The Dragon/Film

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • In the animated film The Invincible Iron Man, the leader of the four elemental mini-bosses and The Dragon to the mystically powered Mandarin is an actual dragon, the physically dominating Fin Fang Foom, who gives Iron-man his toughest battle, where the magically powered Mandarin is defeated by reaching out to the Mandarin's host and convincing her to cut the Mandarin's power at its source, the magic rings.
  • Lothar fits this description in The Rocketeer.
  • The Die Hard films make good use of Dragons:
    • In the original movie, John McClane is hunted by Karl, the hulking German, and must defeat him before he can defeat Hans Gruber, the Big Bad. Technically Karl does not die until the end, but McClane leaves him bloody and beaten before throwing Gruber off the building. Karl then emerges for round two, only to be gunned down by Al.
    • Die Hard 2 has a Face Heel Turn bad guy that gets thrown into a jet engine.
    • Die Hard With a Vengeance had Targo, whom John manages to beat to almost death before he gets killed by his own boss.
    • Live Free or Die Hard has two Dragons. Mai, the Waif Fu-wielding Dark Action Girl though she is rather conspicuously killed halfway through. Rand, the acrobatic French mercenary, is another Dragon.
  • James Bond villains almost invariably have a Dragon:
  • In Enter the Dragon, Bolo is The Dragon for Mr. Han, the Big Bad. Oddly, killing The Dragon falls to Roper the con man, rather than Lee The Hero (who goes straight for Han as soon as Bolo is defeated, and who is The Dragon but not The Dragon).
  • Australia: Neil Fletcher appears to fit the role of dragon for his boss, Leslie 'King' Carney, through the first act of the movie. around midway through, Fletcher kills Carney, marries his daughter, and takes control of Carney's business empire.
  • In Layer Cake, the evil Serbian warlord has a Dragon hitman named, appropriately enough, Dragan. He makes constant threats to decapitate Daniel Craig's character. However, he does not follow the usual formula in that he spends the entire film untouchable. Neither he nor his boss are defeated.
  • In the Star Wars movies IV-VI, Darth Vader is The Dragon between the heroes and the Emperor. In I-III it's Darth Maul and later General Grievous. Darth Tyrannus doesn't quite fit the mold.
    • Tyrannus does, however, have quite a few of his own Dragons: Jango Fett and Grievous (again), and in the Expanded Universe, Durge and Asajj Ventress, along with various other "Dark Acolytes."
    • So does Vader: Boba Fett seems to be a particular favorite. Vader also had many apprentices, most notably Galen Marek (the main character of The Force Unleashed).
    • This shows how it is sometimes difficult to identify the Big Bad because within the story, the main characters think Dooku is the Big Bad, with Sidious just a myth or rumor to worry about. But The Dragon is anyone who is sent in front of a leader, whether or not they turn out to be the true Big Bad.
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade serves as a nice comparison of the roles The Dragon and the Big Bad. The Dragon, Colonel Vogel, fights Indy in a climactic battle atop a speeding tank. The Big Bad, Walter Donovan, goes against our hero in a battle of wits to locate the true Holy Grail.
  • In Mystery Men, Tony P winds up playing right-hand-man to Casanova Frankenstein. Tony P, in turn, has a Dragon of his own in Tony C.
  • In Double Impact, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays twins who must separately face the Big Bad's two Dragons, one of which is Bolo Yeung.
  • O-Ren Ishii of Kill Bill fame seems to collect them, having two chief bodyguards (Johnny Mo, leader of the Crazy 88s, and Psycho for Hire Gogo Yubari) and a right-hand woman (Sofie Fatale) besides. Elle Driver was a Dragon, since she was the last (and most difficult to defeat) former teammate the Bride had to fight before confronting Bill.
  • Parodied and averted in The Running Man. Damien's huge bodyguard Sven seems to serve no meaningful role in the movie except as someone for Arnold Schwarzenegger to have the big climactic fight with. At the climax of the film, it looks like the two are about to fight, but Sven simply walks off (due to Damien's verbal abuse of him), leaving Schwarzenegger to crush the helpless Damien.
  • Prince Nuada of Hellboy II: The Golden Army has a few dragons: Mr. Wink, the Elemental, and arguably, the Golden Army, as they are FAR more durable than most Mecha-Mooks.
  • Paul Yau (the assassin with the shades), is Johnny Weng's Dragon from John Woo's The Killer. He gives both heroes of the movie a fight, especially during the church shootout, before being taken hostage in an attempt to break the Put Down Your Gun and Step Away situation with Johnny and the Killer's girlfriend and getting one put through his skull by Johnny himself.
  • Mad Dog was Johnny Wong's Dragon from the John Woo movie Hard Boiled. Like Paul, he gives Tequila and Alan a fight when the three clash and during the big hospital shootout, before he does a Heel Face Turn and blows the gun out of Johnny's hands to put an end to Johnny's psychotic massacre of the patients that Mad Dog had agreed to let pass. He gets killed by Johnny soon after.
