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| 10 | [[quoteright:350:[[Literature/{{Redwall}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/839b509c_0c89_4732_81f5_efcd0a294f19.jpeg]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:350:It's even worse when you're a snake's natural prey.]] |
| 12 | %% |
| 13 | ->''"Never trust thöse whö slither."'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''Wigfrid''', ''VideoGame/DontStarve'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Snakes are associated with evil. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | We've seen lots of evil snakes. Now how many times have you seen a good snake in fiction? None? Very few? That's because of this trope. Aversions of this trope are rarer than aversions of ReptilesAreAbhorrent in general--heroic turtles and [[LovableLizard lizards]] are fairly common and good crocodilians, while rare, are not unheard of, but heroic snakes much less so. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[Literature/TheBible So why do snakes in particular get such a bad rep?]] Well, out of all the different groups of reptiles, their lack of limbs makes them the least [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman anthropomorphic]] and thus harder to sympathize with, and a lot of them have [[PoisonIsEvil venom]], one of the nastiest methods to get yourself killed. In the case of constrictors that lack venoms, they tend to be huge and have another nasty method to kill you: squeezing you to a slow, painful death before swallowing you whole. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | 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 [[SeaSerpents 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. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Because of their primeval scariness, it does not take much imagination to portray these animals as monsters or harbingers of death in fiction. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Aside from literal serpents, this also works metaphorically. Thus, many of the examples below aren't really snakes but humans or other creatures that use snake symbolism as an [[ObviouslyEvil evil motif]]. SmugSnake characters can play with this, even if they aren't literal snakes. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Compare: |
| 29 | * BasiliskAndCockatrice: These snake-bird hybrids are often quite monstrous. |
| 30 | * BirdVsSerpent: The snake in this fight represents evil and chaos. |
| 31 | * EvilSlinks: Snakes and snake-like creatures often slink about. |
| 32 | * FangsAreEvil: Venomous snakes possess fangs. |
| 33 | * TheGreatSerpent: Gigantic snakes are frequently made to be hostile. |
| 34 | * ScaledUp: Villains who turn into snakes. |
| 35 | * SeaSerpents: Are often monstrous giants. |
| 36 | * SnakePeople: Are often evil. |
| 37 | * SnakesAreSexy: Evil snakes can still be appealing. |
| 38 | * SnakeVersusMongoose: The snake is usually portrayed as the villain in this match-up. |
| 39 | * SssssnakeTalk: Talking with a drawn-out hiss to show one to be as sinister as a snake. |
| 40 | * {{Orochi}}: The biggest, baddest snake monster in Japanese myth and a go-to antagonist for {{yokai}}-based works. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | SubTrope of ReptilesAreAbhorrent. In antiquity, snakes are the inspiration for dragons and giant serpents, so they inform the oldest DragonTropes (including DragonsAreDemonic). Thanks to the serpent from [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]], snakes are forever associated with {{Satan}}, the SatanicArchetype, ForbiddenFruit, and TheCorrupter. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | ---- |
| 45 | !!Examples |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 48 | |
| 49 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 50 | * In ''Advertising/TheMythOfOrpheusAndEurydice'', Hades' club has an Ouroboros snake as a symbol, and both he and Aristaeus are associated with the snake that bites and kills Eurydice. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 54 | * Discussed in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Ayakashi are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve created and empowered]] by human belief, which Matsuri warns makes snake ayakashi especially dangerous. |
| 55 | -->'''Seigen''': Since long ago, snake spirits have been among the hardest to handle. That is how deep fear of their form lingers in human hearts. |
| 56 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has a very serpentine [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Apostle]] serving as the main antagonist for the first episode of the manga and [[Anime/Berserk1997 1997 anime]]. He looks very snake-like in his humanoid form, wears a cobra-themed suit of armor to go with it, and transforms into a massive cobra-like monster. He's also unapologetically cruel in how he tortures, slaughters, and even [[ImAHumanitarian eats]] people purely out of sadistic amusement. His death at Guts' hands is both very painful and very deserved. |
| 57 | * ''Anime/{{Demon Slayer}}'' gives us Obani Iguro. Being the Serpent Hashira of the [[CreatureHunterOrganization Demon Slayer Corps]], he specializes in [[FantasticFightingStyle Serpent Breathing]] which, you guessed it, is modeled after the flexibility and mobility of snakes. He's also a massive dick to everyone sans the Love Hashira, [[MoralityPet Mitsuri Kanroji]], ranging from engaging in PassiveAggressiveKombat with others to outright insulting them at worst. His EstablishingCharacterMoment even has him being the most jumpy of the Hashira about not only having [[TheHero Tanjiro Kamado]] executed for harboring his demonfied sister, [[TokenHeroicOrc Nezuko]], but also his fellow Hashira, Giyu Tomioka for sparing her in the first place. Ultimately, however, he's a downplayed example, being on the side of good, albeit as a case of GoodIsNotNice. |
| 58 | * Snakes are featured in the second chapter of ''Manga/HeavensDesignTeam'', and they serve as an antagonist to the helpless birds, whose eggs they like to eat. The entire chapter is dedicated to finding ways for the birds' egg to stop itself from being eaten without having to change its design too much. |
| 59 | * ''Anime/TheJungleBook'' averts this with Kaa, whose characterization is true to the books. However, it plays this straight with Buldeo's pet cobra. |
| 60 | * Subverted with the snake Friends in ''Anime/KemonoFriends''. Some of them are rather touchy, especially if they're venomous, but none of them are evil. |
| 61 | * Early gag-strips of the ''Anime/LoveLiveNijigasakiHighSchoolIdolClub'' cast had a cartoonishly aggressive and violent Ayumu own a large snake named Sasuke, that often tried to eat Ai. |
| 62 | * Played with in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid''. Emily having a snake familiar marks her as being a bully towards Shouta, but the snake itself appears rather benign. |
| 63 | ** This is averted when it comes to Lucoa and Elma; both are snake-like dragons, but the former is [[FeatheredSerpent Quetzalcoatl]] [[GenderFlip herself]] while the latter is the TokenHeroicOrc of the Harmony Faction and an awkward BigEater. |
| 64 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 65 | ** Orochimaru, the initial BigBad has a snake theme and abilities, including an ability to elongate his neck and tongue and heal injuries by shedding his skin. He can summon snakes to do his bidding as well, ranging from those of average size to the colossal Manda. His students Kabuto and Sasuke inherit this love of everything serpentine from him. |
| 66 | ** Later, in ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'' we have Orochimaru's son, Mitsuki, who has white snake motifs, but is a close friend of Boruto. We are also introduced to good summoned snakes like Aoda and Garaga. |
| 67 | * Medusa from ''Manga/SoulEater'' is another nasty manga/anime villain with a snake motif. |
| 68 | * Professor Cobra, the BigBadWannabe from season three of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''; his deck used venomous snake-like monsters. |
| 69 | * ''Anime/PrettyCure'': |
| 70 | ** TheDragon to the main villain of the second half of ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'' is the snake-themed Anacondy. |
| 71 | ** Cobraja, one of the villains from ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'', was created from the body of a cobra. |
| 72 | ** The BigBad of ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', Darknest, has a snake theme to their outfit. [[spoiler:There's a reason for this- she’s actually another Star Princess themed off the Ophiuchus, or "serpent-bearer", constellation.]] |
| 73 | * In ''Manga/FairyTail'', one of the [[ArcVillain Arc Villains]], aptly named "Cobra" (though that turns out just to be an epitaph) is described as a Poison Dragon Slayer with the ability to grow snake-like scales over his arms. As an added bonus, he has a large pet snake that can produce wings to fly, and breathe venom for him to draw power from. It's later downplayed when he pulls a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 74 | ** The [[Manga/FairyTail100YearsQuest sequel series]] has Lucy get transformed into a nure-onna, a kind of snake {{Youkai}}, giving her a snake body from the waist down. While like this, her otherwise sweet personality turns cruel and sadistic, as she ruthlessly brutalizes Natsu. |
| 75 | * ''Manga/RankingOfKings'': Subverted. One of the heroes most recurring and kind allies is Mitsumata, a gigantic and monstruous snake with two heads. He is the one that taught Bojji how to have his freakish speed, and spends the series as an ally to the heroes. |
| 76 | [[/folder]] |
| 77 | |
| 78 | [[folder:Art]] |
| 79 | * In ''Art/LaocoonAndHisSons'', sea-serpents are the bad guy in this narrative, and TheBadGuyWins. |
| 80 | * ''Art/TheSin'': The {{painting|s}} depicts the snake that first tempted Eve in Genesis, the snake is ObviouslyEvil in design. |
| 81 | * Art/SistineChapel: In addition to the Serpent from Genesis, a large snake can be seen coiling around Minos in “The Last Judgement” to let the viewer know he's one of the big dogs in Hell. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 85 | * "Atlantis Attacks" was a Creator/MarvelComics CrisisCrossover where the BigBad was Set, a [[EldritchAbomination gigantic six-headed serpent-demon]]. |
| 86 | * ''ComicBook/{{Darna}}'': The titular heroine's ArchEnemy is Valentina, the goddess of snakes. |
| 87 | * Franchise/TheDCU has a villainous "Cult of the Cobra" running around. |
| 88 | * ''ComicBook/{{Nnewts}}'': The Snake Lord, a giant red snake, is the BigBad who leads an army of evil lizards. |
| 89 | * Xenophobic ''ComicBook/Robin1993'' villain Sir Edmund Dorrance invokes the evil snake concept through his large snake tattoo and using "King Snake" as his code name. |
| 90 | * Lord Hebi from ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' is an ally of the main villain, Lord Hikiji. |
| 91 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': |
| 92 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Golden Age BigBad Mars has snakes painted on his armor. |
| 93 | ** Villain Circe generally keeps an array of [[ForcedTransformation Bestiamorphs]] about, but the only constant in their visual theme is snakes, especially large poisonous ones. |
| 94 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Vengeful fear god Deimos has venomous snakes in place of hair, and when he possesses ComicBook/TheJoker it changes his hair into snakes. |
