History Main / BreathWeapon

* Rare example of a human with a BreathWeapon, but no "taint": Fire Lad, of the [[LegionOfSuperHeroes Legion of Substitute Heroes]], has the ability to breathe (and sneeze) fire. (Too bad he also has a raging set of allergies.)

* Lord Ebondrake from the ''{{Warhammer 40000}} GreyKnights'' novel ''Hammer of Daemons'' takes a draconic form and can breath black flame.

[[caption-width:200:I think someone needs an Altoid.]]

Compare EyeBeams, MakeMeWannaShout.

-->'''Iroh''': [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the "Dragon of the West"?‌]]

-->'''Iroh''': Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the "Dragon of the West"?‌

-->'''Iroh''': It's more of a demonstration, really. * takes a sip of his tea and proceeds to breathe fire from his mouth*

[[OlderThanDirt Myth]] and [[OlderThanPrint folklore]] are replete with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and other creatures spewing [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[PoisonIsCorrosive corrosive venom]], [[DeadlyGas noxious gases]]beams,thunder, and other exotic and catastrophic exhalations. More modern media have applied the motif to fantastic beasties, creatures from alien worlds, mutants, and even the occasional robot, and expanded the effects to encompass [[PurpleProse blazing beams of coruscant annihilation]]. In other words, bright things coming from the mouths of big things that can destroy other things.

[[OlderThanDirt Myth]] and [[OlderThanPrint folklore]] are replete with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and other creatures spewing [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[PoisonIsCorrosive corrosive venom]], [[DeadlyGas noxious gases]], and other exotic and catastrophic exhalations. More modern media have applied the motif to fantastic beasties, creatures from alien worlds, mutants, and even the occasional robot, and expanded the effects to encompass [[PurpleProse blazing beams of coruscant annihilation]]. In other words, bright things coming from the mouths of big things that can destroy other things.

Classically a trait of creatures that are, at least physically, animalistic -- no matter how [[TalkingAnimal erudite and noble]] they may be. When ''humanoids'' vomit destruction from their mouths, they almost always have at least a hint of corruption or, at best, atavism about them. According to anthropologist David D. Gilmore, this is because of the mouth's symbolism as the organ of predation, evoking one mankind's [[PrimalFear primal fears of what used to hunt them]]. Given that a human being's only experience with oral expulsions is usually vomitus, it may then follow that anything coming out of the mouth is unpleasant. Whatever the reason, it's right up there with GlowingEyesOfDoom as a surefire sign of [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman inhumanity]]. ''Heroes'' will generally [[KiAttacks emit blasts of destruction from their palms instead]] (though villains can do that too.)

** Taken to the logical extreme with Recoom from the Ginyu Force, who gets shut down (literally) by Krillin upon attempting this on wounded Vegeta, and blows up nearly all his teeth in the process.

* in Fablehaven, the fairy dragon, Raxtus, feels useless because his breath, a far cry from a weapon, makes flowers grow, unlike the rest of his kind.( it doesn't help that he's puny, and shines morwe than edward cullen at noon.) the rest of the dragons breath acid or fire, or other deadly things.

* As if being a sea serpent big enough to encircle the ''world'' wasn't scary enough, Jormunqand the Midgard Serpent of NorseMythology also has poisonous breath. In the FinalBattle of Ragnarok, Thor breathes in too much of Jormunqand's breath while [[DropTheHammer beating it to death wih Mjolnir]]. He's {{Badass}} enough to try and keep going, but only manages to take nine steps before finally dying.

** ''DungeonsAndDragons'', ''et al.'', offer a substantial number of nondraconic monsters with their own BreathWeapon: Hellhounds breathe fire, as just one example. A popular method of making a "new" monster is to simply slap a BreathWeapon on an existing animal or mythical creature: the Pyrohydra, for instance, is a Hydra [[AC:[[RecycledINSPACE that breathes fire!]]]].

