Reptilian humanoids in fiction
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Reptilian humanoids are a common theme in fiction, whether fantasy or science fiction. They have appeared in various popular treatments, from early pulp short-stories and novellas, to full novels, comic books, television features, films, and the gaming industry.
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[edit] Literature
In the Hollow Earth Pellucidar novels which began in 1914 Edgar Rice Burroughs tells of flying reptiles called Mahars. Mahars are the rulers of Pellucidar. They evolved from the pterosaur rhamphorynchus. They are larger than their prehistoric counterparts, and are also able to hypnotise others into doing their bidding as well as having certain scientific knowledge. They keep humans as slaves, food, and pets, and their will is carried out by ape-men known as Sagoths. Hero David Innes burrows into Pellucidar and puts a stop to the Mahar tyranny.
Another early occurrence was in H. P. Lovecraft's The Nameless City (January, 1921), in which the narrator comes upon an ancient city buried beneath the sands of Arabia Deserta. Descending into a subterranean passage, he comes upon incredibly old frescoes which reveal that the city was built in pre-human times before the desert had encroached upon Arabia by a race of semi-humanoid crawling reptiles, who had retreated underground as the desert spread and the first men appeared on the scene.
In Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and King Kull stories, the heroes are often pitted against a race of Serpent people, shape-shifting reptilians with supernatural and hypnotic cabilities, who formerly dominated mankind and who plotted their return by inflitrating human society and becoming leaders. Their first appearance was a King Kull short story, "The Shadow Kingdom". They could and did pass as hominids in the imaginary kingdom of Valusia, as necessitated by the bigoted Valusians' discrimination against Reptilian-Valusians. This story was published in Weird Tales (August 1929) and republished in the collection King Kull (1967) by Lancer Books. Howard is likely to have been partially inspired by his reading of Burroughs. This race's background was greatly expanded upon during the development of the Cthulhu Mythos, with a history stretching back into the Mesozoic era.
Tom Robbins included the reptilian theory in his novel Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Extensive historical ties and backstory lead the reader through the entire gambit of reptilian lore, including the Dogon tribe, the Nommo, the being or beings known as Oannes, and the actual biological vestiges of fingers in dolphin fins.
Jane Gaskell's Atlan Series (The Serpent (1963), Atlan (1965), The City (1966), The Dragon (1975) and Some Summer Lands (1977)) features reptilian humanoids. The tale is set in prehistoric South America before the fall of Atlantis under the sea. Narrated by a human girl-child-goddess, Cija, who is turned over by her queen mother as a hostage to Zerd, the conquering reptilian general whose plan is to find and destroy Atlantis, this imaginative series takes on feminist issues and Atlantean mythology, mixing in some soft-peddle sex, romance, war and legend. The "Dragon General" is portrayed as having monstrous qualities, but also as sharing human emotions. He simultaneously attracts and repels human women, especially the sheltered virgin Cija who has been charged with the impossible task of seducing, then assassinating, her captor while they travel with his army. Some of the early editions feature classic SF cover art by Boris Vallejo.
Harry Turtledove wrote a series of novels, the Worldwar tetralogy and the Colonization trilogy, in which Earth is invaded in 1942 by reptilian aliens (referred to as Lizards by humans and the Race by themselves) from Tau Ceti, an invasion which interrupts World War II.
The Anonymous Rex series of novels by Eric Garcia follows a noir detective who is also a humanoid velociraptor. He is part of a society of evolved dinosaurs of various species who live in disguised forms in contemporary society. It plays on the reptilian conspiracy theory analogous to the Men In Black treatment of the men in black conspiracy theory.
Raymond E. Feist's Magician series features the Pantathian serpent people, a race of reptilian humanoids living on another continent. They convince the Moredhel (dark elves) that their prophesied saviour has returned. In reality, it is one of the Pantathians in disguise.
In Mick Farren's Victor Renquist novels, there is a race of terrestrial reptilian humanoids called the Drakhuh. They were descended from dinosaurs and once travelled to Mars. Long ago, they became involved in a war with aliens called Nephilim, and retreated into a network of underground caverns. Occasionally people have encountered them, and such encounters formed the basis of dragon legends. With the aftermath of World War II, they were inundated by a wave of Nazi refugees, who promptly enslaved them. As a result of the events of the series, they are extinct.
