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| 4 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 9 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700 |
| 10 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
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| 12 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pestilence18.png]] |
| 13 | [-[[caption-width-right:350: [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Bring out your soon to be dead!]] [[note]][[http://spartanen.deviantart.com/art/The-third-horseman-of-the-apocalypse-342156746 Image]] by [[http://spartanen.deviantart.com/ SPartanen]]]]-] [[/note]] |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ->''"All things must wither and die. Let root rot and bower blight, to feed the pestilence of abandoned hope."'' |
| 16 | -->-- '''Aghalhor the Bringer of Poxes''', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The Plaguemaster is a character who delights in disease and pestilence, gleefully spreading contagions and poxes across the world ForTheEvulz. Leprous wounds, eyes scabbed over with crusted filth, weeping sores, unburied corpses piling up in the streets -- these are a few of their favorite things, and they'll use whatever technological or supernatural talents they possess to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt with a hacking, bloody cough. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Typically a Plaguemaster's physical form is just as ravaged by disease as their victims, but due to the character's empathy for illness, they frequently enjoy [[IdealIllnessImmunity immunity to the negative effects of the diseases they carry]], and may even have supernatural toughness ''because'' they're a walking plague ward. The Plaguemaster's obsession is often [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance reflected in their appearance]], either bloated with rot and cancerous growths, severely wasted and skeletal, or ironically dressed in PlagueDoctor garb... but the most insidious Plaguemasters [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse appear perfectly normal]], all the better to spread disease without suspicion (or they are [[TyphoidMary Typhoid Marys]]). |
| 21 | |
| 22 | The technologically adept Plaguemasters may use {{Synthetic Plague}}s. If the Plaguemaster isn't immune to their diseases, you can expect them to die by [[HoistByHisOwnPetard becoming infected with their own plague]]. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Very rarely, characters will have [[BlessedWithSuck powers of pestilence but lack a real Plaguemaster's interest in using them]]. But for the most part, any character with plague-related abilities [[BadPowersBadPeople is quite clearly a villain]] --either of the {{Card Carrying|Villain}} variety, or a VisionaryVillain operating by some twisted BlueAndOrangeMorality that holds all life to have an equal right to thrive, including pathogenic bacteria, fungi and even viruses. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | See ThePlague or TheVirus for what the Plaguemaster spreads. If faced in combat, the Plaguemaster usually deals in DamageOverTime. Their activities are always a great excuse to introduce a ZombieApocalypse. SisterTrope to PoisonousPerson. Compare TyphoidMary, someone who unwittingly infects people with a disease they themselves are immune to, and ShareTheSickness where someone tries to ''intentionally'' infect someone with their disease. See GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke for where the SyntheticPlague is likely to come from. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | !!Examples: |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 34 | * Two [[GuardianEntity Stands]] in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' have this ability: |
| 35 | ** [[MadDoctor Cioccolatta]]'s Stand, Green Day, spreads a wicked [[FesteringFungus mold]] that devours anyone who comes into contact with it within seconds. He has a ''lot'' of fun with this power. |
| 36 | ** Pannacotta Fugo's Stand, Purple Haze, creates a deadly flesh-eating virus which can melt down human flesh in 30 seconds. However, unlike Cioccolatta, [[BadPowersGoodPeople Fugo is a more pleasant and caring person]], although he does [[BewareTheNiceOnes have a short temper]]. |
| 37 | * The Dorumekian Theocracy from ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' uses [[FesteringFungus fungal spores]] in warfare. |
| 38 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 39 | ** Queen the Plague of the Animal Kingdom Pirates is a MadScientist who likes to breed and weaponize artificial diseases to use on his enemies. He only has to shoot a few people with a special bullet designed to infect before the entire crowd becomes a mini-apocalypse that will kill them shortly afterwards. While the first sample, the Mummy virus, just made victims weak, feverish and caused them to bleed until they dried up, on Onigashima he shows off a nasty disease called Ice Oni that turns its victims into [[TheBerserker raging monsters]] before they die. Both times, [[CombatMedic Chopper]] is called upon to whip up a cure; he calls out Queen the second time around for weaponizing diseases that will inevitably go out of control. |
| 40 | ** Doc Q of the Blackbeard Pirates, at some point during the TimeSkip, obtained the power of a Devil Fruit called the Sick-Sick Fruit, which lets him create any malady he wants. One such disease causes the victims to [[GenderBender spontaneously switch genders]] (though Law manages to forcibly revert it with his [[AwesomenessIsAForce Haki]]). |
| 41 | * ''Anime/YuGiOh'': [[Characters/YuGiOhSetoKaiba Seto Kaiba's]] use of the various virus cards is able to weaken his opponents' monsters, prevent them from using stronger monsters, or mill their deck to the point of decking out. |
| 42 | [[/folder]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[folder:Card Games]] |
| 45 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' |
| 46 | ** One of Black's domains is inflicting disease. There are many cards with a Plaguemaster flavor; for example, the [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45327 Phyrexian Plaguelord]]. |
| 47 | ** This is the hat of the Phyrexians, and ''Scars of Mirrodin'' gives them powers to match; via -1/-1 counters and poison (can't remove it, get 10 and you lose). |
| 48 | ** The Theros block also included [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=380469 Pharika, God of Affliction]]. |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 52 | * ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'': Bile of Omega Flight is a carrier of unknown number of lethal or near-lethal strains of various viruses. He is apparently immune to all the diseases he carries. |
| 53 | * ''ComicBook/AndersonPsiDivision'': The Sisters of Death have a few cousins who proceed to spread death and destruction around the Mega City. A particularly nasty one involves a blistering plague that turns people into melting bags of puss. |
| 54 | * Simmons, the ''ComicBook/CrimsonPlague'', capable of destroying a planet in a night, is either this or a TyphoidMary. [[MenstrualMenace Once a month]], her [[BloodyMurder poisonous blood]] becomes an airborne virus. |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/DoctorZero'': Soviet biological weapons researcher Corporal Anubich is actually the Anubis of Egyptian myth, an immortal Shadow Dweller who can absorb and spread diseases. The Black Death was his work as well. In modern times, he's overjoyed that the Soviets want to create deadlier plagues, as it gives him even better tools for his powers to use. |