* Fire-breathing is a trivial feat in reality, but strongly associated with tooth decay. Many traditional fire-breathers use gasoline or kerosene, which even diluted causes instant halitosis and rapidly rots the teeth. High proof alcohols (150+) are better, though they can cause notable browning within a week of regular performance, the damage is reversible with more frequent brushing and taking time for the enamel to recover.

* Most beam attacks in ''{{Pokemon}}'', such Hyper Beam and Aurora Beam, work this way. Pokemon that lack a BreathWeapon have attacks that emerge from other body parts (get your mind out of the gutter; we're talking about hands, pincers, [[ShoulderCannon shell-mounted pressure cannons]]...)

Classically a trait of creatures that are, at least physically, animalistic -- no matter how [[TalkingAnimal erudite and noble]] they may be. When ''humanoids'' vomit destruction from their mouths, they almost always have at least a hint of corruption or, at best, atavism about them. According to anthropologist David D. Gilmore, this is because of the mouth's symbolism as the organ of predation, evoking one mankind's [[PrimalFear primal fears of what used to hunt them]]. Whatever the reason, it's right up there with GlowingEyesOfDoom as a surefire sign of [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman inhumanity]]. ''Heroes'' will generally [[KiAttacks emit blasts of destruction from their palms instead]] (though villains can do that too.)

[[caption-width:200:[[MemeticMutation IMMA FIRIN MAI LAZOR!]]]]

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has several dragons, in addition to a number of robots with mouth-mounted [[ClothingDamage stripper rays]].

* Imhotep belched out a huge swarm of locust in ''TheMummy''.

[[OlderThanDirt Myth]] and [[OlderThanPrint folklore]] are replete with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and other creatures spewing [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[PoisonIsCorrosive corrosive venom]], noxious gases, and other exotic and catastrophic exhalations. More modern media have applied the motif to fantastic beasties, creatures from alien worlds, mutants, and even the occasional robot, and expanded the effects to encompass [[PurpleProse blazing beams of coruscant annihilation]]. In other words, bright things coming from the mouths of big things that can destroy other things.

[[OlderThanDirt Myth]] and [[OlderThanPrint folklore]] are replete with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and other creatures spewing [[PlayingWithFire fire]], corrosive venom, noxious gases, and other exotic and catastrophic exhalations. More modern media have applied the motif to fantastic beasties, creatures from alien worlds, and even the occasional robot, and expanded the effects to encompass [[PurpleProse blazing beams of coruscant annihilation]]. In other words, bright things coming from the mouths of big things that can destroy other things.

[[OlderThanDirt Myth]] and [[OlderThanPrint folklore]] are replete with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and other creatures spewing [[PlayingWithFire fire]], corrosive venom, noxious gases, and other exotic and catastrophic exhalations. More modern media have applied the motif to fantastic beasties, creatures from alien worlds, and even the occasional robot, and expanded the effects to encompass [[PurpleProse blazing beams of coruscant annihilation]].

** Beedrill, however, is depicted as shooting beam attacks from its well-placed stinger
** Bulbasaur fires most of its attacks out of its bulb.

* The ''BreathOfFire'' series where Ryu can transform into his dragon form (or summon them) will have breath attacks because of...well, they're dragons. SoYeah.

Classically a trait of creatures that are, at least physically, animalistic -- no matter how [[TalkingAnimal erudite and noble]] they may be. When ''humanoids'' vomit destruction from their mouths, they almost always have at least a hint of corruption or, at best, atavism about them. This may be due to the subliminal association with halitosis -- stereotypically a symptom of poor hygiene, though it can be indicative of other medical problems. Whatever the reason, it's right up there with GlowingEyesOfDoom. ''Heroes'' will generally [[KiAttacks emit blasts of destruction from their palms instead]] (though villains can do that too.)

* Left 4 Dead 2 will feature a new zombie called the Spitter, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin who spits acid]].

* There is an interesting variant in ''{{Psychonauts}}''. The Giant Lungfish boss attacks by belching some boxes, anchors(!) and other heavy st at you and then by sucking the air in an attempt to swallow you (temporarily).