History Main / DevourTheDragon

** In an anime filler arc, the leader of a tribe of panther demons does this to some of his subordinates when he realizes he is losing. Made worse since his tribe most of the arc gathering the shards to ''revive'' him after Inuyasha's father killed him in the past. The panthers give up the fight after their leader is defeated realizing he wasn't worth avenging.

* Fall absorbs Deuce's magical power (killing her) in he final fight in ''Manga/{{Nora}}: The Last Chronicle of Devildom''. This holds something of an inverted HeroicSacrifice because Deuce throws herself in front of Nora's spell to protect Fall, then apoligizes for her weakness as Fall absorbs her afterwards.

* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:Gluttony]] is devoured for this purpose. [[spoiler:Zolf J. Kimbley]] later succumbs to the same fate. However, the second victim ends up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard biting the devourer in the ass]] later on. [[spoiler:Pride]] assumed that nobody could retain their sanity after being absorbed into him, but overlooked the fact that [[spoiler:Kimbley]] was [[InsanityImmunity already insane]] and [[CrazyAwesome loving it]].

[[spoiler: Kimbley: These cries of agony are like lullabies to my ears!]]

-->-- '''Makuta''' (absorbing [[BrainsAndBrawn Nidhiki and Krekka]]), ''{{Bionicle}} 2: Legends of Metru Nui]]''

-->-- '''Makuta''' (absorbing [[BrainsAndBrawn Nidhiki and Krekka]]), ''[[{{Bionicle}} Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui]]''

* {{Inverted}} in ''{{WesternAnimation/WITCH}}'': [[spoiler:Cedric eats Phobos to gain his powers]].

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Wakfu}}'', Goultard dominates the fight against Rushu. Realizing he's in a bad position, Rushu calls upon his Shushu hordes to help him, and they merge into a huge mass of darkness. Rushu ''eats'' it to get a power boost that allows him to gain the upper hand against Goultard.

* Fall absorbs Deuce's magical power (killing her) in he final fight in ''Manga/Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom''. This holds something of an inverted HeroicSacrifice because Deuce throws herself in front of Nora's spell to protect Fall, then apoligizes for her weakness as Fall absorbs her afterwards.

* In ''[[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]/[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'', The Vision fires his solar beam (emptying his solar cells) at Superman to re-energize him when he is being attacked by several villains using Red-solar energy, and ''Kryptonite''.

* Rare heroic example: In ''HighlanderEndgame'', Connor [=MacLeod=] asks his younger cousin Duncan [=MacLeod=] to take his head and absorb his power, and thus have enough power to defeat the BigBad. Duncan attempts to refuse multiple times, but finally Connor gets him to accept. Sort of a PassingTheTorch moment as well, as it's the hero from the original movie sacrificing himself for the good of the hero from the spinoff TV series.

* Two early villains from ''Manga/InuYasha''. The older brother eats the younger one after he's killed. Also a subversion, as he genuinely cares for his brother, and is using the strength to avenge him.

* ''{{Digimon}}''

* In ''[[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]/[[TheAvengers Avengers]]'', The Vision fires his solar beam (emptying his solar cells) at Superman to re-energize him when he is being attacked by several villains using Red-solar energy, and ''Kryptonite''.

* Seen in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' as [[spoiler:Salazar and his remaining Verdugo fuse with an evil plant before his fight with Leon.]]

* Rare heroic example: In ''{{Highlander}}: Endgame'', Connor [=MacLeod=] asks his younger cousin Duncan [=MacLeod=] to take his head and absorb his power, and thus have enough power to defeat the BigBad. Duncan attempts to refuse multiple times, but finally Connor gets him to accept. Sort of a PassingTheTorch moment as well, as it's the hero from the original movie sacrificing himself for the good of the hero from the spinoff TV series.

* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:Gluttony]] is devoured for this purpose. [[spoiler:Zolf J. Kimbley]] later succumbs to the same fate. However, the second victim ends up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard biting the devourer in the ass]] later on. [[spoiler:Envy]] assumed that nobody could retain their sanity after being absorbed into him, but overlooked the fact that [[spoiler:Kimbley]] was [[InsanityImmunity already insane]] and [[CrazyAwesome loving it]].

* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:Gluttony]] is devoured for this purpose. [[spoiler:Zolf J. Kimbley]] later succumbs to the same fate. However, the second victim ends up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard biting the devourer in the ass]] later on.

* In ''{{VideoGame/X}}'' the TV series, after Fuuma has had his arm and half his face blown off, he orders Nataku to liquify and became a human skin graft, restoring himself for the final battle at the cost of his last henchman's life.

-->--'''Makuta''' absorbing [[BrainsAndBrawn Nidhiki and Krekka]], '''''[[{{Bionicle}} Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui]]'''''

!!Examples:

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* In ''FullMetalAlchemist'' Brotherhood, [[spoiler: Gluttony]] is devoured for this purpose. [[spoiler:Zolf J. Kimbley]] later succumbs to the same fate. However, the second victim ends up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard biting the devourer in the ass]] later on.
* In ''DigimonAdventure'' [=VenomVamdemon=] eats his subordinate [=PicoDevimon=] for a marginal powerup during his ChewingTheScenery sequence. And he doesn't stop there, either, ultimately absorbing ''all'' of his surviving minions.

** Also, in ''DigimonFrontier'', [[spoiler: Lucemon does this to Crusadermon and Dynasmon shortly after their defeat by the Digidestined.]]
** Happens ''all the time'' in ''DigimonXrosWars'' due to the villains having the ability to Digi Xros with their underlings, whether the poor Digimon want to or not.
* In ''{{Shinzo}}'', the {{Mons}} that have replaced humanity turn into cards after being defeated, and they can power up by assimilating another Enterran's card. One villainess, a general in the BigBad's army, killed five of her peers well before fighting the heroes and used them to achieve a OneWingedAngel form.
* Fall absorbs Deuce's magical power (killing her) in he final fight in NORA: The Last Chronicle of Devildom. This holds something of an inverted HeroicSacrifice because Deuce throws herself in front of Nora's spell to protect Fall, then apoligizes for her weakness as Fall absorbs her afterwards.
* Two early villains from ''InuYasha''. The older brother eats the younger one after he's killed.
** Also a subversion, as he genuinely cares for his brother, and is using the strength to avenge him.
* Szayel Aporro Granz from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has specifically designed minions which he can eat to heal himself. In the manga, he actually ''eats'' the minion, but in the anime he turns it into a purple orb and then eats it.
* In ''VideoGame/{{X}}'' the TV series, after Fuuma has had his arm and half his face blown off, he orders Nataku to liquify and became a human skin graft, restoring himself for the final battle at the cost of his last henchman's life.
* TengenToppaGurrenLagann does this in a very strange, but very awesome way in the final episode. [[spoiler: It was the BigBad of the previous arc who got eaten. Except it was the heroes who ate him, and it was his idea. It makes a lot more sense in context.]]
** Also, [[spoiler: said BigBad keeps the keys to his mecha around in the form of attractive women, so when he needs to pilot it, the first step is to turn them back into keys. Gigantic drill keys. Mostly just gigantic drills that work like keys.]]
*** [[spoiler:[[RedvsBlue Or it's a key all the time...]]]]
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', Orochimaru intended to do this with Sasuke. [[spoiler: It ended up going the other way around.]]

* Inverted in the MegaManNTWarrior manga. When the good guys finally get the current villains on the ropes, BigBad [=LaserMan=] decides it's best to make a strategic retreat and regroup. [=MegaMan DarkSoul=] decides he'd rather "regroup" his superior's power with his own, deals a finishing blow, and proceeds to take the "devour" portion of this trope quite literally.
-->'''[=MegaMan DarkSoul=]''':[[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/megaman_nt_warrior/v09/c003/3.html ''A bit bland... but ''filling!'']]
* [[BigBad Mag Mel]] from {{Bakugan}} [[spoiler:kills and absorbs Mistress Sellon after she had [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived her usefulness]], using her energy to power himself as he prepares to carry out his ultimate plan. The very next episode, he does the exact same thing to Anubias.]]

