Hookfang (Franchise)

"You're not just another sword, Hookfang."

- Snotlout

Hookfang is Snotlout Jorgenson’s Monstrous Nightmare who first appeared in How to Train Your Dragon. His name was first revealed in Gift of the Night Fury.

Official Description
"Hookfang and Snotlout have a... complicated relationship. Whereas most dragons obey their riders' commands, Hookfang often enjoys doing the opposite of what Snotlout says. Snotlout and Hookfang are both warriors at heart and work very well together in combat or competition with the other dragon riders."

- Dragonpedia

"Hookfang has the ability to coat himself with fire from nose to tail. He's short of patience, preferring to ignite first and think second. Hookfang is a warrior who fight ferociously in battle and competition."

- Dragonpedia stat card

"This Monstrous Nightmare seems uniquely trained . . . to do the exact opposite of whatever Snotlout says! But they still make a great team."

- Dragons: Rise of Berk

Physical Appearance
Hookfang is a Monstrous Nightmare. In the movie he is 61 feet long with a 68 foot wingspan. According to Snotlout, Hookfang weighs around 5,000 pounds but this might be a lie used in order to impress Heather. Hookfang is a perfect example of a typical Monstrous Nightmare. He has large shiny grayish-black horns that curve slightly outwards on the edge. He has bright reddish-orange scales with darker spots scattered around. His underside is a light tan, and he has yellowish orange eyes like most other dragons. His color scheme is fairly common in the movie, and Snotlout has even mistaken other Nightmares for him. Hookfang's horns lack extra antlers coming off of them, which does help to distinguish him from other Monstrous Nightmares seen in the film. He seems to be fully grown, and no Nightmares have yet been seen that are notably larger than him, except the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare and possible extremely large Monstrous Nightmare that was seen at Helheim's Gate as its size was bigger than Stoick's ships. Also in the TV series and second movie he seems to be the only Monstrous Nightmare who has crests on his neck.

Personality
Like his rider, Hookfang is somewhat of a bully and highly aggressive. When angered or irritated, Hookfang often flames up his body to express his emotions, as demonstrated in "In Dragons We Trust".

Though Hookfang and Snotlout's relationship may look uncaring and cold at first sight, they had proved to be very close to one another. Though Hookfang often bullies Snotlout by disobeying him or attacking him, he has been seen caring for Snotlout as few examples are when Spitelout scolded Snotlout. Hookfang tried to comfort Snotlout, but said Viking wasn't thankful for that. When Hookfang was willing to sacrifice his own life for the cure to his illness for Snotlout's life, or when he saved him from the Whispering Deaths and Speed Stingers. Snotlout once said the last face he wanted to see besides his own face was Hookfang's face, though Hookfang himself didn't seem very thankful for this in fact he took a snap at his rider and then left him.

He was shown to be upset when he thought the Screaming Death had killed Snotlout, and gave Alvin a lift to Berk for showing his gratitude, because the former Outcast Chieftain saved Snotlout's life in "Cast Out, Part 1".

Hookfang and his rider are very in sync when it comes to personality. Both have shown to be proud, reckless, slightly selfish, incredibly stubborn, don't respect authority and pick fights for the heck of it. Much like Snotlout always teases some of the other teens (Mostly Hiccup and Fishlegs) Hookfang is shown to pick up fights with other dragons, such as Toothless, Barf and Belch, Fanghook, and Stormfly. The reason for the latter was because both of them were influenced by the Dragon Root in "A Tale of Two Dragons".

Both Hookfang and Snotlout have a rivalry with Hiccup and Toothless, as seen in "Thawfest". He had been seen to wing flap Meatlug by accident and tail whip her in the second film, without showing any sign that he cared. He disliked Fanghook at first for being a wild dragon but decided to help him in saving Hiccup and Toothless from Dagur.

Hookfang loves having his head rubbed, according to Snotlout. He even shown to be mostly mischievous as he enjoys biting his rider or use his fire on him to get back on as his amusement that he even teases him during flight by diving at full speed to scare his owner.

