The Justice League transformed into a troop of gorillas once, and the X-Men even became a whole menagerie of zoo animals. Neither makeover was nearly as metal as the one artist Lynton Levengood deigns upon a smorgasbord of Marvel and DC familiars in his gallery. Indeed, if Disney princesses can enlist in Warhammer, why can’t superheroes and supervillains be dragons? From Batman to Iron Man, Levengood vividly illustrates how these characters would look as fire-breathing reptiles, trading spandex for scales and billowy capes for spiky wings.
What’s most impressive is how all the characters’ personalities persist through the mutation. Scroll this sampling and see Batman as a brooding blue dragon, and Nightcrawler as a cavalier dragon in a puff of purple smoke. Contrast the anger of the Hulk dragon with the Venom dragon’s more insidious malice.
Thunder lizards are very much Levengood’s forte, and his blog/portfolio–titled the Modern Dragon–features these creatures in almost every situation and permutation. His Patreon goes even deeper, with prints and even coloring books featuring these terrible, beautiful beasts.
There are plenty of pieces depicting dragons as fearsome and majestic animals of the air, but it’s the ones showing them as small, quirky characters which are even more delightful. These are less about awe and more about “Awww…” Anybody who ever wondered what cute between-the-scenes shenanigans might’ve occured during the early months of Daenerys Stormborn single motherhood should scroll below. Go on and giggle at the lil’ dragons getting into scraps with junk food, and grin at the lil’ dragon getting spooked by his own reflection, and nod warmly as one chubby dragon unsuccessfully tries to fit in with a couple basic pigeons.
Which dragon here has seized your imagination? What other pop characters might look that much cooler as winged lizards? Fill the talkback with your thoughts!
Image Credits: Lynton Levengood