Monstrous Nightmare (Franchise)

"Only the best Vikings go after those."

- Hiccup introducing the Monstrous Nightmare.

The Monstrous Nightmare is one of the most aggressive, powerful, and stubborn breeds of dragon known to the Vikings. It is classified in the Stoker Class. Before the Red Death was discovered, it was considered the most formidable dragon species.

Dragon Appearance
Monstrous Nightmares come in many different colors such as purple, blue, scarlet, or green and possesses a long, snakelike neck and tail. Unlike some other breeds of dragon, it has no forelegs, and its ground-based locomotion is similar to that of Pterosaurs; it can use its claw-tipped wings to "crawl" along the floor. Their horns might be used in the same way as other species of horned animals, use them, in order to fight other members of their species and as a visual display. Its stripe skin patterns seem to mimic that of a tiger's. Find more information on this here.

In the Race to The Edge episode: Total Nightmare, the first Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare was seen. While aging, they can lose their stripes to have black spots, possibly a mimic of the leopard. When they are fully grown and gain barbels, at least, some of them change color when they achieve Titan Wing age. Once they have reached this stage they grow much longer, and gain spots in more striking colors.

Behavior and Training
By nature, the Monstrous Nightmare is fearless and proud. Nightmares are some of the strongest dragons around and they know it. They are very aggressive. In battle, they are said to be the first to arrive and last to leave.

Incendiary in temperament and short on patience, Monstrous Nightmares would incinerate first and think second, according to Dragonpedia.

The best way to earn the trust of a Monstrous Nightmare is simply to show it the respect it deserves. Placing a gentle hand on its snout and showing you are not a threat to it is the best way to go.

In Heather Report Part II, Snotlout revealed that the Monstrous Nightmare enjoys its horns being pinned to the ground and Astrid was able to tame one by doing so. As this could resulted from taming Monstrous Nightmare shown to have a forging nature of this dragon as Astrid was able to reunite with the same Monstrous Nightmare to be saved.

According to Gobber the Belch, the best way to engage a Nightmare is to clamp its mouth shut, leaving it unable to open its enormous jaws, much like a crocodile (however, the rest of the dragon is free to do whatever it wants).

Despite their name, Monstrous Nightmares are known to have a softer side. In Dragons: Wild Skies, their favorite food are scented flowers. In DreamWorks Dragons: The Series Hookfang at least is known to be fond of eating rats so it is possible that all Monstrous Nightmares like eating rats. At several points of Dragons: Riders of Berk, Hookfang occasionally dozed off or was distracted by leaf, chasing a Gull, or anything else, sometimes they don't even notice that an object as big as a rider falling off them. Being a hot-headed, feisty dragon, they will attack anyone in its way if spooked. Every time Monstrous Nightmares attempt to fight off Toothless, they are blinded by their aggressiveness that Night Furies are a far bigger threat than they think.

While other babies, which drool regularly, baby Nightmares are much different as they slobber packs of punch that their kerosene gel composition makes it akin to lighter fluid.

When born, baby Monstrous Nightmares hatch fast and fiery. They are quick to be separated from the rest of the litter and assert their independence within minutes of their birth, but this hasn't been confirmed as shown on the Dragon Breeding Island when some baby Nightmares were still with their parents. They were shown to be eager to join their parents when setting off the return migration to Berk but like all the others baby dragons, they are unable to fly well due to their small wing and the strong winds that are preventing them to take off.

These dragons are wild, aggressive, stubborn, tenacious, and also mischievous.

It was revealed in the episode Total Nightmare, that female Monstrous Nightmares are able to call males that aren't her mate, but another individual of their kind. As Hookfang was shown to help a female dragon of his kind to defend her eggs from Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare (the first titan wing ever to be seen outside of the Rise of Berk game). Males Monstrous Nightmares shows to be determined to answer this distressed call.

Their mating habits are similar to a lion's, as seen in Total Nightmare; rival Monstrous Nightmares who are fighting for a mate will want to destroy the predecessor's eggs, much like a new alpha male wanting to destroy the previous alpha's cubs.

These dragons are also extremely territorial, protecting their young and helping other individuals of the same kind. In Total Nightmare, Hookfang was helped a female dragon take care of her eggs. He also pit himself against a larger, stronger Titan Nightmare which was attacking them in order to dominate over it and protect the eggs.

The Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare has shown to be much more aggressive and fierce compared to average Monstrous Nightmares. They will fight for dominance over a female Monstrous Nightmare to have their own family, such as male lions do with a pride. They will even destroy her first eggs to have their own eggs with the female.

Monstrous Nightmare can also store and heat fish by sticking them to its spines. The Nightmare can then engulf itself in flames and cook the fish, sort of like a barbecue.

