 Deadly Nadder
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| Information | |||
| Class | |||
| Fire Type | Magnesium fire
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| Appearance | |||
| Features | Nasal horn
Spiky crown Spiny tail Beak-like upper jaw Overbite | ||
| Abilities | Spine shot
Incredible sense of smell Enhanced speed Prehensile tail | ||
| Colors | Variety of colors
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| Size | Medium: 32 feet 6 inches (9.91 meters) long
11 feet 6 inches (3.52 meters) tall | ||
| Food | Chicken
Fish Mutton Plants Yak | ||
| Habitat | Forests
Caves Mountains | ||
| Trainable | Yes
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| Statistics | |||
 Attack
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10
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 Speed
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8
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 Armor
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16
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 Shot Limit
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6
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 Venom
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16
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 Jaw Strength
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5
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| Known Dragons | |||
| Individuals |
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Deadly Nadder is a species of Dragon that belongs in the Tracker Class. Astrid owns one of these.
Description
A Deadly Nadder is basically the "basic" dragon of training dragons. A Nadder is equipped with razor sharp spikes on their tails. Some Nadders can be very colorful in skin. The blind spot of a Deadly Nadder is right in front of their noses.
Abilities
They are one of the most beautiful of the dragons, but also one of the deadliest. According to Astrid, they are very intelligent. In Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 5, Stormfly demonstrated a special type of fire that looks like a welding torch.
Firepower
Before Fireworms were added to the franchise, Nadders had the hottest fire of all dragon species and still have one of the hottest. It's been said that the Nadder's fire is hot enough to melt metal and turn Vikings into ash. Stormfly also has been seen melting solid rocks within seconds and is able to use a type of fire similar to a Razorwhip. Stormfly has been witnessed shooting an intense, blinding white fire that appears to be even hotter than the normal Nadder fire. Some Deadly Nadders have also been seen shooting green fire.
Spine Shot and Single Spine shot
The Deadly Nadder also has at its disposal, a tail that is covered in bristling deadly venomous spikes, which are used as projectiles to stun or immobilize its prey. Its tail spikes are its preferred weapon (probably due to the aforementioned blind spot). It can launch its tail spikes with devastating speed and accuracy.
This has been shown by Snotlout Jorgenson when he exchanged dragons with Astrid. Snotlout placed a hand on Stormfly's neck, just behind the crown of spikes. This caused her to fire a single spine shot that had such great accuracy to even slice another spine through the middle. This could be the secret ability of Nadders as Stormfly seem to be surprised herself to have this ability. Perhaps it is one of the secrets that Valka had mentioned in How to Train Your Dragon 2. Their spines are so sharp, they are made into spears by the Dragon Hunters.
As seen in "Dragon Flower", when under the effect of the Blue Oleander flower, a Deadly Nadder will even shoot its tail spines when it sneezes.
Venom
It has never been confirmed how venomous a Deadly Nadder's spikes are, and what the exact effects are. In "The Night and the Fury", Dagur says he got hit in the leg by one, but his leg appears to be just fine. The Dragon Eye also indicates that their sharp teeth are venomous as well. It is possible that the venom from both teeth and spines increases the pain like a Gila Monster's does. This can be evidenced in when Stormfly hits Bolt & Float on accident, and they start ailing and look exhausted. The same with Windshear in "Maces and Talons, Part 1" as she fell immediately out of the sky.
Speed and Agility
Deadly Nadders are extremely fast both on land and in the air. Astrid's dragon, Stormfly, rivaled even Toothless in speed. Astrid discovered that, when put on a diet of chicken, the Nadder's speed increases greatly, but it is implied to only be temporarily. They are also quite agile and well-balanced, as Stormfly demonstrated in Trick Contests, and in the first movie in the Arena. They are shown by Flystorm to run slightly faster than other dragons on land such as the Scauldron, Changewing, and the Whispering Death.
Prehensile Tail
Stormfly has proven for their kind to be able to use their tail to grip onto Vikings, as it is strong enough to hold the weight of a Dragon Hunter.
Senses
In terms of behavior, the Deadly Nadder is very fast and dangerous, though its potency as a hunter is hindered by the blind spot directly above its nose (possibly due to its large horn). As a result, the dragon relies on its keen sense of smell and hearing, often instead of its binocular vision, in order to find its prey. Their great sense of smell was the reason they were reclassified as Tracker Class dragons. Baby Nadders can smell a human from one hundred feet away, although it is currently unknown if the distance increases as they mature. Stormfly has been shown to be able to smell a wild Triple Stryke before anyone else had even seen the dragon in question. They also have excellent hearing as Stormfly was able to hear the Twins fighting despite it occuring right in her blindspot.
