History Main / FeralVillain

** This also extends to [[[AlwaysABiggerFish the bird]] who predates on all the bugs in the film, regardless of allegiance. It never speaks and is portrayed as being no more intelligent than a simple animal following its instincts.

** This also extends to [[[AlwaysBiggerFish the bird]] who predates on all the bugs in the film, regardless of allegiance. It never speaks and is portrayed as being no more intelligent than a simple animal following its instincts.

* ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': The grasshoppers, like virtually all the other arthropods in the movie, are intelligent enough to be essentially people. However, one exception exists in the form of [[PsychoForHire Thumper]], who's AxCrazy to the point of being completely animalistic. The other grasshoppers even treat him like their TeamPet.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': Cull Obsidian, one of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Children of Thanos]] appearing in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' is a hulking behemoth who speaks only in grunts and roars, does nothing except attempt to smash the heroes with his axe-scythe-grappling hook weapon, and is capable of fighting the [[MiniMecha Hulkbuster Armour]] one-on-one.

'''Important Note:''' For examples to count, the villains in question must at least be presented as potentially sapient in the context of their settings (especially if intelligent non-human species are common) but come off as more animalistic than they let on. They aren't as much close to real animals as they are to ''rabid'' animals, and even then, only in demeanour as there is still some human emotion driving them. ''Literal wild animals'' (or similar analogues thereof) who are not sapient in the slightest and act on basic survival instincts like hunting do not count.

** Nearly all [[CombiningMecha combiners]] have mental deficiencies, a side effect of combining the minds of disparate individuals into a new gestalt being. The otherwise brilliant Constructicons, for example, form the much more dull-witted Devastator. However, at least Devastator retains enough intelligence to follow orders: the Stunticon combiner Menasor is described as nigh-uncontrollable and is generally simply unleashed onto the battlefield. The Stunticons are a DysfunctionJunction that all have their mental hang-ups, [[note]] Dead End is [[StrawNihilist nihilistic]], Breakdown is [[TheParanoiac paranoid]], Wildrider is flat-out crazy, Drag Strip is obsessed with being Number One and team leader Motormaster is a {{sadist}} who actively enjoys [[BadBoss tormenting his subordinates]] by using their mental issues[[/note]] and mutually loathe each other. The result is a rampaging, mentally fractured monster.
** Similarly, the Terrorcon combiner Abominus is described as an animal rather than a warrior. The Terrorcons all transform into vicious monsters; Abominus is basically their savagery personified and amplified. Like Menasor, he can't actually be commanded: instead, he's just pointed in the general direction of whatever needs to be destroyed.
** The Seacon combiner Piranacon is an unusual example. The Seacons work well as a team and all share a love of the hunt, resulting in Piranacon being a reasonably intelligent combiner. Unfortunately, his love of the hunt so overwhelms him that he's almost as difficult to command as Menasor or Abominus, since he's prone to hunting down his prey and destroying it before identifying and pursuing new prey. Team leader Snaptrap has to set a timer to forcibly disengage the Seacons because if he doesn't Piranacon will simply keep hunting until he actually runs out of energy and grinds to a halt. His Japanese counterpart [[Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce King Poseidon]] doesn't have the same issue due to the Seacons in that series being mindless drones, with only team leader Turtler being sapient.

And then there are villains like these.

Compare GenericDoomsdayVillain, which is a bad guy lacking in personality, motivation and goals. Compare and contrast TheBrute, a villain who's more often than not crude and [[BloodKnight a lover of violence]], but is generally at least "[[DumbMuscle intelligent]]" enough to be tricked. Also compare TheBerserker, who throws themselves into a fight with reckless abandon, though a berserker is not necessarily evil or feral, while a villain can be feral without being a berserker. If the villain is both feral and unfathomably powerful, or [[EldritchAbomination generally unfathomable]], this frequently makes them an AlmightyIdiot. May be the "Raging Monster" in an ArrogantGodVsRagingMonster scenario. Contrast AffablyEvil, where the villain is surprisingly human instead of surprisingly inhuman. FeralVampires often fall under this trope.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'': Iblis has no motive beyond wanting to destroy everything in existence, and acts more like a mindless force of nature more than an actual villain. This is due to him having been formed from Solaris' raw power when the sun god was split in two, while Solaris' intellect went to Mephiles.

* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': For [[TragicVillain a definition of evil]], at least. Lizardman is a shrieking reptile warrior that fights like the wild animal it is. His story-blurbs however reveal that they were once a human Spartan named Aeon Calcos and are very aware of that. The character's motivation between games generally revolves around finding/reclaiming his human soul. But, being a heavily-armed reptile monster that can only shout and screech, two guesses on how well he gets that across. Sadly by the time of ''SCV'', whatever consciousness there may have been [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody is now subsumed by the beast within]] - a CannibalismSuperpower being the only way it can achieve some sort of thought process.

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' [[InvertedTrope inverts]] this with dragons in general. They are believed in-universe to be nothing more than wild animals and indeed look the part. Even Berk's dragon manual presents them this way. But as the movie goes on, it's revealed that dragons are, in fact, highly intelligent, capable of a level of thought and creativity just shy of, if not on par with humans (though they are still explicitly animals). Then we're introduced to the Red Death, who, in this context, plays this straight, lacking any unambiguous indication of the aforementioned higher thought shown by other dragons and, overall, coming across less as a dragon and more as a Godzilla-esque monster.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' and ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' feature Calamity Ganon, a primordial evil [[ItCanThink sapient enough to outplay the heroes' attempts to stop it]], but it's hard to tell since Ganon behaves like an animalistic beast bent on destroying everything it sees, with indication it has any higher agency than [[OmnicidalManiac pure destruction]]. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' later elaborates that Calamity Ganon is merely a manifestation of Ganondorf's power leaking out of his seal, and the real Ganondorf is not only [[SanityHasAdvantages more intelligent]], but he does intend to [[InTheirOwnImage rebuild the world in his image]] after he destroys it.

->''"Even more so than the other Decepticon combiners, '''[[{{Franchise/Transformers}} Abominus]]''' is a being of mindless fury. He's not truly a warrior -- he's an animal, the destructive rages of the Terrorcons that compose him personified. His commanders can't give him orders simplistic enough for him to understand, so they just point him in the direction of objects that need to be smashed, and turn him loose. The only thing that distinguishes him from a wild beast is the enjoyment he derives from his terrible rampages."''

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' & ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' features Calamity Ganon, a primordial evil [[ItCanThink sapient enough to outplay the heroes' attempts to stop it]], but it's hard to tell since Ganon behaves like an animalistic beast bent on destroying everything it sees, with indication it has any higher agency than [[OmnicidalManiac pure destruction]]. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' later elaborates that Calamity Ganon is merely a manifestation of Ganondorf's power leaking out of his seal, and the real Ganondorf is not only [[SanityHasAdvantages more intelligent]], but he does intend to [[InTheirOwnImage rebuild the world in his image]] after he destroys it.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' & ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity features Calamity Ganon, a primordial evil [[ItCanThink sapient enough to outplay the heroes' attempts to stop it]], but it's hard to tell since Ganon behaves like an animalistic beast bent on destroying everything it sees, with indication it has any higher agency than [[OmnicidalManiac pure destruction]]. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' later elaborates that Calamity Ganon is merely a manifestation of Ganondorf's power leaking out of his seal, and the real Ganondorf is not only [[SanityHasAdvantages more intelligent]], but he does intend to [[InTheirOwnImage rebuild the world in his image]] after he destroys it.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'': At the end of a linked game, Link interrupts the witches' ritual that would have brought Ganon BackFromTheDead by sacrificing Zelda. They fuse into Twinrova to beat him, and when that fails, sacrifice themselves to bring Ganon back. But Ganon is [[CameBackWrong brought back]] as a rampaging, berserk PigMan instead of the SorcerousOverlord that he's usually portrayed as (while [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'s version was also a PigMan, he was still capable of intelligent speech, unlike this one).

* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': For [[TragicVillain a definition of evil]], at least. Lizardman is a shrieking reptile warrior that fights like the wild animal it is. His story-blurbs however reveal that they were once a human Spartan named Aeon Calcos and are very aware of that. The character's motivation between games generally revolves around finding/reclaiming his human soul. But, being a heavily-armed reptile monster that can only shout and screech, two guesses on how well he gets that across. Sadly by the time of ''SCV'', whatever consciousness there may have been [[TheMindIsAPlayithingOfTheBody is now subsumed by the beast within]] - a CannibalismSuperpower being the only way it can achieve some sort of thought process.

->''"Even more so than the other Decepticon combiners, '''Abominus''' is a being of mindless fury. He's not truly a warrior -- he's an animal, the destructive rages of the Terrorcons that compose him personified. His commanders can't give him orders simplistic enough for him to understand, so they just point him in the direction of objects that need to be smashed, and turn him loose. The only thing that distinguishes him from a wild beast is the enjoyment he derives from his terrible rampages."''

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroTheEternalNight'': The Skavengers are a crew of SkyPirates who are by all appearances just as intelligent as all the other villains that Spyro encounters. However, when Spyro encounters their captain, Skabb, the latter turns out to be a simple-minded colossus who cannot even speak -- all the thinking in the outfit is done by the intelligent talking parrots that ride around on his shoulders. However, the hulking brute is still a very powerful fighter when directed and serves as the group's muscle during battles.

* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': For [[TragicVillain a definition of evil]], at least. Lizardman is a shrieking reptile warrior that fights like the wild animal it is. His story-blurbs however reveal that they were once a human Spartan named Aeon Calcos and are very aware of that. The character's motivation between games generally revolves around finding/reclaiming his human soul. But, being a heavily-armed reptile monster that can only shout and screech, two guesses on how well he gets that across. Sadly by the time of ''SCV,'' whatever consciousness there may have been is now subsumed by the beast within - a CannibalismSuperpower being the only way it can achieve some sort of thought process.

* Franchise/LooneyTunes are in their majority intelligent (more or less) animals. And then there is Taz who makes the term [[SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism anthropomorphism]] comes across as a bit of a stretch, what with his being an unstoppable dust-devil, all-you-can-eat-machine (and he can eat [[BigEater everything]]).

Most villains have sapience. They may be deluded, [[AxCrazy deranged]], [[TheSociopath sociopathic]], [[BlueAndOrangeMorality incomprehensible]], or even just plain stupid, but aside from (normal) animals and other things one wouldn't expect to be regarded as people, one can generally expect a villain to be sapient regardless of how evil or abnormal they may be.

Some villains, despite everything saying they ''should'' be sapient beings, come off as wild beasts, often particularly aggressive ones. They're animalistic, sometimes to the point of being treated or regarded as animals by other characters. If they have any dialogue beyond snarling and slavering, it'll generally be either [[TheUnintelligible impossible to understand]] or [[HulkSpeak simplistic]] and [[YouNoTakeCandle broken]]. Their goals, if they have any, will generally take the form of sating some base desire and/or committing violence for its own sake. Some might get a moment or two of ItCanThink, but even they generally don't come off as more sapient than, say, an AngryGuardDog. Villains of this variety may act independently or be part of a group; either way, they generally won't be noted for planning ahead. While some villains may enter a state like this after a particularly severe VillainousBreakdown or being DrivenToMadness, for most of ''these'' villains, it seems to be their natural mindset. Some works may explore or at least explain why they're like this, but for the most part, it's left up to the imagination.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'': Subverted with the Sharptooth. Not only do sequels establish that they're not necessarily [[PredatorsAreMean evil]], they also make it clear that they're just as sapient as other dinosaurs despite their behavior; they just [[LanguageBarrier speak a different language from herbivores]] and generally aren't interested in communicating with them.