Firepower
Monstrous Nightmares breathe an organic Kerosene Gel, which can be hotter than a usual flame and more powerful as well. Their fire is hot enough to burn down a tree in a few seconds.

Its signature attack is known as the "Fire Jacket". This ability makes it engulf itself in flames (according to Snotlout, by igniting the spit it coats itself in prematurely), resulting in an intimidating, offensive and defensive maneuver similar in appearance to napalm or other gel-based incendiaries. They are able set any part of their body on fire as shown they can do even on their horns.

The natural form of the Monstrous Nightmare's kerosene gel was shown to be green in color. The gel is also slimy, being easy to rub against a platform. The gel is highly flammable and is one of the tools to efficiently penetrate the Death Song's amber substance.

Senses
The Monstrous Nightmare has also been observed to have a well-developed sense of smell, as Hookfang was able to find Snotlout scent in 'Defiant One' over a day as he was separated from the ocean. However, it is unknown how strong is their sense of smell exactly.

Strength
Monstrous Nightmares are among the most physically powerful dragons as they can send heavy Vikings far distance by using their tail and can send heavy weight Gronckles flying with extra heavy weight Viking riding on them, by hitting with their wing. Their neck muscles are very strong, as they are able to carry heavy Vikings on their necks, sometimes with an extra weight of a teen Viking with no sign of any struggle. They are quite powerful fighters as they can show off their combat ability to try to fight off a Night Fury just like how Hookfang has demonstrated to fight against Toothless twice (though he was unsuccessful).

Speed and Agility
Nightmares have been shown to be quite fast, both on land, in water and in the air. Hookfang was able to catch up with Toothless in Thawfest, though it is very well possible that this was the result of Snotlout's training, and that a wild Nightmare isn't capable of this. Nightmares on land have been observed as fast runners while in a straight line, although they have trouble making turns. They are agile and fast fliers as they are able to go around trees and able to dodge many arrows, as demonstrated by Hookfang and Fanghook.

Swimming
Monstrous Nightmares have also been observed to be fast and agile swimmers, as Hookfang proved. It's unknown how long they can stay underwater, but it is possible Hookfang would have been able to hold his breath longer if he hadn't been burdened by Snotlout.

Climbing
Nightmares are excllent climbers on chains and many different types of terrain  shown to be able to climb mountains and Viking catapult towers as shown in the first film.

Intelligence
Monstrous Nightmares have shown to have great intelligence, if they get the good respect that they deserve from their owners, they can learn great skills over a day as demonstrated by Fanghook. But if they don't get sufficient respect from their owners they will show sometimes to prank them and unexpectedly outsmart them, just like how Hookfang has demonstrated many times on Snotlout. Wild Monstrous Nightmares may be quite intellect as they could understand conversations well enough to return to save Vikings they have been befriend too.

They have a hidden ability that Astrid discovered is known as a Wing Blast, when she temporarily became Hookfang's rider in A Tale of Two Dragons. They use their large, powerful wings to create a blast of wind that is so strong, it can even blow a fully-grown Hideous Zippleback to the ground.

Monstrous Nightmares have high stamina and endurance, as was proven multiple times in the series. In the first film, a Nightmare took hit after hit from Stoick during a raid either with his large hammer or his bare hands and Hookfang was mostly unharmed out of his fight with Toothless. In 'Defiant One', a Nightmare was hit by an arrow fired by some Outcast soldiers, yet wasn't harmed in the slightest. Though, admittedly, arrows are not a very powerful weapon to use against dragons.

A titan winged Monstrous Nightmare have enhanced physical attributes and abilities that make them stronger in strength and bulk. Along with increased fire range showing to be enhance their abilities as fully grown. As titan wings are able to toss away heavy dragons with its head without struggle or even knocking a dragon off in the air by using their tail. They have a durable body, which can take average blasts from different dragons, or even smashing into trees and other terrain by traveling in great speed. They have higher stamina and speed than a regular Monstrous Nightmare. Their larger size does make them harder to maneuver and make tight turns.



Weaponry
As eggs, heat is produced probably from the outer shell, as the egg is described as flaming. This will protect them from predators, and could also make blisters to the human skin when touched.

Monstrous Nightmares, in terms of physical weaponry, are supposedly one of the best armed dragons known to Vikings. Their jaws are full of long, sharp teeth or fangs which are said to be slightly venomous in the books. It is unknown if this is true for their movie counterparts as well but according to the Dragonpedia said that baby Monstrous Nightmares have venom until possible grown adults lose this ability. These jaws can also open wide enough to swallow a full grown Viking whole, as shown in the featurette of the HTTYD film. Their long two finger curved claws on both wings have also been to be used as weapons that have shown to be quite powerful, they even have sharp long curved talons. They have been observed to use their tail as a club. They have long sharp spines cover their back. Although their horns could be a potential weapon, they haven't been seen using them in any known media until it shows that from Hookfang use this against Titan Monstrous Nightmare like male bucks will use against each other. They can even use their large wings as weapons such as offensive and defensive.