| 95 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'': The twisting snake theme of Ares' helm is kicked up a notch by having a live snake twisted around the horns on each side of the helmet. [[spoiler:While this "Ares" is actually Deimos and Phobos merging their powers to impersonate their father rather than the real Ares their father does maintain his tie to venomous snakes]]. |
| 96 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanWarbringer'': Fear god Phobos who is part of a plan to destroy civilization and entangle humanity's remnants in a forever war has a snake motif, with a relief of Medusa's head on his helmet and snake-like fangs. |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 100 | * ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': |
| 101 | ** {{Averted}} by San -- he's originally a decapitated head of Ghidorah who ultimately goes through a HeelFaceTurn after merging with Vivienne Graham to form [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]], and he retains his old head's serpentine qualities when Monster X metamorphoses into its second form. |
| 102 | ** With [=MaNi=]/Elder Brother, however, this trope is in full effect. If his relation to Ghidorah isn't enough, there's also the fact his new body incorporates both a Skullcrawler ''and'' a Warbat into it. Maybe Ghidorah just favors serpentine creatures as worthy pawns because of their resemblance to it? |
| 103 | * ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': [[spoiler:Iori Jabami, who is able to control snakes through his talent as the Ultimate Snake Charmer, turns out to be [[OnceAnEpisode the resident "unsympathetic Chapter 3 killer"]], displaying [[AGodAmI delusions of godhood]] and a willingness to laugh at Nanae [[KillTheCutie as the students are forced to execute her]]. Naturally, many of the students agree he had it coming when [[TheKillerBecomesTheKilled he's killed the following chapter]]]]. |
| 104 | * 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". |
| 105 | * ''Fanfic/OldWest'' is set after the events of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' (see the Western Animation section below), and it averts this trope by featuring snakes who come from both sides of the morality spectrum. The canonical [[TheDreaded Rattlesnake Jake]] is [[AdaptationalHeroism portrayed]] as an AntiHero, and he [[PetTheDog shows once in a while that he is capable of compassion]]. Another main character, [[DeterminedHomesteader Grace Glossy]], is a law-abiding and honest boar-farmer and a [[MamaBear devoted single mother]] for her only child [[ChildrenAreInnocent Teddy]]. One of the antagonists includes a kingsnake named [[PsychoForHire Henry]], who's [[WordOfGod explicitly]] stated to be the {{Expy}} of [[Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest Frank]]. There's also Grace's cowardly con artist husband Benjamin Hares who ends up on the villainous side for self-serving reasons. Unfortunately for good snakes like Grace and Teddy, most of the Mojave Desert's inhabitants [[FantasticRacism fear and despise snakes]] in general. The wariness can be partly explained by the fact that snakes are predators, but the bad apples make people scorn the more well-meaning snakes. |
| 106 | * Entirely averted with the various prehistoric snake species rescued in ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReimagined''. The most prominent snake in the story, a ''Dinilysia'' named Kaa, is even portrayed as one of the friendlier park creatures, bonding quite closely with Jack Denham. |
| 107 | * In ''Fanfic/TwinklingInTheDark'', [[Anime/SmilePrecure Majorina]]'s evil magic sends a mean snake into the [[Anime/TropicalRougePrettyCure Pretty Holic Salon]]. However, once Majorina leaves and the Cures are able to purify the salon, the snake turns out to be friendly ([[Anime/HugttoPrettyCure Homare]] identifies him as an African egg-eating snake, a type that doesn't bite), and Manatsu names him Biscuit. |
| 108 | * 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. |
| 109 | * In the crossover ''Fanfic/TheHaterGood'' Pele, Sanjay's adopted brother is the leader of the Doom Demons and claims to be the most evil of his siblings. |
| 110 | * In ''{{Fanfic/Pokempanions}}'' Serperior murdered a Mimikyu couple and tried to kill their son for five years. |
| 111 | * ''Fanfic/AWaterbendingQuirk'' features Kobura, a member of a ruthless mercenary group known as the Hunters, and he has a "Spitting Cobra" Quirk that makes him a [[SnakePeople snake-person]]. |
| 112 | * ''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's familiar is a viper named Trowser who acts dopey and [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]]. |
| 113 | [[/folder]] |
| 114 | |
| 115 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 116 | * In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', Jafar uses snake motifs throughout the movie, and when he wants to amp up the evil, he [[ScaledUp turns into a giant cobra]]. |
| 117 | * ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheOutback'': Played with, 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. |
| 118 | * 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. ''Then'' he turns out to be a DoubleAgent as he foils the true villain's masterplan and assures his friendship with the others.]] |
| 119 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToasterToTheRescue'' averts this with Murgatroyd, who is a good-natured and polite friend of Toaster and the others. |
| 120 | * An interesting case was Kaa in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'', a python who, in the movie, tries to prey on Mowgli. A clear case of AdaptationalVillainy (Kaa was Mowgli's friend, though a [[CreepyGood rather frightening one]], in the book version) he was made a villain here ''because'' of this Trope. As in, Disney didn't think audiences would accept a benevolent snake character. However, this is downplayed with his younger self in ''WesternAnimation/JungleCubs''. |
| 121 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Koati}}'': |
| 122 | ** Played straight with Zaina, a coral snake who takes over after [[spoiler:Balam]]'s death. She leads the residents of Xo on a FatalForcedMarch to "not Xo". |
| 123 | ** Jithu is an anaconda who is fully aligned with Zaina's plans and does what she tells him. Upon her defeat, however, he quickly allies with the winning side and appears to live peacefully with them in the future. |
| 124 | * ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' has a notable aversion with Viper, who is one of the nicest members of the Furious Five. Also averted in the short film ''Secrets of the Furious Five'' with Grand Master Viper, Viper's father, a heroic snake who protects his village from the bad guys and loves his daughter. |
| 125 | * 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/TheLionKing1994'' was a python who was going to serve as TheDragon to Scar, thus playing this trope straight. |
| 126 | * 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. |
| 127 | * ''Film/PinchcliffeGrandPrix''. The antagonist is running for an oil Company called "Snake Oil". Do the Math. |
| 128 | * Ju-Ju in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is an aversion, a friendly and good-natured assistant to the benevolent voodoo priestess Mama Odie. |
| 129 | * ''WesternAnimation/QuestForZhu'' has Mazhula, a cobra-dinosaur hybrid, for a villainess. |
| 130 | * While ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' averts ReptilesAreAbhorrent overall with several heroic reptilian characters (including the protagonist, a chameleon, and his LoveInterest, an iguana), it features Rattlesnake [[RhymingNames 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.]] |
| 131 | * Sir Hiss in ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'' is a ButtMonkey servant to Prince John, and his hypnosis is implied to be the reason why the King went on his crusade in the first place |
| 132 | * Averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Sahara}}'' [[note]] The 2017 animation [[/note]], where most of the main characters, including TheProtagonist Ajar, are snakes. (Ajar in particular is a cobra). Also an inversion if you count that the BigBad Omar is a cruel [[HumansAreBastards human]]. |
| 133 | * Lutador in ''WesternAnimation/{{Vivo}}'' is an intimidating Burmese python who bullies everyone into silence. He attempts to eat Vivo, and later Gabi and the Sand Dollars. |
| 134 | * Subverted with [[NiceGuy Larry]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheWild''. He's an anaconda, which is part of the good guys, although he is friendly and kind, he is also a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 138 | * Numerous monster movies where the villain is a giant snake, such as ''Film/{{Anaconda}}'', ''Film/{{Python}}'', and ''Film/KingCobra1999''. They tend to be portrayed as a SuperPersistentPredator who eat entire towns for breakfast. One of the monsters in ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' was a send-up to this genre. |
| 139 | * ''Film/TheCell'': In the final showdown in Catherine's mind, Demon Carl manifests as a black snake swimming in a small pool before emerging as a snake-like man, with tattoos on his head and a massive cape clearly resembling scales. The [[BirdVsSerpent white peacocks]] in the dream also react with terror to his presence. |
| 140 | * Subverted with DJ Herzogenaurach from ''Film/ChipNDaleRescueRangers''. At first, Chip and Dale think he is a mean and menacing snake, but it is later revealed that he is a NiceGuy and a huge fan of Chip 'n Dale. |
| 141 | * In ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' the BigBad is the head of a snake-worshipping cult, and in the climax [[ScaledUp turns into a snake himself.]] |
| 142 | * Nancy is paralleled with snakes in ''Film/TheCraft''. In fact, right before her FaceHeelTurn into the movie's antagonist, she's seen telling Sarah "the serpent is a very powerful being, you should respect it." |
| 143 | * The Taiwanese martial arts film, ''Film/TheEvilKarate'', has one of its villains, the DarkActionGirl assassin, carrying a poisonous ''live'' snake as her main weapon just to emphasize the "Look I'm eeeeeeeeeeevvvvilll" aspect every time she shows up onscreen. She notably uses this snake to kill the main character's mentor. |
| 144 | * ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' - Satanico Pandemonium does a sexy dance with a snake draped around her. It's around this point that things go quite bad for the protagonists, and she herself turns into a snake-featured vampire. |
| 145 | * Carla Rainer - the scheming murderess in ''Film/ExceptionToTheRule'' - really has a thing for serpents. Besides injecting two men with sea snake venom and wearing a glove bearing a shiny snake-like motif, she leaves a live snake as a 'present' for another of her victims. |
| 146 | * In ''Film/FiveDeadlyVenoms'', all of the title characters have AnimalThemeNaming based around venomous creatures. Snake is one of the bad guys, a cunning ManipulativeBastard whose style of kung fu revolves around using one hand to deliver fast, carefully-targeted strikes (the snake's "fangs"), and using the other hand (the "tail") to redirect his opponent's attacks. He's also extremely flexible and, if knocked onto his back, can slither away with incredible speed and get back up. Unusually, [[spoiler: he is the only one of the movie's three villains to express any remorse for his crimes, realizing that BeingEvilSucks. The other two bad guys are named after bugs - [[CreepyCentipedes Centipede]] and [[ScaryScorpions Scorpion]], specifically - and have no conscience whatever.]] |