The Outlanders series by Mark Ellis features a small group of reincarnated Anunnaki led by Overlord Enlil. Millennia ago, this reptilian race from Nibiru colonized Earth and influenced human development. It is speculated they are the same species who appeared in the works of Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft. After a long war with the Tuatha Dé Danann, they agreed to leave Earth, but in reality set into motion a long-range plan wherein the Supreme Council of the Anunnaki would one day regain dominion over the world and its peoples.
In his book VALIS, the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick wrote about contact with three-eyed amphibious beings from Sirius and their connection to the Soviets and the Illuminati. Dick claimed to have connected these creatures to the Nommo, a race of amphibious deities worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali.
Robert Anton Wilson writes about the Illuminati in the Illuminatus! Trilogy and other books. The book Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati describes his drug-induced experiences with three-eyed beings from Sirius, whom Timothy Leary has also claimed to have met.
Other noteworthy science fiction novels that have focused on sentient races that evolved from the dinosaurs are Harry Harrison's Eden series (West of Eden -1984, Winter in Eden -1986, and Return to Eden -1989), the Dragonstar series by David Bischoff and Thomas F. Monteleone (Dragonstar -1980, Day of the Dragonstar -1983, Night of the Dragonstar -1985, and Dragonstar Destiny -1989), and Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy (Far Seer -1992, Fossil Hunter -1993, and Foreigner -1994).
Lewis Shiner's novella "Lizard-Men of Los Angeles" is a pulp fiction homage featuring reptilian humanoids.
There has been no shortage of fantasy novels that featured lizardmen as minor villains or incidental monsters, but the first to actually feature a lizardman as one of the main heroic characters was Andre Norton's 1978 novel Quag Keep. The lizardman Gulth was part of the starring group of adventurers in this, one of the first novels to feature fantasy role-playing in its storyline.
Another heroic reptilian main character featured in fantasy literature is Dragonbait from the Forgotten Realms novels in the Finder's Stone Trilogy, Azure Bonds (1988) The Wyvern's Spur (1990) and Song of the Saurials (1991) by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. Dragonbait is the silent companion and guardian of the warrior woman Alias, and he is eventually revealed to be a member of a noble extradimensional race of dinosaurian humanoids known as Saurials.
Enemy Mine, by Barry B. Longyear, later made into a film, tells of humanity's war with the Drac, a race of alien hermaphroditic reptiles.
[edit] Comic books
In The Amazing Spider-Man #6 (1963), The Lizard makes his first appearance. Dr. Curt Connors, a good-natured one-armed scientist, while attempting to apply the regeneration capabilities of lizards on himself, accidentally becomes an evil, bipedal, talking human-sized lizard with a warped yet high intelligence. The Lizard's main goal is to destroy the human race so that reptiles can rule the earth, but Spider-Man (or another hero) has repeatedly defeated the Lizard and foiled his schemes.
In addition, Spider-Man has also battled a dragon-man creature named Draco. This story only appeared in a book and record set for children, parts of which were used by Man or Astro-man? on their debut album Is It ... Man or Astroman?
The titular characters of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird) are reptilian humanoids, as are the recurring characters Leatherhead and the Triceratons.
Marvel Comics' The Ultimates (written by Mark Millar and with art by Bryan Hitch) features updated versions of the villainous Skrull race, called Chitauri (presumably in reference to Credo Mutwa's Chitauli, part of the reptilian conspiracy literature). The primary villains of the 'Homeland Security' arc (issues #7-13), they have shape-changing abilities and have orchestrated various conspiracies to exterminate the human race; the most successful of these plots was the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.
Marvel Comics also has created a team or association of snake-themed humanoids named the Serpent Society some which are reptilian humanoids (Slither, King Cobra, Copperhead) and some which are humanoid in appearance (Python, Rattler, Sidewinder).
Alien Legion also featured Sarigar, a blue-skinned serpent like creature, who is leader of the legion.
Batman villain Killer Croc is a criminal with a genetic disorder that turns him progressively more reptilian.
[edit] Television
In the Star Trek series, there are many extraterrestrial reptilian humanoid species, such as the Gorn. The Gorn made their first broadcast appearance when the episode "Arena" aired on January 19, 1967. The Saurians, reptilian brewers of the infamous "Saurian Brandy" mentioned throughout the original Star Trek series, appeared in a very brief cameo in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Jem'Hadar are a reptilian race that serve as soldiers for the Dominion in Deep Space 9. Star Trek: Voyager even presents one such species, the Voth, as being descended from a species of dinosaurs originally from Earth. The Gorn made a return appearance in the Star Trek: Enterprise season four episode titled "In a Mirror Darkly, Part 2". In non-canon stories, the Cardassians are often hinted at as being reptilian.
