The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: TarkanDragon on December 20, 2022, 12:42:54 AM

Title: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: TarkanDragon on December 20, 2022, 12:42:54 AM
Yeah I know I've came across a conversation about G1 Spike looked more lizard like. Though honestly not gonna lie but I guess it also make sense since he's a baby dragon and all but then again I've at one point have talked about the Spike's family expansion in my last topic about "what if Weston kept appearing in other episodes" as well...

But what got me thinking about what kind/type of Dragon is G1 Spike?

Though some people have compared him to a Monitor Lizard since Monitor Lizards have ears but not exactly like the "Cat ears" that Spike have:
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I mean to me I think he would be that type but then again I always think of a "Cat-like Dragon" for some wild reason.

But honestly I know that I'm not the only one who actually think about Spike being a "Cat-like Dragon" there's other dragons I've thought of fitting types at one point.

Like the Dragon Gang in "Spike's Search":
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The appearances of the Dragon gang does have an Alligator-like appearance (also more of like King Koopa from SMBSS) so I've thought of them to be like "Alligator-type Dragons"

And there's also a dragon that has wings in one of the episodes but honestly nobody at one point talked about "The Monster" :
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I know this is mostly a random thing to bring up and I've been quiet for the most of my months due to school and such.

But if there's anyone to know an answer for this question let me know in the replies.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: dragglereeka on December 20, 2022, 04:14:48 AM
I'm afraid I don't have any info on Spike's canon description however for me, I've always seen him as a Drake dragon as he doesn't have wings
This kinda stuff is really interesting to me, I'll keep an eye on the thread :wow:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on December 20, 2022, 06:37:13 AM
He's a baby dragon! :silly:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Cbaird on December 20, 2022, 09:33:29 AM
Based on a fact file card G1 Spike was female.   
http://mlpfactfile.blogspot.com/2013/05/dream-castle.html
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Gator on December 20, 2022, 09:37:09 AM
I have always thought of him in simple terms as a land dragon.  I know that’s not cannon, but I always think of them as land, air, ice, water, etc., with other sub-types, such as a fire breathing land dragon.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: brightberry on December 20, 2022, 11:01:37 AM
I never thought a lot about it.  But, I assumed he was from an extremely rare, magical and slow growing species.  He could always sprout wings and have his ears change as he aged.  He might even change color.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on December 20, 2022, 11:07:09 AM
Based on a fact file card G1 Spike was female.   
http://mlpfactfile.blogspot.com/2013/05/dream-castle.html

Huh, I never noticed that. Must be a goof though, everything else has him as male. The fact file did have some errors i.e. purple Minty (https://mlpfactfile.blogspot.com/2011/07/minty.html) ;)
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Cbaird on December 20, 2022, 11:11:44 AM
That is what I first thought, that the editors made an error.   
The other thought is they changed it for the cartoon because Spike was not girly enough name (even for the 1980's)
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on December 20, 2022, 12:24:04 PM
Nah, he was always meant to be a boy, the instructions for Dream Castle (http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/File:DreamCastleInstructions2.jpg) call him "he".

I'd bet the fact file editors messed it up cause the wording isn't very clear - it took me a few readthroughs before I realized "she often takes them for a tour.." meant Spike and not Majesty. I could easily see it originally saying 'he', an editor glancing over it and thinking it was calling Majesty a 'he', and "fixing" it.

(Aside: Those instructions are delightful. I didn't realize the dragon portrait sticker in Dream Castle was meant to be a portrait of Spike's grandma!!!)
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on December 20, 2022, 03:02:55 PM
I never thought about it much, but I think it could be either the dragon gang or the dragon “monster”. Based on physical traits (ears, those horny protrusions on the spine and nose shape), I might be inclined to say spike is the latter, or at least closer to the latter than the dragon gang. While we don’t know much of anything about dragon development in pony land, it is possible spike would grow wings as he matures (maybe not as dramatically a transformation as his g4 counterpart) and eventually become more like the “monster” dragon. It is also possible spike simply lacks the wings that other members of his kind have. We know little of his time before the ponies other than he was in the care of Scorpan. Maybe he just could be an anomaly in that regard.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: stjarne on December 20, 2022, 03:09:29 PM
i never thought about this- same with G3 spike. i will say though, he does remind me a LOT of the dragons from Dragon Tales.  :P
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Leave a Whisper on December 20, 2022, 06:37:50 PM
A pank dragon. He just looks like a generic dragon to me, minus the wings.

