Whether you're young or old, dragons always seem to capture everyone's imagination and awe. So without further ado, here are my top five dragons in pop culture.
5. Falkor ("The Neverending Story")
Falkor the luckdragon is one of the most iconic characters of the cult classic '80s movie "The Neverending Story." Based on eastern depictions of dragons, Falkor is an ally to the main hero Bastian and is generally very helpful and kind.
4. Shenlong ("Dragon Ball")
Shenlong (aka Shenron) is the mysterious entity in "Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball Z" that is summoned when all seven dragon balls are collected. Once called forth, Shenlong will grant his summoner a single wish, which could be anything from bringing a loved one back from the dead to a pair of Bulma's panties. Although Shenlong is less of a character and more of a plot device, I think he still deserves a spot on this list.
3. Drogon ("Game of Thrones")
In "Game of Thrones," Drogon and his two brothers are the "children" of Queen Daenerys of Targaryen. As the eldest of the three brothers, Drogon is larger and stronger than his siblings Viserion and Rhaegal. This is fitting as he was named after Daenerys's late husband, the intimidating Khal Drogo. Though large and aggressive, Drogon shows a great deal of loyalty to his mother throughout the series, even going as far as to save her life.
2. Toothless ("How to Train Your Dragon")
Toothless is the adorable secondary protagonist in the Dreamworks movie "How to Train Your Dragon." After being injured and unable to fly on his own, Toothless builds an unlikely friendship with Hiccup, a misfit viking who would rather study dragons than kill them. Throughout the movie, the friendship between the two grows and by the end of the movie, the two become an inseparable pair. Through his cute dog-like antics, Toothless breaks the stereotype that all dragons are vicious man eaters. Audiences were also charmed by this dragon as "How to Train Your Dragon" is considered to be one of Dreamworks' most successful movies ever and has been given both a sequel and a surprisingly well-made spin off television series.
1. Smaug ("The Hobbit")
When one thinks of a dragon, a few things come to mind. Scaly armor that is akin to ten-fold shields. Teeth as sharp as swords and claws as long as spears. A tail so large that its shock would be like a thunderbolt. Wings that could summon a hurricane when beaten. And finally, a fiery breath that would guarantee certain death. Smaug from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" has all of these qualities in spades, mixed with a massive ego and a lust for gold. When the hobbit Bilbo Baggins converses with the dragon in his lair, Smaug shows a great deal of intelligence and arrogance, correctly guessing that Bilbo was sent by dwarves trying to retake his stolen hoard. However, Smaug's arrogance proved to be his undoing, as he unintentionally showed Bilbo a weak point in his "impenetrable" armor which an arrow shot by Bard the Bowman was able to fatally pierce when the dragon attacked lake-town in a fit of fury. Even though the recent movie trilogy has been met with a ton of criticism, Smaug's appearance (and voice due to the talent of Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of the definite highlights of the film.