| 56 | * ''ComicBook/Earth2'': The Fury of Pestilence, one of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s Heralds of Apokolips, can sicken and infest any living creature she desires, including ephemeral beings like the White's Avatar, with a simple touch. |
| 57 | * One volume of ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' shows a war council among TheEmpire where one plan is to send many of their warlocks into our world and use magical plagues as part one of the end of the world. |
| 58 | * ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' foe Big Bad Wolf can infect others with Lukos: a form of lycanthropy. |
| 59 | * ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': Considered the deadliest member of the Sinestro Corps, Despotellis is a sentient biovirus capable of infecting any living organism and killing it within mere minutes. |
| 60 | * Judge Mortis, one of the Dark Judges from the ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' universe. The touch of Mortis brings decay! |
| 61 | * ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Infectious Lass (one of the members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes) is a [[BadPowersGoodPeople heroic version of this]]. Having immunity to all diseases and the ability to spontaneously generate diseases is a pretty strong power, but there is a major problem: [[PowerIncontinence She has little to no control over it]]. She's as much a danger to her allies as she is to her enemies. |
| 62 | * ''ComicBook/TheNewGuardians'': The Hemo-Goblin is a vampire-like creature that spreads AIDS to his victims. Also, he's a white supremacist. |
| 63 | * ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'': Vul Isen is a Sith scientist who creates a SyntheticPlague deadly enough to wipe out all life on a given planet within days. He uses the plague to kill two worlds and would have done the same to a third, but the protagonists manage to kill him before he can do so. |
| 64 | * ''ComicBook/SwampThing'': As the Cancer God, M'nagalah can infect others with a toxin that mentally enslaves them to his cause. The infection produces a variety of physical symptoms as well, including boils and lesions that grow across the affected victim's skin. |
| 65 | * The minor ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' villain Contagion was basically the anthropomorphic personification of the very concept of disease, and at one point infected Wolverine with [[LongList AIDS, Australian bat lyssavirus, Black Creek Canal virus, Camelpox, Dengue fever, Echovirus 9, Feline immunodeficiency virus, Hemorrhagic fever, the whole Influenza alphabet, Kaposi sarcoma, Kilham rat virus, Klongo, Marburg virus, Mengele virus, mumps, Oropouche, Parapoxvirus, Smallpox, Sowbane, Strain XV infection, Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, UR2 sarcoma virus, West Nile virus, WVU virus 2937, Xenopus, and Zoysia mosaic virus]] all at once. His powers later go BeyondTheImpossible as he gains the ability to do things like turn diamond into coal and make people allergic to their own thoughts, which he could also replace with his own using another virus. |
| 66 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' foe Doctor Poison began as a bog-standard goofy MadScientist (with an extra dose of YellowPeril thrown in), but began veering toward this in her later, DarkerAndEdgier incarnations. |
| 67 | * ''ComicBook/WynonnaEarp'': In #4 of the 2016 series, Wynonna and the Black Badges have to stop a MadScientist who has given himself the power to transmit a [[PlagueZombie zombie plague]] through his hands. |
| 68 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': The Morlock named Plague had this ability, and was powerful enough to affect Kitty Pryde even when she was {{intangib|ility}}le and nearly kill Sabertooth despite his HealingFactor. As a result, she was recruited by [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]] to be his newest Horseman of Pestilence. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | * ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'' Runningnose causes [=ShadowClan's=] epidemic on purpose to kill Nightstar and his supporters and make way for Tigerstar becoming their new leader. |
| 74 | * Rei from ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'' is an AntiHero example. When she converts to [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Nurgle, Chaos God of Decay]] she gains mastery over viruses, bacteria and sickness, and her whole body becomes a factory of toxins and diseases. |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Film -- Live Action]] |
| 78 | * The antagonist in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'' released a deadly plague in multiple cities across the world which ended up causing the human survivors to live underground. |
| 79 | * Typhoid Mary from ''Film/{{Elektra}}''. Film version only; comic book Mary has PsychicPowers instead. |
| 80 | * ''Film/TheFieldGuideToEvil'': "A Nocturnal Breath" is about an evil spirit called a drude that [[DemonicPossession possesses the body of a sinner]]. At night, it exits the body--leaving its human host in a deathlike trance--and travels the countryside spreading disease. |
| 81 | * The villain of ''Film/LaraCroftTombRaiderTheCradleOfLife'', Jonathan Reiss, being a bio-terrorist, is this. |
| 82 | * The Witch Queen from ''Film/TheLastWitchHunter'' has this as her primary ability, and her endgame involves creating the second Black Death plague to end human civilization. |
| 83 | * The BigBad in ''Film/TheMonsterMaker'' is Dr. Markoff; a MadDoctor who has developed both a means of infecting people with acromegaly (a condition usually caused by a defective pituitary gland and having no known cure) and a cure for it. He plans to use the serums in a PoisonAndCureGambit. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Gamebooks]] |
| 87 | * The Cener Druids in the ''Literature/LoneWolf'' gamebook series. They first play a major role in the aptly-titled ''The Plague Lords of Ruel''. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 91 | * Creator/JohnConnolly's short story "The Cancer Cowboy Rides" has Buddy Carson, who spreads [[TheTopicOfCancer cancer]] with a touch. |
| 92 | * Victor from ''Literature/TheCompanyNovels'' is turned into an unwitting plaguemaster by the Plague Cabal, unknowingly inflicting deadly disease to those around him at Labienus' whim. When he does find out, Labienus uses it to leverage him into becoming TheMole, since he can activate Victor to kill anyone he's close to if he doesn't obey. [[spoiler:He pushes Victor a bit too far in the end, and suffers AndIMustScream by way of one of his own plagues when TheDogBitesBack.]] |
| 93 | * ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'' has Lu Yue, a wicked taoist Immortal who later becomes the chief God of Plague alongside his four "Plague-Carrier" disciples. Each of his disciples has a magic weapon which can cause a deadly illness (in order, a migraine-inducing sounding stone, a fever-causing banner, a torpor-inducing sword and a illness-causing whip), while Lu Yue himself can assume a six-armed form to wield multiple plague-spreading weapons at once (a sword, a bell, a banner and a stamp), kickstarts a plague in the city of Xiqi by putting plague pills in all water sources and returns later with a deadly formation which clouds the victim in a deadly, illness-spreading miasma. Another example is given by the Yu brothers, who can use magic to cause an outbreak of smallpox on the enemy camp, which forces Yang Jian to seek the help of the god Shen Nong to obtain an explanation on the mysterious illness and a cure. |