i never thought about this- same with G3 spike. i will say though, he does remind me a LOT of the dragons from Dragon Tales.  :P

I always felt that whoever made Dragon Tales was inspired by Spike.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: TarkanDragon on December 21, 2022, 04:59:22 AM
I never thought a lot about it.  But, I assumed he was from an extremely rare, magical and slow growing species.  He could always sprout wings and have his ears change as he aged.  He might even change color.

Possible though he's been growing up slowly but then again might be possible.

Based on a fact file card G1 Spike was female.   
http://mlpfactfile.blogspot.com/2013/05/dream-castle.html

Spike was not female. And I've never mentioned about his gender since I know he's male. Though one time in one of the episodes he had lashes for a few seconds... But really Spike was not female to begin with, period.

I never thought about it much, but I think it could be either the dragon gang or the dragon “monster”. Based on physical traits (ears, those horny protrusions on the spine and nose shape), I might be inclined to say spike is the latter, or at least closer to the latter than the dragon gang. While we don’t know much of anything about dragon development in pony land, it is possible spike would grow wings as he matures (maybe not as dramatically a transformation as his g4 counterpart) and eventually become more like the “monster” dragon. It is also possible spike simply lacks the wings that other members of his kind have. We know little of his time before the ponies other than he was in the care of Scorpan. Maybe he just could be an anomaly in that regard.

I might doubt about him giving a monster personality when he matures but then again I at one point didn't include about Spike's Parents from a bit we see in Spike's search episode to this topic.

I mean I would say that from this "re-imagined" spikes parents would be actually true that dragons like when they're adults they would look like this:
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Then again I think maybe if the monster would be some what also be related to Spike's Species in theory then alright. Also one more thing to mention is during the development of Escape of the midnight castle, Spike originally was going to have wings.

i never thought about this- same with G3 spike. i will say though, he does remind me a LOT of the dragons from Dragon Tales.  :P

Honestly I thought of it as well though I've never mentioned about G3 spike but yeah...


I know this is my response to some of the replies of theories that people have said. (Sorry I'd I missed any more) But honestly we're might be starting to look deeper about it.

And oh one more response to this:
I'm afraid I don't have any info on Spike's canon description however for me, I've always seen him as a Drake dragon as he doesn't have wings
This kinda stuff is really interesting to me, I'll keep an eye on the thread :wow:
Yeah it might be tricky to het Spike's canon description. Also thanks. I mean I've find this interesting too.

Hopefully maybe  we could continue this topic as long as this is active and does not lock up like last time. And maybe get the most answers as possible. Because I'm starting get even more curious about the theories and also find out the canon description to G1 Spike.

So yeah. in a way thanks. And sorry to burst most of the weirdness.

So any more answers or theories that you guys could think of for G1 Spike's species type?
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on December 21, 2022, 07:04:31 AM
To be honest, I doubt there IS a "canon" or official answer beyond just "a baby dragon". I don't imagine they really thought about it that much?
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: TarkanDragon on December 21, 2022, 07:12:52 AM
To be honest, I doubt there IS a "canon" or official answer beyond just "a baby dragon". I don't imagine they really thought about it that much?

Well there are different kinds of Dragons but honestly if there isn't any info about answer beyond just "a baby dragon". But honestly some of us or most G1 fans watched the cartoon and sometimes they think there's more behind it. I mean I would doubt it as well but my curiosity strike in with this question about Spike's design and which kind of dragons is Spike.

Then again like Danny once said about that there's different types of Ponies like Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth ponies... And maybe Dragons would be the same as well. (that's also got into my curiosity about what kind of dragon type is G1 Spike.)