In the long-running British SF television series Doctor Who, two ancient terrestrial reptilian races appear: the three-eyed Silurians and the aquatic Sea Devils. Another, extraterrestrial, reptilian civilization is the Draconian Empire, who in the 26th century are engaged in a Cold War-like situation with Earth, a situation which threatened to ignite into war due to the actions of the Daleks and the Master. Another recurring monster, the Ice Warriors, are also reptilian humanoids.
Various other science fiction TV shows feature reptilian peoples. The mid-1980s science fiction TV series V describes humanity's struggle against Nazi-like reptilian overlords from Sirius who are disguised as humans. In Babylon 5, the Narn appear to be reptilian, although they are in fact marsupials. In the same series, however, the Drazi are reptilian in nature. Stargate SG-1 has a race of humanoid aliens, the Unas, who are somewhat reptilian in appearance. The show portrays them as the original hosts of the parasitic Goa'uld, who once enslaved the peoples of Earth. An episode from the eighth season of The X-Files, titled "Alone", featured a man who transformed himself into a lizard creature, barely glimpsed at the end of the episode.
In the live-action Saturday morning TV series Land of the Lost, the Sleestak were bug-eyed reptilian humanoids who dwelt in caves, hated bright light, worshipped a giant unseen monster that lived in a misty pit inside their ruined city, and moved very slowly. The Sleestak appeared in both the original 1974-1977 Land of the Lost as well as the short-lived 1991 remake series.
Reptilian humanoids were also prevalent among animated TV series. A 1979 animated TV adaptation of the classic Flash Gordon series featured a rarely seen form of reptilian humanoid in the appearance of lizard women on the planet Mongo. Despite their reptilian heads and tails, these lizard women were depicted as being quite shapely in a distinctively mammalian way. The 1980s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe featured a heroic character named Lizard-Man who, as his name suggests, was a reptilian humanoid. Although Lizard-Man appeared in several episodes of the cartoon, including She-Demon of Phantos and Song of Celice, he was never made into an action figure. Also featured in the He-Man series of cartoons and toys were the Snake Men, an evil group of serpentine villains who were enemies to both He-Man and his arch nemesis Skeletor. The Snake Men were also featured in the updated Masters of the Universe cartoon and toy line produced from 2002 through 2004. Another 1980s cartoon, G.I. Joe, has the head of the Cobra Organization as a snake-man, Cobra Commander, who wore a helmet to conceal his identity. From 1983 to 1985, a Saturday morning cartoon version of Dungeons & Dragons aired on CBS, sometimes featuring lizardmen as evil foils for the young heroes. The most noteworthy episode featuring lizardmen was season one's "Servant of Evil".
A 1990s Public Service Announcement for Partnership for a Drug-Free America featured a drug dealer transforming into a humanoid snake.[1] On the December 4, 2006 episode of The Daily Show, resident expert John Hodgman referenced his reptilian overlords in discussing the possibility of his presidential bid.
GoGo Sentai Boukenger used the Repitilian humans for the Jaryuu Tribe of the Negative Syndicate.
[edit] Film
In the 1959 film The Alligator People, a scientist experimenting with alligator hormones accidentally creates an alligator-human hybrid.
The 1966 Hammer Horror film The Reptile features a woman who is transformed into a humanoid snake creature by a serpent-worshipping cult.[2]
The 1980 classic Empire Strikes Back features the reptilian wookie-hunting Trandoshan bounty hunter named Bossk.
In the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, James Earl Jones plays Thulsa Doom, a warlord with the power to turn into a snake.
The 1984 cult film Buckaroo Banzai features a race of aliens called Lectroids which appear to humans as either Black Rastafarian Jamaicans -- the good aliens, or as red-haired Caucasians -- the evil ones, led by Dr. Emilio Lizardo.
The 1985 film Enemy Mine, based on a story by Barry B. Longyear, featured a reptilian species called the Dracs.
