Ominous Clouds, supernatural forces optional.
Is it me or do those clouds look super-evil?
— Gill Grunt, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Launch Trailer
Clouds are a pretty common sight in everyday life. They come in many forms, from light, wispy cirrus clouds to fluffy cumulus clouds. And of course, there are the cumulonimbus clouds, towering masses of dark clouds that are the sign of impending thunderstorms.
In fiction, Ominous Clouds signify danger. A Storm Is Coming, literal or figurative. The Ominous Clouds need not necessarily mean an impending thunderstorm, though a flash or lightning or two may well help to signify the danger.
Sometimes the Ominous Clouds will be supernatural in nature, forming around an Eldritch Location or The Stormbringer to shroud it in darkness and gloom.
In some settings, a powerful hero can engage in an attack or action that will sweep the cloud clear of those clouds.
This might occur because A Storm Is Coming or It Was a Dark and Stormy Night.
Sister Trope to Ominous Fog. Compare Bad Moon Rising and Red Sky, Take Warning for other natural phenomena in the sky that herald danger.
See also Hostile Weather, which is an active danger, and Cumulonemesis, when the clouds themselves are sentient and attack the characters.
Other ominous tropes related to the sky or the weather are The Stars Are Going Out, Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Death, and Snow Means Death. Compare Grave Clouds, which hang over cemeteries.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Castle in the Sky: While trying to evade Muska, the pirates see an ominous dark cloud in their path. Pazu tells them to fly straight into it, as it's where the flying city of Laputa is concealed.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean: The moment Pucci achieves and activates Made In Heaven, it doesn't take long the heroes to notice the clouds are suddenly progressing at a faster pace.
- Princess Resurrection: Hime's mansion is always surrounded by a mass of swirling black clouds in an otherwise clear sky. It is also under constant attack from all manner of monsters.
Films — Animation
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: As Ichabod rides through the woods late at night, there's a shot of the full moon slowly being enveloped by clouds shaped like giant hands.
- James and the Giant Peach: When James and the bugs arrive at New York City at night, they see dark, stormy clouds heading towards them. The stormy clouds indicate that the rhino, the same monster that killed James' parents earlier, is coming to get them.
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning: While the merfolk were playing amongst a rocky shore of a seaside pool, dark clouds begin rolling across the sky just before a pirate ship appears to steal their treasures. Even Sebastian points out the change in both the sky and the mood of the flashback before the real tragedy hits with the ship crashing into both the rocks and Queen Athena:
Sebastian: But even the brightest days can be darkened by an unseen tempest.
- Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent's lair in the Forbidden Mountain is perpetually under dark clouds, with occasional flashes of lightning that are implied to be tied to her emotions. In the climax, Maleficent sends the clouds over Aurora's castle, sending lightning bolts down that cause a forest of thorns to grow around it to try and stop Prince Phillip.
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Bowser's castle is shown being accompanied by dark clouds.
- Up: While floating in the sky in the flying house, Carl and Russell came across some cumulonimbus clouds. The clouds cause a storm which shakes the flying house.
Films — Live Action
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind: During the scenes where Barry is abducted, as well as the start of the finale, the arrival of the aliens is heralded by a sudden gathering of dark clouds.
- Clue: The dark and ominous skies and pouring rain are early portents of the murderous events that would fall over the mansion of Hill House as six guests arrive and are greeted by a butler. Hilarity and six murders then take place.
- Ghostbusters
- Ghostbusters (1984): When the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster summon Gozer, thick, ponderous clouds form over the building that Peter refers to as Spook Central. And when Gozer is disembodied, lighting and thunder boom with Gozer's voice while waiting to choose a One-Winged Angel form (thankfully, Ray limits Gozer with his choice.)
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife: The clouds that form at Gozer's summoning are made even more thick, ominous, and threatening as they form over Egon's farm in the climax, due to improved special effects.
- The Lord of the Rings: Through the film series, the skies over Mordor are filled with menacing, black clouds and lightning, as well as the eerie lighting caused by the volcanic fires of Orodruin, aka Mount Doom.
- Nope: A never-moving cloud looms over the Haywood's ranch, and it's revealed that the cloud was hiding a living, predacious UFO.
- The Terminator: At the end of the film, as Sarah Connor is preparing to head into Mexico to prepare for the coming war and raise her son, John, she's informed that A Storm Is Coming. She agrees, and then drives off into the mountains, where a thunderstorm is gathering.
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The film opens with a massive cloud in space passing through Klingon Space heading directly to Earth. The cloud is already impressive and foreboding on its own. But then it is able to easily dispatch three Klingon Battle Cruisers, And then we're told it is on a heading directly towards Earth, and we later learn that it is over 2 AUs note in diameter.