| 147 | * ''Film/{{Gamera}}'': One of Gamera's scrapped enemies is Garasharp, a cobra kaiju with two horns who was meant to be the turtles' nemesis [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent akin]] to King Ghidorah and Godzilla, curiously her offspring would avert this as they were meant to be innocent and spared by Gamera who takes them to an island to live in peace away from humanity. Her movie was scrapped but she ended up having a canonical appearance in the fan-made comic, ''"The Last Hope"'', which was later canonized. |
| 148 | * A UsefulNotes/ColdWar-era Royal Air Force InstructionalFilm, narrated by an animated cartoon snake with a faux Russian accent, warned of the dangers of HISS ([[FunWithAcronyms Hostile Intelligence ServiceS]]). |
| 149 | * ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'' has the highly venomous black mambas as hazardous obstacles that the main characters must face. The sequel ''Film/JumanjiTheNextLevel'' adds a giant anaconda that eats Fridge at the start of the game, costing him one life. |
| 150 | * Kaa is a sinister villain in [[Film/TheJungleBook2016 the 2016 remake]] of ''[[WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}} The Jungle Book]]'' and intent on eating Mowgli, unlike his portrayal in the books. [[GenderFlip She's]] also absolutely ''huge'': at one point she's visible in a long-range shot in both the background and the foreground and her head is big enough that she could easily swallow Mowgli without stretching her jaws. |
| 151 | * In ''Film/LockjawRiseOfTheKulevSerpent'', Lockjaw is a giant snake [[MixAndMatchCritters with the head of an alligator]]. As a magical spirit of vengeance, [[SuperPersistentPredator it will not stop once it has been summoned until it has killed those it was summoned to punish]]. |
| 152 | * Franchise/MonsterVerse: There have been several instances of snake-themed kaiju, and all of them are malevolent. The closest to a heroic snake-themed Titan we've gotten so far is the crocodilian-looking Godzilla. |
| 153 | ** The Skullcrawlers featured in ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' and ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' are essentially built like giant snakes with just two forelimbs for locomoting. They're also described as particularly nasty creatures, they're driven by HorrorHunger to hunt and eat anything they come across relentlessly, and among the creature kingdom on Skull Island, the Skullcrawlers are an invasive species that will destroy the entire ecosystem if they aren't kept in check. They're even described as the local devils to Kong's God. |
| 154 | ** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': King Ghidorah's serpentine traits are much more emphasized in this version, including how he has forked tongues that occasionally flick, and how his tail occasionally produces rattle sounds. In his third and final clash with Godzilla, his heads actually constrict Godzilla in a fashion similar to pythons. |
| 155 | ** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': The Warbats are huge winged serpents, described by the official merchandise as being easily capable of ripping through armored vehicles with their fangs, and they're not friendly. |
| 156 | * Being TruerToTheText, ''Film/{{Mowgli}}'' averts this with its portrayal of Kaa, who is a wise ally of Mowgli just like in the books. [[GenderFlip She]] ''is'', however, still [[CreepyGood creepy and terrifying]]. |
| 157 | * Taken to the extreme in ''Film/OnceUponAWarrior''. The villain, Sorceress Irendri, has snake-themed powers, including her poisonous touch, abilities to fire hundreds of flying, poisonous snakes from her hands to pursue her targets, and her lair being a snake-shaped citadel, her dungeon's bars being modeled after snakes (that can come to life and attack intruders) as well as her final OneWingedAngel form in the finale: turning into a Medusa-like snake-human hybrid to pummel the heroes. |
| 158 | * ''Film/{{Primal}}'': When Loffler releases Walsh's animals after he escapes, the thing that most worries the passengers and crew--after the 400 lb jaguar--is the two bushmaster snakes. The crew point out that a ship has countless small spaces they could hide in, and Walsh says they will head for the warmest, moistest pace on the ship: the engine room. Later, Captain Morales gets bitten on the leg in the engine room. |
| 159 | * In the new version of ''Film/TheShaggyDog''. Has a notable aversion to the snake, due to the dog serum, [[FountainOfYouth which made him go from a dying old snake to a strong young snake]], [[SideEffectsInclude but which had side effects, such as having a dog's tail and canine behaviors]]. The snake is very good, nice, and friendly. He helps Dave out of his cage when Dave asks him to find the keys. |
| 160 | * ''Film/ShanghaiGrand'': The film's main villainess has a pet boa constrictor which she feeds her enemies to. |
| 161 | * One of the omens of Bughuul, the pagan god in ''Film/{{Sinister}}'' is a snake, along with [[ScaryScorpions a scorpion]] and [[{{Hellhound}} an enormous dog.]] |
| 162 | * White Mamba in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' is a Snake Woman very bad. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 166 | * In ''Literature/AnkletForAPrincess'', this is averted with Godfather Snake. Though he's a massive serpent who looks frightening, he is a kind and benevolent father figure to Cinduri and takes her under his wing immediately upon their first meeting. |
| 167 | * Averted in the ''Ashtown Burials'' series with Nolan/Nikales, who is cursed with snakelike attributes, often referred to as "little snake" by other characters, looks generally creepy, prefers to sneak around and stay out of sight...and is a loyal and brave ally of the protagonists. Arachne does the same thing with SpidersAreScary. |
| 168 | * Mr. Snake in ''Literature/TheBadGuys'' series is one of the villains [[HeelFaceTurn attempting to atone]] from the beginning of the series. Unlike the others, he is still a bit slow on fully becoming good, and is very sour on the situation, often screwing up situations by his irritation and eating people he shouldn't. |
| 169 | * [[spoiler:Hank Hissler, aka, the Hisser]], from ''Literature/{{Cape}}'', has the power to turn into a giant snake. |
| 170 | * In the Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian franchise, anything and anyone related to snakes are AlwaysChaoticEvil without fail. Of note is the nation of Stygia. It uses a lot of serpent imagery, it's home to the [[ReligionOfEvil Cult of Set]], which worships a snake-like god and practices all manner of human sacrifice, and the land is ruled by numerous iron-fisted {{Evil Sorcerer}}s. |
| 171 | ** In the short story, ''Literature/TheGodInTheBowl'', a massive snake-like ''[[AnimalisticAbomination thing]]'' turns out to be responsible for the murders in Kallian Publico's Temple. It's unknown what it is, but just seeing it is enough to nearly drive Conan mad and force him to leave the city in a fright, even though he just decapitated it. |
| 172 | ** In ''Literature/TheScarletCitadel'', there is Satha, the giant [[LightIsNotGood white]] snake that ranks chief among [[EvilSorceror Tsotha-Lanti's]] "pets". Ironically though, Conan admits he actually ''likes'' Satha the most, as of the [[EldritchAbomination monstrosities]] in Tsotha's dungeons at least Satha offers only a swift physical death. |
| 173 | * The Franchise/CthulhuMythos is home to Yig, a serpent god who came out of Creator/HPLovecraft collaborating with Zealia Bishop. Yig, in his first story, isn't so much "evil" or "alien, inhuman and maddening" as he is "fiercely protective of snakes, and extremely vengeful"; kill snakes in Yig's territory, and madness, death, and giving birth to snake/human hybrids await. Yig is generally considered to be one of the more reasonable of the Great Old Ones, but he's definitely not cuddly. |
| 174 | * ''Literature/TheLittleGreyMenSeries'': The BigBad from ''Down the Bright Stream'' is a treacherous, sadistic adder with a fondness for eating baby birds. |
| 175 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'' zigzags this: |
| 176 | ** The BigBad Voldemort has snakes as his AnimalMotifs. He is a Parselmouth (which means he can talk to snakes), he has a pet snake called Nagini, he was sorted into Slytherin House (see below), and his appearance (especially his eyes and nostrils) is often compared to snakes. |
| 177 | ** Slytherin House's name sounds like "slithering", and has a snake as its mascot. This house has a reputation for raising the most dark wizards, including Voldemort himself. The House's founder, Salazar Slytherin, was a Parselmouth too. |
| 178 | ** It is noted that being a Parselmouth is often seen as a sinister and evil trait in the Wizarding World. The power itself is not evil, and most snakes are just ordinary animals, but due to Voldemort being a well-known Parselmouth, as well as a long history of ill-famed historical figures, the ability is tainted in the public eye. |
| 179 | ** The Basilisk is a monstrous snake that has been placed in the Chamber of Secrets under Hogwarts by Salazar Slytherin, and only can be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin. Its task is to rid the school of [[FantasticRacism muggle-borns]]. |
| 180 | ** Averted with the boa constrictor that Harry Potter accidentally [[EscapedAnimalRampage releases]] in the first book. It just wants to leave the zoo and go to Brazil. |
| 181 | ** Also averted with a snake seen in a flashback in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', to which Morfin is crooning in Parseltongue, "''Hissy, hissy little snakey / Slither on the floor / You be good to Morfin / Or he'll nail you to the door!''" This is just a harmless random snake that twisted Morfin is taking a sadistic pleasure in torturing. |
| 182 | ** In TheFilmOfTheBook for ''Chamber of Secrets'' [[WickedCultured Lucius Malfoy]] carries a cane tipped with a silver snake's head that [[SwordCane conceals his wand]], as well as having snake-motif cloak clasps. |
| 183 | ** Averted with the Horned Serpent, one of the four houses of Ilvermorny (the magic school of North America). Despite the similar imagery, its closest counterpart in Hogwarts is actually [[TheSmartGuy Ravenclaw]], being a house renowned for producing scholars and thinkers. Its founder, Isolt Sayre, ''was'' descended from the infamous House of Gaunt, but she's a WhiteSheep who sought to establish harmony between Majs and [[{{Muggle}} No-Majs]], and even married a No-Maj to boot. |
| 184 | * Averted in the children's book ''Literature/TheDayJimmysBoaAteTheWash''. While Jimmy's boa scares the farmer's wife and the chickens, it doesn't mean to cause any harm and is fairly non-aggressive. TheStinger even shows that the farmer's wife took a liking to it, keeping it inside with them in the winter and knitting it a long sweater. |
| 185 | * ''Literature/TheJungleBook'': |
| 186 | ** Mowgli's story (the original, not the Disney version): Mowgli falls into a cobra pit, but thanks to [[SpeaksFluentAnimal animal speak]] is able to ask them not to attack. Kaa the python is actually a heroic character and a mentor to Mowgli. He's feared, yes, but also respected and portrayed as very wise, even referred to as "all-knowing". Disney's adaptations of the Mowgli stories [[AdaptationalVillainy tend to completely ignore this]]. |
| 187 | ** A later story has Mowgli fall into an ancient treasure trove guarded by a cobra... whose venom sacs have shrivelled up a long time since. |
| 188 | ** In ''Rikki-Tikki-Tavi'', another story in the book, the hero is a mongoose, a cute furry predator of snakes among other prey, so of course he encounters not only evil cobras (who plot to kill the humans who've adopted him out of spite) but a smaller snake called Krait. |