[[folder: Film]]
* Rare heroic example: In ''{{Highlander}}: Endgame'', Connor [=MacLeod=] asks his younger cousin Duncan [=MacLeod=] to take his head and absorb his power, and thus have enough power to defeat the BigBad. Duncan attempts to refuse multiple times, but finally Connor gets him to accept. Sort of a PassingTheTorch moment as well, as it's the hero from the original movie sacrificing himself for the good of the hero from the spinoff TV series.

[[folder: ComicBooks]]
* In ''The Immortal Iron Fist'', Orson Randall does the HeroicSacrifice variant by giving up his chi to power up Danny Rand.
* In ''JLA/Avengers'', The Vision fires his solar beam (emptying his solar cells) at [=Superman=] to re-energize him when he is being attacked by several villains using Red-solar energy, and ''Kryptonite''.

[[folder: Literature]]
* In the climax of ''[[ElementalMasters Phoenix and Ashes]]'' by MercedesLackey, [[spoiler: the wicked stepmother drains her lawyer/sidekick/future son-in-law completely of life, and drains her two daughters until they are [[LiquidAssets aged, withered, senile husks of their former selves.]]]]
* ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'' has Lilith draining all ambient magic from the ballroom in order to throw an attack at the Baron. The Duc (who's actually a frog given human form, as Lilith [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality has a thing for making things work based on stories]]) reverts to his true form instantly.
** Although non-magical, [[spoiler: Mr. Pin's killing of Mr. Tulip]] in ''The Truth'' is a similar case of a villain sacrificing his most trusted ally in order to shield himself.

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' adventure [=OA5=] "Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw". This is a special ability of Dragon Claw martial artists: the most senior one present can drain HitPoints from his fellow Dragon Claws, allowing him to fight longer. If the heroes fail, the Dragon Claw statue will do this to all Dragon Claw fighters in Kara Tur.

** A number of powers of the Dark Pact, a warlock pact from Fourth Edition, have the warlock draining Hit Points from his allies to power his magic. Being as the Dark Pact was originally created by the Drow, who are natural backstabbers who hold absolutely no faith in friendship or fellowship...yeah.
* During the Time of Troubles in the ForgottenRealms, Bhaal absorbed the souls of every assassin in the world in order to upgrade his avatar. To gain the strength to battle Bhaal's avatar, Torm likewise absorbed the souls of his own followers, but on a voluntary basis.
** This was done to justify the lack of an assassin class in 2nd Edition DungeonsAndDragons in-universe.
* In the climax of the "Enemy Within" ''{{Warhammer}}'' campaign, the Big Bad drains lifeforce from the official he has been mind-controlling, allowing him to take his true form.
* One of the block mechanics is Magic: The Gathering was called Devour and worked via your creatures coming into play and "eating" other creatures you had in play for various benefits.
* Tabletopgame/YuGiOh: This is actually part of the overall mechanic. Monsters over Level 4 require you to [[NeverSayDie Tribute]] one or more of your other monsters to summon them. And unless your entire deck is dedicated to the WeakButSkilled, [[YouBastard you]] ''[[YouBastard will]]'' [[YouBastard do this]].

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Seen in ''{{Resident Evil 4}}'' as [[spoiler:Salazar and his remaining Verdugo fuse with an evil plant before his fight with Leon.]]
* In ''[[{{Warcraft}} Warcraft 3]]'', the Death Knight hero can use the ability 'Death Pact' to sacrifice any non-Hero undead to restore health. The Lich can do the same thing for mana.

** And in ''{{Starcraft}}'': The Defiler can "Devour" another Zerg to recharge their ManaMeter.
** In Starcraft 2, the hero character Tosh can remove health from a nearby biological unit to recover energy, which is used to cast spells.
* In ''{{Castlevania}}: Portrait of Ruin'', Dracula [[spoiler: reaches his OneWingedAngel form by consensually taking Death's soul.]]
** In ''CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'', beating one Zombie Dragon boss will cause the other to chew at (and gain HP from) the one you just killed, making this a literal case of devouring dragon.
* In ''{{Mortal Kombat}}'' 9, Shao Kahn absorbs Shang Tsung and gives some of his power to Sindel.