| 94 | * In ''Literature/GoodOmens,'' the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Pollution is one of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse. Pestilence quit decades ago over that whole "penicillin" thing. |
| 95 | * One of the villains of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf who deliberately goes around spreading lycanthropy -- in particular, he targets children, as Remus Lupin learned the hard way. |
| 96 | * Typhoid Larry from Perry Moore's ''Literature/{{Hero}}'' is one of the few heroic versions of this trope. |
| 97 | * The character [[spoiler:Sebastian Gault]] becomes the King of Plagues in Jonathan Maberry's appropriately-titled novel, ''The King of Plagues''. His job, within the secret society which gives him that title, is to spread devastating diseases across the globe so that his organization can profit from the chaos... somehow. |
| 98 | * Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's short story "Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath" revolves around the nobility of an unspecified country escaping the titular pestilence by locking themselves away in the prince's country estate, where the disease eventually manifests as a [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked]] guest at a ball. |
| 99 | * ''Literature/NowhereStars'' features an AntiHero example. Liadain Shiel, a terminally ill MagicalGirl, has powers revolving around sickness, corruption, and spreading her own pain. She ''hates'' this, but has no other tools to wield against the [[EldritchAbomination living nightmares]] she needs to hunt to extend her life. |
| 100 | * The ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'' novels have a rare AntiHero example in Wan Horn, a microbiologist who helps Sandokan and Yanez against the Assam rebels in ''Yanez's Revenge'' by causing a cholera outbreak in the latter's camp, after of course inoculating Sandokan, Yanez and their allies. By the time Yanez' reinforcements arrives the outbreak has ended... And the rebels have been decimated, with the survivors being so demoralized they just give up the moment they see a fresh and well-armed army coming for them. |
| 101 | * In ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', Queen Etheldredda uses her pet Aie-Aie to spread a Sickenesse among all those who displease her. |
| 102 | * The immortal "H" from Creator/RogerZelazny's ''To Die in Italbar''. When he meditates in a certain way, his immune system goes into a sort of SuperMode that can instantly cure anyone of any disease simply by being in his presence. However, when he goes long enough without meditation, he begins sort of ''radiating'' every disease he's ever been exposed to. When, due to a number of mistakes and understandings, he goes MUCH too long without meditation [[spoiler:he is driven completely insane, eventually reaching the point where he can kill entire planets with a brief tour, and his powerful immune system can't keep him from being covered in open sores]]. This is because it eventually turns out that his powers are granted by communion with an alien goddess of life [[spoiler:and death]]. |
| 103 | * The BigBad of ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'' has a habit of creating and sending out {{Mystical Plague}}s to weaken the heroes' forces. |
| 104 | [[/folder]] |
| 105 | |
| 106 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 107 | * Jha'dur from the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E09Deathwalker Deathwalker]]" is a war criminal infamous for at least one case of exterminating a whole planetary population with Stafford's Plague. |
| 108 | * Two episodes of ''Series/BodyOfProof'' revolved around an eco-terrorist who aimed to combat overpopulation by [[spoiler:infecting himself with a particularly strong virus related to Ebola and spreading it around the city by smearing his blood on things that a lot of people touched, like the handrails on subway steps]]. |
| 109 | * The [[MonsterOfTheWeek damned soul of the week]] from the ''Series/{{Brimstone}}'' episode "Carrier" is Typhoid Mary. She's back on Earth and up to her old tricks. Worse, her typhoid is a hundred times worse for having been bathed in the flame of Hell. |
| 110 | * [[MagicalNativeAmerican Hus]] from the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E8Pangs Pangs]]" magically infected Xander with diseases brought to North America by European settlers. |
| 111 | * In the ''Series/Charmed1998'' episode "[[Recap/CharmedS2E12Awakened Awakened]]", Piper is dying of a disease, and Prue and Phoebe become desperate enough to try and cure her with magic. It works, but unfortunately the doll used in the spell becomes animate, and has the power to infect people with the disease by poking them with its sword. |
| 112 | * An episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' had a psycho whose MO was to infect people with rabies, and hold them captive until they died from it, filming the entire thing. |
| 113 | * The test subjects from the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E1NewEarth New Earth]]". Cloned humans that are a living collection of various ailments, they killed whoever they touched by infecting them with their diseases. |
| 114 | * ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': Alice Tetch's blood was poisonous and infectious, tainting people who come into contact with it with uncontrollable anger, enhanced strength, and enhancement of their deepest desires. |
| 115 | * The ''Series/LawAndOrder'' episode "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS8E17Carrier Carrier]]" has the detectives tracking down a street kid with AIDS who deliberately intends to infect as many girls with HIV as possible. |
| 116 | * ''Series/MissionImpossible'': |
| 117 | ** "Operation Rogash": When an unbreakable foreign agent known as "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Monster]]" who specializes in mass murder is discovered in Los Angeles, the IMF team needs to break him, only to discover a planned biological attack on Los Angeles area water system. |
| 118 | ** "The Carriers":I n order to stop an expert in American traditions, slang, and customs from conducting his plan of bacteriological warfare against the U.S. and to put him permanently out of business, the IMF team infiltrates a mock-up of an American town located behind the Iron Curtain where enemy agents learn to act as Americans. |
| 119 | ** "The Test Case": A "hired gun" bacteriologist is developing a deadly but short-lived virus for the Warsaw Pact; the IMF must eliminate him and his virus. |
| 120 | ** "The Plague": A French terrorist has stolen a deadly bacteria that causes rapid organ deterioration in those infected by it. The IMF must convince her she has been infected herself in order to re-obtain it. |
| 121 | * ''Series/TheNewAvengers'': Professor Turner in "The Midas Touch". Turner has found the ultimate carrier for a host of deadly diseases, calls him Midas and offers him to the highest bidder in exchange for gold. |