| 189 | * Every single snake that's appeared in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' series is pure evil. The first one ever seen is a monstrous adder named Asmodeus, while others include a TreacherousAdvisor grass snake living on a huge raven's head, a blind and insane adder descended from Asmodeus, a gigantic lake-dwelling snake known as the Deepcoiler, and three conjoined adders that basically function as a hydra. |
| 190 | * Averted in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' with the Incredibly Deadly Viper. Despite its [[IronicName name]], it's actually stated to be one of the friendliest animals in existence. It also becomes very good friends with Sunny in the second book. |
| 191 | * ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' |
| 192 | ** In "The Speckled Band", a fictional snake is used as the villain's murder weapon (albeit with lots of ArtisticLicenseBiology). Holmes [[spoiler:turns it against the murderer.]] |
| 193 | ** In another story, Holmes compares a particularly odious blackmailer to a snake. |
| 194 | ---> "Do you feel a creeping, shrinking sensation, Watson, when you stand before the serpents at the zoo and see the slithering, gliding, venomous creatures, with their deadly eyes and wicked, flattened faces? Well, that's how Milverton impresses me. I've had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me the repulsion I have for this fellow." |
| 195 | * The titular ship and crew of ''Literature/TheShipThatSailedToMars'' are nearly swallowed by the massive "Snake of Eden" on their interplanetary travels. |
| 196 | * In the Oscar Wilde short story ''Literature/TheStarChild'', the titular child is a [[BeautyIsBad beautiful boy who is innerly cruel and evil]]. He suffers a karmic punishment to be transformed into a [[SnakePeople snake hybrid]] to reflect how he is on the inside. |
| 197 | * The novelisation of ''Film/SupermanReturns'' plays with this: in this adaption, Superman's famous S logo is explained to not only be his ancient family crest but in the shape of a serpent coiled inside a diamond shield, a warning not to return to the [[WarIsHell violence of war]]. So while Superman is unambiguously heroic, the snake still represents a dangerous motif. |
| 198 | * In the second ''Literature/TimeOutOfTime'' book "The Telling Stone", Balor rides on a giant snake in the battle at the Travelers' Market. The snake appears again near the end of the book in Dunsinane to kill Timothy to keep him from being the next keeper of the market. |
| 199 | * Louise the Larger in ''Literature/AWindInTheDoor'' is a complete aversion -- she's completely harmless and, as a Teacher, is a benevolent figure in her own right. |
| 200 | [[/folder]] |
| 201 | |
| 202 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 203 | * ''Series/Charmed1998'': |
| 204 | ** "That Old Black Magic" featured the evil witch Tuatha, who had a snake for a familiar. The snake could be summoned at will, sent for recon, and regenerated into two separate snakes when cut in half. There was also a spirit who protected an Egyptian urn that could summon animals to kill those who'd stolen it; one of those animals was a cobra. |
| 205 | ** In "Animal Pragmatism" three college girls use a spell to turn a snake, a rabbit, and a pig into human men. The "Snake" wants to stay human and is willing to kill people to achieve that goal. |
| 206 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': The Sand Snakes (Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene), which is the collective name for Prince Oberyn "The Red Viper" Martell's bastard daughters, received AdaptationalVillainy where they committed RevengeByProxy on Princess Myrcella Baratheon [[spoiler:by poisoning her]] and killed [[spoiler:their own uncle and cousin]] who do not support their plans in avenging their father despite that it's a lawful trial by combat. Averted with the Red Viper himself who did want revenge for his dead sister, niece, and nephew, but ''didn't'' want to hurt innocent people. |
| 207 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'': The franchise uses a snake motif for the MonsterOfTheWeek fairly often. However, in more specific examples regarding Riders themselves: |
| 208 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' has the Mirror Monster Venosnaker, who's shown to be vicious and animalistic; appropriately enough its [[BondCreatures partner]] Kamen Rider Ouja (Takeshi Asakura) is a SerialKiller, meaning they get along just fine. |
| 209 | *** Venosnaker's [[Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight Western counterpart]] zig-zags this trope; its original partner Pryce is an honest and noble man, but his TransformationTrinket fell into the hands of his AlternateSelf James Trademore, a hacker and master manipulator who works with the BigBad. |
| 210 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' has the cobra-themed villain Blood Stalk [[spoiler: a.k.a Souichi Isurugi a.k.a Evolt/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Evolto]] and later Kamen Rider Evol, who is a part of a terrorist/scientist cabal Faust, who is in reality is an alien invader. Evolt's monster form also resembles a humanoid alien cobra]]. |
| 211 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'' is the one that averts this. Kamen Rider Jeanne (Sakura Igarashi) is heroic and has a cobra theme. Even her Inner Demon, Lovekov, looks more like a cute anthropomorphic plush snake and is fairly docile and willing to help her. |
| 212 | * ''Series/MonsterWarriors'': The MonsterOfTheWeek in "Anaconda of the North Woods" is a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant anaconda]]. |
| 213 | * ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': |
| 214 | ** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': |
| 215 | *** One of the earliest [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] the Rangers fought was Snizzard, a [[MixAndMatchCritters snake/lizard creature]]. |
| 216 | *** [[BigBad Lord Zedd's]] [[SerpentStaff staff could transform into a snake]]. |
| 217 | ** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': The monster of the week in "A Red Romance" was Maronda, a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Lamia]]-themed monster. She could capture people by conjuring snakes to ensnare them and rode a snake-themed motorcycle. |
| 218 | ** ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'': Averted with Jake, the Black Ranger, who has a snake zord. |
| 219 | ** ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'': The BigBad is a cobra-themed ComputerVirus named Evox. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that the reason for his snake avatar is because of an experiment of Nate's on the [[Series/PowerRangersRPM Cell Shift Morpher]] housing his data involving snake DNA, transforming him [[ReturningBigBad from Venjix to Evox]]]]. |
| 220 | * While less often than its sister series and adaptation, ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' uses snake-themed monsters occasionally. |
| 221 | ** Averted with [=GoseiBlack=] (Agri) from ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'', who for a while was the sole snake-themed Ranger in the franchise. |
| 222 | ** Hebitsukai Silver (Naga Ray) from ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuranger'' has a snake motif to him [[spoiler:and gets temporarily brainwashed into evil as Hebitsukai Metal for a number of episodes, though he still can turn into Hebitsukai Metal as a power-up after returning to good]]. |
| 223 | * ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Narek pilots a Snakehead, a Romulan scout ship, which reinforces the theme of Romulan culture identifying itself with predatory animals (the most famous being the raptor) to reflect its history of violence and conquest. The curved "wings" of his vessel are somewhat reminiscent of the hood of a cobra. In a SpaceBattle with ''La Sirena'', Narek proves to be a dangerous adversary, and Rios would later nickname him "snakehead" to express his disdain for the Zhat Vash spy, which is appropriate because Narek did try to murder Soji with a poisonous gas (his "venom," so to speak). |
| 224 | * The ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' have various kaijus modeled after snakes,and '''NONE''' of them are friendly. |
| 225 | ** ''Series/UltramanEighty'': One of the most powerful and dangerous MonsterOfTheWeek is Gamos, a cobra-headed monster that is said to have destroyed entire planets in its rampage, as well as killing Alien Zuckal's family and disintegrating several innocent people with its Acid spit ([[spoiler:including a child!]]) ONSCREEN during its rampage on earth. |
| 226 | ** A similar planet destroyer called Bogarl shows up in ''Series/UltramanMebius''; modeled after cobras her main trait is her ability to eat other Kaiju swallowing them whole like a snake, she destroyed the peaceful Planet Aarb prior to the series by eating all of its inhabitants, and can regenerate injuries to fight Ultraman Mebius several times. Her offspring, Lesser Bogarls, follow her example. |
| 227 | ** From ''Series/UltramanX'' there is Gargorgon, a reptilian kaiju based on a gorgon, with three snake-like heads. Yes, once again, this one is also responsible for wiping out an entire civilization in the past, specifically by [[TakenForGranite turning its inhabitants to stone]], and is one of the first WakeUpCallBoss kaiju of the show. |
| 228 | ** The ultimate BigBad of ''Series/UltramanOrb'' is Maga-Orochi, which, much like its namesake, is an unstoppable juggernaut of a kaiju with a snake-looking appearance. |
| 229 | ** ''Series/UltramanRB'' has another serpent-themed kaiju, Snake Darkness, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. It serves as one the strongest kaiju opponents in ''Film/UltramanRBTheMovieSelectTheCrystalOfBond''. |
| 230 | * ''Series/{{V 2009}}'': Anna, the leader of the Visitors in the reboot, has some noticeable serpentine features, such as very short hair, a long neck, and a very slender frame. Of course, underneath her human skin, she's really a [[LizardFolk lizard person]]. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
| 232 | |
| 233 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 234 | * There's a PlaygroundSong based upon a Creator/ShelSilverstein poem called "I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor", which exploits the fear of a snake being able to eat a person. |
| 235 | -->''Oh, heck! He's up to my neck!''\ |
| 236 | ''Oh, dread! He's up to my [[SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion *GULP* ]]'' |
| 237 | * ''Many'' heavy metal bands ranging from Music/AliceCooper to Soundgarden to Symphony X use snakes as symbols of fear, and this translates to heavier music. |
| 238 | * Music/PaulaAbdul: HE'S A COLD-HEARTED SNAKE! Look into his eyes, he's been tellin' lies. |
| 239 | * "Attacked by Snakes!" by ''Music/TheAquabats'', where a hapless fellow finds his front lawn infested with thousands of angry snakes that are after him for some reason: |
| 240 | -->Attacked by snakes, by snakes\ |
| 241 | So many snakes it would take a thousand rakes\ |
| 242 | To contain the snakes after me\ |
| 243 | I'd rather be burned at the stake than be\ |
| 244 | Attacked by snakes! |
| 245 | * Music/PoetsOfTheFall's [[TragicMistake Hamartia]], the MonsterClown SlasherSmile wearing jester mascot of ''Twilight Theater's'' [[http://poetsofthefall.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/PotF_-_Twilight_Theater-550x550.jpg album art]], sports a HappyHarlequinHat with a flap that turns into the silhouetted, coiling head of a serpent. |
