r/TopCharacterTropes • u/NinjaOfOnion • 3h ago
Characters Changing or Interpreting a Popular or Classic Monster To Be More Unique
Essentially this is a trope dealing with a piece of fiction that may have a stock monster but they have decided to change some part of the lore, the abilities or the design to make it stand out from the rest, the monster may be in any genre but it has to be significantly unique in some way to the stock idea of it
Wolfwalkers:
The Wolfwalkers change a lot of things from what someone what may think of werewolves though does keep some parts, they can turn into a wolf form and transmit it by bite but their souls leave their bodies and manifest into wolves
House of Ashes:
The vampires feed on blood, can burn in sunlight or UV light, can be beaten with a stake in the heart and have a bat like appearance but are actually aliens in origin and they are more monsterous then human looking typical vampires
Wish Dragon:
The titular dragon, along, resides in a jade teapot, can take back wishes if he misinterprets them and can shapeshift into human form, can grant three wishes and has three limitation, can’t kill, can’t make people fall in love, and can’t time travel, so there’s some similarities to the stock idea but enough variety
Ben 10:
Ripjaws clearly has some mermaid inspiration like some other aliens in the classic series being inspired by other monsters but it becomes clear when he gets his tail in the water though he is unique with having an angler fish light and very prominent and sharp teeth when compared to the regular mermaid
I hope my picks make sense and I may get some things wrong which I apologise for
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u/Lanky_Operation_6418 2h ago
Bloodsuckers (Darkest Dungeon) posess many of the typical vampire trappings, being hedonistic mockeries of aristocracy with insatiable hunger for blood - with one notable thing being that their design and powers draw heavily on mosquitos (as opposed to more common in vampire stories bats).
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u/LadienneGallerry 2h ago
Bloodsuckers from Darkness Dungeon. They’re decadent aristocrats with an endless hunger for blood, but the design borrows from mosquitoes instead of bats.
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u/NianAlisia 2h ago
The vampires in "The Strain" are basically walking parasite colonies
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u/M-Shadowtoad 2h ago
I forgot the series but there was one where zombies were actually a species of tiny worms that consumed blood and multiplied in seconds allowing them to take over a body the moment they got in, normally via bites.
But they slowed down in cold environments so they were sealed in a frozen tundra and guarded by a species who normally only lived for two years but had all the strength, speed, and toughness of a human crammed into those 2 years.
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u/MrCobalt313 2h ago
Wolfwalkers actually reference old obscure myths that predate the modern idea of the werewolf by a long time.
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u/that_motu_guy 2h ago
Actually Wolf Walkers is probably based on a weird ass early christianity version of werewolvers
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u/MysteriousFondant347 2h ago
The interesting thing with wolfwalkers is that werewolves has had many interpretations in the past and the common modern perception is but one of them.
A werewolf used to be a person turned into a regular wolf, Some biblical censorships of local legends like that said that you didn't in fact turned into a wolf you just hallucinated you did and would act like one, so you're a werewolf in mind. some other biblical writings in France for example set a concept of werewolves where the souls of the sinners would be reborn as wolves, your soul is the werewolf, in a sense. And all those versions came together to inspire the modern werewolf.
The wolfwalker is a fascinating mix of all those legends that made the werewolf. It's like a window into an alternate world where the modern werewolf became what the movie calls a wolfwalker
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u/RShini 2h ago edited 2h ago
Most of our ideas of werewolves is pretty much Hollywood:
-It's an infectious curse and the werewolf can be an unwilling victim.
-Bipedal man-wolf forms
-The phases of the moon controls the form
-They can generate from wounds and can only be killed by silverWhen as you said, the actual folklore versions are different, among them I can think of:
-To change into a wolf, it requires either a potion, a deal with the devil, or the skin of a wolf either made into a belt or draped over like a cloak, it's all willing.
-The werewolf becomes a wolf or possesses a wolf with full intent on foul mischief and usually do it every night they can sneak off without notice or on special nights.
-The wolf can be maimed in animal form, and often a werewolf is discovered when the wolf paw turns into a hand, and someone (usually an old crone or the mysterious lovely maiden the hero was falling for) is suddenly missing one.
-Sometimes they become vampires when they're killed, or that werewolves and vampires are the same creature.6
u/MysteriousFondant347 2h ago
Don't forget divine transformation, as far as human memory goes, the first werewolf was king Lycaon changed into a wolf by Zeus for reasons I can't for the life of me remember. That's even where the prefix Lycan comes from
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u/RShini 2h ago
the reason why as he decided to see if he can outsmart the gods by killing his son Nyctimus and serving him in a stew.
All the Gods - except Demeter who was distracted due to Persephone's abduction and ended up eating one of the boy's shoulders - noticed the trick and Zeus cursed him into a wolf shape, restored the boy to life - and replaced his missing shoulder with an ivory one.
