Fangs Are Evil: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

You know, fangs. Those pointy things that, whenever they're in the mouth of someone or something, [[Red Right Hand|indicate]] that they're [[Dark Is Not Evil|probably]] evil and probably looking for an excuse to bite you with them. They're usually paired with [[Femme Fatalons]] and [[Pointy Ears]] to create a predatory look, and they're ''[[Spikes of Villainy|pointy]]''. And really, what's the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|point]] in having pointy teeth if you don't do stuff with them like rip apart the flesh of the living? [[Mundane Utility|Opening beer cans for kicks? Removing the shrink wrap from DVD boxes?]]

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

** The [[Cursed with Awesome|cursed chimera]] Zelgadis also has a set of less-than-adorable fang-like teeth on his upper jaw, but they're almost never seen unless he's completely livid.

** {{spoiler|It's subverted by his [[Noble Demon]] tendencies and his eventual [[Heel Face Turn]], though.}}

* In ''[[Wolf's Rain]]'', the wolves' fangs don't mean they're evil (being the main characters, they're portrayed very sympathetically) but it ''certainly'' means they're dangerous. The wolves are realistically drawn, and on top of that the animators added wolf growls/snarls at the appropriate moments. It's understandably intimidating when the wolves use their true forms, but this troper got a nasty shock when she first saw Kiba attack in ''[http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/CrossoverQueen/kibafangs.jpg human form]''. (Image courtesy of JWS Anime.)

** In this troper's opinion the fangs look too big to fit in the wolves' mouths, making the image more effective.

*** It makes perfect sense. Gorillas, also herbivorous, have big fangs. They're used for shredding tough plant fibers.

*** Which raises its another question, namely why a species that needs only water to survive would develop to eat anything.

** However, it should be noted that [[Cute Little Fangs]] are also much in evidence, as they appear to be a genetic trait of [[Big Screwed-Up Family|the Ushiromiyas]]. But then, at least in [[Creepy Child|Maria]]'s case, they aren't mutually contradictory...

* When Galvatron is resurrected as Super Megatron in ''[[Transformers Return of Convoy]]'', he gains a set of fangs.

* 9th from ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' in her more crazy and villainous moments tends to be draw with fang-looking teeth.

 

* Spider-Man villains Venom, Carnage and the other evil symbiotes. Generally when a symbiote possesses someone good theres no mouth but when it possesses someone bad theres a mouth full of fangs. Toxin is a neat example. When the host is in control there are no fangs. When the host lets the symbiote take over it gets fangs.

** Similiar with Flash Thompson as Venom - his default mode has no mouth but fangs tends to appear when he is loosing control to the symbiote.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** The whole "being short wrinkly bald guys" thing probably has a lot to do with that.

** On the other hand the Klingons often pull it off. In the first episode of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'', Reed mentions with some apprehension that Klingons reputedly "sharpen their teeth before battle". Depending on which episode of ''[[Star Trek]]'' you're watching, the Klingons might be "Fangs are Tough" rather than "Fangs are Evil."

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* ''[[Nosferatu]]'' is interesting, because Count Orlock's fangs, rather than being his canines, are his front teeth, giving him a ratlike appearance and causing him to look far more grotesque than most vampires.

 

== Literature ==

** Most of the vampires found in folklore around the world had a piercing tongue or mosquito-like proboscis for sucking blood. It was only in European Gothic literature of the 19th century that fangs caught on as their indispensible physical characteristic.

*** The Anzati, vampire-like aliens in the Star Wars Universe, are like the former. Except they suck brains instead of blood.

* A tribe in ''[[Discworld]]'' sharpens their teeth to points. Not for any particular reason apparently, they just like the effect when they grin.

** The vampires have these, of course. Even the ones who aren't interested in biting people.

* A card played by Elves against Humans in the [[The Witcher|''Witcher Saga'']]. Humans have canine teeth, and therefore are ''clearly'' hardly better than wild beasts. Incidentally, Elves in the Witcherverse are herbivorous.

