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Snakes are legless reptiles that appear minimally in the DreamWorks Dragons franchise.
Description[]
Snakes are reptiles belonging to the suborder Serpentes. They have no legs and are thought to have evolved from burrowing lizards. Snakes are also known for their "unhingable" jaw, which allows them to swallow prey much larger than their heads, like small mammals, birds, reptiles, eggs, and insects. Many snake species are also able to inject venom through their fangs, which can fold down in the mouth when not in use. Venom is actually modified saliva used in hunting and in defense. The potency of venom varies greatly between species from a minor irritant to deadly to humans. Sea snakes (Hydrophiinae) have the most deadly venom in the world.
Function[]
There is no current function for the snake in DreamWorks Dragons universe, except to be used by Tuffnut as pranks.
In reality, snakes can be eaten by humans, used for their skins, and even kept as pets, such as the ball python (Python regius) and corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus). Snake venom is used in medical research, as well as formulating antivenom treatment to counteract a venomous snakebite.
Appearances[]
Dragons: Riders of Berk[]
Snakes are mentioned in "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man" as the Dragon Riders have to look for a rock shaped like one, and as Snotlout looks up at the clouds.
| “ | Hey! That cloud looks like a snake. [src] | ” |
| — Snotlout during treasure hunting |
In the episode "Dragon Flower", Fishlegs hypothesizes that Scauldron venom might be used in the same way that snake venom is.
| “ | In a perfect world, if it eats the flowers maybe its venom can be used as an antidote, like with snakes and spiders. [src] | ” |
| — Fishlegs about Scauldron venom |
Dragons: Race to the Edge[]
Season 1[]
When the Dragon Riders search for an island to set up a new outpost in "When Darkness Falls", they arrive on Dragon's Edge. Tuffnut believes there is something sinister lurking on the island after dark, and discusses what that might be. Ultimately, the dragon riders discover that it is the resident Night Terrors.
| “ | What if there were... snakes out there in the dark! Hm? Giant snakes? Snakes big enough to swallow a man whole and then barf out his bones? [src] | ” |
| — Tuffnut trying to scare Snotlout |
Season 2[]
Tuffnut is bitten by an unknown creature in "Bad Moon Rising". Ruffnut uses Snotlout to test out different animal bites.
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| — Ruff and Tuff about Snotlout's bite |
In "Shock and Awe", when Fishlegs and the other riders search for a mysterious creature, Astrid asks him about what he saw.
| “ | Is it more like a giant fish? Or a big snake? | ” |
| — Astrid asking Fishlegs |
During Loki Day in "Shock and Awe", Tuffnut pranks Ruffnut by digging a hole and putting a snake inside it. After falling in it, Ruffnut is bitten by the snake.
| “ | Just wait 'til she sees the snake I put down there! [src] | ” |
| — Tuffnut explaining the prank to Snotlout |
Season 5[]
In "No Dragon Left Behind", Fishlegs mistakes the Slitherwing dragons for snakes, and when the Slitherwings show their wings, Hiccup mentions that those are not snakes.
| “ | Oh, right... like I knew that there were giant snakes here. Those are my favorite. [src] | ” |
| — Fishlegs mistakes a Slitherwing as a snake |
| “ | Uh, by the way, those are not snakes! Those are Slitherwing dragons. [src] | ” |
| — Hiccup correcting Fishlegs |
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World[]
Griselda the Grevious called Grimmel the Grisly a snake when the latter reneged on their deal by intending to kill Toothless for himself.
Dragons: Rescue Riders[]
Season 2[]
In "Treasure Riders", Waldondo del Mundo mentioned that he once lived in a snake pit for a year.
Dragons: The Nine Realms[]
Season 1[]
In "Featherhide", Alex tells Tom that Feathers looks like Quetzalcoatl, in which her abuelita told her bedtime stories of the god being a wise feathered serpent and the forefathers of all Mesoamericans.
Season 3[]
In "Ride or Die", Jun references a few times the Greek myth of Medusa, a woman who had snakes for hair and turned into stone people who looked directly into her eyes.
Season 4[]
In "The Decoy", while ranting that he should be the leader, Eugene refers to himself as the "head of the snake", while Jun states that he acts like the whole snake.
Season 5[]
In "Sting It On!", after Wilma Sledkin was stung by a Speed Stinger and paralyzed, everyone at ICARIS assumed that she was bitten by a snake.
Season 6[]
In "Dragons Everywhere!", the Dragon Club used toy snakes looking similar to eels to scare off dragons roaming around ICARIS.
Season 7[]
In "In the Cards", fake rubber snakes were placed around the fissure and Rakke Town to prevent dragons from escaping; however, they refer to them as eels. While the Dragon Riders were looking for a Typhoomerang, Webmaster sees a snake and becomes scared of it, thinking it's an eel. Eugene initially believes it's just a fake and tries to convince Webmaster; however, Eugene then gets startled by the snake when it comes alive and hisses at him, causing him to panic and throw it towards the other dragons, who get scared off by it. When the riders go after their dragons, the snake hisses at Eugene again, making him run off scared.