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u/MysteriousFondant347 2h ago
Honestly I'd rather be turned into a wolf than live under capitalism for one more second, not so much of a curse here. That's basically what I thought the whole time watching wolfwalkers lmao
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u/RShini 2h ago
Pick a Kobold, any Kobold.
Originally they're Germanic household/mining fey or goblin-like beings who can perform helpful tasks when treated well but if they feel like they're being abused, they'll pull pranks, or outright put humans in harm's way.
Nowadays, they're either Lizard-like gadgeteers, adorable and brave dog people, shifty rats, and not particularly Fey-ish.
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u/KureiziDaiamondo 1h ago
I heard they are dogs in Japan because of both mistranslations and weird interpretations of low resolution sprites in old rpgs. The same reasons orcs are boar/pig people over there
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u/ejdj1011 1h ago
It's not just "old rpgs", it's D&D specifically. The old art and descriptions had more doglike kobolds and piglike orcs than modern D&D does. Even the modern D&D kobold retains a doglike nose (middle image in the previous comment).
D&D is also where the anime / JRPG slime enemy comes from
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u/Pencilshaved 2h ago
Typically, when there’s an evil group obsessed with assimilation, it acts as a monolith or hive mind, with some kind of extraterrestrial or extraplanar origin.
Magic the Gathering’s equivalent, the biomechanical Phyrexians, are relatively unique in being not only comprised of five different factions all in tension with each other, but also for being created by a regular* human who was exiled from civilization for his experiments.
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u/Packleader1997 2h ago
Technically speaking, this specfic group of phyrexians were created by a golem accidentally tracking a drop of phyrexian oil onto a plane (planet/dimension) he created. Phyrexian oil is highly infectious and corrupting
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2h ago edited 2h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Opening-Variety-767 2h ago
At that point can you even call it a vampire instead of something like a chupacabra that doesn't focus on goats?
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u/MirrahPaladin 2h ago
One thing I really loved about Lost Tapes (when they did it) was taking popular monsters like vampires and getting really creative with their execution.
I remember the alien episode where it was basically a giant, parasitic fly, or the zombie episode that focused more so on African folklore zombies rather than the western version.
Lost Tapes was peak and I really wish it came back.
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u/Wolf_of_Nome 2h ago
Reminds me of The Lycanthrope Project https://valdevia.art/portfolio/the-order-of-the-new-moon/
It puts werewolves into the roles of vampires and aristocrats and corrupt, wealthy elites. This seems to put vampires into the roles of werewolves as savage beasts.5
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u/Some_Fig_6566 2h ago
Higher vampires in The Witcher are immune to sunlight and do not require blood to survive (though it acts as a very potent drug for them); furthermore, each one possesses unique powers and a distinct fighting style, in addition to the standard set of vampiric abilities.
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u/darthmaulking1234 2h ago
Vrakhir's way of turning other people to vrakhir is to put a fang into their heart
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u/jesus_ferdzroman2007 2h ago
Los vampiros de the Witcher son muy variados, pero los supremos subvierten los rasgos de los vampiros típicos: no son débiles al sol , no te convierte en otro vampiro si te muerden , no les gusta la sangre humana y son inmunes al ajo
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u/Lanky_Operation_6418 2h ago
They do enjoy human blood (it affects them like alcohol) - they just don't need it to survive. It's specifically Regis, the most famous vampire from Witcher, that is a teetotaler.
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u/THEN0RSEMAN 2h ago
As Regis also explained to Geralt and Co. they are nocturnal, hence the sunlight story, and they are simply another species of living creature they cannot turn humans into vampires at all
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u/Moonbeamlatte 2h ago
Wolfwalkers is actually far more accurate to traditional Irish werewolves. They didn’t change anything to be “more unique.”
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u/Orion_starborn 2h ago
Similar to wolf walkers is the CBBC program "wolf blood" similar to werewolves they are forced to transform at a full moon however:
They can transform at will
It's genetic and not transmissible whether through bite or any other means
They look completely like wolves (similar to wolf walkers) but their bodies do actually transform, in one episode the skeleton of the main character's ancestor is found who was killed mid transformation and has an extended skull where it was transforming into a snout
A wolf blood begins being able to transform around puberty but their senses become heightened in the days leading up which can be incredibly stressful
(This is all half remembered so apologies for anything that was incorrect)
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u/PretzelG_317 1h ago
The redcaps in Sword Interval are large fungal creatures instead of dwarf-like fairies
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u/SARB033 2h ago edited 2h ago
It's interesting how many different, varied interpretations for Vampires exist.
Another one is in Peter Watts' Blindsight. Vampires were/are an extremely intelligent human subspecies that preyed on human beings. They had autistic traits that made them extremely intelligent, and the ability to "hibernate" to allow human populations to recover.
