Stormfly (Franchise)

"Just because she's beautiful, people think she's not tough. But you should never underestimate me. Uh, her — uh, I mean — us."

- Astrid talking about Stormfly in How to Pick Your Dragon

Stormfly is Astrid Hofferson's Deadly Nadder who first appeared in How to Train Your Dragon.

Official Description
"Although she preens and grooms herself like the most fastidious of birds, Stormfly actually possesses a playful spirit. Whether it's winning Dragon Races with Astrid or fetching shiny objects, Stormfly is as game for a fun time as she is deadly in battle!"

- Dragonpedia

"Stormfly loves to have fun, but equally enjoys a deadly battle. She can suddenly raise the thousands of sharp spines that stud her hide and tail, and fling them with incredible accuracy. She is the perfect partener in combat."

- Dragonpedia stat card

"Even for a playful breed like the Nadder, she is particularly fun-loving (and competitive). Everything can be a game with Stormfly!"

- Dragons: Rise of Berk

"An iconic pair second only to Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly show what years of rigorous training, bonding, and battling can achieve. Astrid may be one of Berk's best Trainers, but Stormfly is undoubtedly one of our most intelligent Dragons; together they make a powerful team that will stop at nothing to come out on top. Be it Dragon Races, trick contests, or aerial combat against the worst the Barbaric Archipelago has to offer — Astrid and Stormfly aren't to be underestimated. Being a Nadder, Stormfly has some of the hottest fire found in Dragons; however, she prefers to rely on non-lethal use of her high precision spine shots to trap or intimidate foes into submission. Underneath the grueling training regiments, both Stormfly and Astrid have a soft side (which they keep well-guarded). Stormfly and Toothless have always had a friendly but competitive relationship — when kept on a proper diet, she can even hold her own in a race against him! Over the years they have become quite close with one-another, often play-fighting over Hiccup's prosthetic leg during games of "fetch the limb"."

- Dragons: Titan Uprising

Physical Appearance
Stormfly is a very beautiful and bird-like bipedal dragon with winged-forelimbs that are about the same size as a medium-sized tetrapod dinosaur and small yellow yet keen eyes with black pupils.

Stormfly's body is a combination of blue, gold, red, purple and tan with a light beige underbelly; her main body color is blue, a bright and light turquoise. Her wings are mottled with darker shades of blue spots circled by gold and red spots closer to her reddish shoulders. Under her wings is a mixture of gold and tan. Her tail is blue and gold. She has small hooks at the end of her wing joints.

In front of her eyes is a curved nasal horn. Her lower jaw is shorter and wider than the upper, which gives her an overbite (setting her apart from all the other dragons in the film, since — with the exception of the Night Fury — they all have underbites).

Ringing Stormfly's skull is a set of spikes and coating the tail is a series of spines that can be used as projectiles. When relaxed, her head spikes and venomous tail spines lay flat, and when alarmed, they shoot upwards to intimidate her foe. She has small black feathering on the back of her legs and four black claws on her feet.

Her stats on the book say she is 30ft (9.14m) tall, 42ft (12.8m) wingspan, and weighs over 2,628lbs (1,192kg).

Personality
Stormfly is a loyal and loving dragon towards Astrid Hofferson (Stormfly's rider) who also seems to be fond of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. However, while she is loyal to Astrid, this doesn't mean she can't be convinced to help someone else, as is demonstrated with Heather when she needs her to save her family from Alvin the Treacherous's wrath, and Eret, Son of Eret when he was in danger by Drago Bludvist's men.

Like all Deadly Nadders, Stormfly is a very beautiful dragon, which she knows that she is. She has a generous dose of vanity which is typical for her species. She is normally docile, but can turn aggressive when she needs to. She also loves to play fetch and will chase after anything that is thrown and bring it back again.

Stormfly is shown to have a strong bond with her rider, and is caring and protective of Astrid, though sometimes she's willing to connect with others, like Heather and Eret, and let them ride her. Stormfly has shown to be loyal to save her rider in time from a fallen anchor from Johann's ship.

Stormfly seems to be quite intelligent as Astrid manages to teach her several hand signals.

Just like Astrid and Hiccup, Stormfly and Toothless have a friendly rivalry.

Abilities and Skills
"I wouldn't make a sound if I were you. Stormfly can shoot a flea off a Yak's tail from 20 yards."

- Fishlegs Ingerman Stormfly's abilities are better than the average Deadly Nadder because Astrid Hofferson (Stormfly's rider) is shown to be more of a soldier than most of the other teens. ("Dragon Flower")

Intelligence and Communication Skills: Stormfly has been trained to understand Astrid's hand gestures for commands like "Spine Shot" and "Battle Ready". ("Twinsanity") She has also learned to recognize her dragon rider's dragon call that acts like a beacon in case she and Astrid get separated. ("We Are Family, Part 1") She has proven to have good judgment as well. She knew Astrid's decision was wrong and did what she thought was right. ("The Terrible Twos") In How to Train Your Dragon 2, she is shown to have been taught by Astrid to release and fetch, using this with Eret, Son of Eret and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Dragon Blade.