| 122 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'' had Linnea, who was known on her home planet as the Destroyer of Worlds. She created a virus that wiped out most of the population, and tricked SG-1 into letting her escape with them from the prison they were all in. |
| 123 | ** They later [[spoiler:unwittingly ran into Linnea on another planet, Vyas, where she managed to create ''another'' plague despite the planet's 1920s-era technology. However, ''this'' plague had the effect of de-aging everyone and wiping their memories. As a result, she doesn't remember who she is. They let her live after convincing her not to take the treatment she develops.]] |
| 124 | ** And then there was Nirti -- a Goa'uld interested in biology and virology. |
| 125 | %%** And the Ori Priors |
| 126 | * [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Pestilence]] from ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', obviously. He's responsible for spreading swine flu so he can later distribute a vaccine that carries the ''real'' plague that will destroy humanity, a strain of the [[PlagueZombie Croatoan Virus]]. |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 130 | * [[Music/{{Gwar}} GWAR]]: |
| 131 | ** The band's second guitarist, Pustulus Maximus, was said to be host to every disease and malady known to man. With the notable exception of bird flu and childhood obesity. |
| 132 | ** Their rhythm guitarist, Balsac the Jaws of Death, is credited with the invention of venereal disease as a whole. |
| 133 | [[/folder]] |
| 134 | |
| 135 | [[folder:Mythology & Religion]] |
| 136 | * Literature/TheBible: |
| 137 | ** Pestilence, one of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse from the Literature/BookOfRevelation, embodying disease and decay. However, while most of the Horsemen are not named in the text (only Death definitely is), the rider carrying a bow and arrow is usually named Conquest. |
| 138 | ** An old trope is to attribute disease to {{Satan}} (often due to the Literature/BookOfJob, or how exorcism and disease-curing happen side by side in Literature/TheFourGospels). For centuries (and in certain cases, today) even as ScienceMarchesOn it was commonly believed in Christendom that demons caused diseases -- although natural explanations weren't abandoned, it's just that Satan was seen as the cause of those natural causes too. |
| 139 | ** In certain parts of the Bible, {{God}} Himself sends plague on enemy nations. However it's specifically as a punishment for certain actions and not just for its own sake like other plaguemasters. |
| 140 | * Often, many gods in polytheistic pantheons will be patrons of disease. |
| 141 | ** Myth/FinnishMythology has Kipu-tyttö, the goddess of disease. |
| 142 | ** Myth/ChineseMythology: Lu Yueh, god of epidemics. |
| 143 | ** Myth/NorseMythology: The goddess Hel could cause plagues, diseases and pestilence with the wave of her hand. |
| 144 | ** Myth/ClassicalMythology: Apollo, which is rather ironic considering he is also a [[LightIsNotGood god of light]]. |
| 145 | ** Myth/MesopotamianMythology: Nergal, the god of war, death, disease, and the underworld. He was associated with the midday sun and the summer solstice, and the terrible heat that came with them. |
| 146 | ** Myth/EgyptianMythology: The war goddess Sekhmet was primarily a goddess of righteousness, but could be a complete KnightTemplar about it. Her attributes were derived from Ra, the sun, but she embodied the destructive aspects of it, with disease, the destructive heat of the sun, and infertility to crops being some of them. |
| 147 | ** In Myth/PacificMythology, although Poli'ahu was primarily a benevolent goddess of [[AnIcePerson snow and ice]] [[note]] Yes, there ''is'' snow in UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}}, it's just usually confined to high mountain peaks, such as Mauna Kea, where Poli'ahu was said to live. [[/note]], she did inflict chills and fever on her rival for love, Hinaikamalama [[spoiler: actually a form of the fire goddess Pele, which, besides them being diametrically-opposed elemental forces, is a ''major'' reason they don't get along]], and on her ex-fiancé Aiwohikupua for cheating on her with Hinaikamalama on what would have been their wedding day. |
| 148 | * The {{Nuckelavee}}, an evil, ocean-dwelling fairy from Scottish folklore. |
| 149 | * Some of the demons described in the ''Literature/ArsGoetia'' could be called upon to evoke various kinds of this. Thing is, only one of them, Marbas, was a generalist (his other powers being curing disease, and ForcedTransformation. One leads to quite a con game, the other to [[FridgeHorror the ultimate in biological warfare]]). Leraje, Sabnock, and Vepar apparently all specialized in battlefield disease. Leraje caused arrow wounds to putrefy, while Sabnock and Vepar called maggots in to colonize wounds in general. |
| 150 | [[/folder]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 153 | * Shrouds with the Pestilence dominion in ''TabletopGame/{{Anathema|2011}}'' can magically create and spread deadly diseases. |
| 154 | * A number of these appear in ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'': |
| 155 | ** Ernst Biren is a particularly infamous one. |
| 156 | ** A number of monsters have this as their basis -- the Pox Walker and the Plague Rider, in particular, specialize in spreading diseases. Both are born of the [[HumansAreBastards White Man's willingness to give diseased blankets to Indian tribes to kill them off and then grab their land]]. |
| 157 | ** [[spoiler: Pestilence, of the Four HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, is one of the Reckoners. His Servitors tend to follow this trope, naturally]]. |
| 158 | * The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' expansion ''The Book of Vile Darkness'' introduced a prestige class called the [[TheTopicOfCancer Cancer Mage]], which is just as disgusting as it sounds. Two words: [[{{Familiar}} Cancerous Companion]]. It's actually sentient, can communicate telepathically with the Cancer Mage, and is a friend that's [[BodyHorror always with you]]. |
| 159 | ** Also horrifically broken because of the very book it was printed in (one of the diseases gives you Stat Bonuses, and you become immune to the drawbacks). |
| 160 | *** However, its final power is becoming the disease itself and infecting people. This would be all well and good if most worlds didn't have lots of clerics, who can kill the Cancer mage with a 3rd level spell if the CM fails their weakest save. Cancer mages tend not to use that ability outside of settings where the gods have legged it. |
| 161 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsOfDrakkenheim'' has the [[AlchemyIsMagic Apothecary]], whose unique spell-list includes a number of spells that revolve around infecting victims with magical diseases. One of their subclasses is the Pathogenist, representing an apothecary devoted to studying disease, whose subclass features revolve around increasing the efficacy of their ability to infect enemies with disease and to weaponize plague against their foes. |
| 162 | * ''TabletopGame/GrimHollow'' has both the Oath of Pestilence Paladin, a SocialDarwinist who uses diseases to winnow the weak from the strong, and the PlagueDoctor, a wizard who combines magic, alchemy and medicine to treat allies and to inflict pestilence and sickness upon their enemies. |
| 163 | * Demnogonis from ''TabletopGame/MutantChronicles'' is Warhammer's Nurgle in different clothes. |