  • Tatsu is the Shredder's Dragon in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. In the first movie, Casey Jones is the one to take him on, while in the second movie, the Turtles themselves dispatch him with a "Wishbone Crunch" that consists of sandwiching him between all four of their shells simultaneously. "Tatsu" is one of the Japanese words for a... yeah, you guessed it. Dragon.
  • In The Long Kiss Goodnight, the film's main villain Timothy is actually the Dragon: the Big Bad is the mostly unseen Daedalus who is killed halfway through the film, after which Timothy replaces him as the Big Bad.
  • Count Rugen in The Princess Bride. Inigo Montoya kills him before Westley deals with Prince Humperdinck.
    • Fezzik and Inigo both play the Dragon earlier in the movie, with Inigo being the evenly-matched same-style dragon (think of the Mortal Kombat Mirror Match or Dark Link, or the sword fight with Meta-Knight in Kirby for the NES) while Fezzik is more of the giant physical challenge sort of dragon (Like a dragon. As long as I'm making Mortal Kombat comparisons, think of Goro or Motaro.)
  • Lola is Gianni's Dragon in Transporter 2. She spends most of the movie fighting the hero while Gianni takes a nap. But she's anticlimactically killed by a gag cactus spike of wall
  • The Cow from Kung Pow is the Dragon. Well... sort of. He's not stronger than the Big Bad, but he is hilariously fast... and slightly Genre Savvy, when he rapidly kicks the Hero when they freeze in the air.
  • In Oldboy, Mr. Han is the Dragon for Lee Woo-Jin -- his entire purpose in the movie is to absorb Oh Dae-Su's Unstoppable Rage.
  • The Dragon / Big Bad relationship is referenced in Unbreakable: "There's always two kinds; there's the soldier villain -- who fights the hero with his hands; and then there's the real threat -- the brilliant and evil archenemy -- who fights the hero with his mind."
  • Victor of Push. Also serves as Evil Counterpart to Nick.
  • King Ghidorah is often under the command of various evil aliens (and/or people from the distant future...depending on which continuity you're watching). Ironic, considering that he was the most feared galactic threat in the universe in his VERY film debut. It's a case where he's THE Dragon.
  • In Austin Powers, Dr. Evil's second-in-command is the appropriately titled Number Two, though he is not that happy with how his boss runs his evil empire.
  • In Taken, the sultan's right-hand man, who buys Kim from the white slave-traders, ultimately gives Bryan his biggest fight.
  • The X-Men film series features a few:
    • Sabretooth is arguably Magneto's primary dragon for X-Men 1, though Mystique and Toad also fight.
    • Mystique is Magneto's primary dragon for X2: X-Men United and part of X Men the Last Stand.
    • It's somewhat unclear who takes over as Magneto's dragon after Mystique's departure in the third film as there isn't a clear-cut second in command. The two top candidates would be Pyro, who is the only remaining member of the Brotherhood who was with Magneto prior to the beginning of the movie, and Callisto, who was the apparent leader of the Morlocks before they became Magneto's new Mook army. A case might also be made for Juggernaut, though he fits better in the role of The Brute.
    • Lady Deathstrike is the dragon of William Stryker in the second film.
    • In X Men Origins Wolverine, Deadpool is Stryker's dragon.
    • Emma Frost is the dragon to Sebastian Shaw in X Men First Class.
  • Mr. French is Costello's Dragon in The Departed.
  • Subverted in Equilibrium. The Dragon, Brandt, is set up as Preston's equal and nemesis throughout the film, but when they face off for the final duel, it turns out to be a Curb Stomp Battle. On the other hand, the Big Bad, who seems like a noncombatant politician save for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it clue, turns out to be Preston's toughest opponent in the film.
  • |Dungeons and Dragons. Damodar is this to Profion.
  • Total Recall: Richter, to Big Bad Cohaagen.
  • In The Avengers 1998, Sir August has two: Mrs. Peel's clone and Bailey. Mrs. Peel kills both of them before Sir August dies during a sword fight with Steed.
  • In the animated film The Flight of Dragons, the evil red wizard Ommadon's Dragon is a literal dragon, Bryaugh, who is defeated by the Hero's literal Lancer, Sir Orin. Sir Orin is a knight who allows Bryaugh to engulf him in flames, then casts his fiery sword into Bryaugh's chest. They both die, though Orin gets better.
  • In the Richie Rich movie, chief of security Ferguson serves as Van Dough's Dragon.
  • Rather hard to pin down in Nothing but Trouble. At first, Judge Valkenheiser's Dragon appears to be corrupt cop Dennis. However, after Dennis' Heel Face Turn the role of the Dragon switches rather wildly between Miss Purdah and the Judge's Granddaughter Eldona.
    • Their respective fates are also quite different. Dennis becomes Fausto's bodyguard and Renalda's lover, Miss Purdah is very clearly killed during the estate collapse, and Eldona's fate is uncertain. She doesn't appear with Alvin in the news report, so she may have died in the estate collapse. Likewise, the fact that Alvin survived also indicates that she may have as well.