Abilities & Skills
From hard training with Snotlout, some of Hookfang's abilities have become better than those of a regular Monstrous Nightmare, becoming a perfect dragon warrior for Snotlout.
 * Strength: Hookfang is shown to be a very powerful dragon. Hookfang has never shown any sign of struggle of lifting up any heavy objects in the air. He has been shown to carry heavy Vikings, such as Gobber, Stoick, Alvin, and Fishlegs, plus with an axe, on his neck with an extra weight of Snotlout with saddle without any sign of struggle. Fishlegs can even stand on Hookfang's neck with Snotlout sitting on it as well. He has also been able to wrestle with Toothless and been able to throw Toothless away with his mouth. Hookfang has also proven to be very strong to lift up Fireworm Queen without any struggle at all.
 * Wing Blast: Hookfang's wings are strong enough to blast a full grown Hideous Zippleback, blow away Barf's gas, Smothering Smokebreath veil of smoke, or move a pair of trees a very far distance. Hookfang was able to combine this hidden ability and his flamethrower in order to create a more powerful attack. He has been seen using this in the battle against Dagur the Deranged and used this to save the Screaming Death's mother from harm to set her free from the ropes ("Cast Out, Part 2").
 * Swimming: Hookfang appears to be a great swimmer. When swimming, he somewhat resembles an alligator, with his tail and body on top of the surface. Hookfang has shown he can swim in a high speed. He probably could have stayed underwater longer, if he wasn't burdened by Snotlout. He used this ability to help the fishers Mulch and Bucket ("How to Start a Dragon Academy").
 * Speed: Hookfang is a very fast flier. He shown to able to keep up with Toothless at the Thawfest race, though ultimately not as fast as the Night Fury. Snotlout had stated that Hookfang's speed doesn't match up to Stormfly's speed, and he believes that Astrid's dragon is extremely fast, however this is because of Stormfly's chicken diet which enables Stormfly to surpass Hookfang in terms of speed. He has shown that he is also relatively fast when running and swimming ("How to Start a Dragon Academy").
 * Acrobatics: Hookfang has proven several times to be very flexible and agile. He is able to make turns by spinning in the air in the Thawfest games ("Thawfest"). He is also agile as he dodged many of the attacks from the Skrill, but Snotlout was hit many times. Hookfang was able to perform dodging maneuvers, hitting Gobber's catapults in the process.
 * Endurance and Stamina: Hookfang has shown to have amazing stamina and endurance even before being tamed by Hiccup and training hard with Snotlout. In the arena after he attacked Hiccup, he was attacked by Toothless, and he lost in brutal, but short fight.("How to Train Your Dragon") He also recovered fairly quickly several times, such as when he was stun by the Screaming Death's sonic shriek("Tunnel Vision"), slam by Screaming Death, able to endure Meatlug tackle or fell into Mildew's house from diving full speed ("In Dragons We Trust") to save his rider from harm. He was able to get back up from being thrown by a Titan Monstrous Nightmare, and later defeat it ("Total Nightmare").
 * Intelligence: Hookfang has proven to be quite intelligent as he could outsmart Snotlout when he was being mistreated. He had figured ways to defeat the Cavern Crasher by destroying large rock pillars to crush the dragon and then combining his firepower with the Fireworm Queen's which had succeeded by drying off the mucus on the Cavern Crasher ("Crash Course").
 * Climbing: Hookfang is often seen climbing rocks or building, showing that he is a skilled climber.