| 164 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' includes several of these: |
| 165 | ** Apollyon, [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Horseman of Pestilence]], is dedicated to using plagues and sickness as his weapon with which to rid the universe of life. |
| 166 | ** Sepsidaemons embody death by infection and disease, can infect others with a selection of diseases (including bubonic plague, leprosy, and a selection of fictional diseases) at a touch, and are so suffused with plague and disease that any being within thirty feet of them will have any open wounds go septic. |
| 167 | ** Pairaka are the div equivalent to [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubi]], using their sex appeal to lure mortals into physical congress and then sending them off dying of disease. |
| 168 | ** One of the [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemist]] archetypes is the Plaguebringer, from the ''Advanced Races Guide'' sourcebook, whose specialty revolves around creating disease weapons and toxic bombs instead of using [[VoluntaryShapeshifting mutagen]]. It's most associated with the Ratfolk race, in a ShoutOut to the Skaven above. Even outside of this archetype, alchemists can still build towards this, with powers inspired by other examples from this section (including the ability to turn a tumor into a familiar -- and this version can detach itself and act like an animal). |
| 169 | ** Instead of the paladin's Divine Health ability (which renders them immune to disease), Antipaladins gain the "Plaguebringer" ability at 4th level, which merely renders them immune to the ''effects'' of diseases but still allows them to carry and spread the disease. |
| 170 | ** Apocalypse dragons' breath weapons are laced with disease and spreads plague to those they affect. They can also cast ''contagion'' and ''plague storm'' as innate spells once they grow old enough. |
| 171 | * ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' features the Morbus [[PrestigeClass bloodline]] of the Mekhet. Every single one carries a disease in their blood, they can only feed effectively off of diseased mortals, and they have a bloodline-only Discipline that allows them to diagnose, halt, and aid the spread of disease. They're also persona non grata in many domains, as the CDC popping in to inspect that sudden outbreak of the bubonic plague can risk the {{Masquerade}}. |
| 172 | ** In a way, the Anvari (who feed off of drug-laden blood and can alter body chemistry to be under the effects of various narcotics with their bloodline Discipline) and the Brothers of Ypres (who need "tainted" blood, but prefer poison, since their founder mutated as a result of feeding on those dying of chemical weapon attacks in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI) are a PoisonousPerson equivalent to the Morbus. |
| 173 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', this is the portfolio of the [[GodOfEvil Chaos God]] Nurgle. He spreads terrible diseases and plagues, and recruits from victims who in their delirium turn to him as a way to end their suffering -- he is the god of stagnation and despair, after all, and gains his power from his adherents abandoning all hope and throwing themselves at his mercy. Nurgle's disciples tend to be bloated with rot, but as part of their deity's favor are unable to die from the poxes they carry. Some of his servants even become supernaturally strong or enduring ''because'' of their corruption, enabling them to work tirelessly to spread Nurgle's "gifts". Bizarrely enough, "Papa Nurgle" is one of the [[AffablyEvil most jovial and kindly]] of the Chaos entities, cuddling and caressing his nauseating daemons, and showing his affection for his worshipers by inventing disgusting new diseases for them to enjoy. |
| 174 | ** The ''TabletopGame/BlackCrusade'' supplement ''The Tome Of Decay'' explicitly makes Plague Marines immune to all negative effects of diseases, but not to the diseases themselves, so they can catch and spread them. |
| 175 | ** Also in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}, the Skaven (a race of [[RatMen humanoid rats]]) have a clan called Pestilens, which is dedicated to cataloging, creating and spreading diseases. The similarities have led to fan theories they may be unwittingly worshipping Nurgle but in denial of it. |
| 176 | ** It is rumored that Nurgle loves all life equally. That is, he values a human just as much as a bacterium. Since they outnumber us billions to one, you get the god of plagues. |
| 177 | * In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the wererats are almost a race of these. Unlike other [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent werebeasts]], who are born with their abilities, wererats create more of their kind by inflicting a lycanthropic infection on their human and rat relatives. They're generally batshit insane and their goal, besides saving the universe from the conformity-obsessed Weaver by plunging it into screaming chaos, is to "reduce" the human population using plagues. The Plague Lords are the most obsessed with this tack. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 181 | * Beatrix from ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' uses diseases either at range or using her allies as carriers for her contagions. |
| 182 | * ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'': |
| 183 | ** ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'': ActionGirl Lilith has ElementalPowers as her hat, and although corrosives are mechanically acids, they spread like a virus, the elemental logo is a biohazard sign and the weapon descriptions ("Defiler", "Pestilent", "Infectious") reference disease. A class mod for her that focuses on this element is even called the Plaguebearer. |
| 184 | ** ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'': Maya has corrosive-focused powers, even having the ability to create a cloud of acid simply by shooting someone. And a special class mod that boosts the damage and chance of corrosive damage, called "Witch". |
| 185 | * Qada, the Salve-Maker Asterisk holder of ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', uses this to exterminate his enemies, as well as some allies. All the better for him to profit via selling remedies. Not a pleasant person to say the least. |
| 186 | * Dr. Thrax, a GLA general from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals''. He has a scarred face that he covers with a veil, as well as a [[BlackComedy morbid sense of humor]]. He got his degree from a mail-order college. |
| 187 | * ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'': |
| 188 | ** Gravelord Nito. In addition to his being the lord of the dead, he also is associated with disease and plague. This is how he contributed to the war against the Everlasting Dragons: he created a great plague that swept through the Dragons' forces. In the game itself, all of his attacks inflict the "Toxic" status effect. The "disasters" his Gravelord Servants perpetuate online are likened to a disease as well, being referred to as an "infection" and "spreading" to multiple players rather than just one at a time. |
| 189 | ** Eingyi is a pyromancer from the Great Swamp, exiled for having committed the "heresy" of inventing the Poison Cloud and Toxic Cloud pyromancy spells. His [[BodyHorror egg-burdened]] state in the game itself prevents him from using these abilities, but he can teach them to the player if they earn his trust. |