Speed: Stormfly has always been a fast dragon, as was demonstrated several times. However, her speed has been increased greatly as Astrid discovered a hidden ability of the Deadly Nadder, which is that they fly faster when put on a diet of chicken. ("Heather Report, Part 1") However, Stormfly is still not as fast as Toothless.

Strength: Stormfly is exceptionally strong as she is able to carry two humans on her back without signs of a struggle. She can also use her talons to carry a dragon-proof cage that contains a Snow Wraith ("Snow Way Out") as well as the larger Hookfang with minimal effort. ("Guardians of Vanaheim")

Fire: Like all Deadly Nadders, Stormfly's flame is comprised of magnesium, which causes it to flow in torrents of orange sparkles and her flames have been shown to be hot enough to melt a sea stack in seconds. ("A Tale of Two Dragons") Stormfly can carry a low, burning flame in her mouth that can be used to illuminate dark places. Stormfly has been shown to also have the ability to produce a more intense, concentrated magnesium blast that is bluish-white. ("No Dragon Left Behind") However, Stormfly, like other Deadly Nadders, prefers using her spines over fire in a confrontation.

Spine shot: Stormfly's spine shot is the most often attack to be used against enemies as she has shown to be using this skill to trap animals like sheep so they won't escape. Stormfly is also able to accurately shoot one spine by being tapped on the back of her head. ("How to Pick Your Dragon") It is so accurate that she can shoot right through a previously shot spine. She was also able to use these spines as a rescue skill, in order to create a ladder for Astrid. It was a practice exercise, in case they would have to rescue Vikings from a place where dragons can't go. ("Worst in Show")


 * Single Spine Shot: While being briefly ridden by Snotlout Jorgenson, he tapped the back of Stormfly's head which had her release a single spine shot.


 * Spine-clone: While in flight, Stormfly whips her tail behind her and protrudes her spines. Then, she ascends while twirling and releasing her spines in multiple directions. This is a very useful ability when surrounded by enemies from all sides. ("King of Dragons, Part 1")

Waterspout: When flying in a spiral in a given manner, Stormfly can effectively create a strong upward wind current. When done above a body of water, this wind current has enough strength to lift the water in a manner similar to a water spout. This ability can be very useful when confronting enemy ships. ("Dragon Down")

Astrid Hofferson
"I don't know what I would do without Stormfly."

- Astrid

Stormfly and Astrid share a very similar bond to that between Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Toothless. As Hiccup is Toothless' best and closest friend, Astrid is Stormfly's. At first, Stormfly and Astrid aren't the best of friends such as when Astrid hits Stormfly in the face (with a shield that got stuck to an axe) when she first meets her. But surprisingly, she still allows Astrid to ride her and soon own her as a dragon. Astrid and Stormfly soon start to grow very close. They both care about each other's feelings and don't push each other's limits. They watch out for each other, as when Stormfly alerts Hiccup of Astrid's illness when she begins to show symptoms of the Scourge of Odin. Also, both dragon and trainer have similar personalities as they both have a short temper, a courageous personality as well as a beautiful appearance.

Stormfly is very loyal to Astrid and is shown to be very protective of her. Stormfly also seems to not like it when other trainers ride her and prefer Astrid. She also trusts her Rider enough to let her touch her babies and is overjoyed to see Astrid when they are reunited after she is separated from her. Both Astrid and Stormfly have a very close loyal protective bond, as they both love each other very much.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Astrid and Stormfly seem to have a much closer bond than ever before.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Hiccup and Stormfly get along very well. Stormfly seems to like Hiccup and trusts him very much as letting him and Astrid ride her. But, Hiccup can get a little competitive with Stormfly and desperately tries to beat her when she becomes faster than Hiccup and Toothless, (due to Astrid feeding her chicken). ("Heather Report, Part 1" and "Heather Report, Part 2") but normally, it's all in good fun. She also seems to trust him enough to let him touch her babies. In "Buffalord Soldier", when Astrid was sick with the Scourge of Odin, Stormfly came to Hiccup letting him know that something was wrong. Possibly the reason why she likes him so much is because Hiccup is Astrid's closest friend and love interest.

Toothless
Stormfly and Toothless both share a mysterious but very close friendship. In Gift of the Night Fury, during Snoggletog, she tried to get Toothless to come with her on her trip to lay her eggs. But Toothless refuses, due to the fact of his missing tail flap and that he can't go anywhere without Hiccup. They are normally friendly with each other and love each other's company, but they can get a little competitive at times.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, they are seen to be better friends as they play while Astrid and Hiccup are talking, and Stormfly is later shown to be the first dragon to return to Toothless' side when he challenges Drago's Bewilderbeast for the position of Alpha Dragon. Also, when Stormfly first appears with Toothless, when Hiccup and Astrid were talking, they played showing their bond.

