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Brain Food: Difference between revisions
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The subtrope of brain-eating zombies seems to have originated with 1985's ''[[Return of the Living Dead]]'', and most of the time when it appears it is either a reference to that film, or [[Popcultural Osmosis|unknowingly influenced by]] [[Memetic Mutation|other references to that film]]. Before Romero, zombies were not expected to eat people at all, except in some fringe Haitian legends which included anthrophagy as part of a general rampage on the part of the normally passive zombies whose controlling voudun priest had died.
It should be noted that most zombies of the Romero sort just eat whatever meat off the person until they get bored. Most serious zombie movies don't have brain eating as something all zombies do, and since [[Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain]] is the general way to kill such zombies, having them ''only'' eat brains would logically mean there couldn't be new zombies; naturally, when zombies in a work ''do'' only prefer eating brains, they'll usually also be immune to destroying the head. As you'll read down the page, you'll find most examples to be zombie free.
A subtrope of [[Picky People Eater]]. See also: [[Zombie Gait]]. Not to be confused with [[Brainless Beauty]] (although being one may [[Your Brain Won't Be Much of a Meal|have its advantages]].)
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* Rhona Burchill, the Mad Thinker, in ''Ultimate [[Fantastic Four]]'' {{spoiler|devised a way to increase her brain's "processing power" by grafting someone else's brain tissue onto her brain, so she killed her little brother because he "wasn't using it anyway" -- the implications are roughly equal that he was genuinely mentally deficient and that he simply had a lower IQ then his already-a-genius-but-psychotic sister.}}
** Wasn't the implication that {{spoiler|Her brother constituted some part of the Ultimate Awesome Android?}}
*** She named it after him, but there's no in-story suggestion that it is or isn't actually him.
* [[Jack Of Fables]] introduced us to Lady Luck during his stint in Vegas. She lost a good chunk of her powers due to a soured romance and regains some of it when she eats the brains of high-rollers.
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* ''Fiend Without a Face'' had invisible brain-like creatures that sucked the brains out of the skull.
* ''Faces of Death'' had people eating monkey brains right after having to kill the monkey by beating it on the head with mallets which resemble a pestle.
* There's a moment in ''[[Bloodsucking Freaks]]'' where a depraved doctor uses a straw to suck some woman's brains out.
* ''The Brainiac'' revolves around a magician who was to be executed in 1661, who then used his magic to get on a passing comet and returns to earth 300 years later as a brain-sucking monster. It also brought us the page image.
* ''The Outpost'' (aka ''Mind Ripper'') had a mutant who fed on brains to get his fix of [[wikipedia:Sterol|sterols]].
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== Literature ==
* In ''Hannibal'', Lecter stirfried up some guy's brain. Thomas Harris lovingly describes how Lecter prepared it, table side, fresh from the source (he literally scooped out the slices of brains from the victim's skull at the table, in front of Starling). He gently coated it with breadcrumbs then sauteed it, serving with caper-berries and black truffle brown butter sauce. Just the way that Harris described it is enough to make the reader hungry, especially since he is a foodie and the recipe would actually be delicious (except the obvious part, of course).
* Deadhead, from the ''[[Wild Cards]]'' novels, absorbs the memories of creatures (and people) whose flesh he eats, getting the clearest 'read' from the brain.
* In the short story ''A Midwinter's Tale'', eating brains passes on the memories of the dead creature.
* In ''[[Nation]]'' one of the cannibal chiefs mentions he would like to eat Daphne's brains. It's a sort of compliment, it means he thinks she's very intelligent.
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* One of the short stories in the book ''My Zombie Valentine'' focuses on a [[Zombie Apocalypse]] originating on the set of a zombie apocalypse film. The [[Alpha Bitch]] seems to be immune to zombie attack, and they speculate that she doesn't have any brains. However, it turns out that she's wearing a perfume that repels zombies.
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: The tale of the ''[[Greek Mythology|Seven Against Thebes]]'' (adapted into the play of the same name by [[Aeschylus]]) includes Tydeus, a favourite of Athena and father of ''[[The Iliad]]'''s [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|God-Puncher]], Diomedes. Apparently, Athena wanted to make Tydeus immortal after he was heavily wounded, but [[Squick|changed her mind]] after she caught him eating his slain attacker's brains. [[Too Dumb to Live|Congratulations, Tydeus.]] [[Completely Missing the Point|You're supposed to eat the brains]] ''[[Completely Missing the Point|after]]'' [[Completely Missing the Point|you're dead.]]