Literature
- The Belgariad: The strongholds of the evil god Torak are perpetually overcast with unnatural clouds. One wizard claims it's because the sun refuses to shine on him.
- What Should Riley Do?, a licensed book based on Inside Out, reveals that whenever something is going wrong with some aspect of Riley's personality, storm clouds will appear above the corresponding island in her Mental World. For instance, when Riley is on a losing streak, clouds appear above Hockey Island.
- The Wheel of Time: Taken to its Logical Extreme as the Dark One's influence over the world grows, causing Hostile Weather and other effects. By the Final Battle, the entire planet is shrouded in perpetual clouds.
Live-Action TV
- Doctor Who: "Death In Heaven". Numerous Cybermen launch from St. Peter's Cathedral, transforming into a menacing black cloud that will rain "cyber-pollen" onto the graves of the world, transforming the dead into Cybermen.
- House of Anubis: Ammit's arrival is signified by the arrival of black clouds, which would've turned into an apocalyptic storm if Eddie and KT hadn't stopped her.
- Legion (2017): As David Haller finally confronts Amahl Farouk for a psychic battle in the desert, the self-proclaimed Shadow King is followed by a spreading mass of inky black clouds that eventually block out the sun.
- Paper Girls: In the first episode the girls encounter a bizarre pink storm, leading them to seek shelter in Erin's house... and encounter her future self.
Video Games
- EarthBound Beginnings: The Peak of Mt. Itoi is shown being enveloped by an ominous dark cloud which is actually obscuring Giygas' ship.
- Exmortis: Along with red skies, unnatural clouds are a sign that the titular demonic army is active in a region. Early in Exmortis 2, you see a fast-moving cloud bank on the horizon and eat a Non-Standard Game Over if it reaches you.
- For the King:
- While a Scourge is awake and affecting the game world, swirling purple clouds appear above their lair.
- One Scourge, the Disciple, causes black clouds to appear at random on The Overworld, restoring the Fog of War and slowing the player characters' movement with perpetual rain.
- Halo 3: The Ark portal is shadowed by an unnatural cyclonic storm in the events leading up to its activation, lending its name to the game's 4th level.
- Hi-Fi RUSH: Though it's bright and sunny as the team chases Kale to the SPECTRA building, by the time they arrive, the sky is completely dark because of an impending thunderstorm.
- The Legend of Zelda:
- Ocarina of Time: While returning to Hyrule Castle after obtaining all the Spiritual Stones, the skies above Hyrule Field suddenly turn bleak just as Link arrives to see Zelda fleeing from Ganondorf.
- Four Swords Adventures: The prologue begins with Link assisting Zelda to prevent Vaati's release during a dark storm.
- Skyward Sword: Once Ghirahim starts to break the seal to free Demise, the surrounding area gets accompanied by dark clouds.
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III: In the last chapter, the team notes a Portent of Doom as dark clouds are covering the city.
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: After the Shadow Queen is awakened, clouds of darkness envelop the skies.
- Resident Evil 4: The skies over the island where Leon has been sent to rescue the President's daughter are consistently cloudy, gray, and foreboding. Fitting, considering everything he finds when he gets there.
- Sniper Elite III: During the "Fort Rifugio" mission, Fairburne narrates that A Storm Is Coming, literally, which he can use to cover his infiltration into the titular fort. During the first part of the level, dark storm clouds can be seen in the distance, complete with lightning. True enough, once the storm does arrive, all hell breaks loose in and out of the fort, as German and Italian reinforcements arrive in an attempt to kill the informant Brauer. Though, luckily for Fairburne, the storm's lightning does provide a Cacophony Cover Up to conceal his shots and his location from the aforementioned Axis troops outside the fort.
Web Video
- Critical Role: The Kryn Dynasty has an ominous reputation as a mysterious realm of Dark Elves, "monstrous" species, and other former minions of the Betrayer Gods, where the sun is always hidden behind magical clouds. Subverted in Campaign Two when the main characters visit and find out that it's a fairly ordinary place despite its local quirks.
Western Animation
- Code Lyoko: XANA's escape from the Supercomputer during the season two finale is accompanied by a swirling, stormy mass of clouds suddenly appearing in the sky, seemingly coming out from the factory itself.
- Martin Mystery: When supernatural things are occurring, the sky will often be a night sky filled with Ominous Clouds, purple and violet-hued.
- Molly of Denali: In "A Fireweed Feast," Walter alerts the group to a storm heading east, but when he sees dark clouds on the horizon, he realizes that the storm has turned in their direction.