Strength and Combat
Nadders have shown to have great strength as they can hold Vikings' weight on their back with no sign of struggle. Flystorm was strong enough to carry Gobber the Belch and Mildew at the same time and still matched the speed of the other dragons. Also, they can carry heavy loads such as a heavy metal, even dragon-proof cages with dragons like the Snow Wraith inside as Stormfly did with the extra weight of Astrid. Also, a Deadly Nadder like Stormfly can carry the weight of a 5,000 lb Monstrous Nightmare like Hookfang with the extra weight of a rider.
Nadders are proven to be great combat dragons as seen with Deadly Nadders, like Stormfly, able to fight against Monstrous Nightmares like Hookfang.
Endurance and Stamina
Their endurance and stamina are high. These dragons can run and fly for long distances. In the first film, a Nadder was able to take on an attack from Stoick the Vast when he threw a heavy cart at its body. It was still able to fly well afterward.
Talon Snatching
Deadly Nadders are shown to be able to grab objects or prey items with precision accuracy similar to a bird of prey.
Weaknesses
Blind Spot
| “ | Look for its blind spot! Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike! | ” |
| — Gobber explaining how a Nadder relies on other senses to make up for its blind-spot |
Nadders have a blind spot right in front of their nose, as it does not possess a binocular vision. By staying in its blind-spot, most trainers, or hunters, can carefully evade this dragon's gaze.
Food Motivation
Trained Nadders are easily bribed with chicken. When these weaknesses are used, this dragon could potentially fall under the influence of others, be it good or bad.
Behavior and Personality
| “ | If there's one thing you don't want, it's an angry Nadder. [src] | ” |
| — Astrid |
The Deadly Nadder is one of the most beautiful dragons, and unfortunately, it knows it. It is well-known for its vanity; it constantly grooms itself to stay clean and maintain the luster of its scales. Like the Night Fury, the Deadly Nadder is a picky eater whose diet comprises mostly of poultry and is allergic to domesticated hoofed animals. Nadders also eat a significant amount of fish and even graze on plants, as seen in the episode, "Crushing It". However, when it is trained, it becomes very affectionate. These dragons also love to play fetch.
Deadly Nadders are intelligent, but tend to also be flighty - anxious, especially when in the wild. Nadders are so intelligent that some wild populations like the Nimble Nadder have even learned how to use tools and teach tool use to their young.
Despite being vain and skittish, female Nadders have shown strong mothering behavior, so strong that many individuals have even tended to babies not of their own species. This behavior has been demonstrated in Stormfly as well as Fireshrike. It is even shown in Rise of Berk that they will adopt even the eggs of hostile species such the Changewings.
Springshedder provides some evidence that Deadly Nadders shed scales at least once a year during the Spring when the weather starts to warm up.
Training
To train a Deadly Nadder, one must very carefully approach the dragon from its tail. Then, you must gently smooth its spikes down. In addition, one can also train a Nadder by sneaking up on its blind spot, then scratching its chin affectionately.
Like all dragons, relationships are built on trust. By showing an aggressive dragon that you mean no harm, and are not much different from them, Nadders will grow to accept you. Nadders that have bonded with their riders will bond with others. As Stormfly proven this for her kind that people other then their owner such as Heather can be bond easily with Stormfly if they feed them food, mostly their favorite like chicken. But Nadders are still loyal to their original riders.
Appearances
Dragons: Riders of Berk
Main article: Bork Week Nadders
- Main article: Flystorm
A Nadder is seen trying to grab a lady's bread. Hiccup attempts to train it, but a Gronckle startles it and the Nadders goes out of control again in "How to Start a Dragon Academy".
In "We Are Family, Part 1", Astrid trained a special group of Nadders to parade the island during Bork Week.
In "We Are Family, Part 2", Mildew trained a Deadly Nadder called Flystorm with the help of Hiccup. Flystorm helped the pair find Toothless and escape Outcast Island.
Dragons: Defenders of Berk
Astrid met a wild Nadder on Dragon Island during the events of "The Night and the Fury", while it attempted to attack her, she skillfully stayed in its blind spot and evaded its attack.
The gang is doing a dragon migration survey in "Appetite for Destruction", where they tag native dragons like Nadders with colors. Many wild dragons, including Nadders, from different islands, are fleeing from their homes. They later realized that the Screaming Death attacks islands by tunneling through them and sinking them. To defeat it, Astrid along with the other riders, round up as many wild dragons as they can. The Nadders help chase the Screaming Death away by firing and shooting it with their spines.