| 190 | * The Necromancer in ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' has a whole skilltree devoted to poisons. |
| 191 | * Rotund'jere the Necrolyte from ''VideoGame/Dota2'' was a priest who was purposefully infected with a horrible plague as a punishment for embezzling people dying from it, and cursed with longevity so he could suffer a slow death at the hands of the disease. [[ThePunishment Instead of dying, he became empowered by it and decided to 'share' his new gift with the world]]. |
| 192 | * The Darkspawn of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' are ([[OurOrcsAreDifferent among]] [[TheLegionsOfHell other]] [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong things]]) a whole ''race'' of Plaguemasters, though [[GameplayAndStorySegregation your party won't need to worry about being infected]]. That's because, in the case of the Gray Wardens at least [[spoiler:[[ZombieInfectee They're tainted with a slower acting version of the plague]], [[YouAreAlreadyDead so if you don't annihilate yourself taking out the Archdemon, you just turn into an insane ghoul in 20-30 years]]. Seeing as the world is such a monumental CrapsackWorld, that even ''God'' has turned his back on it, even killing yourself against the Archdemon doesn't do much to improve anything]]. |
| 193 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 194 | ** Peryite, as the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of Pestilence, has this fall within his sphere. Given [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the nature]] of most deities in the series, one could say that he is the very ''embodiment'' of pestilence. His idea of a "blessing" toward his followers is to [[BlessedWithSuck afflict them with disease]]. Peryite is connected to the creation of the [[MysticalPlague Thrassian Plague]], which was unleashed on Tamriel by the Sload ("slug-men" of Thras) in the 1st and wiped out half the continent's population. The ending of his ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' quest implies that he is preparing a new plague meant to "cover the world" with his "blessing". |
| 195 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'': |
| 196 | *** PhysicalGod [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] has channeled his divine powers into creating and spreading the Corprus Disease. Spread via Blight Storms and through those already infected, it turns its victims into {{Plague Zombie}}s with a bad case of BodyHorror and severe mental degradation. However, for his chosen few, he can mold how the disease changes them, turning them into various forms of [[{{Mooks}} Ash creatures]] or, eventually, into various lesser [[EliteMooks Dagoth creatures]]. |
| 197 | *** The ''Tribunal'' expansion has Gedna Relvel, an ancient and powerful lich who is spreading the Crimson Plague via infected rats to Mournhold. Naturally, she must be stopped. |
| 198 | * ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' has Bertoxxulous, an actual god of disease, with a Plane of Disease to call home. |
| 199 | * In ''VideoGame/ForHonor'', the Warmonger hero has special feats she can use in combat that spread the Corruption, an alchemical concoction that inflicts a DamageOverTime disease effect to enemy heroes that stand too close together. |
| 200 | * The Occultist class in ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' has a spell called "Bloody Pox," which spreads a self-replicating DamageOverTime debuff to their enemies. Its upgrades, "Fevered Rage" and "Black Death" turn those afflicted by it into {{Technically Living Zombie}}s. According to lore (its flavor text), this spell is why the Inquisition [[BurnTheWitch burns occultists alive]]. |
| 201 | * ''VideoGame/GooseGooseDuck'': The premise of the Pigeon role is to infect all the other players. They win the game if they can infect every other player in a single round. |
| 202 | * The necromancer class of ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' can easily become one of these if built properly, but their Plaguemaster tendencies really shine when they use their elite skill, ''Plague'', which turns them into a literal cloud of pestilence that damages, [[StatusInflictionAttack poisons, bleeds, weakens, blinds, and cripples]] all enemies stupid enough to get too close. For extra malice, the necromancer can choose exactly when they wish to apply most of these conditions. |
| 203 | * Stukov from ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' plays this straight and inverts it at the same time. His skills utilize the pus and pustules from his body, and he relies on spreading them to his targets' allies. The inversion comes when you realize that his first ability infects and spreads... and yet it's a ''healing'' ability. |
| 204 | * Pestilence from ''VideoGame/{{Hexen}} II''. |
| 205 | * ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': |
| 206 | ** Mordekaiser is an odd example in that his in-game abilities are based on [[ExtraOredinary control of metal]], but is nevertheless drawn to disease and pollution and his touch causes sickness. It's suggested that his armor mostly protects those around him from the disease he would spread if not contained, although whether it's a prison or a courtesy is unknown. |
| 207 | ** Twitch is another example. His "deadly venom" is apparently derived from sewage and many of his quotes allude to him being a [[TheBlackDeath plague rat]]. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': Caulder/Stolos, the BigBad of ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin''. He used a SyntheticPlague called the Creeper to test the effects of "trauma from dying from infection" on the survivors of a world-ending apocalypse ForScience, and apparently thought it all good fun. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'': |
| 210 | ** The storyline of the first game is eventually revealed to be a match between ''dueling'' Plaguemasters. On the one hand is Elizabeth Greene, sole survivor of the last virus outbreak and the game's BigBad, who in a partial subversion appears entirely human: even her OneWingedAngel form, once defeated, simply spits her out in her original human form. The other? [[spoiler: Protagonist Alex Mercer, who unwittingly ''is'' TheVirus itself. He also appears human, but unlike Greene, his powers manifest through monstrous -- and awesome-looking -- transformations.]] |
| 211 | ** ''VideoGame/Prototype2'' features a new battle between powerful Plaguemasters. Only in this case, Alex Mercer was responsible for the creation of the second plaguemaster, a soldier named James Heller who [[OneManArmy personally pushed his way through the hordes of viral mutants armed with nothing but his rifle]] and [[UnstoppableRage a compulsion to destroy as many creatures as possible before falling]]. James Heller is not only capable of shapeshifting like Alex, but he can also transmit a specialized strain of the Blacklight virus, whose effects induce massive tumors in the victim before erupting into a swarm of tentacles. Also, later in the game, James Heller gains command over some of the infected abominations that stalk Manhattan. |
| 212 | * Captain Quirk (yes, a parody of who you think) in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVTheNextMutation''. He is using his ship to illegally dump toxic waste on "unimportant" planets and ends up infected by the garbage. |