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I know I answered early because I was still online but then again I at one point also would like to clarify one thing about that question that I had in my head. (sorry if it's seems random but I know sometimes that happens.)
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: LadyMoondancer on December 21, 2022, 07:20:12 AM
IIRC there was a VHS cover of Rescue at Midnight Castle or Escape from Katrina where Spike had wings and a boy was riding on his back. (Maybe prototype Danny?)  It would have been fun if he'd grown wings as the cartoon went along.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on December 22, 2022, 09:23:04 PM
I feel like I should clarify, I don’t mean spike being more like the monster dragon in personality, but more so in physical characteristics. Spike is still an individual, and so can develop his own personality. Spike and the monster might be the same or closely related species, but they are two different individuals.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Crystal-Sushi on December 24, 2022, 02:06:12 AM
It's only after reading these posts that I realise how odd it is that Spike has ears! I just never questioned it before haha  ^.^

Interestingly G2 Princess Silver Swirl's dragon friend also has ears (and wings!) so same species?

I propose that Spike (and the aforementioned dragon) are a sort of 'domesticated' dragon breed - kind of like in domestic dogs/cats we humans tend to breed them to have features we find cute (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love) ), so Spikes' particular kind of dragon may have been bred to have ears (along with large eyes and maybe small stature?) for this reason, because it's cute and emotive to ponies/humans haha.

You could also add in that (in animated canon at least) he originally lived with Scorpan, who was a prince, and royalty were the ones to first start breeding regular dogs into lapdog breeds (see Pekingese and Italian Greyhounds) so you could make that connection also? Idk, that's just my theory haha :heart:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: TarkanDragon on December 26, 2022, 11:14:09 AM
It's only after reading these posts that I realise how odd it is that Spike has ears! I just never questioned it before haha  ^.^

Interestingly G2 Princess Silver Swirl's dragon friend also has ears (and wings!) so same species?

I propose that Spike (and the aforementioned dragon) are a sort of 'domesticated' dragon breed - kind of like in domestic dogs/cats we humans tend to breed them to have features we find cute (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love) ), so Spikes' particular kind of dragon may have been bred to have ears (along with large eyes and maybe small stature?) for this reason, because it's cute and emotive to ponies/humans haha.

You could also add in that (in animated canon at least) he originally lived with Scorpan, who was a prince, and royalty were the ones to first start breeding regular dogs into lapdog breeds (see Pekingese and Italian Greyhounds) so you could make that connection also? Idk, that's just my theory haha :heart:

Honestly I never ever thought about that. It's really a good theory and I like it. I mean somewhat it made sense about Spike's time with Scorpan. Though honestly I wish I have anything that would connect more to a domestic dragon type of thing. However I've also never brought up G2's dragon at one point but wish G2 show atleast have showed a dragon character that is like a baby dragon as well...

Not sure if there's anything else to add to this topic but then again so far I'm still waiting how other theories would there be. Sorry if I'm at one point been getting to like get more attention but honestly I want to hear more about this and see what other people have in mind and maybe we could get an answer for it at one point.
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Crystal-Sushi on January 01, 2023, 06:08:13 PM
It's only after reading these posts that I realise how odd it is that Spike has ears! I just never questioned it before haha  ^.^

Interestingly G2 Princess Silver Swirl's dragon friend also has ears (and wings!) so same species?

I propose that Spike (and the aforementioned dragon) are a sort of 'domesticated' dragon breed - kind of like in domestic dogs/cats we humans tend to breed them to have features we find cute (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love (https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-pet-sitting/71-dog-neoteny-puppy-love) ), so Spikes' particular kind of dragon may have been bred to have ears (along with large eyes and maybe small stature?) for this reason, because it's cute and emotive to ponies/humans haha.

You could also add in that (in animated canon at least) he originally lived with Scorpan, who was a prince, and royalty were the ones to first start breeding regular dogs into lapdog breeds (see Pekingese and Italian Greyhounds) so you could make that connection also? Idk, that's just my theory haha :heart:

Honestly I never ever thought about that. It's really a good theory and I like it. I mean somewhat it made sense about Spike's time with Scorpan. Though honestly I wish I have anything that would connect more to a domestic dragon type of thing. However I've also never brought up G2's dragon at one point but wish G2 show atleast have showed a dragon character that is like a baby dragon as well...