Garffiljorg


"These two have bonded so well that Garff's song doesn't even affect Stormfly anymore."

- Astrid on Stormfly and Garff

Garff is one of Stormfly's closest friends, as can be seen especially in "No Dragon Left Behind" in Dragons: Race to the Edge. She is keen to protect Garff when he is attacked, and they also hug at the end of the episode when Garff is relocated to another island.

Eret, Son of Eret
"Thank you for saving my life. Now let me return the favor."

- Eret thanking Stormfly for saving him Eret caught Stormfly with a net at the start of the movie and nearly sold her to Drago Bludvist, but she was luckily rescued by Hiccup, with his Dragon Blade. When Hiccup and Astrid are planning to change Eret's mind of dragons, Hiccup pretended to give up Toothless and Stormfly to him, yet actually shows him about the true personality of dragons, which he ignores. Hiccup also gave him Inferno, which created an explosion on the boat. Eret threw Inferno to the sea, yet each time he did, Stormfly fetched Inferno and returned it to him.

Later, she was seen with Astrid and the other Riders with their dragons on an ice flow. They decided to rescue Hiccup, thinking he was abducted by Drago. She was the one who abducted Eret and fetched him on Astrid's command so he would reveal Drago's base. When they land on Drago's base, Stormfly sits on Eret, and Astrid doesn’t free him, stating to "never take a toy from a dragon".

Later, when Drago is about to kill Eret, Stormfly suddenly rescues Eret from the weapons, probably because she already trusts him, yet is tranquilized in the process. This made Eret now realize the truth about dragons. He also freed Stormfly later, saying that he "needs to return the favor", and touched her snout. He is also seen riding Stormfly while Astrid is riding along behind him.

Hookfang
Stormfly and Hookfang have a mutual relationship. They normally distance each other and stay out of Astrid and Snotlout fights unless commanded to do something. But they're not always nice to each other as they are seen to growl or/and roar at each other several times before. But they sometimes work as a good team as well as shown to be able to make combined attacks to be able to save Toothless and Hiccup from Alvin.

Snotlout Jorgenson
Stormfly and Snotlout don't normally interact but also don't get along too well. She is often seen out of his business but has shot her spines at him several times and growls or roars at him when he insults her. She also gets annoyed with him often but also has shown a little respect for him when she is forced to be with him for a day. In the first film when he missed her by a great distance with a hammer, she seemed to laugh at him. She has attacked Snotlout at times and doesn't seem to like him very much. However, in "A Tale of Two Dragons", when Snotlout had ridden Stormfly, she started bonding with Snotlout. Though a few years later, in "Total Nightmare", Snotlout said that Stormfly was too small for him when he was skimming over a replacement for Hookfang. However, this did not insult her much.

Heather
"I think your dragon likes me. See you later, Stormfly."

- Heather to Astrid In "Heather Report, Part 1", Stormfly at first was uneasy with Heather but is bribed by her when she feeds her chicken and allows her to get on her back. But soon, Stormfly doesn't like the fact Heather is riding her and not Astrid, and now doesn't listen to a single direction Heather says to her and flies around recklessly.

In "Heather Report, Part 2", Stormfly is hesitant to let Heather ride her a second time, but after mentioning finding Astrid, the Nadder happily took off. Stormfly has never shown any hate for Heather and even acts friendly to her.

In "Have Dragon Will Travel Part 1" Heather threw a piece of chicken into a cave which Stormfly and Astrid chased, before Heather used Windshear to trap the pair in the cave.

Windshear
Stormfly seems to have a playful attitude wit Windshear (Heather's dragon) even when they were infiltrating the Dragon Hunters ("Snow Way Out").

Fanghook
Stormfly might understand that Fanghook has a crush on her, just like his rider who has a crush on Astrid. Like her rider, she doesn't feel the same way. She's also trying to help him train with his rider to gain more experience for Dragon Training. ("Gone Gustav Gone")

Ryker and Viggo Grimborn
Stormfly has disliked Ryker ever since she was captured by Ryker and his hunters in "Night of the Hunters, Part 1". She also disliked the Hunters using her spines for their weapons.

Trivia

 * Stormfly's name was first revealed in Gift of the Night Fury.
 * In How to Train Your Dragon, Stormfly's wings are mainly yellow with some blue, but in the series, they are mostly blue with some red and no yellow. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Stormfly is brighter and has more colors.
 * This shows that dragons' colors change as they age.
 * Stormfly sometimes sleeps while standing, much like a horse or some species of birds.
 * Stormfly seems to rely more on her tail spines than her fire.
 * The Dragon Call that Astrid uses to summon Stormfly is very similar to a wolf's howl. ("We Are Family, Part 1")
 * Stormfly's name in Spanish is Tormenta.
 * According to Richard Hamilton, Stormfly is the oldest of the Riders' dragons.