| 213 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', the player can become this if they obtain a sample of the Javorian Pox, a disease that destroyed the race of AbusivePrecursors known as the Irassians. With it, they can turn entire enemy planets into barren graveyards (provided that their enemies [[RobotWar are actually organic]]). |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' has The King of Death. He magically spreads TheBlackDeath throughout the setting's counterpart to Western Europe, including areas controlled by his own side. He also turns all wheat into poisonous black wheat. |
| 215 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': |
| 216 | ** Kurodani Yamame, the local [[GiantSpider spider]] [[CuteMonsterGirl girl]]. [[DarkIsNotEvil Actually a fairly nice]] {{youkai}}, as she tries not to actively use her powers unless she's angry-- but Symposium of Post-Mysticism suggests that she [[PowerIncontinence unwittingly]] [[TyphoidMary leaks plague]], and that the heroines of ''Subterranean Animism'' both came home with fevers. |
| 217 | ** [[LivingToy Medicine Melancholy]] is truer to this trope, given that she ''loves'' to patter on about the effects of her poisons. |
| 218 | * The Plaguebearer from ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' can choose to infect a player with the plague each night. Should all opposing players become infected, the Plaguebearer will turn into the {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le Pestilence, [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Horseman of the Apocalypse]]. |
| 219 | * Adam from ''VideoGame/TraumaCenterAtlus'' is not only the Plaguemaster, having created GUILT from his own cells, but has also kept himself alive for over a hundred years in his quest to "return death" to the world. [[spoiler:It's also suggested that the seeds of GUILT are found in all human DNA, so theoretically anyone could be another Adam.]] |
| 220 | * ''Franchise/{{Tron}}'': |
| 221 | ** Thorne in ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh''. Alan Bradley ''does not bluff'' about the nasty consequences of going into cyberspace without the proper precautions in place... Thorne ends up as this ''thing'' that infects other Programs and overruns Encom's servers. [[spoiler: He ends up succumbing to the effects of it and an ass-kicking by the Infiltration Countermeasure Kernel]] |
| 222 | ** SpiritualSuccessor Abraxas in ''VideoGame/TronEvolution'' has much the same MO, but a ''much'' more tragic and horrific backstory. |
| 223 | * ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' features a doomsday cult calling themselves the Ninth Circle who operate like this. Since vampires in this system become permanent disease carriers if they feed from anyone with a blood-borne illness, they've decided to spread disease in an attempt to hasten [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Gehenna]]. |
| 224 | * ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': |
| 225 | ** The Lich King spends ''Warcraft III'' spreading a plague of undeath across Lordaeron. During ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the Forsaken's Royal Apothecary Society spends its time brewing horrifying diseases and testing them on prisoners in an attempt to create a toxin capable of wiping everything that isn't free-willed undead from Azeroth. Meanwhile, Noth the Plaguebringer is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin[[note]] Subverted in actual battle -- he uses curses instead of diseases.[[/note]]. |
| 226 | ** In the ''Warcraft III'' [[GameMod map-game]] ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'', the Venomancer is a creature that mastered the use of poisons. |
| 227 | ** Warlocks and Death Knights each have a talent tree focused on this kind of stuff (the Warlock one doesn't actually use diseases but corrupting magical effects, but with talents with names like "pandemic" and "contagion", it's close enough). |
| 228 | ** During the infamous [[GoodBadBugs "Corrupted Blood Incident"]][[note]]A now famous glitch from the game's early days where a [[StatusInflictionAttack highly lethal debuff from a certain raid boss]], which could be passed to nearby players and [=NPCs=], unintentionally stuck with players who teleported out of the boss arena and could be given to players who got too close to the infected-- incidentally, several real-world disease prevention and anti-bioterrorism organizations have used the incident as a case study for the spread of infectious diseases[[/note]], many players intentionally went out of their way to spread the titular "Corrupted Blood" to as many other players as possible, resulting in thousands of in-game deaths. An [[AscendedGlitch intentional version]] of the bug was later released to tease the arrival of the aforementioned Lich King in the form of [[ZombieInfectee a zombie plague]], with many players likewise intentionally spreading it as much as they could. |
| 229 | * ''VideoGame/WarlordsBattlecry III'' has a whole bunch of these as an entire playable faction, the Plaguelords. Practically all of their units can infect enemies with their basic attacks, and their armies are composed of slimy {{Blob Monster}}s, rotting undead troops and not-so-dead priests, and mutated beasts like eyeballs and hydras. |
| 230 | * Plague Maidens in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' are {{Vengeful Ghost}}s with the ability to summon clouds of diseased insects [[SwarmOfRats and rats]] to attack the living. They're inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_Maiden a similar creature from Polish folklore]]. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
| 232 | |
| 233 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 234 | * ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': In the backstory, a village got an outbreak of ThePlague due to a BrainwashedAndCrazy person smuggling a diseased rat into the village, infecting themself, then going to a crowded place during their TyphoidMary phase. |
| 235 | [[/folder]] |
| 236 | |
| 237 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 238 | * The PlagueDoctor from ''Franchise/TheFearMythos'' spreads disease wherever he goes. To a lesser extent, there are also a number of seemingly normal medical doctors who serve him, and intentionally spread disease to the people they're supposedly trying to save. |
| 239 | * Avatars that serve the entity known as the Corruption in the universe of ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' have the possibility of becoming this; most notably the characters of John Amherst and Jane Prentiss, whose plagues consist of a variety of vicious, supernatural illnesses and several thousand flesh-eating worms, respectively. |
| 240 | * ''Website/SCPFoundation'' |
| 241 | ** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-353 SCP-353 ("Vector")]] is a woman that can collect, modify, and distribute diseases, up to and including the infamous 1918 strain of influenza. She temporarily experiences symptoms of the diseases as she's modifying them, but this doesn't dissuade her from doing it. |
| 242 | ** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1249 SCP-1249 ("Pestilence")]] releases a liquid that contains infectious pathogens such as smallpox, leprosy, the bubonic plague and the Ebola virus. Anyone contacting the liquid can become infected with one or more of these diseases. |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