* Every time Vlad in ''[[Count and Countess]]'' is about to take a bite out of someone, he grins. The glimpse of artificially sharpened teeth serves as the victim's first and last warning.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', this is a good way to tell a Kindred's mood. Generally, retracted fangs = good mood = [[Manipulative Bastard|keep watch]], showing fangs = angry, [[Horror Hunger|hungry]] or [[Super-Powered Evil Side|frenzying]] = RUN!

** Also averted by the Blood Angels, who have fangs as part of their vampire motif, and are also among the nobler [[Space Marine]] chapters. Unless they hit the [[Unstoppable Rage|Black Rage]], in which case things can get...[[Kill'Em All|ugly]].

 

* Not quite sure if it's supposed to be to make them more intimidating, but as of patch 3.0, Night Elves in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' have fangs to show off their feral nature. And Orcs and Trolls have ''tusks''.

** Arguably [[Cute Little Fangs|subverted]] by the draenei, who have fangs more prominent than those of the night elves (and not only generally ''look'' like classic demons, but are actually ''kin'' to [[Our Demons Are Different|one type of demon]])...but are almost painfully honorable.

* In ''[[Ace Attorney|Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' the Interpol agent Shi-Lang has sharp fangs to compliment his wolflike nature. He hates prosecutors, arrests people for little to no reason, and is a bit of a jerk to Edgeworth. However, he is presented sympathetically {{spoiler|and even provides a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment when he gets Alba's diplomatic immunity revoked.}}

** Played straight with Furio Tigre, an intimidating and badly tanned loan shark who, through a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] and everyone else being idiots, managed to actually impersonate Phoenix Wright because they had the same spiky hair.

* Averted in the third installment of ''[[Star Control]]'' by the menacing but ultimately honourable Harika.

* [[The Legend of Zelda|Ganon's]] bestial forms generally have large curved tusks, though he typically doesn't actually use them in combat.

 

* And, of course, ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|Jagerkin]]. Although many of them have a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] bent and fight alongside the good guys. ([[Grey and Grey Morality|for a certain value of good]])

* In a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], most of the time [[Freefall|Florence Ambrose]] doesn't show teeth, even when talking, but when [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff100/fv00098.htm she smiles], people start getting awfully cooperative, for some odd reason.

* Richard of ''[[Looking for Group]]'' seems to have fangs under that cowl of his, if the x-ray vision we were treated to by troll shamans in an early page is anything to go by.

* Yigs in ''[[The Water Phoenix King]]'' have small fangs that protrude from the lower jaw, but despite this and other traditional Orcish attributes, they aren't any more Evil than humans or other races in this setting.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Vlad Plasmius and Dark Danny (Dan Phantom) in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' both qualify.

* Nega-Timmy, Anti-Fairies in ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]''. Butch Hartman must LOVE this trope.

** Megabyte and Hexadecimal also have fangs. Megabyte's fangs are hard to notice until he drops his [[Faux Affably Evil]] persona and starts acting like the vicious predator he is. Hexadecimal's fangs only appear when she switches to her [[Nightmare Face]].

* [[Freddie as F.R.O.7|El Supremo]] has these, seemingly for no other reason than that he's evil.

* These, along with every other part of his look make Machestro from ''[[Xyber 9: New Dawn]]'' seem rather cat-like.

** Although the real reason why Jafar has fangs is because he's supposed to look like a snake.

* [[Made of Evil|Aku]] of [[Samurai Jack]] fits this trope to a T.

** Subverted in the [[Halloween Episode]].

** Queen Chrysalis also sports a set of fangs. She also happens to be the closest thing the series has to a [[Complete Monster]].

* Mr. Burns in [[The Simpsons]], who in early seasons especially was cruel and corrupt to downright evil old man, is shown to have a pair of dentures with fangs on them.

 

== Real Life ==

[[Category:Teeth Tropes]]

[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]