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Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Difference between revisions
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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'''}}
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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{{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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* ''[[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 Real Monsters|a human]].
* 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.
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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 well—Don't be a jerk and never underestimate old people {{spoiler|or [[
* 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 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 venoms—like most haemotoxins—work just fine on vampires).
* [[Dungeons & Dragons]] mostly do without this - Lizardmen are crude savages, but not particularly malicious,
** ...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 ==
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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:No Real Life Examples, Please]]
[[Category:Tropes of Hats]]
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