Night Fury

The Night Fury is a species of dragon that only appears in the movie adaptation. The Night Fury is the rarest and most intelligent species of dragon. Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, is a Night Fury. It is small to medium-sized with a sleek, dark blue body that is almost black. Physiologically, the Night Fury resembles an axolotl with three pair of wings, three ear-like apendages on the back of its head, a pair of yellowish-green, cat-like eyes, and sharp retractable teeth that are both resistant to flames and explosions. In flight, the Night Fury resembles a supersonic jet plane. Unlike most dragon species, the Night Fury has a short neck and lacks any kind of horns. It uses the wing-like flaps on its tail to steer and maneuver, similar to an airplane rudder. As seen in the movie, a Night Fury will be incabable of flying if one of these flaps is missing or destroyed.

A Night Fury is presumed to be completely carnivorous; the diet of the only domesticated one comprises only fish. Using its teeth, it simply lunges at its prey in the water to snatch it up. The Night Fury's stomach contains strong digestive acids that can dissolve fish bones. The Night Fury is the only dragon known to regurgitate its food.

The Night Fury's main mode of attack is dive-bombing at its target by folding its wings around its body before releasing a burst of fire that never misses. This indigo-colored flame of extreme heat triggers an explosion upon impact and is the Night Fury's deadliest weapon. When used alongside its dark scales and its tendency to never land to steal food during dragon raids, the Night Fury is easily the stealthiest, most dangerous dragon under the cover of night. In fact, before Hiccup knocks Toothless out of the air at the start of the film, none of the Vikings had ever seen or struck a Night Fury and lived to tell the tale. The Night Fury is seen as the most feared dragon in the movie adaptation for good reason.

The official Website describes the Night Fury as follows: "The rarest and most intelligent of the dragon species, the Night Fury is distinguished by its dark color and piercing yellow eyes, as well as its smaller size, heavy chest and short neck. Possessing the largest wing-to-body ratio of all dragons, it can fly higher, faster and longer than any dragon, and its incredible power-to-weight ratio renders it capable of vertical takeoff. Its unconventional fire (a semi-solid mass alight with an acetylene/oxygen flame) explodes its target on impact. Its signature attack mode is executed after sundown and from high altitude -- enwrapped in its wings, it dives like a bullet, pulling up at the last moment to deliver one precise and explosive burst ... then vanishing back into the darkness. The only warning is the ballistic noise the diving Night Fury makes. Its kamikaze attack, along with its cautious behavior and analytical mind, makes the Night Fury a devastating opponent with an extraordinary success rate. To date, no Night Fury has ever been brought down."

Chris Sanders describes the Night Fury as, "He's the Ferrari of dragons. Very, very fast. A lot of dragons have giant scales and are spiny. He has the clean, sleek look of a panther."

"These stealthy, high flyers are so fast they're almost never seen, but just because they aren't visible doesn't mean they can't flame a viking village!"

Trivia

 * The sound of Night Fury and Toothless is a combination of various sounds, including Supervising Sound Designer Randy Thom, Elephants, Horses, Tigers, and even Domestic Cats.


 * A Night Fury is the only dragon in the film adaptation to be given a personal name.