  • Although Transformers villain Megatron is usually the Big Bad, he is presented as the Dragon in the live-action film series, specifically Revenge of the Fallen. In this continuity, Megatron serves The Fallen as a master, and is sent on missions to enforce his master's will. The Fallen himself doesn't fight and actively go on missions himself until the climactic final battle in the second movie. However, he is killed during this battle, quite possibly setting Megatron up for the Big Bad role once again, just like all his other incarnations.
    • Megatron appears to be the Big Bad in the third film up until the point when Sentinel Prime's Face Heel Turn is revealed. After that, Megatron believes that Sentinel will allow him to remain in command of the Decepticons and become his dragon. Megatron's decision to betray Sentinel and help Optimus in the final battle comes when Carly throws it in his face that his Villain Decay has reached the point where he has become nothing more than Sentinel's unwilling dragon.
    • Megatron is essentially the Dragon in the animated movie too, for Unicron.
  • In the obscure animated movie Twice Upon a Time, The Big Bad Synonamess Botch has a dragon in the form of Ibor, a giant mechanical gorilla with a television for a face. (Neatly, one of the clips that turns up on said face is of Darth Vader from The Empire Strikes Back -- George Lucas executive produced this film.)
  • In the first Charlie's Angels film, the Thin Man serves as a Dragon for the Big Bad. However, in the sequel, he's upgraded to anti-hero status.
  • In the immortal classic Road House, the Big Bad, Wesley, has a Dragon by the less-than-impressive name of Jimmy, an ex-con who comes closer than anyone else to actually kicking the hero's ass for good. For his pains, he gets the film's most spectacular death.
  • Sergeant Small in Tank Girl.
  • Bennett in Commando is one of the most memorable Dragons in cinematic history. He dies in the opening moments of the movie in order to do a Face Heel Turn and then outlives the rather disappointing Big Bad (who is only memorable in that he is played by Tony Hedaya wearing a ton of fake tan). And if that weren't enough he wears a Chainmail Wife-Beater sports a Handlebar Moustache and is made out of Crazy Awesome. If Arnie weren't in this movie, one gets the feeling that it would have been called "Bennett". Darth who?
  • Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. Dr. Totenkopf's Action Girl agent, who bedevils Sky Captain throughout the movie.
  • In Clash of the Titans, the Greek gods' Dragon is the Kraken, which they send out to punish cities that displease them.
    • Calibos was Hades' Dragon in the remake (along with said Kraken).
  • In Lethal Weapon, Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey) is a fairly conventional Dragon.
    • Vorstedt, the dragon in Lethal Weapon 2 is also revealed to have been the one who killed Rigg' wife years ago.
  • In Sin City, Kevin is The Dragon to Cardinal Roark, Manute is The Dragon to Wallenquist, and arguably Roark Jr. is The Dragon to his dad, Senator Roark.
  • Bolo Yeung is perhaps the actor to most persistently portray The Dragon. Mentioned above in the entry for Enter the Dragon, he plays a virtually identical role in nearly every film he's in. A notable exception is Bloodsport, where he plays the Big Bad (though interestingly there's almost no difference in his role in this film and his others, except for the lack of someone above him).
  • General Kael in Willow.
  • In Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
  • In most film adaptations of The Three Musketeers, Count Rochefort is dragon to The Big Bad, Cardinal Richelieu.
  • Wez is The Great Humungous' dragon in Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior.
  • Maverick. Angel is this to the Commodore.
  • Peter Drak in Scanners 2.
  • In Suicide Kings, Denis Leary plays the Dragon to Christopher Walken.
  • In Pale Rider, Corrupt Federal Marshal Stockburn is La Hood's Dragon .
  • In 'Centurion' Etain plays this role
  • In the Errol Flynn film The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sir Guy acts as The Dragon to Prince John.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean:
    • Bo'Sun to Barbossa in Curse Of The Black Pearl.
    • Maccus, and Kraken to Davy Jones in Dead Man's Chest.
    • Davy Jones, and Mercer to Cutler Beckett in At World's End.
    • Angelica to Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides.
      • Also, the Spaniard fullfils this role for King Ferdinand IV.
  • Sark in Tron.
    • Rinzler in Tron: Legacy who is actually a hacked version of Tron.
  • Loonie Bin Jim from Punisher: War Zone, the Big Bad's brother. He's a maneating lunatic Fragile Speedster who's capable of holding his own in close combat against the Punisher. In the end, he dies as part of the Punishers third choice.
  • This article from Cracked.com celebrates some of the most underrated dragons in movie history.
  • Leroy in Mystery Team.
  • In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Kaa (a gigantic Indian Python) apparently serves as the dragon to King Louis, an orangutan who rules over an ancient temple populated by hundreds of smaller monkeys. He summons Kaa whenever a human tries to steal treasure.
  • In the sequel of A Better Tomorrow, one of the mooks is a silent gunslinger with dark glasses who kills the brother of one of the protagonists, refuses to flee with money when he's given chance during the climax, and instead dies in a fair duel against the hero.
  • Nicholas is the dragon to the evil book in The Care Bears Movie.
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