History Main / SnakesAreSinister

People tend to fear snakes more than other crawling creatures. This is not an ordinary phobia, but an instinctive PrimalFear. Other mammals besides humans share it. Several hypotheses have been put forth, with the most popular thus far being as a defense strategy against venomous snakes: animals that are hard to spot and whose warnings can easily be missed. Snakes in general also embody qualities that most social primates dislike, like unblinking eyes and "unnatural" legless movements. [[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221325.1963.10532516?journalCode=vgnt20 Do note that studies on monkeys show this phobia to be something of a learned behaviour]]. Many mythologies also tend to associate snakes with water and [[DarkIsEvil darkness]] (not inaccurately due to many species being aquatic), so they are easy to symbolically digest as a "degenerate" form of life opposite to humanity.

* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': Subverted on two occasions. One of the slaves Haara rescues on the Isle of Slimes is a friendly yuan-ti pureblood, and Kay'la familiar is a viper named Trowser who acts dopey and [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]].

** Played straight with [[KrakenAndLeviathan The Leviathan]], however. It's an abhorrent, [[TheGreatSerpent titanic]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Supreme Demon]] in the shape of a {{Sea Serpent|s}} whose lore entry is said to [[spoiler: [[BeastOfTheApocalypse herald the Apocalypse]]. Its body grows bigger and stronger by [[TheAssimilator absorbing]] despair-ridden sinners into its biomass, meaning it ''[[EmotionEater feeds on despair]]''.]]

** And Biblical [[OurAngelsAreDifferent seraphim]], while not outright described as snake-like, are associated with snakes/serpents throughout Jewish and early Christian texts and are now thought to derive from the concept of the uraeus, an Egyptian symbol of royalty/sovereignty. On the other hand, they do obliterate anyone who looks at them to cinder.

* Apep/Apophis in Myth/EgyptianMythology is the GodOfEvil known as [[RedBaron the Snake of Chaos]] or [[SerpentOfImmortality the Serpent of Rebirth]], with the resident [[GodOfGood good god Ra]] constantly battling him and making sure he doesn't win because [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce if he does]], he ''will'' consume the whole world. At the same time, however, snakes were also associated with protection and [[WiseSerpent wisdom]]. Wadjet and Nehebkau are benevolent snake gods, with the former representing Lower Egypt and whose symbols were worn by the Pharaoh, while the latter is a wise judge.

* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'': Absolutely {{Averted}} with the [[CoolStarship Vic Viper]], a heroic [[AnimalMotif snake-themed]] Gradian star-fighter whose [[AcePilot pilots]] dedicate themselves to protecting the galaxy from [[TheVirus Bacterion]] forces. PlayedStraight with [[BigBad Zelos]], a malevolent PlanetEater who is portrayed as a serpentine DraconicAbomination, at least based on the ''Salamander/Life-Force'' art cover.

* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' has a lot of snake-based deities and most of them come in different flavors; Nu Wa is a benevolent [[SnakePeople goddess with snake lower body]], Kukulkan is serpentine and can look like a callous jackass but actually works on BlueAndOrangeMorality and is usually just being CreepyGood, {{Medusa}} also has snake lower body but as the myth goes, she's a malevolent monster. Additionally, there's the aforementioned Apep/Apophis, while he's not shown with a lot of personality by the virtue of being an OptionalBoss, everything that has been said about the Snake of Chaos are all true in this game. And then there's Jormungandr, who's a towering piece of malevolence who is eager to bring down [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]] to the realm.

** {{Averted|Trope}} by [[TheGoodKing King Minos]], the former Judge of Hell. While he has a [[AnimalMotif snake motif]] as a reference to his [[Literature/TheDivineComedy poem counterpart]], he rules the Lust Layer out of compassion for its sinners out of the belief that their torment is {{disproportionate|retribution}} to their sins of loving another.
** PlayedStraight with [[KrakenAndLeviathan The Leviathan]] however. It is an abhorrent, [[TheGreatSerpent titanic]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Supreme Demon]] in the shape of a {{SeaSerpent|s}} that is said to [[spoiler: [[BeastOfTheApocalypse herald the Apocalypse]]. Its body grows bigger and stronger by absorbing despair-ridden sinners into its biomass, meaning it ''feeds on despair''.]]