Snotlout Jorgenson
Hookfang and Snotlout bonded with one another before they went to fight the Red Death. Even though they seem very cold and harsh towards one another, Snotlout often trying too hard to enforce his authority and Hookfang sometimes ignoring Snotlout's commands, they care deeply about one another, as they are both willing to sacrifice their lives for one another. Snotlout risked his life trying to acquire a Firecomb to save Hookfang's life and Hookfang in return was willing to sacrifice the Firecomb when the Fireworm Queen tried to attack Snotlout to get it back. They are very in sync, both being very proud, stubborn and rude. Despite his loyalty towards Snotlout, Hookfang didn't want to be buried alive with him (although this could also be because he knew Snotlout wasn't really going to die). Hookfang was really upset and looked devastated when he thought that the Screaming Death had killed him. Snotlout, seeing that Hookfang was always with Girl Hookfang, thought it would be best to release him. Though it was a misunderstanding, Snotlout was willing to give the best for Hookfang, if it made him happy. Hookfang's disobedience may be due to Snotlout's enormous ego and Snotlout not giving him the proper respect. Snotlout and Hookfang have more of a cowboy-horse relationship. As, unlike Hiccup and Toothless or Fishlegs and Meatlug, etc, Snotlout and Hookfang don't talk and play together, like the other dragon riders do. Hookfang likes to tease Snotlout and laugh when Astrid makes jokes about Jorgensons. Even though they don't show much respect for each other, they are still best of friends and Hookfang protects his trainer.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Hiccup and Hookfang first met in the Arena, where Hiccup was assigned to kill Hookfang, but instead tried to train him, in order to show the tribe the truth about dragons. Even though it seems to work, Stoick interrupts. Startled, the Nightmare attacks and almost kills Hiccup. However, he was saved by Toothless. Despite this rocky start, Hookfang easily allowed Hiccup to lead him out of his cage without threatening or trying to harm him shortly after he tried to kill the young Viking and Hiccup introduces him to Snotlout, helping them bond. Hookfang even shown concern that Hiccup was alive from the Red Death. During Snoggletog, Hookfang gave Hiccup a lift back to Berk when he was accidentally taken to the dragon nesting ground.("Gift of the Night Fury")

Astrid Hofferson
Astrid first met Hookfang in the Kill Ring, where she tried to save Hiccup from him. Astrid then temporarily switched dragons with Snotlout. Even though she doesn't like it at first, she is quickly impressed by his fire breathing and strength. Astrid even discovered the hidden ability of 'Wing Blast'. She became very fond of Hookfang, to the point where she wanted to feed him breakfast behind Snotlout's back. Astrid also shows anger and concern when Drago Bludvist places his foot on Hookfang.

Toothless
From the moment he met Toothless, the two have been rivals. Toothless saved Hiccup from Hookfang in the Kill Ring, and later worked together with him in order to defeat the Red Death. In several episodes, such as Thawfest, they were shown to be rivals. About 5 years later, Hookfang shows his respects to Toothless when Toothless establishes himself as the new Alpha dragon after defeating Drago's Bewilderbeast.

Barf and Belch
Hookfang and Barf and Belch have shown to be fighting one another in several episodes, for various reasons. As shown to be fighting at each other for various reasons they could have bit of the same relationships with their owners.

Gobber the Belch
After the event in the Kill Ring, Gobber was the one leading Hookfang back into his cage.("How to Train Your Dragon") He was also the one who managed to cure Hookfang's toothache, and he has been seen riding Hookfang temporarily.("Viking for Hire")

Stoick the Vast
Stoick was the reason Hookfang went on a rampage during the Kill Ring, because he startled the Nightmare Stoick briefly rode him, before he burned said Viking's rear. Stoick also calmed Hookfang down after he returned to Berk without Snotlout.

Spitelout Jorgenson
Seeing how Spitelout treats Hookfang and Snotlout, its safe to imply Hookfang has a dislike towards Spitelout. He was shown to comfort Snotlout, after Spitelout had made him upset at the Thawfest Games. Later, Spitelout revealed he thought of Dragons as simple weapons, comparing Hookfang to a sword that can be easily replaced. Hookfang had shown to let Spitelout ride on him showing they might be able to have respectful relationship over the years.

Meatlug
Hookfang is bit like his rider for teasing Fishlegs. As he shown to be bit of bully to her for hitting with his wing for great distance showing no concern to her at all and even grin at her for getting the sheep from her rider using his tail whip on her from the second film. A few years before the second movie, Hookfang had help her to be trained to become fierce and stronger dragon with their owners as well.

Fishlegs Ingerman
Hookfang frightened Fishlegs and Meatlug by using his shadow when he was behind the twins as they were using their shadows to scare them. Also he was given comfort by Fishlegs when he was on Fireworm Island.("Race to Fireworm Island") When Hookfang becomes agitated by a storm, Fishlegs tried to command respect as a Dragon Rider. Hookfang eventually allows Fishlegs to ride him and they clumsily fly to the other Riders before crashing to the ground.("Blindsided")

Gustav Larson
Gustav briefly became Hookfang's rider, when Snotlout thought he was going to die and chose Gustav to be his successor. Hookfang even help out with Gustav to get on his neck when he fall off. However, when Snotlout found out he wasn't going to die, Gustav got kicked out of the Academy, which lead to Gustav meeting and training Fanghook.