Not sure if there's anything else to add to this topic but then again so far I'm still waiting how other theories would there be. Sorry if I'm at one point been getting to like get more attention but honestly I want to hear more about this and see what other people have in mind and maybe we could get an answer for it at one point.

Aww thanks haha! I just remembered that in the UK, the Princess Ponies came with dragon attendants instead of Bushwoolies too (https://www.etherella.com/scrapbook2/1987_princessponies.htm) so I guess that further adds to the royal connection?

The only animated G2 media we got are the cutscenes for the PC game unfortunately, I think the lack of animated media is partially due to the fact that the line was only distributed in the US for 1 1/2 years (the line ran for 7 years in total but was exclusive to Europe) and during this time period 'toytoons' seemed to be more of an American thing?  :P

Either way it's pretty neat that we have a dragon in one form or another existing in all 5 'proper' MLP generations ('proper' not counting any of the .5 gens)  ^.^
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: dippindot on April 24, 2023, 12:04:31 PM
Hopefully 4 months isn't too long to ressurect a thread, because I started looking into this last night and now I have OPINIONS about this topic  :whoa:

Warning: Overthinking and pictures ahead, strap yourselves in

Disclaimer: I stand by none of my theories, I think Spike is whatever kind of dragon is the most fun!

That said, someone had to design the little guy. What might they have had in mind with his design? Why does he have ears? Why no wings? Why was he living with Tirac before the ponies came along? Maybe he's just a generic 80's fantasy dragon hodgepodge? They were selling toys, so they might not have been that invested in Spike's specifics (but I sure am going to be, lol)

I started by looking at Rescue at Midnight Castle from 1984, since far as I can tell, that's Spike's first appearance (unless he was a toy before then, in which case  :shrug:)

I spied 4 names of interest in the credits:

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Animation Supervisor
John Ahern

Model Design
Takashi
George Goode
Jerry Eisenberg

My guess is that these guys would have had a say in the design of the characters. I'm sure there were people from Hasbro with fingers in the mix as well, but I have no idea who how or when, so I'll stick with these fellas.

Takashi right off the bat is kind of a bust because they didn't credit his surname, so lets set him aside for the moment.

IMDB time!

Ahern is pretty interesting on his own as an animator; he was an inbetweener and assistant animator on tons of Disney films, all the way back to Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty! He was also an animator on a 1978 film called Metamorphoses, which we'll come back to. For our purposes, I think the most relevant credit is in 1983 - animation supervisor for a Dungeons & Dragons animated TV show.

For reference:
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Moving on to George Goode, I see a familiar credit - 1983, Dungeons & Dragons.

Jerry Eisenberg... No D&D. Hm. But he DID work on Metamorphoses.

What the heck kind of movie is that, anyways? I pull up Metamorphoses and what's this?
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Who is this director? Takashi Masunaga? Is that OUR Takashi?

Yes, yes it is. Model designer for My Little Pony Tales AND 1983 Dungeons & Dragons.

To recap, we have 4 guys responsible for animation and model design who have worked together before, and 3 who worked together on a Dungeon's and Dragons animated show. I think at this point we can safely say that there's a good, solid chance that they are aware of D&D specific dragons and draconic creatures, AND that that knowledge may have worked it's way into Spike's designs.

Drake would a very valid choice for Spike's creature type. It's a dragon type creature with four legs and no wings that fits his description very well. But Spike is always saying he's a baby DRAGON, so for his sake, I'm going to keep looking for a dragon.

Of course, that wouldn't be a dragon from the current list of a bajillion dragons that D&D has these days, it would be whatever they had available in 1983-1984.

To the Internet Archive!

Specifically, to the Monster Manual II, published in 83.
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Look at this guy!
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Look at those ears! and those spikes! and that boxy nose!