Weakness
The true weakness of this dragon is losing their flame as well as their fire burst from hypothermia that could make this dragon become very weak and they can easily die from this. According to Fishlegs they can loose their Fire Burst from old age, exhaustion or injuries. Although Hookfang shown to be able to still fly high, but can lose their altitudes showing off difficulties as they can fly slower. Their other weakness is tying up their snout that they won't be able to use their Fire Burst but they are able to still fight back. Symptoms include flaky skin, pale coloration and inability to light up.

Also, Titan Monstrous Nightmares are unable to maneuver as quickly as younger ones and have difficulty making sharp turns while flying. Their size hinders their mobility and they can be taken down by younger Nightmares.

How To Train Your Dragon (film)
One was used as the last initiation test for the young Vikings (this being before the Vikings befriended the dragons). While in the books, they are described as being the size of a leopard, in the film they are portrayed as much larger. Despite their vicious nature and fierce combat abilities, a powerful warrior like Stoick the Vast can defeat in few hits and shown that a Night Fury can defeat it through a brief but brutal fight.

== Dragons: Riders/Defenders of Berk == According to Bork and the Book of Dragons, when a Monstrous Nightmare loses it's ability to flame-on due to exhaustion and old age, they would die. The only way to restore its flame-on ability was to either eat the fire combs of Fireworms or be injected with the venom of the Fireworm queen. Hiccup, Snotlout and the others learned of this when Hookfang became sick and were forced to go to Fireworm Island to find a remedy.

Background Information

 * "No dragon is more ferocious, or feared than the Monstrous Nightmare. This gigantic dragon has a long, snakelike neck and tail, and is covered in red scales and long sharp spines. The Nightmare's gigantic head and mouth can swallow Vikings whole. It is highly aggressive, and will never run from a fight. Its fire is thick and sticky, clinging to walls and running down hills like a flaming river. The Nightmare also has a nasty habit of setting itself on fire."

According to the trivia track on the Blu-Ray version of the movie, a Nightmare measures 69 feet in length.

"This red-and-black creature with a huge wing span produces a kerosene gel fire. “He is the most dragony of the dragons,” Sanders says, “but the thing that we like is that he is the most showy. We always felt he was the Mick Jagger of dragons. He’s a natural-born performer who comes out engulfed in flames because they can set themselves on fire.”"

Trivia

 * In the Live Spectacular, the Monstrous Nightmare looks more like a traditional European Dragon, having four legs and two wings as opposed to the two hind legs and walking on its wings.
 * Some Monstrous Nightmares are shown to have tines on their horns like deer. The number of tines could indicate the age of the dragon. Hookfang does not have any tines on his horns, so he could still be a young adult Nightmare. Instead of getting tines for age, they get barbels on their chin.
 * In the concept art, it is shown that Monstrous Nightmares have barbels at least three through five but a bit longer then the counterparts from the franchise. So older Monstrous Nightmares barbels might grow longer when aging.
 * Monstrous Nightmares have a tendency to spit fire at times, unintentionally, like coughing, sneezing or laughing although most species shoot fire, or their ranged weaponry when coughing, or sneezing.
 * In a similar manner, Monstrous Nightmares will unintentionally set its scales on fire while shedding them. This can be troublesome if a Monstrous Nightmare is flying above a village, the scales will become flaming missiles!
 * Monstrous Nightmares are said to grow to 70 ft long. Hookfang, however, is only 61 ft long with a wingspan of 68 ft. This means Hookfang is either young, small for his species, its an error or 70 ft is the maximum length for the species and most of them grow don't grow that long. This would explain why Fanghook is much smaller then Hookfang.
 * In the first film when Stoick and his army enter the Hell of Gate their was one Monstrous Nightmare in the fog that was far bigger then their ships and his kind. Though it could been the shadow figure that could made this dragon seem to be munch bigger or this could be the largest Monstrous Nightmare seen possible was killed by Stoick and his men.
 * In Rise of Berk, Monstrous Nightmares have three finger claws instead of two when turned into a titan.
 * Dragons: Race to the Edge shows Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmares to be bigger and a darker color but without an extra claw finger.
 * In the Book of Dragons short they are shown to have prehensile tongues as one was able to grab its food. That could make sense as Hookfang often has his tongue sticking out.
 * Monstrous Nightmares seem to be much longer than their wings are wide.
 * Monstrous Nightmare is the third species to be seen in their titan wing form outside of the Rise of Berk game. The first being the Gronckle in the Book of Dragons short, and the second is the Screaming Death.