* In the ''[[Starfleet Corps of Engineers]]'' series, the creators of the monster shii on the planet Sarindar fed on brain matter. A now departed race which colonized the planet centuries ago, they built artificial constructs in the shape of shii beasts to collect the heads; these decapitated victims in order to gather the brains.
* In ''[[Nightside|Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth]]'', a group of sentient zombies raised by the [[Big Bad]] and sent to slaughter the living reference this trope, debating whether or not they should eat brains and, if so, whether condiments will be required.
* The [[Rodents of Unusual Size]] from James Herbert's ''The Rats'' and its sequels have a preference for brains, and often chew their way [[Eye Scream|through the eyes]] of their human victims to reach this tasty treat.
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== Music ==
* Jonathan Coulton's ''Re: Your Brains''. It's told as a memo from an office worker who's become a zombie to one who is not yet zombified, and the chorus says "All we wanna do is eat your brains. We're not unreasonable. I mean, [[Even Evil Has Standards|no one's gonna]] [[Eye Scream|eat your eyes]]."
* As mentioned above, [[Voltaire (
* [[Iron Maiden]]'s ''Piece of Mind'' has it on the [http://www.somvinil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Piece_Of_Mind_LP.jpg inner gatefold], and also the [http://www.vinylrecords.ch/I/IR/Iron_Maiden/Piece_FR/piece_mind_fr_13.jpg record label]/[http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3512/album04pom1998cdbm2.jpg CD] art.
* In several of the ''[[Rhapsody of Fire]]'' songs, is often stated that demons feed on brains. In a moment of extreme wrath, the [[The Hero|Warrior of Ice]] threatens to come back from the dead to eat [[Big Bad|Akron's]] brains.
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** And the Lovecraftian coelocanth Aboleths want to eat your brain and gain your knowledge.
** Inverted by the Chuuls, who are allergic to brains and will instead peel the flesh and bone from around it and eat that. In an aversion of [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]], this often means that Illithids will train them as garbage disposals for brainless corpses.
** The Intellect Devourers eat you brain and then ''nest in your skull''.
** Can't forget the [[Killer Rabbit|Brain Mole]].
*** Though, in reality, the brain mole doesn't eat the brain, merely absorb psionic energy from it. There's little to no physical harm.
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== Web Original ==
* In ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'' (a special feature), the blue team pretends to be zombies. Caboose does the Zombie Gait with everyone else, but moans "Brians! Brians!", as he read the script wrong.
* In ''[[Cox and Combes Washington]]'' George Washington is said to have eaten opponents' brains.
* ''[http://www.theonion.com/articles/zombie-nutritionist-recommends-allbrain-diet,1391/ Zombie Nutritionist Recommends All-Brain Diet]'', on ''[[The Onion]]''
* In ''[[Cradleland]]'', the {{spoiler|''ba'thulaz''}} eat brains, preferably those of sapient creatures like humans.
* Spoofed in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]'': a zombie character says nothing but "brains," with very eloquent subtitles expressing his personal, unheard woes.
** "he has the voice of a zombie-angel"
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* In the ''[[Invader Zim]]'' episode "Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars", ZIM is simultaneously trying to keep his Robo-Parents from eating a child, pilot the (incredibly large) ship of his alien leaders to come to Earth to see his "progress" while trying to keep his rival Dib from crashing said ship, and keep a creature in a containment chamber's status stable. The creature is a giant brain-sucking parasite. No reason is give as to why it sucks the brain right out of your skull or even how ZIM managed to obtain such a thing in the first place (but this ''is Invader ZIM'' after all...)
* New Comedy Central series ''[[Ugly Americans]]'' features many zombie characters, all of whom seem to have a natural desire to eat human flesh, especially brains. This is [[Played for Laughs]], since the civilized zombies regard brains in much the same way that recovering alcoholics regard booze.
* The Oni from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' would sometimes threaten enemies with this.
* ''[[Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles]]'' has the Brain Bugs doing this to obtain information from prisoners (the bug absorbs the knowledge from the brain it eats).
* Subverted on ''[[Phineas and Ferb]].'' The zombies moan for brains, spleens, pancreases, kidneys, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|cucumber sandwiches.]]
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