| 246 | * The Belgian synthpop group Telex are probably best remembered for their song "Raised by Snakes", which goes thus: |
| 247 | -->I was raised by snakes\ |
| 248 | I lie all the time |
| 249 | * The primary villain of ''Captain Beaky and His Band'' by Jeremy Lloyd is "Hissing Sid, an evil snake". (Although a {{meme}} of the period insisted "Hissing Sid is innocent, OK?") |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 | |
| 252 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 253 | * Snakes, serpents, and other similar creatures that crawl on their bellies are often identified as being evil and unclean in Literature/TheBible, starting all the way back in the Literature/BookOfGenesis, in which Satan disguises himself as a serpent to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. Because of this, not only does God curse the serpent for it deceiving Eve and Adam to sin, but almost all snakes and serpents throughout the rest of the Bible are regarded as symbols of evil and immorality. |
| 254 | ** On the other hand, Jesus tells his followers to "be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." |
| 255 | ** Moses also turned his staff into a snake to show the power of God; likewise, during the 40-year Exodus trek, the Israelites set up a copper snake as a healing symbol for those who were bitten by fiery serpents. Historians argue that this snake was the original totem connected to the tribe of Dan. By the time of King Hezekiah, the copper snake was being worshiped as an idol, and the king ended up destroying it, calling it Nehushtan ("a thing of bronze") to mock the Jews for their idiocy in worshiping a lifeless object. |
| 256 | ** There are also the 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 cinders. |
| 257 | ** And then there's St. Patrick, who according to legend cast the snakes out of Ireland (assuming there ever were snakes in Ireland to begin with). |
| 258 | * The snake is associated with the deadly sin of [[GreenEyedMonster Envy]] and its patron demon Leviathan is usually depicted as a giant serpentine sea monster. Leviathan in general is an example of this, even before the concept of the SevenDeadlySins came about. |
| 259 | * {{Orochi}}, the eight-headed serpent of Myth/JapaneseMythology. It preyed on a family's daughters for seven years simply because it could (what it ate before it coerced the couple into feeding it their daughters is never stated). |
| 260 | * In Myth/GreekMythology: Greek mythology is full of this. There are a lot of snake or dragon monsters roaming about that are killed or otherwise defeated by a hero or god. |
| 261 | ** Apollo slew Python to gain control of the Delphic oracle. Typhon was Zeus' ArchEnemy and the greatest threat faced by the Olympians. Zeus also slew Campe to free the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from Tartarus. Andromeda was to be fed to a sea serpent known as Cetus. Scylla was portrayed as being part serpent. |
| 262 | ** Hera sent two snakes to kill Hercules just after his birth. This failed, however, when he strangled the snakes to death in his crib. Later in life, Hercules would slay the Hydra as one of his Twelve Labors. |
| 263 | ** Though subverted by Asclepius, a healing god who's associated with snakes due to the SerpentOfImmortality trope; his signifier was the caduceus, a rod with a snake entwined around it that's still a medical emblem today, and one of his temples even encouraged the local harmless snakes to take up residence on the grounds. |
| 264 | * 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 and protecting Lower Egypt whose symbols were worn by the Pharaoh, while the latter is a wise judge and Ra's advisor. |
| 265 | * Myth/NorseMythology: This is a recurrent theme throughout, although examples are less numerous than that of Greek mythology. Jormungandr, aka the Midgard Serpent, is an evil serpent so huge that he can wrap himself around the world. He's Thor's ArchEnemy and the two are fated to kill each other at Ragnarok. Nidhogg is a vile serpent/dragon that lives at a root of Yggdrasil and chews on it. Unlike Jormungandr, [[TheBadGuyWins he'll survive Ragnarok]]. There are also several instances of heroes slaying [[PoisonIsEvil poison-spewing]] dragons in all branches of Germanic mythology. |
| 266 | * The EasternZodiac designates the Snake as the sixth year, because the Snake hid himself on the Horse's foreleg, then slithered to the finish line just to scare her! |
| 267 | * [[DependingontheWriter Some versions]] of the Myth/ArthurianLegend feature this as the final step in the downfall and death of King Arthur: When Arthur leads his vastly outnumbered army against the traitor Mordred's troops, he has his knights negotiate a temporary truce, hoping this will give some much-needed reinforcements time to arrive. As the terms of the agreement are to be finalised, an adder bites one of the knights, who draws his sword to kill it in retaliation. This, interpreted as an act of aggression on neutral ground by onlookers, triggers the massive Battle of Camlann that claims the lives of almost everyone there, including Arthur himself. |
| 268 | [[/folder]] |
| 269 | |
| 270 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 271 | * Averted with Shannon's pet in the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' ''Franchise/HarryPotter''-themed game ''Hogwarts: The New Class'', a piebald ball python named Sekhmet who cuddles up to her chest as soon as she purchases her. |
| 272 | * This trope is subverted in ''Podcast/SibyllineSounds'' with the characters Sage and Calister. Sage is a snake who uses the hypnotic abilities that snakes normally use for evil in fiction for good by working as a hypnotherapist. Calister is also a friendly snake who only uses his hypnotic abilities recreationally. Although it is played straight with Jajuka, who is a FauxAffablyEvil predator, and Cypdes, who is a dragon god who can shapeshift into a snake to eat or enslave those who intrude into his temple. |
| 273 | * ''Podcast/TrialsAndTrebuchets'' gives us two snake-themed villains: [[spoiler:[[BigBad the Progenitor]]]], who has the head of a cobra, and [[spoiler:Neska]], who has a [[TheGreatSerpent giant snake form]]. |
| 274 | [[/folder]] |
| 275 | |
| 276 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 277 | * ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': Subverted. When Robin expresses a fear of snakes, Kermit yelps in fright, then checks the room for snakes. Robin says this isn't helping, but then Kermit assures him that snakes can be beautiful. After an ImagineSpot with snakes dancing to "In a Persian Market", Robin sees his point, and a group of friendly snakes have joined them. |
| 278 | -->'''Robin:''' You know, Uncle Kermit, snakes are really very nice.\ |
| 279 | ''[The camera zooms out to reveal snakes in the room.]''\ |
| 280 | '''Snakes:''' ''[in unison]'' Thank you.\ |
| 281 | '''Kermit and Robin:''' ''[in unison]'' Uh... you're welcome. |
| 282 | [[/folder]] |
| 283 | |
| 284 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 285 | %%* ''TabletopGame/TheDayAfterRagnarok'': After the Serpentfall, giant snakes, and other snake-like monsters, are everywhere. |
| 286 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 287 | ** In all editions, the yuan-ti are a race of SnakePeople who are AlwaysChaoticEvil. |
| 288 | ** ''Elder Evils'': Taking after the serpent of Eden, the snakelike demon lord Setrous is a primal liar and corrupter, the source of heresy and the one who first lured mortals away from the gods. He's served by serpentine monsters, such as nagas, hydras and yuan-ti, and as he rises the earth becomes covered by great tides of writhing snakes. Notably, he wasn't always a serpent -- his original form isn't known -- but adopted his current aspect when he possessed a regular snake in order to hide from his enemies. |
| 289 | ** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': Dendar the Night Serpent is an ancient, evil being who delights in the nightmares of others and dreams of the day when she will be strong enough to end the world. |
| 290 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'': House Delaque incorporates a snake into its heraldry and is considered to be the creepiest of all the Clan Houses, due to its membership consisting of spies and assassins. The models for the 3rd Edition of the game take things even further with the high collars of their [[BadassLongcoat stormcoats]] resembling a cobra's hood, their armour having a segmented scale-like look, and the models themselves being tall and sinuous. |
| 291 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' shares many monsters with Dungeons and Dragons, but one monster unique to Pathfinder is an Ouroboros. This astral beast is an embodiment of eternity and its form is not just a snake eating its own tail but it's actually made of smaller snakes which in turn are made of a Matroska doll of endlessly smaller snakes. An Ouroboros isn't "evil" but it considers anything in its sight a threat and it deals with threats by attacking. Given that an Ouroboros is mightier than an ancient dragon, weighs hundreds of tons, regenerates 50 HP per round(!!!) and bleeds poisonous snakes plus it's so bewildering to look at - few creatures stick around to confront a raging Ouroboros. |
| 292 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Ponyfinder}}'': Apep, the most dangerous, feared, and evil of the gods, takes the form of an immense cobra. |
| 293 | * In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', snakes are often associated with the [[GodOfEvil Chaos God]] Slaanesh, the god of pleasure and pain. Many [[DemonOfHumanOrigin daemon princes]] of Slaanesh adopt a serpentine appearance, notably Dechala from ''Fantasy'' and Fulgrim from ''40,000''. Slaanesh is even called "The Serpent" in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar''. |
| 294 | * ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': |
| 295 | ** The [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Venom Venom]] and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Reptilianne Reptilianne]] archetypes. |
| 296 | *** Venom combines this trope with SwampsAreEvil, since the main card of the deck is [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Venom_Swamp Venom Swamp]], which slowly weakens all non-Venom monsters and destroys them when their ATK drops to 0. The two boss monsters of the archetype are DARK-attribute SnakePeople, [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Vennominaga_the_Deity_of_Poisonous_Snakes one of which]] is pretty much TheJuggernaut if you manage to summon her. |
| 297 | *** And should Vennominaga somehow fail, the deck's final trump card is usually [[https://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evil_Dragon_Ananta Ananta]], a monster based on the Lernaean Hydra. |
| 298 | *** All of the Reptilianne monsters are DARK-attribute gorgons in one way or another, and their effects revolve around reducing the ATK of opposing monsters to 0, emulating the whole TakenForGranite aspect of gorgons. |
| 299 | ** The aptly named [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Sinister_Serpent Sinister Serpent]]. It used to have a powerful effect that placed it squarely in the [[GameBreaker forbidden list]] until an errata greatly nerfed it. |
| 300 | ** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Divine_Serpent_Geh Divine Serpent Geh]], a GodOfEvil that rules over a dark dimension. In the anime, it's an embodiment of pure evil and possibly the most broken card to be ever invented. The real-life counterpart looks intimidating but is more of a case of AwesomeButImpractical. |