| 244 | |
| 245 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 246 | * ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' villain Verminous Skumm, a [[YouDirtyRat mutant anthropomorphic rat]] who's made it his mission in life to spread disease [[TheCorrupter and hate]] in an effort to KillAllHumans. |
| 247 | * "The Common Cold" from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' is an eternally ill villain who wishes to spread his cold to everyone else in the world. He uses a machine to fire mucus from his nose at his enemies |
| 248 | * From ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'', Conway The Contaminationist. He believes surrounding oneself in filth and grime is actually beneficial to the health, which may or may not be true as a jar of putrid sludge revives him like smelling salt and he claims to be 193 years old, but Eustace and Muriel become emaciated and weak when their lives become disgusting. |
| 249 | * Played for laughs in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' where Peter and Joe are playing increasingly extreme pranks on Quagmire (a Halloween tradition), and one "prank" includes infecting him with hepatitis C, only for him to reveal he already has it. Same thing with meningitis and gonorrhea (in the latter case he's ''patient zero''). Eventually, they run out of known diseases, and Peter resorts to flying to Africa, catching a mosquito carrying a virus that hasn't been named yet, and having it bite Quagmire. This one works. |
| 250 | * [[PunnyName D'Compose]], an ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}'' villain, is capable of mutating normal animals and people into screeching, monstrous undead abominations. Fortunately, sunlight changes them back to normal. |
| 251 | * At the begining of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode where Marge goes to jail, Homer orders a juice machine, and at the factory in Osaka, Japan, a {{Workaholic}} factory worker, who's sick with the flu, carelessly sneezes into several boxes, and causes [[ThePlague an outbreak of Osaka flu]] in Springfield. |
| 252 | * ''WesternAnimation/SkeletonWarriors'' has its main antagonist, Baron Dark, who is patient zero for a magical plague he spreads that turns people and animals into the titular [[WarriorUndead skeleton warriors]], with several of the episodes seeing him trying to make the process more potent. This is downplayed a little in that ''only'' Baron Dark can infect people with his evil plague, [[spoiler:at least until he reunites the [[MacGuffin Lightstar Crystal]] and is able to use it for mass skeletonization]]. |
| 253 | * Dr. James Bent a.k.a. Overlord, the main villain of ''WesternAnimation/SpiralZone''. He tries to TakeOverTheWorld by creating a SyntheticPlague that turns people into {{Mind Control}}led, zombie-like "Zoners" with red patches on their faces. |
| 254 | * Decepticon chemist Oil Slick of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. He wears a domed helmet to protect himself from his own toxins he unleashes during battle and does not really care if [[WeHaveReserves his comrades are infected in his wake]]. |
| 255 | [[/folder]] |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 258 | * The Siege on Caffa is the most literal historical case of this trope. In 1345, following a failed siege in 1343, the Golden Horde laid siege on Caffa, a harbor city in Crimea that today is known as Feodosia. The reason Caffa was so resilient was because it was one of the greatest merchant centers of its time and supplies were easily brought in from the seaside. The Golden Horde didn't have the means to attack by sea, and to make matters worse the army contracted the Black Death that had been roaming around Asia for some time by then. As one soldier after another fell, the khan, Jani Beg, in a drastic take on "when life gives you lemons", had the catapults brought out and the disease-riddled corpses flung over the city walls. Which would be bad enough, but obviously the people in Caffa wanted to live, so they fled... by boat... along the major trade routes... to the nearest major harbor cities. And this is how the Black Death reached Europe, killing millions in the years to come.[[note]]In case you're curious, the sieges could've been avoided altogether. Since the 13th Century, the area was in Mongol hands, but they gave room to Genoese merchants to settle. The Mongols were predominantly Muslims and the Genoese Christians, which eventually led to conflict that came to a head in Tana, where a clash caused the death of one Muslim. The Christians fled to Caffa, which granted them protection and refused to hand them over to the Mongols. Cue the 1343 siege...[[/note]] |
| 259 | * Part of the reason that uncontacted peoples[[note]]Tribes that aren't known to have interacted much with modern society[[/note]] like the people of North Sentinel Island are left alone is that they haven't built up the immunity to illnesses that the rest of the world has. One person carrying a flu pathogen that they hadn't even noticed could wipe out a tribe of 100 people that had happily been living on its own for thousands of years. A lot of Native Americans died in the first few years of contact due to disease being transferred from European settlers to them, and then through their trade network. At first this happened by accident, but when the Europeans caught on, their diseases became a backup weapon to other forms of violence. The most infamous are the smallpox-riddled blankets and handkerchiefs gifted by the settlers to the natives, although only one case, that of the Siege of Fort Pitt, is certain to have occured (it was a total failure though with no one dying as a result). |
| 260 | * Then there's the various tales of people with AIDS knowingly infecting unwitting victims for one reason or another. The most famous would probably be flight attendant Gaetan "Patient Zero" Dugas, though later evidence suggests that in his case at least, this is an exaggeration. |
| 261 | ** There's been at least one case of a prisoner murdering a guard by jabbing him with a syringe filled with his own HIV-infected blood. |
| 262 | ** Tragically ([[MoralEventHorizon or horrifically]]), [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping victims to deliberately spread AIDS]] is a tactic used commonly by AIDS-infected militia members in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| 263 | * Any Bio-terrorist qualifies. |
| 264 | * Some people throughout history have believed that [[VirginPower sex with a virgin can cure disease]] ([[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes and no, it doesn't have to be consensual to achieve the supposed effect]]). Needless to say, this does not work, and often ends with the (now former) virgin getting sick too. Some recent UsefulNotes/{{Africa}}n examples of the myth specifically involve HIV/AIDS (while a UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}}an variant calls for an {{albino|sAreFreaks}} instead of a virgin, predictably leading to rape and subsequent HIV infection of Zimbabweans with albinism). |
| 265 | * It was once believed that Komodo dragons hunted by biting prey to infect them with deadly bacteria living in their mouths, then waiting for the prey to be incapacitated before eating them, [[ScienceMarchesOn but this is no longer believed to be the case.]] |
| 266 | [[/folder]] |
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