [[Complete Monster
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] novel ''[[The Hour
{{quote|''The Cimmerian recoiled, remembering tales he had heard -- serpents were sacred to Set, god of Stygia, who men said was himself a serpent. Monsters such as this were kept in the temples of Set, and when they hungered, were allowed to crawl forth into the streets to take what prey they wished. Their ghastly feasts were considered a sacrifice to the scaly god.''}}
* ''[[Dark Heavens]]'': "Some of my best friends are snakes."
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{{quote|"Mammals. Why did it have to be mammals?" }}
* Subverted, invoked, ''and'' reconstructed in ''[[Dreamsnake]]'': Someone's violent phobia of snakes is what kicks off the [[Frontier Doctor]] heroine's troubles. And while she views her cobra and rattlesnake (which serve as her medical kit) as both [[Cool Pet|pets]] and essential tools, not even ''she'' can find anything likable about the dangerous, ill-tempered, and downright ugly sand vipers.
* Subverted in [[Andre Norton]]'s ''[[Operation Time Search]]'', when a young man from 20th Century America is flung back in time to the war between [[Atlantis]] and Mu, and is surprised, though he doesn't say it aloud, to find that his Murian hosts revere snakes. A nine-headed serpent motif is often used in
* [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|Goblins]] in ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' are a reptilian species of fairy. They're presented as extremely stupid and almost unversally prone to a criminal disposition. They are also the only fairy race with the ability to conjure fire.
* In ''[[The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel]]'', Quetzalcoatl is one of the more evil-aligned Elders (seriously, people need to [[Sadly Mythtaken|stop making the nicest Aztec god evil just because he's the only one they've heard of]]) and a Komodo-dragon-like monster called a Nidhogg is summoned and nearly eats Scathach in the first book. Also, everyone's magical aura has a different smell, and one of the villains' auras smells like a snake.
* In [[Gene Stratton Porter]]'s ''[[Freckles]]'', the [[Friend to All Living Things]] Freckles makes an exception for snakes. Killing one was an important part of [[Face Your Fears]] for him, and the summer where they retreat to the swamp is nasty.
== Live-Action TV ==
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** Chakotay has a speech about this in "Scorpion." Wary of Janeway's plan to forge an alliance with the Borg, he tells her a version of the first story listed in the Myth and Legend section, attributing it as ancient legend of his tribe.
** Apart from a bare handful of Cardassians who thought [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much]], the only exceptions were some background characters in the movies, revealing that [[The Federation]] ''does'' have turtle-people and lizard-people amongst its citizens; they just don't ''do'' anything. Maybe they need more sunlight?
* ''[[V (TV series)|V]]'': The Sirians embody this trope, but more to the point, the show-makers rely on it [[Truth in Television|working on the audience]]. When they first appear, they are disguised as humans, and the fact that they are actually reptiles hidden behind [[Latex Perfection]] is treated as a revelation just as horrifying as their attempt to enslave all of humanity.
* ''[[Sesame Street]]'' intentionally avoids the trope, featuring friendly introductions to "scary" animals to assure the kids that [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|they're not mean]]. There's a song about a friendly snake named Sammy. There is also one about an Alligator king and his seven sons; both song and alligators are pleasant.
* ''[[Farscape]]'':
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* In the ''[[CSI]]: Miami'' episode "Identity," a sunbathing woman is killed and swallowed (but for some reason not digested) by a boa constrictor. Once again, this is more a case of Humans are Bastards, as the snake had been illegally imported and died soon thereafter.
* The Sleestak were the worst sentient villains in ''[[Land of the Lost (TV series)|Land of the Lost]]''. And the other villains? Well, they subverted [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs]] by being carnivores who chased the cast... except for Dopey.
* The main [[Big Bad
* [[Kamen Rider Ryuki]] has Kamen Rider Ohja, which means [[Meaningful Name|King of Snakes]]. And Oh how [[Complete Monster|evil]] [[For the Evulz|he]] [[Blood Knight|is.]]
* A brief scene in the ''[[Davy Crockett]]'' mini-series featured Davy up against a few alligators.
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* There's a [[Playground Song]] based upon a [[Shel Silverstein]] poem called "I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor", which exploits the fear of a snake being able to eat a person.
{{quote|''Oh, heck! He's up to my neck!''
''Oh, dread! He's up to my [[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|*
* "Ah don't like spiduhs an' snakes..."
* The Church's unfair but rocking "Reptile" makes use of explicit [[The Bible|Biblical]] symbolism.