However they had a neurological impairment that caused seizures from seeing exact 90° angles (like in a crucifix). Those are rare in nature but as humanity started erecting structures they became common and vampires went extinct. In the universe they were eventually revived by scientists and medicated to allow to survive and suppress their predator instincts. They're extremely intelligent and also pretty much emotionless.
The book is a HARD sci-fi that really makes you question the qualities of consciousness itself. The plot is that an alien species is detected in the oort cloud and a crew is sent to scout them.
The crew is lead by a vampire, with a bunch of scientists, and the protagonist Siri who is basically just there to record the whole thing. As well as their ship, the Theseus, with its AI.
Eventually it's determined that the aliens "think" humans are attacking them because of all the radio pollution we emit because art is an aberration in the universe, emotion is seen as a weakness, consciousness is a waste of energy. The ending has the vampire captain and the ship AI launch Siri in an escape pod back to earth while they embark on a suicide mission to destroy the alien ship. Radio signals Siri starts hearing near the end imply that the vampires have risen up and overthrown humanity. And, given the distance, that would have been weeks or even months ago, meaning that Siri might be the last flicker of consciousness in the whole universe.
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u/TheRealGamingWhovian 49m ago
Tinkaton (Pokémon)
Has a lot of traits in common with dwarves (short, stout, single-gender species with an affinity for metalworking, a tendency to use brutal weapons, and a species-wide enmity with a large flying creature. However, instead of being gruff, bearded men, they're cutesy pink all-female sprites.
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u/fly_line22 1h ago
Speaking of weird versions of vampires, the ones in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. They do drink blood like a typical vampire, but they don't do it with their fangs. No, they jam their fingers under your skin, and suck it out that way. And outside of standard vampire stuff like inhuman strength, durability, speed, and creating undead minions, they can do things like freeze things with a touch, implant mind control parasites into people, and shoot blood out of their eyes like lasers. And then there's the Pillar Men. These guys are basically ancient Aztec super vampires that literally eat weaker vampires for breakfast.
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u/Seed0fDiscord 1h ago
In Absentia (a Mike Flanagan film) trolls are depicted as some insectoid like being that steals others away to their fae realm, often living under bridges or some liminal space
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u/thesilverywyvern 1h ago
Actually wolfwalker just use traditionnal trope of werewolves. It's not subversion of the trope just az return to some of it's forgotten roots.
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u/FlusteredCustard13 1h ago
The vampires in The Strain. On one hand, they are hurt by silver and IV light. On the other, they are virus incarnate, have stingers in their mouths, have the vampirism transmitted via worms, and are downright animalistic if not elevated to higher intelligence by the Ancient they descend from. Certain folklore is from misunderstandings, such as the belief they turn into bats or wolves stemming from those animals fleeing caves that vampires took shelter in.
To go further, in the original novels (and I think implied in the series though not explicitly shown) the seven Ancients are all pieces of a ripped apart angel. One of the angels sent to Sodom decided to try murdering and feasting on the blood of a woman and was condemned to be ripped apart. Six of the Ancients were from the angels limbs and wings and the Master (the big bad of the series who wishes to dominate the humans and the other vampires) was born of the angel's head and torso.
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u/ejdj1011 50m ago
Dragons, in the Cosmere.
True dragons have a lot of the hallmarks of western dragon tropes. Big lizards, four legs, two wings. They can shapeshift into a human form. But they have a lot of magical abilities unique to the setting.
They can form bonds with mortal worshippers, allowing them to literally hear prayers made to them. They can also send emotional support back along the bond.
Their horns, claws, and maybe bones are made of a magical metal simply called Dragonsteel. Their bones can also be used by mortals as telepathic communication devices. This communication is FTL and functions across astronomical distances.
Dragons are also extraordinarily dense with magical energy, which passively shields them from most magical effect. They might be able to emit this energy has their version of breathing fire, but that's unclear.
There are also "lesser" dragons, creatures made in the image of dragons by the creator deity or one of its successors. One such species are the lanceryn, flying insect / crustacean like creatures that consume and metabolize magical energy to grow to immense sizes.
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u/Hillbilly_Historian 41m ago
The werewolf lore in Wolfwalkers does actually have traditional precedence.
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u/arcticwolf1452 7m ago
Im gona go against the grain here, but i honestly kinda hate this, most of the time, the "Unique take" often enough just misses the point of the creature they are using.
Essentially, Unique dose not nessicerally mean good.....
HOWEVER. basicay every monster that appears in The Witcher 3. Just the right balance of folklore and subversion.
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u/Masamundane 2h ago
"Hey, remember how you were told vampires die in sunlight? Wrong! They sparkle!"
Also, anyone who wants to watch the greatest comedy of all time needs to watch Twilight with the Riff Trax audio.
(Twilight, film, 2008)
https://giphy.com/gifs/1dNbY2YLexjeekiWtt