| 301 | ** The [[https://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Cyber_Dragon Cyber Dragon monsters]] are apparently based on Chinese dragons, but look more like mechanized snakes. They are used by Ryo Marufuji in the anime, who is an AloofAlly at best and an AxCrazy sociopath at worst. |
| 302 | [[/folder]] |
| 303 | |
| 304 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 305 | * ''[[Videogame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'': The CO Adder is one of the members of the antagonistic Black Hole army, and many of his mannerisms are based off of a snake. His CO Powers, Sideslip and Sidewinder/Snakebite boost his movement speed, invoking a sense of EvilSlinks, and he has a tendency to HissBeforeFleeing when he loses. |
| 306 | * ''VideoGame/BioLabWars'': One of the enemy types you encounter in the game is snakes. To shoot them, you need to get on your belly. |
| 307 | * ''Franchise/{{Blazblue}}'': BigBad, Yuuki Terumi's entire motif are, you guessed it, snakes. And this holds true for all of his alternate forms (Hazama and Susanno) all of them sharing the same [[DarkISEvil dark]] and [[SicklyGreenGlow green]] color scheme. Terumi plays this so straight to the point where ''all'' of his moves are named after some form of snake or something related to them. (i.e. Venomous Bite, Serpent's Infernal Rapture, Unholy Wrath of the Basilisk, etc etc). |
| 308 | * In ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'', there is a giant snake that can wrap around Lance and eat him up at the maze if you're not quick enough. |
| 309 | * ''VideoGame/BubbleAndSqueak'': Snakes roughly as big as [[PlayerCharacter Bubble]] are an enemy you face in the game. |
| 310 | * ''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'': Carniviper is based on venomous snakes, and its bestiary entry says it's very territorial and will attack anything and anyone. |
| 311 | * ''VideoGame/CaveIn'': Snakes are an enemy you face in the game. One shot from your gun usually does the trick. |
| 312 | * ''VideoGame/ColossatronMassiveWorldThreat'', where the titular character is a [[{{Kaiju}} Daikaiju-sized]] robotic SegmentedSerpent. This MechanicalAbomination is seen by Earth from the far reaches of space and upon nearing our planet, the world's government figures out it's purpose is to wreck our world, which it does by adding various weapons to its segments and attacking. |
| 313 | * Both non-networked ''VideoGame/DarkSun'' games have something: |
| 314 | ** ''Shattered Lands'' has the snakeman statue in Gedron. You sense its evil from the start. Then a defiler (evil wizard) moves his soul in it and it becomes one of the bosses. Then he joins the army of Tectuktitlay for the final battle against you. |
| 315 | ** ''Wake of the Ravager'' has Yuan-ti (see in Tabletop Games above) and an unrelated Kartang — a sentient magical mutant snake commanding a pack of its animal brothers. Both are evil and eat humans. |
| 316 | * ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': Rykard, who is in the running for most evil Shardbearer in the game (with competition including [[SatanicArchetype Mohg]] and [[SerialKiller God]][[AppendageAssimilation rick]], so this is no easy feat), is a giant [[AnimalisticAbomination serpentine abomination]]. He used to be a normal demigod but then fed himself to a primordial entity called the God-Devouring Serpent to fuse with it and gain power, losing what few scruples he had beforehand in the process. |
| 317 | * In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', both Keito and Ibara are associated with snakes (in fact, one of the characters in Keito's surname Hasumi means 'snake', and in the EasternZodiac set he takes [[https://enstars.info/card/1138 the snake]]), and both are antagonists to the main characters during part of the story, calculating and ruthless at their worst. However, though the symbolism is stronger with Keito he is ultimately an AntiVillain at best during the main story and a fully-fledged protagonist in his own right once the story hits its RotatingProtagonist phase. |
| 318 | * According to ''VideoGame/FarCry4'''s [[GreatBigBookOfEverything survival guide]] Pagan Min, the BigBad, loves pit viper meat, has a chef specially trained in preparing pit viper meat, and often adds pit viper meat to his crab rangoon. |
| 319 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'': Sombron is the first dark dragon whose draconic form resembles that of a gigantic cobra, especially from the head to neck. He's also considered one of the vilest dragon antagonists within the whole franchise. |
| 320 | * ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' has General Serpentine, Lord Brevon's TriggerHappy [[TheDragon top general]] and a literal SmugSnake who constantly appears to give Lilac and co. hard time. Of the lesser variety, Hunter Snake is a giant snake-like robot who appears as the first boss fight in the game, and Chomper Snake is a monstrous mutant resembling [[MixAndMatchCritters a mix]] of a snake, an anglerfish and an eel, and it serves as the first stage boss in Milla's story. |
| 321 | * ''VideoGame/GoblinSword'': One of the enemy types is snakes. |
| 322 | ** A giant snake also serves as a BossFight. |
| 323 | * ''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's portrayed as a serpentine DraconicAbomination, at least based on the ''Salamander/Life-Force'' art cover. |
| 324 | * ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'' features a giant snake as the OptionalBoss of a [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment surprisingly creepy]] level. |
| 325 | * ''VideoGame/TheJungleBook'' LicensedGame both plays this trope straight with Kaa, who serves as a boss, and other snakes who serve as regular enemies, as well as inverts it with the TrampolineTummy snakes, who actually aid Mowgli. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGames/KidBabyStarchild'': One of the enemy types you encounter in the game is giant snakes. |
| 327 | * ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' has Coily Rattler, the fourth boss. It is a living snake statue that's made of 12 segments, including its head, which is its weak point. Its pause descriptions imply that it used to be a symbol of peace revered by the People of the Sky, but Taranza animates it with his black magic and commands it to attack Kirby. |
| 328 | * In ''VideoGame/LandOfIllusion Starring WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'', snakes serve as common enemies in the first stage, [[TheLostWoods The Forest]]. At the end of the stage, a giant snake that resembles Kaa from ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' serves as an obstacle. Mickey will need to feed it an apple to get it to close its mouth so he can cross it. Otherwise, he gets eaten and takes damage. Later in the game, a snake serves as the boss of [[ShiftingSandLand the Desert]]. Mickey has to defeat it in order to recover the Cloud Shoes, which he will need to walk across the clouds on [[BeanstalkParody the Island]]. |
| 329 | * In ''VideoGame/LaraCroftGO'', snakes are one of the common enemies. They normally just stay curled up in one spot but will attack Lara if she moves in front of them (unless she has a torch). Additionally, there's the Queen of Venom, a giant snake who pursues Lara from across several levels and is the game's only "boss". |
| 330 | * Several types of monstrous snakes appear as enemies in ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'': the gigantic Cobras, the deadly Orochis (which look like serpentine dragons with magical balls they use as weapons), and the [[SnakePeople I, Medusas]]. |
| 331 | * ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}'': [[TheHeavy Edward Kelley]], a [[BaldOfEvil bald]], [[EvilBrit British]] [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer and alchemist]] who has enough snake motifs to make Voldemort jealous, from the scale-patterns that appear when he casts magic to his loyal [[GuardianEntity Guardian Spirit]] Uroboros. |
| 332 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 333 | ** Although anyone can train them, Ekans, its evolution Arbok, and Seviper are all owned by villains such as Team Rocket. All 3 are Poison types and can be rather mean. |
| 334 | ** Onix and Steelix, Dunsparce, and the Snivy line pretty much avert it, although Snivy's family are all SmugSnake characters. |
| 335 | * ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': The monsterous Serpents of the Darkwoods. |
| 336 | * ''VideoGame/PrimalRage'' has Vertigo, a {{Kaiju}} resembling a [[MixAndMatchCritters mix]] between a theropod dinosaur and a cobra-like snake. She's one of the most evil characters in the game whose mere presence drives people insane and who intends to trap all of humanity in a WorldOfChaos for her own amusement. |
| 337 | * One of the bosses in ''VideoGame/PrincessPeachShowtime'' is a giant, pale green snake named Light Fang, a Darkla summoned by Grape to stall Peach and Stella in the Sparkle Theater's second floor. It can summon miniature snakes and has the ability to rewind time upon spotting Peach. |
| 338 | * [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Elliana in ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether''. She originally only wanted to fly, but being humiliated and exiled by the Air Armada due to FantasticRacism toward her being a snake despite proving herself capable led to her becoming a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds hellbent on destroying them. |
| 339 | * ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'': |
| 340 | ** Subverted with Juna. She's an ancient serpent resembling a gigantic python, but is a loyal guardian of the god of balance Guthix and not at all hostile towards the player. |
| 341 | ** Played straight with the enemy snakes the player may come across. |
| 342 | * In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 4'', Kyogoku Maria has two red and black striped snakes which serve as her {{familiar}}s. |
| 343 | * ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' has the Hebijo Academy who has snake as their symbol (the students of Hebijo are sometimes called "Serpent Girls") and train "evil shinobi" ([[GreyAndGrayMorality though the term "evil" can be a bit loose]]). [[spoiler:And then there is the snake-like demon Orochi, who is born from the dead souls of the school's students and wants to destroy everything.]] |
| 344 | * Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'': upon walking into one room, you come across a large, threatening snake that turns out to be a harmless statue. [[spoiler:Moreover, the statue can then be transformed into the Staff of Ages, an artifact that is necessary to defeat the BigBad.]] |
| 345 | * ''VideoGame/SkinwalkerHunt'': There are snakes in the game that will bite and poison the PlayerCharacter if he gets close to them. |
| 346 | * Discussed, but averted, by [[{{Cowboy}} Rattle Shake]] in ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}''. His enemies, and even some of his friends, see him as [[CreepyGood creepy]], and he does have a case of BadPowersGoodPeople with his ability to launch venom projectiles, throw skulls with snake allies inside them, and even summon tombstones or giant bone snakes. Despite this, he is firmly on the side of good and is a "virtuous viper", willing to defend an innocent village from literal cowboys even despite being outnumbered. |
| 347 | ** Similarly, both [[SnakeCharmer Cobra Cadabra]] and [[WiseSerpent Pit Boss]] both are serpents, but are ultimately heroic and work to defend Skylands. |
| 348 | ** That being said, one monster commonly used by Dark Portal Masters like BigBad Kaos is the [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever gargantuan]] [[PlayingWithFire Fire Viper]]. |
