All hail the dragon craze! Dragons have always been really cool, but they’ve become even more awesome in recent years, all thanks to the release of forms of media that feature them in all their glory. From Game of Thrones to Skyrim and The Hobbit, dragons have been more present now than ever. Fortunately, all of the exposure that our favorite winged lizards have been receiving for the last decades (or even centuries) means that there have been countless of variations. What are our favorite dragon types? Let’s find out.
#1 Skyrim Dragons
Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks
The multitude of dragons and the direct connection of the protagonist to this legendary kin are definitely some of the factors that made this Elder Scrolls installment the most successful of the franchise. In Skyrim, dragons are ancient are threatening, able to speak their own language and able to make use of the great power of the Shouts. It’s no coincidence that Alduin was considered to be the “World-Eater” because, with so much power, he’d be able to make the whole world bow down to him.
#2 Ice Dragons
Different from the Frost Dragons found in the previously mentioned Skyrim, but in a good way. While in the game they are differentiated from fire dragons through their ice-breathing powers, the Ice Dragons we’re referring to are the ones alluded to A Song of Ice and Fire. Supposed to be coated in layers of ice, to possess piercing pale eyes, and to be able to exhale icy breaths and blizzards, these legendary dragons get our hearts racing just thinking about them. How much would you give to see them appear in the books or show?
#3 Fire Dragons
Sometimes there is power in simplicity and this breed of dragons proves it. They’re the ones that first pop up in your head when you think of dragons – giant, winged menaces that can breathe fire. You’re essentially thinking of Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal. They don’t possess any further magical abilities, nor are they able to master the finer arts of finer communication, but who said that this was mandatory? Sometimes a fire-breathing rampant beast is all you need to get shudders because of awesomeness.
#4 Little Chinese Dragons
Courtesy of Disney Studios
Chinese dragons are insanely cool and there is no doubt that they can turn out to be just as troublesome as the Western version. However, they’ve been represented in fiction as lovable comic-relief sidekicks so much that it’s difficult to see them as anything but that. With the best examples being Mushu from Disney’s Mulan and Dojo Kanojo Cho from Xiaolin Showdown and Xiaolin Chronicles, these little fellows prove that a great personality makes small size falter.
#5 Menacing Dragons with Conscience
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
As weird as the title sounds, this is actually a category of its own (even if it’s badly worded). Dragons are scary business as they are, but they are even more terrifying when they can speak, and they possess the intelligence and conscience to plot the end of the world. Smaug is the obvious example here, but the previously mentioned Alduin is an honorable member of this family too.
#6 DreamWorks Dragons
Courtesy of DreamWorks
Or, more specifically, the How to Train Your Dragon… dragons. Toothless and the rest of his kin certainly maintain many of the base aspects of the classic portrayal of the draconic species. However, their divergence in design is what gave them a twist. After so many years of being taught that dragons were malicious and slay-worthy, it’s really refreshing to see them on the other side of the barricade.
#7 Mentor Dragons
Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks
They could easily fall under the “mentor trope” category, but they’re dragons, so they’re cooler. Whenever a character, mostly the protagonist, is in need of guidance, they can always rely on these serpentine allies to give them a word of advice. In a trying time, you could definitely benefit from having by your side Kilgharrah (Merlin), Paarthurnax (Skyrim), or Fang (Avatar: The Last Airbender).
#8 Pokemon Dragons
Courtesy of Nintendo
Pokemon didn’t settle on just one creature inspired by the mythological beasts. Instead, there are several Pokemon whose ancestors were probably dragons. While it initially resembles a cute little dinosaur, Charmander’s final evolution, Charizard, is as dragon-like as it can get. Of course, there’s also the very obviously-named Dragonite, too.
#9 Harry Potter Dragons
While they’re essentially the classic fire-breathing beats that enjoy wracking havoc that we’re all used to, there’s something about the thought that every country as its own breed of dragons that Muggles know nothing about which is truly fascinating. In the world of Harry Potter, the dragons are told apart through how dangerous they are, with the Hungarian Horntail being the most dangerous of all.
#10 Elemental Dragons
Courtesy of Pierrot Studio
Last but not least, these are the dragons with the widest variety of all. Usually, when we talk about elemental dragons, we refer to a universe where there are subspecies bound to more than just the two previously mentioned elements, fire and ice. Like in the case of the Storm Dragon in World of Warcraft or the Earth Dragons in Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy, they are the most varied and most unpredictable.
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