* In JadeEmpire, Smiling Hawk takes a bit of a beating from the player before his most devoted disciple arrives. Smiling Hawk decides that the disciple's life would be more useful than his help.
* A variation was possible in an unused idea for ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' II; Visas Marr, having originally been TheDragon to [[TheHeartless Darth Nihilus]] and possessing a Force Bond to him, could be made during the fight against him (having [[HeelFaceTurn joined the Exile]]) to commit suicide in order to weaken Nihilus.
** It wasn't unused. Visas just has to be either wearing her default outfit, or in her underwear, and can only be armed with a basic lightsaber. Her RelationshipValues must also be at maximum.
* Inverted in FinalFantasyX, when one of [[spoiler: Seymour's]] incarnations features "morticorpus", a living shield that regenerates by draining his life.
* In Legend of Mana, after the Hero beats Lord of Jewels 999, its dragon Sandra offers it her core gemstone so it could be reborn as Lord of Jewels 1000.
* In ''DragonAge'' ''Origins'', a Blood Mage can drain health from other party members with "Blood Sacrifice", which is a good way to keep the Blood Mage alive since keeping "Blood Magic" active renders other forms of healing all but useless. If you're careless it's entirely possible to bring your ally to the brink of death.

* Inverted at the end of {{Silent Hill 3}} : Claudia devours the embryonic God to enable its birth, which of course destroys her.
* In TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks, BigBad Malladus was forced outside Princess Zelda's body. Cole tells him to just kill Link and recover Zelda's body. But since he was too tired for that, [[FateWorseThanDeath Malladus decided to take the next one he had.]]
* Rare ''heroic'' variant: In GirlsLove VisualNovel ''AkaiIto'', Tsudura [[spoiler:eat Obana's corpse]] because she doesn't want to [[FriendlessBackground lose her only friend]] (in a battle versus [[BigBad Nushi]]'s [[TheDragon dragons]], at that). {{Squick}} doesn't even begin to describe the scene. The result is that Tsudura turns into an uberpowered [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot werefox-mage-exorcist]], or something.
* In SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters, Thuris drains Kanan, the leader of his cult for a power boost before his boss battle after the rest of his cult wasn't enough.
* In ''SoulCalibur'' ''4'', Tira ''wants'' Nightmare/Soul Edge to do this to her because she has a bad case of MadLove for it. In her ending, [[spoiler:the opposite happens. Nightmare's body can no longer withstand its own power and dies while Tira begs him to stay with her. Tira gets her wish when Soul Edge's power merges with her.]]
* Mother does this to Zeikfried in ''VideoGame/{{Wild Arms 1}}''.

* StarWarsTheOldRepublic
** The Sith Inquisitor has the "Sacrifice" ability, which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin sacrifices]] your companion in order to restore health to yourself. Depending on how you play your character, your companion might indeed be TheDragon to your BigBad. The Inquisitor also consumes [[spoiler:force ghosts]] during the story to gain the power to confront his/her nemesis.

* {{Inverted}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'': [[spoiler:Cedric eats Phobos to gain his powers]].

* In ''{{Wakfu}}'', Goultard dominates the fight against Rushu. Realizing he's in a bad position, Rushu calls upon his Shushu hordes to help him, and they merge into a huge mass of darkness. Rushu ''eats'' it to get a power boost that allows him to gain the upper hand against Goultard.

[[folder: Fan Fic]]
* In ''[[FanFic/DayOfTheBarneyTrilogy Day of the Barney]]'', [[spoiler:Barney kills Baby Bop in this manner]].
[[/folder]]

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* In ''{{Wakfu}}'', Goultard dominates the fight against Rushu. Realizing he's in a bad position, Rushu calls upon his Shushu hordes to help him, and they merge into a huge mass of darkness. Rushu ''eats'' it to get a power boost that allows to gain the upper hand against Goultard.