| 349 | * ''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. Finally, there's Jormungandr, who's a towering piece of malevolence who is eager to bring down [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]] to the realm. |
| 350 | * Lyric, the main antagonist of the ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' video games, ''Rise of Lyric'' and ''Shattered Crystal'', is a snake cyborg. In ''Rise of Lyric'', Sonic and the gang accidentally [[SealedEvilInACan free him from an ancient prison]], and he immediately resumes his plot to activate an army of giant, killer robots with the Chaos Crystals. In ''Shattered Crystal'', he [[DamselInDistress kidnaps Amy Rose]] and forces her to seek out the pieces of the titular crystal for nefarious ends. |
| 351 | * In ''VideoGame/StrayGods'', Medusa is first mentioned as Athena's spymaster, and there is a brief span of time where Grace believes Medusa might have attacked Calliope. When you finally meet her, she was about to sink her teeth into a human and swiftly attempts to take Grace for dinner instead, admitting that hero's blood is a particular weakness of hers in a way that implies an addiction. |
| 352 | * Cobrats in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' lurk in the desert sands and inside vases and attack the player character when they get close. Tryclyde, one of the major bosses of the game is a fire-breathing three-headed snake. |
| 353 | * ''VideoGame/SuperNinjaMeowCat'': The boss of level 5 is King Cobra, a giant cobra [[VisualPun who actually wears a crown]]. |
| 354 | * Snakes are an enemy in ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheShrinesOfPeril''. They just stay where they are, but touching them results in [[PlayerCharacter Sydney Hunter]] losing a life. |
| 355 | ** The snakes in ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheSacredTribe'' also stay in one place, but they will strike at Sydney if he's close enough. |
| 356 | * In ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'', one of the Predator mooks is a venom-spitting cobra named [[FluffyTheTerrible Cuddles]]. |
| 357 | * The ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' has [[GreaterScopeVillain the Society of Ouroboros]]. Their name and logo is 'the snake that eats its own tail', the high-ranked members are called Anguis, which is Latin for snake, and are sometimes scornfully referred to by certain characters as "(a) den of snakes". Needless to say, they're not particularly nice people. |
| 358 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' has the silver serpents. These truly colossal serpents have a venom that can be used as an extremely addictive narcotic and while they can be fought in ''Ultima 6'', they practically have unlimited health making fighting one a futile endeavor. |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'': |
| 360 | ** Averted 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 because he believes that their torment is {{disproportionate|retribution}} to their sins of loving another. |
| 361 | ** Played straight with [[KrakenAndLeviathan The Leviathan]], the boss of the Wrath Layer. 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]]''.]] |
| 362 | * ''VideoGame/VentureKid'': Snakes are a kind of enemy encountered in the game. They're a different colour depending on the level they're in, and can be taken down in one hit. |
| 363 | * The Naga of ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII's'' expansion were Night Elves turned into undersea snake-men by a cataclysmic magic explosion. |
| 364 | * ''VideoGame/TheWayOfCinnamon'': [[PlayerCharacter Cinnamon]] can encounter snakes as enemies. They stick up out of holes in the ground and spit venom at him. |
| 365 | [[/folder]] |
| 366 | |
| 367 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 368 | * In ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'', the sea serpent Serpentus is a soft-spoken killer. Extra info from the companion Webcomic to C.o.F, [[AllThereInTheManual "World of Far'aus"]], says that sea serpents "-enjoy playing mind games with their victims". |
| 369 | * ''Webcomic/{{Erma}}'': [[StringyHairedGhostGirl Erma]]'s maternal aunt Rin is a nure-onna, a yokai of a woman with a snake's body. Once introduced, she proves to be a JerkAss who [[FantasticRacism instantly dislikes]] Erma and her human father, [[NiceGuy Sam]], and only steps off when [[MamaBear Emi]][[ViolentlyProtectiveWife ko]] steps in and not-so-subtly threatens her. We do learn more about Rin though. [[spoiler: Over time, we do learn that she [[UsedToBeASweetKid was nicer]] back when she was younger. Additionally, her disdain for humans came from a combination of [[FreudianExcuse being scarred by one due to being mistaken for a water snake and the indoctrination by her father.]] She ends up [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone questioning her behavior when she realizes she's hated humanity for so long she doesn't remember why]] outside of her dad's teachings. She becomes [[TookALevelInKindness much friendlier]] to Erma and Sam while making amends with Emiko.]] |
| 370 | * ''Webcomic/LotusCobraIsEvil'': The first comic, [[https://i.imgur.com/zTxPHrD.jpeg "Lotus Cobra Is Evil"]], about "master of evil" [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], wanting to be represented by said Lotus Cobra. |
| 371 | [[/folder]] |
| 372 | |
| 373 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 374 | * In the Website/CollegeHumor sketch "Adam and Eve in the Friendzone," Eve tells Adam that she doesn't want to start a relationship with him because "she's just out of a really long relationship and wants to keep her options open." As Adam wonders who this alleged ex could possibly be, the snake (a puppet) pops up from behind a log, wearing a leather jacket and a [[EvilRedhead red]] mohawk, and invites Eve to the Tree of Knowledge. [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys She accepts his invitation]], leaving Adam behind to sulk. [[spoiler: God tells Adam that He can make him a ''new'' partner, but that He will need another rib to do it. Adam declines, saying that he and Eve will make it work somehow.]] |
| 375 | * In ''Literature/AConspiracyOfSerpents'', most of the antagonists are snake-like deities or monsters who are all trying to destroy the universe. |
| 376 | * ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': EvilLuddite Michael can summon and manipulate venomous snakes. |
| 377 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': [[SmugSnake Ethan's]] BadassLongcoat has snakes on it. |
| 378 | * The EvilOverlordList includes the line "I will not [[ScaledUp turn into a snake]]. [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman It never helps.]]" |
| 379 | * ''Podcast/{{Kowabana}}'' tells the story of Kankandara, a malevolent entity with the torso of a woman and body of a snake. |
| 380 | * Averted by the popular "Snek" internet meme, in which snakes are portrayed in a cute WebOriginal/LOLCats-esque fashion. |
| 381 | * Subverted with the memetic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL6CDFn2i3I "Badger Song"]]--the singer sounds completely horrified to encounter a snake, but the snake in question is mostly just slithering about minding its own business and is actually kind of cute. |
| 382 | [[/folder]] |
| 383 | |
| 384 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 385 | * Played with, but ultimately subverted by Adder from ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood''. She is the [[TokenEvilTeammate most reluctant]] of the animals to uphold the Oath of Mutual Protection, and often terrorizes or threatens to eat the smaller animals of the park's group. However, she does prove herself to be a bit more noble than she lets on, even saving Vixen from the hunting party in episode 8. She does also soften a bit as the series goes on, as a hallmark of her CharacterDevelopment. |
| 386 | * ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'': Ssserpent is an anthropomorphic alien snake villain and he is quite arrogant and [[SmugSnake smug]], even though in his first two appearances he was not much of a threat and his defeats are PlayedForLaughs, [[spoiler: however in his third and final appearance in ''Ultimate Alien'', he proves to be smart enough to set a trap instead of fighting Ben head on, and almost manages to kill him. Later in the same episode, he manages to escape the police by throwing himself and leaving his skin behind to distract them]]. |
| 387 | * ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'' averts this with Lola Boa, who is one of the more likable characters and often helpful to the main duo. In fact, she's the first friendly character the two encounter in the Amazon, although Whiskers was initially terrified of her due to his fear of snakes. That said, there are cases in the show where snakes play this straight, namely as menacing predators who try to eat the main cast. |
| 388 | * ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': [[Characters/Castlevania2017DraculasArmy Ratko]] keeps a pair of snake-like Night Creatures around as pets and {{attack animal}}s. |
| 389 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Chaotic}}'': While the franchise averts ReptilesAreAbhorrent since the Mipedians (a tribe of LizardFolk) are a mixed bag morality-wise, the [[SnakePeople snake Underworlder]] Pyrithion is evil and duplicitous. |
| 390 | * One of the villains ''WesternAnimation/CoolMcCool'' faces is the Rattler, who hisses his S's when he talks. His only weakness is snake charmer music. |
| 391 | * ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': |
| 392 | ** Averted in "Serpent of Evil River", in which a salty sailor is hunting a large serpent named Carmen to bring her in for a bounty -- the fact that she dwells in Evil River, and one look at the giant, one-eyed, sharp-toothed serpent would make you think she's a monster, but it turns out she just wants an audience to listen to her opera singing. |
| 393 | ** In "Watch the Birdies", Courage accidentally grabs a snake while digging for worms to feed a trio of baby vultures Muriel's been tasked to babysit, and upon seeing the babies, the snake decides to eat them, with Courage and Muriel trying to fend him off. |
| 394 | ** PlayedStraight in "The Uncommon Cold", in which Big Bayou is an incredibly vain snake who has enslaved a colony of slugs to make statues of him to admire stuffed in his own shedded skins; he's also a magician -- he enslaved the slugs under his magic, and only his magic can free them as well. |
| 395 | * ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' had Mac the Fork as an adversary. Mac, a Scottish snake from the Clan [=MacViper=], hires evil scientist [[PunnyName Dudley Poyson]] to build an earth-shattering device from blueprints stolen from a government facility. |
| 396 | * ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': |
| 397 | ** In the series premiere, several rattlesnakes are a hazard in {{Atlantis}}, and they end up biting Launchpad who gets all loopy from their venom. |
| 398 | ** In "Quack Pack!", Gene mentions that Louie is going get a pet rattlesnake in the next sitcom episode. That rattlesnake later attacks Louie (who wouldn't even consider getting a pet snake in reality) when the wish system starts to act against the family, but it's later used by Webby as weapon against the maddened human audience. |
| 399 | ** The [[Myth/NorseMythology world-encircling serpent Jormungandr]] is mentioned in "Last Christmas!", apparently kept at bay by Scrooge [=McDuck=]. Jormungandr finally appears in the episode "The Rumble For Ragnarok!" where he takes the form of a four-limbed snake man that Scrooge and his family must defeat in a wrestling match or else he will destroy the world. |