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* ''Many'' heavy metal bands ranging from Alice Cooper to Soundgarden to Symphony X use snakes as symbols of fear, and this translates to heavier music.
* [[Paula Abdul]]: HE'S A COLD HEARTED SNAKE! Look into his eyes, he's been tellin' lies.
* ''Something Wicked'' saga by [[Iced Earth]] has "Setians" fighting [[Ancient Astronauts]]. After which they chose long and pointlessly overcomplicated [[Revenge Before Reason]] and messed with those mammals from behind the curtain until [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
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== Tabletop Games ==
* The ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' card game has several sets of Reptile-type monsters that either affirm or subvert this; the Venoms (evil corrupting snakes with [[Naga]]-like "gods"), Aliens (patterned off of the reptilian humanoid and Roswell Gray alien theories, but no official word on their allegiance), the Gagagigos (flip-flopped between evil and good, but now officially evil), and the Worms ([[Light Is Not Good|Light-Attribute, but horrendously ugly, and the enemies of the]] [[Dark Is Not Evil|Dark-Attribute Ally of Justice monsters]].
* In ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' snakes were originally depicted as nasty creatures with cards like Serpent Warrior, but more recently the Orochi were powerful and noble [[Proud Warrior Race Guy
* One of the fictional series in ''[[Cartoon Action Hour]]'', "Warriors of the Cosmos," has a evil snake-human in the form Serpentina, but of course, that tabletop kisses the mouth of 1980s cartoons very hard.
* The ''[[Champions]]'' superhero RPG had the ubiquitous VIPER criminal organization as well as reptile-themed villains. One was King Cobra (formerly Dr. Timothy Blank), a Mad Scientist who discovered the Coil Gene, which mutates humans into super-powered reptilian creatures. He was his own first subject, of course. His goal is to turn every human in the world into reptiles... totally loyal to him, naturally. He's been a master villain in ''[[Champions]]'' for at least the last three editions of the game, probably longer.
* In the Ani-Earth [[Animal Superheroes]] setting for ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'', it is specifically stated that reptiles tend to be villains, with snakes as evil masterminds, lizards as mid-level bad guys and crocodilians as dumb mooks. Freedom City's [[Big Bad]], Overshadow, becomes Cobrashadow.
* In the ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'' sourcebook "Mythologies", one of the possibilities for the first vampire? The son (or daughter) of Eve, the First Woman... and The Serpent of Eden. The book includes several snake-based powers to apply to vampires to further imply that this might be true, including making snakes into default forms for the Protean discipline, it being easier to Ghoul snakes, and making vampires immune to snake venom (ordinarily, snake
* [[Dungeons & Dragons]] mostly do without this - Lizardmen are crude savages, but not particularly malicious, troglodytes are also crude savages, but usually evil, nagas are spread over the whole alignment scale and have religion built around [[Balance Between Good and Evil]], and there are no more mostly-evil reptile species than mostly-good.
** ...and then there are Yuan-ti. Who manage to fill this niche all on their own, though with several different breeds that range from bloated abominations to human-like infiltrators. Whatever the case, these [[Snake People]] are usually [[Exclusively Evil]] and consider humans to be their [[Arch Enemies]].
== Toys ==
* The Zyglak in ''[[Bionicle]]''. There's also the
* In the ''[[Beast Wars]]'' toys played the trope straight, usually. Dinosaurs, reptiles and arthropods where villainous Predacons. Interestingly fish, manta rays, sharks, and squid were Maximals. The main non-evil dinosaur was Dinobot, who abandoned the Predacons because he considered their leader incompetent, and ended up with the Maximals. He remained an only half-trusted anti-hero for much of the show, {{spoiler|but got a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] towards the end.}}
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** There're even more nasty snakes in the expanded universe.
** The snake loa was never given the opportunity to do anything bad given what we see. The wind serpent loa is a rather nasty fellow, but not completely unjustified. He/she decides to spend his/her eternity as a now-incorporeal being torturing and murdering those who betrayed him over and over for shiggles. Then again, it does help you out, and they do sort of deserve it.
** Trolls of all subraces in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' are frequently shown to have deep connections to
* Played mostly straight in the ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' series. While the human scientists were the scheming and callous baddies (invoking the [[Humans Are
** Komodo Joe was said to run an illegal Cubic Zirconia fraud business, and the concepts released by the ''Crash Twinsanity'' developers showed that he would cheat Crash and Cortex out of Power Crystals while they ended up driving around a course in a car with no brakes.