* Apep/Apophis in Myth/EgyptianMythology is the GodOfEvil known as the snake of chaos, with the resident good god Ra constantly battling him and making sure he doesn't win because if he does, he ''will'' consume the whole world. At the same time, however, snakes were also associated with protection. Wadjet was a benevolent snake goddess who represented Lower Egypt and whose symbols were worn by the Pharaoh.

* Defied in ''[[Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}} War Games]]''. When Tom morphs into a cobra, he comments that they're actually very chill and spend most of their time sunbathing.

* In the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "The Smurf Village Revival", the unassuming preacher named Benedictus is actually a serpentine creature called a Viperion who is working for his true master, [[Main/{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. He disguises himself as a preacher to deceive the Smurfs into receiving a false spirit that he calls "the Holy Spirit".

* ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheOutback: '' PlayedWith, but ultimately averted with Maddie the taipan, as while the humans see her as a threatening monster, Maddie is one of the sweetest snakes you could ever meet.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' has a notable aversion with Viper, who is one of the nicest members of the Furious Five.
** In the short film ''Secrets of the Furious Five'', Grand Master Viper, Viper's father, is a heroic snake who protects his village from the bad guys and loves his daughter.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride''. During the song "One of Us", a few African rock pythons menacingly hiss and snap at Kovu, but this is because they are outraged by the Outsiders' ambush on Simba as the other animals are, which technically makes them good guys (even if their blame on Kovu is one-sided). Which becomes ironic in that one of the scrapped characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' was a python who was going to serve as TheDragon to Scar, thus playing this trope straight.

* Quest For Zhu has Mazhula, a cobra-dinosaur hybrid, for a villainess. She also has the same voice actor as Trixie from "WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony".
* Played with regarding Mr. Snake in ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022''. Just like his colleagues, he embraces the criminal lifestyle and negative stereotypes associated with his species because the world saw nothing else in a "scary, good for nothing, ''monster''" like him. [[spoiler:However, his morality is tested when his friends attempt to break free from their old stereotypes while he doubles down on it, even pulling a [[FaceHeelTurn Judas]] by working for the BigBad. Though he turns out to be a DoubleAgent as he foils the true villain's masterplan and assures his friendship with the others.]]
* Averted in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljp4wlfH8MI&ab_channel=%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80 Magical Ring]] and the fairy tale it's based on. The snake that [[TheHero Ivan]] buys from a [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals cruel owner]] turns out to be Scarapea, the daughter of the Snake King. She gifts Ivan with a magical ring that can grant whatever he wishes.

* SnakesAreSexy: Dovetails quite well with this trope and EvilIsSexy.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' addresses and subverts this trope. Master Viper is generally popular and well-liked in-universe, however the Valley of Peace becomes suspicious and fearful of her when the snake hero [[FallenHero Fu-xi]] goes rogue and starts terrorizing non-snakes. Fu-xi embodies the sinister snake trope to a tee and spends the episode seducing Viper to his cause (and to [[EvilIsSexy himself]]). Subverted further when [[spoiler: it turns out [[TheMole Viper was playing Fu-xi the whole time]], in order to save the entire valley from being poisoned by him]].