In "Rise of Jörmungandr", in the opening showing the Dark Realm, a snake is shown slithering between the rocks.
Season 8[]
Throughout the season, the riders refer to Jörmungandr as both a snake and a serpent, due to its heavy resemblance to a cobra, and in Norse mythology, it is also known as the "World Serpent".
Games[]
School of Dragons[]
An image with a snake appears in Loki's Mirage during the part "Food Chain".
Snakes are mentioned in the quest "The Return of the Dreadfall". Tuffnut says that he once put a nest of snakes in Snotlout's bed.
| “ | Remember when we put the nest of snakes in his bed? He didn't even notice that they were spelling out his name! | ” |
| — Tuffnut about his prank |
Snakes are also mentioned in the quest "The Wolves Are Coming!" as a food source of the wild boars.
| “ | I've even see them snatching a snake or two! | ” |
| — Snotlout about the Wild Boars |
Snakes are mentioned by Hiccup in the quest "The Newest Dragon Eye Lens", which is part of the "Call of the Death Song".
| “ | That's just like a snake. They show no sign of an outer ear, but their inner ear gets a signal from their muscles, skin and bones; and that's how they "hear". | ” |
Eret mentions snakes again in the expansion Return to Dragon Island while going to Auction Island.
| “ | Looks like this storekeeper has a collection of things on sale other than Harald's trash. I bet it's a load of snake oil medicine, all meant to swindle dragon hunters out of their money. | ” |
| — Eret |
In the Hidden World Expansion, Astrid refers to Harald Forkbeard as a snake on at least two occasions.
Dragons: Rise of Berk[]
A metal man-made snake is an object that you can get from Trader Johann in order to complete collections.
Snakes are also mentioned in Colorcrunch's description.
| “ | In nature, colorful serpents are often the deadliest, and this flashy Thunderpede is no different. He attacks with a full spectrum of smashing power. | ” |
| — Dragons: Rise of Berk |
Rattlesnakes are mentioned in Syringaca's description.
| “ | His colorful, egg-like appendages clatter like a rattlesnake's. | ” |
| — Dragons: Rise of Berk |
Vipers are mentioned in the name of Viperswish.
Dragons: Titan Uprising[]
| “ | After his escape, Padraig went home and became a holy man dedicated to this peculiar deity, then returned to Erin to preach about how the three leaved shamrock is the perfect metaphor for how his god is three people in one, and how snakes are bad. | ” |
| — Dragons: Titan Uprising |
Snakes are mentioned in St. Paddy's Toothless' description.
Other Mentions[]
As an epithet[]
Ruffnut compares Gruffnut with a snake.
| “ | He just blows into town and before anyone can get too close, he slithers off like the snake that he is! [src] | ” |
| — Ruffnut about Gruffnut |
Astrid also calls Harald Forkbeard a snake.
| “ | I should have known that we were letting a snake into our midst. [src] | ” |
| — Astrid |
Snotlout calls Harald a snake too.
| “ | Look: there's that snake Harald, taunting us with his new victory! I'd like to send him slithering for a hole to hide in, just like we did at Berk. [src] | ” |
| — Snotlout |
Barf and Belch[]
In a communication with the Entertainment News Site, Empire Online, DreamWorks Animation character designer Simon Otto, describes Barf and Belch (and by extension, the Hideous Zippleback species) as being "influenced by cobras in the way their head and tail movements are fluid and mesmerizing, but they walk more like horned lizards or Komodo dragons."
Monstrous Nightmare[]
Simon Otto states that, "Nightmares also have snake-like attributes in their behavior."
Toothless[]
According to Simon Otto, Toothless (and perhaps the Night Fury species, was inspired by multiple animals, including snakes: "His [Toothless'] personality, appearance and behavior is a mix between a horse, wombat, kangaroo, bat, snake, dog, cat, panther and a bird of prey."
Slitherwing[]
This Mystery Class dragon is based off some species of venomous snakes.
| “ | Giant winged snakes with venomous scales and fangs, Slitherwings are truly the stuff of nightmares! Like regular snakes, a Slitherwing’s bright coloration indicates its venom level. | ” |
| — Dragonpedia |
Trivia[]
- As shown in "Dragons Everywhere!" and "In the Cards", dragons can mistake snakes for eels, meaning that apart from Typhoomerangs, they can be easily scared off by regular snakes.
- In Dawn of the Dragon Racers, when Hiccup explains how the Dragon Races will work, on his map of Berk, there is a picture of a large sea serpent. Although for some reason, it possesses a Scauldron head and tail fin.
References[]
Snake on Wikipedia- How To Create Your Dragon: The Inspirations Behind The Creatures. Empire Online. (Published on July 10, 2014)