A 1987 horror film, Demon of Paradise features a legendary savage reptile-man called Acua that terrorizes a Hawaiian resort.[3]
In the 1987 movie Hell Comes to Frogtown the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where women rule and the evil amphibious inhabitants of Frogtown must be punished.[4]
In the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros. (film), a parallel dimension is inhabited by humanoid creatures who evolved from dinosaurs.
In the 1999 film Galaxy Quest the evil overlord General Sarris is a cybernetic lizard alien.
The Channel 101 short series "The Wastelander" features a lizard people as one of the threats of the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
In the animated film Heavy Metal 2000, Tyler recruits an Army of Lizardmen for his attack on the Holy City.[5]
[edit] Games
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, there are numerous species of reptilian, amphibian and fish-like humanoids. These include lizardfolk (formerly known as the perhaps less PC "lizardmen"), the weak, lizard-like kobolds, the odorous chameleonic troglodytes, the serpentine yuan-ti and nagas and numerous humanoid-reptilian creatures associated with them, the aquatic sahuagin, locathah and kuo-toa, the Dinosaur-like Saurials and Pterafolk, various types of half-dragons such as the draconian, Dragonkin and some of the Spawn of Tiamat, and a few other lizard-like/serpentine humanoids unique to particular settings, including the Firenewt and Asabi in the Forgotten Realms. In Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition, "reptilian" is a subtype of "humanoid" (since creature types are determined largely by shape and abilities rather than genetics), including kobolds, lizardfolk, and troglodytes. The others listed are technically considered "aquatic" (a subtype of humanoid) or "monstrous humanoid" (a separate type that includes those with special powers, such as yuan-ti psionics and poison).
Similarly, mojh are a reptilian race in Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed, being humans who made the choice to change themselves into beings more like dragons. Arcana Evolved adds the race of dracha, which are similarly draconic (and by extension reptilian).
Viashino: A race in the card game Magic: The Gathering.
Lizardmen are a prominent race in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle wargame.
In the popular computer game X-COM, Reptoids, or "Snakemen", are the foot soldiers for an alliance of genetically altered extra-terrestrial beings bent on the subjugation and control of Earth.
The popular MMORPG franchise EverQuest features several tribes of humanoid lizardmen, followers of and primary servants towards the franchise's deity of fear, Cazic Thule. The most noteworthy examples being the race of iguana-like Iksar, which are playable in the series' entries for the personal computer, and their more alligator-resembling Tae Ew cousins of the Southern swamps and jungles of Antonica.
"Lizardman" is a reptilian character featured in the fighting game Soul Calibur and its sequels.
"Reptites," a race of reptilian humanoids, appear in the RPG Chrono Trigger.
"Riptor" is a genetically engineered raptor-human hybrid featured in the SNES Fighting Game, Killer Instinct.
Reptile is a ninja character from the Mortal Kombat series.
The Kremlings, crocodilian humanoids from the Donkey Kong Country series.
The "Lizalfos" from the Legend of Zelda series.
The "Bangaas" from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
The Magic-wielding "Sorin" warrior race from Dark Planet: Battle for Natrolis.
The Lizardmen are a race in Age of Wonders. They are more succeptable to magic than other races, can swim, and are nearly feral. Once in a generation, a type of Lizardman called a "Salamander" is born. It is a Lizardman that is born of fire, and delights in lighting things ablaze. Lizardmen hate and fear fire, and think of Salamanders as outcasts. However, the Salamanders are still fiercely loyal to their Lizardmen brotheren, and will fight for them in battle.
Lizard Folk are a race of marsh-dwellers in Disciples II: Dark Prophecy. They are quite strong physically and prefer to ambush passers-by to developing a civilization of their own.
Many 4x games set in space feature reptilian humanoids. Some titles include Galactic Civilizations (the Drath), Master of Orion (the Sakkra), Sword of the Stars (the Tarka), and Ascendancy (the Chamanchies).
Rather weak, unarmored lizardmen are a race in Siege of Avalon.
In the Elder Scrolls series, a reptilian humanoid race called the "Argonians" exists.
In the Unreal games series, the Skaarj and the Krall
In the Castlevania video games series, there is a reptilian Humanoid boss named Slogra.
[edit] See also
- Reptilian humanoids
- V (TV series)
- Trandoshan (Star Wars)
- Lizardmen (Warhammer)
- Lizardfolk (Dungeons & Dragons)
- Anonymous Rex
- Trogdor