** In the same game, Dingodile ends up hearing about the alleged treasure of the Evil Twins from Crash and Cortex, secretly follows them, makes base in the boiler rooms of the Academy of Evil, and ends up blasting Cortex out of said rooms when Cortex won't reveal where the treasure is to him (which is more a case of Cortex not understanding what he's asking for, anyway). He does appear in the handheld versions as a lackey of Cortex in Crash of the Titans, but it does seem that Cortex trusts him a lot less.
* ''[[The World Ends With You]]'' gives us Anguis and Draco Cantus, Megumi Kitaniji's Noise
* ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]''
** Played straight in the original ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'', in which the [[Big Bad]] turns out to be the queen of a race of lizardmen hiding in a glorified magical bomb shelter.
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*** In ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' Vaan's adoptive father figure Migelo is a Bangaa. But, then you have Ba'gam'nan's all-Bangaa hit-squad after you. Tellingly they are common enemies while the [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|cuter tribes]] Viera, Moogle, and Nu mou are not.
*** Bangaas are the race best integrated within the humes, hence why they're so common in the game. Contrast with the [[Pig Man|Seeqs]] who also appear as enemies and are treated like second-rate citizens.
** ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' has a few different reptile and amphibian enemies, and none are on any peaceful terms (Half the time because [[
*** The Lamiae are snake-women hybrids that routinely slay people and then raise the corpses to make an undead army.
*** The Mamool Ja are lizardmen who had once paid tribute to [[The Empire]] of Aht Urhgan, but have since tried to destroy it.
*** Poroggos are frogs that were able to walk due to [[A Wizard Did It|magic]], and actually were nice to the Tarutaru, thinking they were on good terms with the main races... too bad Windurst got scared of talking, magic-casting frogs and tried to kill them all. Now the Poroggos go around and hit adventurers with party-wiping magic.
*** Quadav are [[Turtle Power|turtle]] beastmen who actually had a nice life and weren't very nasty. This, of course, all went to hell when Bastok started taking and destroying the Quadav's homes so that the Republic could get more resources. Now the Quadav attack pretty much anyone they see, defending their homes with extreme prejudice.
* Any time [[Orochi]] shows up, and whatever form he takes, he's bound to be trouble. He seems to be attracted to [[Crisis Crossover
* Far more often than not, when they're not player-controlled, the [[Lizard Folk|Sakkra]] are usually quite ready to attack others, in the ''[[Master of Orion]]'' series. Not helped any by their tendency to have the "Repulsive" racial trait, which severely limits communication and gives a negative modifier to diplomatic relations. Basically, you can't live with them, and if you slacked off on building a big fleet you can't kill them.
* In ''[[Contra]] [[Rebirth]]'' your enemies this time are the Neo Salamander Army trying to take over the Earth in the past and wipe out the Contra forces retroactively, but it's also subverted with Plissken, one of the unlockable allies in your game who's a blue Salamander and {{spoiler|is also Colonel Salamander, the leader of the entire army who changed his evil ways and joined Contra to do good, or for revenge.}}
* Terumi Yuuki, from ''[[
* ''[[City of Villains]]'':
** This game features an enemy group called the Snakes, based in Mercy Island. Unlike most enemy groups (which are at least humanoid), the Snakes are literally anthropomorphic snakes who worship a deity called Stheno and wish to reclaim Mercy Island for themselves. Arachnos ends up using them as a test for new Destined Ones to see if they really have what it takes to be a supervillain. They tend to view these Snakes more as pests than anything else...
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* The ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' has not one, not two, not three, but ''four'' serpent-themed villain groups: the Serpent Society, the Viper Squad, the Venom Brotherhood, and finally the Cthonians, an ancient race of [[Snake People]] who predate humanity and want to bring back the rule of [[Eldritch Abomination|the Old Ones]].
* Both Tropes wikis refer to a certain type of villain as a [[Smug Snake]].
* In a ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' webisode, one of the villains is a humanoid snake called [https://web.archive.org/web/20131222094908/http://heroeswiki.com/The_Constrictor the Constrictor].
* In ''[[RWBY]]'' there is the King Taijitu, a monstrous two-headed duotone snake fought by Lie Ren in the Emerald Forest, said to lack (like all creatures of Grimm) even the rudimentary soul a "natural" animal possesses.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Reptile and Amphibian Tropes]]
[[Category:Otherness Tropes]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]▼
[[Category:No Real Life Examples, Please]]
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