Fanghook
One could argue Fanghook's and Hookfang's relationship is a bit like Snotlout's and Gustav's. Hookfang seemed to have certain distrust and disdain for Fanghook, scaring him away once by roaring, most likely for dominance of being larger or having more experience with humans, like most animals do today. But that changed in the skirmish of Dagur the Deranged, when the two worked together.

Alvin the Treacherous
Considering Alvin had been a long-time enemy of Berk, it was only logical Hookfang viewed him as an enemy. However, that changed when he gave the Outcast Chieftain a lift back to Berk, in return for saving Snotlout from the Screaming Death.

Drago Bludvist
Hookfang was the first of the Hooligan Dragons to meet Drago, and Hookfang instantly attacked him. When that didn't work, Drago attempted to exert his authority over Hookfang,forcing the dragon's head under his foot, but this attempt to exert control failed to keep Hookfang confined when he was freed by Snotlout.

Girl Hookfang
Hookfang answered her distress call; at first, he had to try very hard to get to her cave because Snotlout interfered him as she was trying her best to make him stay and protect her eggs. Hookfang broke out of his cage when Snotlout locked him in, and he arrived at the cave and was protective over Girl Hookfang as he flung away the eel Snotlout gave to her to try to ward her off. In addition, Hookfang fought off the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare and asserted his dominance over the intruder with Snotlout's help.

Ruffnut Thorston
Hookfang let her ride on him when Snotlout made Tuffnut truly believed he was becoming into a Lycanwing. Next day, Ruffnut was riding on Hookfang, she was with Snotlout as well making Hookfang fly too fast to stop for perfect landing causing him to land on the ground to get injured. Which made Hookfang dislike her by growling at her.("Bad Moon Rising") Later when Hookfang saves Ruffnut when Tuffnut saves Snotlout, Snotlout was getting along more with Tuffnut and Barf & Belch shows their amazing abilities to do together that made Hookfang upset showing to agreed with Ruffnut that they should switch dragons.("Maces and Talons, Part 1")

Heather
"I have to say Snotlout, your dragon really is the most impressive."

- Heather Hookfang has been seen to like Heather since she even called Hookfang the most impressive dragon.("Heather Report, Part 1")

Fireworm Queen
Hookfang have shown to have good bond with the Queen as she saved his life. As Hookfang proven to be most trustful ally for the Queen as he was willing to do everything he can to help to protect the nest of the Fireworms.("Crash Course")

Trivia

 * Hookfang has a habit of letting his tongue dangle from his mouth.
 * While disobedient to Snotlout, Hookfang is more gentle to the other Vikings like Hiccup and Stoick. He will even listen to Fishlegs' commands ("The Iron Gronckle").
 * Like Snotlout and Hiccup, Hookfang has a rivalry with Toothless (though it is more downplayed and implied) ("Thawfest").
 * Hookfang does not have tines on his horns which indicates that he is still young or the tines have gone because he's an old Nightmare (or the tines could be a production goof or he might simply not have any, and it's just a random trait for his species). But instead of getting tines, he has barbells on his chin (How to Train Your Dragon 2).
 * He may also have adopted Snotlout's dislike of authority.
 * The way Snotlout rides Hookfang is in a similar fashion to riding a chopper motorcycle.
 * According to the comics, Hookfang's favorite food is live rats.
 * Hookfang was possibly the first Monstrous Nightmare to ever survive from the Kill Ring.
 * Monstrous Nightmares were used in the Kill Ring for Vikings to become into their manhood (How to Train Your Dragon).
 * Hookfang was the first of the dragons to have an unofficial replacement trainer ("The Flight Stuff").
 * Hookfang was able to defeat a Titan Monstrous Nightmare with the help of his rider ("Total Nightmare").
 * Hookfang is the second dragon to touch eels, in order to protect Girl Hookfang ("Total Nightmare").
 * As stated by Snotlout in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 2", Hookfang doesn't like flowers.
 * Out of all the six Dragon Riders, Tuffnut is the only one who has not ridden Hookfang.