I'm sold, I think Spike is a shadow dragon, personally.

But let's KEEP GOING! To some still unanswered questions.

Why doesn't Spike have wings?
Your mileage may vary depending on your willingness to go with G4 explanations for a G1 character, but I'm inclined to think it's because he's a baby. He'll molt one day and get wings like he did in G4.
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But he could also be a drake, or a dragon-drake hybrid, or any other explanation that is cool.

More critically, I'd say Spike doesn't have wings because that would have made him a terrible hostage in Rescue at Midnight Castle.

Why does he have cute little ears?
I haven't watched all of the D&D cartoon, but I think we can pick up some design cues just from the dragon on the cover, specifically THIS guy -
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who has what looks very much like ears to me. Maybe they are horns. Maybe they are frills. But ear-like protrusions seem to be perfectly acceptable for this big honking hydra dragon monstrosity, as well as for the shadow dragon artwork in the official D&D monster manual, so I'm just going to conclude that dragons can have ears.

But why are his ears so cute and cat-like?
More to they point, I think they are cute and pony-like, in the pony show for little kids who like ponies, so my personal opinion is just that they were made cute and triangular to better match the style of the show. That's pretty meta and not much of an in-universe explanation though, so go wild!

In conclusion, if anyone wants references for Spike as an adult dragon/drake, I think it's a great idea to look at Dungeons & Dragons in general for inspiration, and the 1983 animated show specifically.

 :coffee:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Leave a Whisper on April 24, 2023, 12:11:14 PM
Neat detective work Crystal
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on April 24, 2023, 01:02:58 PM
Spike's toy came before the cartoon, yeah. I'm not sure if any of the characters that exist in both the toyline AND the cartoon, were designed for the cartoon first. Maybe the Bushwoolies?

(oh, and the Furbobs - their toys were cancelled - but didn't the timing there suggest they were created for the cartoon and then adopted by Hasbro, or am I misremembering?)

But yeah, it'd be a Hasbro designer that came up with Spike, though of course the cartoon peeps had to adapt his design. It wouldn't surprise me if their take on the character had some influence from the D&D cartoon, I think other people on here (who've actually watched the D&D toon, lol) said Twilight's teleportation ability is likely inspired by Uni?
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: dippindot on April 24, 2023, 01:11:06 PM
Spike's toy came before the cartoon, yeah.

Well it was a fun theory while it lasted   :sad:

Post Merge: April 24, 2023, 01:20:11 PM

New theory: someone at Hasbro color inverted Pete's Dragon and left the wings off to save plastic?  :yikes:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: LadyMoondancer on April 24, 2023, 03:14:33 PM
Yeah, the character designs were based on the toys in G1.  But if you watch the D&D cartoon episode "Valley of the Unicorns" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zbu106I8G4&ab_channel=Dungeons%26DragonsTV) you can see some influence for the setting.

- beautiful pastoral valley which is the home of magical equines
- rainbow waterfall, just like in Rescue at Midnight Castle
- D&D unicorns can teleport, which I presume is why Twilight (and, later, all G1 unicorns) had this power. Even the sound effect is the same.

Maybe MLP 'n Friends was set in D&D all along, it would explain all the monsters. :P
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: dippindot on April 24, 2023, 07:17:28 PM
Do either of you happen to  know when exactly the first Spike toy was introduced? I wanted to look that up when I started getting interested in this discussion, but I couldn’t think of where to start looking for that info
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Leave a Whisper on April 24, 2023, 10:25:55 PM
Yeah, the character designs were based on the toys in G1.  But if you watch the D&D cartoon episode "Valley of the Unicorns" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zbu106I8G4&ab_channel=Dungeons%26DragonsTV) you can see some influence for the setting.

- beautiful pastoral valley which is the home of magical equines
- rainbow waterfall, just like in Rescue at Midnight Castle
- D&D unicorns can teleport, which I presume is why Twilight (and, later, all G1 unicorns) had this power. Even the sound effect is the same.