Dragons: Race to the Edge
Season 1
- Main article: Ambered Nadder
- Main article: Edge Nadder
A Nadder is seen coated in Death Song amber on Melody Island in "Imperfect Harmony". It had been lured there and captured by the Death Song as its next meal.
A group of Edge Nadders were seen in "Crushing It" enjoying a meal before being scared away by a wild Rumblehorn.
Season 2
- Main article: Kingstail
- Main article: Scardian
Spitelout Jorgenson trained a Nadder called Kingstail in "Team Astrid" and he has become his faithful dragon ever since.
During the events of "Edge of Disaster, Parts One and Two", several Nadders and other dragons were first seen raiding Trader Johann's ship, where they kidnapped Fishlegs. On a mission to save him, Hiccup and Snotlout sneak onto their island, only to find an entire team of wild dragons, marred with scars from a hunter, residing there. Fishlegs was treated as an outcast there, the leader, Scardian, was very wary of him but trusted him after seeing him save a baby Gronckle from choking. When the others rescued him, Scardian led his pack to attack. Hiccup then led him to a single sea stack, where he showed him his Dragon Fly and showed Scardian that they weren't that different after all. They then headed back to the Edge to aid in the battle.
Season 3
- Main article: Steeltrap
The Riders relocated several groups of Nadders from their migration in "To Heather or Not to Heather".
A fighter Nadder, Steeltrap, is seen fighting in the dragon fights during the events of "Stryke Out". Hiccup attempted to train him by staying in his blind spot and scratching his chin. When he gained Steeltrap's trust, he requested his help to break a Razorwhip's manacle free. When they busted out of the arena together, Steeltrap helped chase the Hunters and their spectators away and flew away with his newly gained freedom.
A captured Deadly Nadder was freed by the Dragon Riders in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 1".
Season 5
A group of Deadly Nadders were lured and trapped by a Death Song controlled by the Dragon Hunters in "Living on the Edge".
In "A Matter of Perspective", the Dragon Riders travel to Vanaheim, the final resting place of the dragons. There, they find tombs of different dragon species, including one of the Deadly Nadder.
Season 6
Many Deadly Nadders were summoned by the Berserker Bewilderbeast during the final battle in "King of Dragons, Part 2". They helped the dragon by fighting the Dragon Flyers and the Dragon Hunters.
Gallery
Trivia
- Their fire is so hot, it burns like the surface of the sun!
- Sometimes Nadder's rely on their Spikes more than their Firepower like Stormfly.
- The official measurements of the Deadly Nadder, as released by DreamWorks Animation are 30 feet (9.14 meters) in length, and 42 feet (12.8 meters) in wingspan.
- The Deadly Nadder hatchlings differ in appearance throughout the series. Like in most other dragons, it has really short wings compared to body size in School of Dragons and a somewhat larger wing-to-body ratio in Dragons: Rise of Berk. The ones depicted in Gift of the Night Fury look like smaller versions of the parents, but possessing a larger head and slightly bigger eyes. The ones depicted in promotional TV spots for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World possess a kangaroo-like posture, a spikeless tail, and a smooth body with the exception of a frill consisting of a small number of blunt spikes and a few running down the back. The head is flatter and the eyes are enormous. The mouth lacks any teeth and the tail is short and stubby.
- It’s possible that the smaller baby Nadders are hatchlings (Tiny Tooths) while the larger and more developed ones are juveniles (Short Wings).
- A Deadly Nadder made a brief appearance in the DreamWorks short Almost Home, though it was just its foot. It is shown swooping down and carrying away one of Captain Smek's assistants while they scout for a suitable home planet.
- Deadly Nadders, particularly Stormfly, were purposely made to fly much faster than their average speed in Dragons: Riders of Berk and Dragons: Defenders of Berk. This was shown multiple times such as when Stormfly easily catches up with the Screaming Death while it was chasing Hiccup, and when Stormfly flew faster than Toothless to catch up with the Skrill.
- When a Deadly Nadder eats chicken, its speed increases, to the point where it is said it could go faster than a Night Fury. However, this level of speed has never been proved.
- Deadly Nadders are shown to be facultative carnivorous (can eat both meat and plants, but prefers meat) in the episodes "How to Start a Dragon Academy" and "Crushing It" and in the Book of Dragons short, where they are seen eating fern-like plants.
- Stormfly is also shown to like eating chicken, though she prefers only cooked chicken and does not bother live ones (like Tuffnut's pet).
- The meaning of "Nadder" is actually snake in Middle English.
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