| 400 | * ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'': [[Characters/FinalSpaceCelestialEntities Werthrent]] is a gigantic fire serpent and perhaps the vilest creature in the entire show (aside from the Lord Commander and Invictus). |
| 401 | * ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'': The DNA Mimic uses the form of an anaconda to nearly kill Monique and absorb her DNA. After merging with its mate, its anaconda form is large enough to battle Godzilla. |
| 402 | * In ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse'' the [[SnakePeople Snake Men]] are just as evil as Skeletor and [[TheDreaded far more feared.]] |
| 403 | * ''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, Gadget's niece, Penny, defeats the cobra by [[HypnotismReversal showing it a mirror, causing it to hypnotize itself]]. |
| 404 | * ''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. 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]]. |
| 405 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'', snakes are generally hostile towards Tarzan and others. One of the one-time villains is Hista, a gigantic python who hunts gorillas. |
| 406 | * Zig-zagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'': |
| 407 | ** On one hand, we have Ushari the Egyptian cobra. While starting off as a rather normal albeit irritable snake, he ends up becoming one of the chief villains in Season 2 where he helps Janja in bringing back [[spoiler:Scar]], in a plot to get even with the Lion Guard and take over the Pride Lands, and then serves as [[spoiler:Scar]]'s second-in-command. Season 3 escalates this by revealing that [[spoiler:not only did Scar get his scar from a random cobra, but that cobra venom can remove your morals]]. |
| 408 | ** By contrast, African rock pythons are not shown as more menacing than the other predators in the show and have been the one large predatory reptile to never cause trouble, inverting the trope. However, this is invoked in "Baboons!" where Baby Baboon gets scared by a python on a branch, although the snake doesn't make an attempt to attack him. |
| 409 | * ''WesternAnimation/LittleBear'' averts this with [[MeaningfulName Nofeet]], a friendly and gentle garden snake who is good friends with the titular character. |
| 410 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' both invokes and subverts this with Lana's pet snake [[DeathbringerTheAdorable El Diablo]], who has the tendency to scare newcomers (by wrapping his coils around them and squeezing them as a greeting) but is generally inoffensive. And the many other snakes Lana befriends are often an aversion. |
| 411 | * ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel'': Bio-Constrictor is a human/snake mutant who [[WasOnceAMan was once a scientist]] known as Dr. David Klemlow, an N-Tek agent, before he ended up mutated by his own vat of reptilian genomes he had engineered. He can transform his body parts into snakes, divide into multiple ones, shed his skin, and even turn into a human-faced snake. Other snakes in the franchise also tend to be evil-aligned or very aggressive. |
| 412 | * ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'': |
| 413 | ** The main villain Scarab has a snake familiar/talking staff named Heka. |
| 414 | ** Apep appears as the VillainOfTheWeek in "Desert Chic". He seeks revenge on Rapses for his ancestor banishing him to the desert. However, his love for Nefertina is something of a redeeming quality. |
| 415 | * Slips in ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey''' is an aversion -- he's lazy and TheStoner, but not evil or sinister. |
| 416 | * Played with in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': |
| 417 | ** On the one hand, cobras specifically are usually portrayed as, if not evil, then dangerous creatures -- in particular, they're a common feature of the {{Death Trap}}s that the AdventurerArchaeologist Daring Do has to deal with. |
| 418 | ** On the other, common garden snakes are not depicted as any more dangerous than the rest of the show's small woodland critters, and one makes semi-regular appearances in Fluttershy's roster of animal friends. This is however {{Invoked}} in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap-Up]]" when Twilight, who has severe herpetophobia, awakens a den of hibernating snakes. |
| 419 | ** Zigzagged with Antoine the python from "She Talks to Angel". While he has intentions of eating Muriel the elephant calf, he is willing to negotiate with Fluttershy and is content with eating other treats. Unfortunately, taking away said treats leads to him actually eating Muriel, so the others have to free her from his belly. |
| 420 | * Zig-zagged throughout ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': |
| 421 | ** In the first season, the enemy is a race of humanoid snakes called the Serpentine, who plot to revive a gigantic snake called the Great Devourer to, well, devour the entire world so they can rebuild their society afterward. Said Great Devourer also carries a venom that turned Lord Garmadon evil in the backstory. |
| 422 | ** After the Great Devourer is defeated, the Serpentine pull a HeelRaceTurn and become recurring allies, with the exception of one. |
| 423 | ** The villain of season four is human, but features a snake motif and his ultimate goal is to [[spoiler: turn himself and his followers into snakes]]. Ironically, this disgusts Pythor (the remaining TokenEvilTeammate of the Serpentine) enough to pull an EnemyMine to stop him, putting snakes on both sides of the moral spectrum at once. |
| 424 | ** Season six features only one Serpentine character, who sides with the villain but doesn't do anything outright villainous himself, and outright says he's joined up just because he's an outcast and doesn't belong with the other Serpentine. |
| 425 | ** Season seven ignores the Serpentine race, but makes use of snake-mooks called Vermillion Warriors. |
| 426 | ** And season eight introduces the Sons of Garmadon, a biker gang with a snake motif, thanks to Garmadon's connection to the Great Devourer. |
| 427 | * Cy Sly in ''WesternAnimation/OvideAndTheGang'' is an arrogant, sneaky python who is easily the nastiest character on the show. On the other hand, Cy's Egyptian cobra cousin isn't a villain at all (which subverts the "non-venomous snakes are good, while cobras and other venomous snakes are evil" stereotype), and an anaconda villain of the week pulls a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 428 | * ''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. |
| 429 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' 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.]] |
| 430 | * ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' introduced a race of sapient snakes, identical to Earth snakes but with humanlike societies and their own equivalents to Abraham Lincoln (who ended up becoming a Nazi) and Hitler. When Morty steps out of the car to help Rick change their tire (in space), one of their astronauts goes out of its way to bite him and he beats it to death. Feeling guilty, he [[ReplacementGoldfish replaces it with an Earth snake]] which bites him several more times in the process. Once the alien snakes figure out how to communicate with it and learn about humanity, they then wage war on Earth and send robotic assassins back in time to kill the Smiths. |
| 431 | * The Serpent King, a massive cobra, in ''{{WesternAnimation/Rupert}}'' subverts this. Despite Podgy's (initial) fear and distrust of him, when Rupert [[AndroclesLion rescues him]] he turns out to be an honorable and helpful ally, later helping to save them from a gang of hungry crocodiles. |
| 432 | * One of the antagonists of ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a giant boa constrictor named Savio. |
| 433 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 434 | ** Averted in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E20WhackingDay Whacking Day]]", in which 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. |
| 435 | ** Played straight at the ending of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E15BlameItOnLisa Blame It on Lisa]]" when Bart gets SwallowedWhole by an anaconda (not that it distresses him). |
| 436 | ** Also averted in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E20StopOrMyDogWillShoot 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: |
| 437 | --->'''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]]. |
| 438 | ** Played with in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E6PranksAndGreens Pranks and Greens]]", in which 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. |
| 439 | * {{Defied}} in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpiritRangers'' where the heroes have to rescue a family of spirit snakes who were locked up by a gang of "cuter" spirit animals for the "crime" of [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence being snakes]]. |
| 440 | * ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'': Thaddeus E. Klang, a cobra with a mechanical body who kidnaps the archaeologist Katie Dodd, forcing her to find the lost city of Tinabula for his so he can use the weapons hidden there. |
| 441 | * Played with by Karai's mutation into a snakelike creature in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' -- while an antagonist at first, she is [[AntiVillain one of the more sympathetic villains]]. [[spoiler: She ultimately pulls a HeelFaceTurn, and by the time she is transformed she has become more-or-less an ally to the Turtles.]] |
| 442 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'', every snake Eliza encounters has been menacing. The most prominent example is an Indian cobra kept at a palace in "Darwin Plays the Palace". |
| 443 | [[/folder]] |
| 444 | |
| 445 | [[folder:Other Media]] |
| 446 | * Interesting subversion (and later zig-zag), a 13-banded rattlesnake is seen on the "Don't tread on me" flag used in the American Revolution and much more recently incorporated into the USN naval jack. The rattlesnake was chosen because rattlesnakes don't strike unless provoked, and, unlike the vast majority of animals, issue a warning even if they are. There was serious consideration to make rattlesnakes the national animal of the United States but it was decided to use a bird and from there a Bald Eagle was selected. Presumably this trope was involved in the selection process. |
| 447 | * There's a political cartoon by Creator/BenjaminFranklin that depicted the colonies as a snake that had been cut into thirteen pieces. This was to evoke a common belief that snakes could be put back together (usually by [[DreadfulDragonfly dragonflies]]) if they were cut up, and the intention was to show that he felt this was happening to the colonies. The goal was to urge the colonies to work together, thereby becoming a whole snake. |
| 448 | * Another notable cartoon from 1861 by J.B. Elliot, "Scott's Great Snake", depicts the NavalBlockade of the Confederate States during the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar as an anaconda wrapping its coils around the territory. Although Elliot lived in Cincinnati, Ohio (a pro-Union state), he was mocking the plan drafted by Union general-in-chief Winfield Scott for a slow war of attrition. |
| 449 | * The Snake card in the Petit Lenormand. It usually suggests someone is false, toxic, and just unpleasant all around. In some cases, it can symbolise the mistress or a female lover who is unreliable, at best. |
| 450 | [[/folder]] |
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