Maybe MLP 'n Friends was set in D&D all along, it would explain all the monsters. :P


 :thumb:
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: TarkanDragon on May 22, 2023, 04:10:59 AM
Wow. After a month I can't believe that this is resurrected and finally give some answers almost.

Hopefully 4 months isn't too long to ressurect a thread, because I started looking into this last night and now I have OPINIONS about this topic  :whoa:

Warning: Overthinking and pictures ahead, strap yourselves in

Disclaimer: I stand by none of my theories, I think Spike is whatever kind of dragon is the most fun!

That said, someone had to design the little guy. What might they have had in mind with his design? Why does he have ears? Why no wings? Why was he living with Tirac before the ponies came along? Maybe he's just a generic 80's fantasy dragon hodgepodge? They were selling toys, so they might not have been that invested in Spike's specifics (but I sure am going to be, lol)

I started by looking at Rescue at Midnight Castle from 1984, since far as I can tell, that's Spike's first appearance (unless he was a toy before then, in which case  :shrug:)

I spied 4 names of interest in the credits:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Animation Supervisor
John Ahern

Model Design
Takashi
George Goode
Jerry Eisenberg

My guess is that these guys would have had a say in the design of the characters. I'm sure there were people from Hasbro with fingers in the mix as well, but I have no idea who how or when, so I'll stick with these fellas.

Takashi right off the bat is kind of a bust because they didn't credit his surname, so lets set him aside for the moment.

IMDB time!

Ahern is pretty interesting on his own as an animator; he was an inbetweener and assistant animator on tons of Disney films, all the way back to Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty! He was also an animator on a 1978 film called Metamorphoses, which we'll come back to. For our purposes, I think the most relevant credit is in 1983 - animation supervisor for a Dungeons & Dragons animated TV show.

For reference:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Moving on to George Goode, I see a familiar credit - 1983, Dungeons & Dragons.

Jerry Eisenberg... No D&D. Hm. But he DID work on Metamorphoses.

What the heck kind of movie is that, anyways? I pull up Metamorphoses and what's this?
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Who is this director? Takashi Masunaga? Is that OUR Takashi?

Yes, yes it is. Model designer for My Little Pony Tales AND 1983 Dungeons & Dragons.

To recap, we have 4 guys responsible for animation and model design who have worked together before, and 3 who worked together on a Dungeon's and Dragons animated show. I think at this point we can safely say that there's a good, solid chance that they are aware of D&D specific dragons and draconic creatures, AND that that knowledge may have worked it's way into Spike's designs.

Drake would a very valid choice for Spike's creature type. It's a dragon type creature with four legs and no wings that fits his description very well. But Spike is always saying he's a baby DRAGON, so for his sake, I'm going to keep looking for a dragon.

Of course, that wouldn't be a dragon from the current list of a bajillion dragons that D&D has these days, it would be whatever they had available in 1983-1984.

To the Internet Archive!

Specifically, to the Monster Manual II, published in 83.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Look at this guy!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Look at those ears! and those spikes! and that boxy nose!

I'm sold, I think Spike is a shadow dragon, personally.

But let's KEEP GOING! To some still unanswered questions.

Why doesn't Spike have wings?
Your mileage may vary depending on your willingness to go with G4 explanations for a G1 character, but I'm inclined to think it's because he's a baby. He'll molt one day and get wings like he did in G4.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


But he could also be a drake, or a dragon-drake hybrid, or any other explanation that is cool.

More critically, I'd say Spike doesn't have wings because that would have made him a terrible hostage in Rescue at Midnight Castle.

Why does he have cute little ears?
I haven't watched all of the D&D cartoon, but I think we can pick up some design cues just from the dragon on the cover, specifically THIS guy -
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who has what looks very much like ears to me. Maybe they are horns. Maybe they are frills. But ear-like protrusions seem to be perfectly acceptable for this big honking hydra dragon monstrosity, as well as for the shadow dragon artwork in the official D&D monster manual, so I'm just going to conclude that dragons can have ears.

But why are his ears so cute and cat-like?
More to they point, I think they are cute and pony-like, in the pony show for little kids who like ponies, so my personal opinion is just that they were made cute and triangular to better match the style of the show. That's pretty meta and not much of an in-universe explanation though, so go wild!