** Jithu is an anaconda who is fully aligned with Zaina's plans and does what she tells him.

** In the short film ''Secrets of the Furious Five''. Grand Master Viper, Viper's father, he is a heroic snake who protects his village from the bad guys and loves his daughter.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride''. During the song "One of Us" a few African rock pythons menacingly hiss and snap at Kovu, but this is because they are outraged by the Outsiders' ambush on Simba as the other animals are, which technically makes them good guys (even if their blame on Kovu is one-sided). Which becomes ironic in that one of the scrapped characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' was a python who was going to serve as TheDragon to Scar, thus playing this trope straight.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' has the Gangreen Gang member Snake, who, like the rest of the members of the gang, often commits sordid crimes, such as picking on smaller children, vandalizing property, stealing from others, and so on. Slightly downplayed, however, that aside from the fact that the gang only commit typical street crimes rather than sinister schemes, Snake acts more as a yes-man to the gang's leader Ace, who often [[DopeSlap punches Snake across the nose whenever the latter speaks out of line.]]

** Averted in "Whacking Day" where Lisa and Bart try to save a bunch of snakes from being killed by the townspeople, due to the titular holiday being based around this trope as well as existing just to give people an excuse to beat and kill snakes. The snakes themselves are also docile and harmless.
** Also averted in "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot" with Bart's one-off pet python "Strangles". Its instruction manual declares it's pointless to name them because "snakes have poor hearing and live only to strangle", but Strangles is actually friendly to and protective of Bart (the one time he strangles anyone is Homer...[[PapaWolf to defend Bart from being strangled]]). In the end, Bart is forced to choose between Strangles and Santa's Little Helper, and when he picks the latter Strangles is heartbroken:
--->'''Strangles[[note]]([[ItMakesSenseInContext Translated from tongue flicks in subtitles]])[[/note]]''': If he breaks your heart again, don't bother calling me! ...Oh who am I kidding? [[UndyingLoyalty I'll always be there for you]].
** Played straight at the ending of "Blame It On Lisa" where Bart gets SwallowedWhole by an anaconda (not that it distresses him).
** Played with in "Pranks and Greens" where legendary prankster Andy Hamilton keeps a live cobra as a twist of the old "snakes in a can" gag. He explains it's de-fanged albeit still capable of releasing venom, which ends up making Milhouse woozy.

* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'': In the episode "Snakin' All Over", the M.A.D. Agent of the episode, Professor Venom, has a variety of snakes that do his bidding. One of them is a cobra that hypnotizes people into a helpless, stupefied state wherein they don't move. In the climax of the episode, Penny defeats the cobra by [[HypnotismReversal showing it a mirror, causing it to hypnotize itself]].

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* Quest For Zhu has Mazhula, a cobra-dinosaur hybrid, for a villainess. She also has the same voice as Trixie from "WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony".

* ''Colossatron'' from Halfbrick Games where you are the [[{{Kaiju}} Daikaiju-sized]] robot SegmentedSerpent Colossatron. The titular MechanicalAbomination is seen by Earth from the far reaches of space and upon nearing our planet, the world's government figure out it's purpose is to wreck our world and it does so by adding various weapons to its segments and attacking.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' opens with Luz acting out a scene from ''[[ShowWithinAShow The Good Witch Azura]]'' where the title character is shown doing battle with a giant snake monster. That said, the show inverts this more often than not. Pretty much any time a snake or general snake imagery shows up after this point ([[MonsterOftheWeek with one minor exception]]) it's in a wholly positive context. Luz herself even has a very strong snake motif, making this a rare example where snakes are used to symbolize a MessianicArchetype.

* Apep/Apophis in Myth/EgyptianMythology is the GodOfEvil known as the snake of chaos, with the resident good god Ra constantly battling him and making sure he doesn't win because if he does, he ''will'' consume the whole world. At the same time, snakes were also associated with protection, such as the goddess Wadjet, whose symbols were worn by the Pharoah.

* While ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' averts ReptilesAreAbhorrent overall with several heroic reptilian characters (including the protagonist, a chameleon, and his LoveInterest, an iguana), it features Rattlesnake Jake, a gigantic, terrifying, gunslinger snake as one of its main villains. [[spoiler:However, he is only TheDragon to the Mayor, and turns against him in the end, while he starts respecting Rango as his equal. Interestingly, the Mayor himself is a subversion of the "Turtles are good" trope.]]