In conclusion, if anyone wants references for Spike as an adult dragon/drake, I think it's a great idea to look at Dungeons & Dragons in general for inspiration, and the 1983 animated show specifically.

 :coffee:

Y'know it's interesting how you at one point find out that MLP G1 and D&D SHARE the same universe. Which also explains why humans were present in G1.
Although I do remember that someone tried to do a cross over of MLP:FIM with D&D: https://friendshipisdragons.thecomicseries.com/

I'd say that maybe MLP G1 would work with a cross over of D&D instead of FIM.

And oh as for Spike... I have never thought about a Shadow dragon would be close to the kind. And I like how somehow you pointed out about ears actually being Pony-like ears which I guess makes sense with trying to match the show's style and I agree... I really loved the MLP G1's style to be more interesting.

Which by the way there was a official D&D MLP crossover toys or boardgame as well.
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Honestly you did a good work with research and all and you really brought something that we didn't even know about.
So Great Job! I'll let everyone else do their theories but honestly this is the most impressive theory or research that someone would ever come up with. So I would props to you that. And also thank you as well.

(also if there's anything more to add about your theory please let me know. I can't wait to hear more as well.)


Spike's toy came before the cartoon, yeah. I'm not sure if any of the characters that exist in both the toyline AND the cartoon, were designed for the cartoon first. Maybe the Bushwoolies?

(oh, and the Furbobs - their toys were cancelled - but didn't the timing there suggest they were created for the cartoon and then adopted by Hasbro, or am I misremembering?)

But yeah, it'd be a Hasbro designer that came up with Spike, though of course the cartoon peeps had to adapt his design. It wouldn't surprise me if their take on the character had some influence from the D&D cartoon, I think other people on here (who've actually watched the D&D toon, lol) said Twilight's teleportation ability is likely inspired by Uni?

Wow. I didn't know Furbobs originally going to have their own toys... but honestly if there is one either if it's a prototype or something then we get more info as well.
although maybe we misremembered but then again if there is a Furbob toy that exists and was never released then it's part of the collective history and also a curtian character that would get a spotlight for a toy.

Yeah I kinda feel like G1 Twilight was inspired by Uni at one point. but yeah...

Yeah, the character designs were based on the toys in G1.  But if you watch the D&D cartoon episode "Valley of the Unicorns" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zbu106I8G4&ab_channel=Dungeons%26DragonsTV) you can see some influence for the setting.

- beautiful pastoral valley which is the home of magical equines
- rainbow waterfall, just like in Rescue at Midnight Castle
- D&D unicorns can teleport, which I presume is why Twilight (and, later, all G1 unicorns) had this power. Even the sound effect is the same.

Maybe MLP 'n Friends was set in D&D all along, it would explain all the monsters. :P

Yeah I thought the same thing. Maybe also MLP 'n Friends and D&D were set in the same universe.


Do either of you happen to  know when exactly the first Spike toy was introduced? I wanted to look that up when I started getting interested in this discussion, but I couldn’t think of where to start looking for that info

If I remember there was a documentary series. and it's "TOYS THAT MADE US" on netflix. Honestly I really like the documentary and somehow I really amused how it was made this franchise.

Though the documentary had not at one point mentioned anything or briefly mentions about D&D.

and great to know that you're interested on this discussion. And as for helping to find info. I suggest maybe do some research of the show and media or such. I couldn't exactly tell what other stuff that may be useful for research. But take dippindot's as an example.. I'm sure you would find something useful.



That's all I have to say right now. I wish you guys luck and also I might be busy so I may not be able to respond. So, keep this discussion going. and good luck out there!
Title: Re: What kind/type of dragon is G1 Spike in theory or canonically?
Post by: Carrehz on May 22, 2023, 07:47:15 AM
The Furbob protos were shown at a Pony Fair a couple of years ago, they were supposed to be attendants for the second set of Princesses (like how the original princesses came with Bushwoolies/baby dragons):

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