This evasive, devious dragon can be a very slithery and tricky opponent. Its two heads can work in tandem (when they want to) to outsmart and attack any foe.[1]
HAH! Factor
TWO HEADS - The two heads each have their own personality. When arguing with itself, the entire beast can stall out, making it completely vulnerable to attack.[2]
AHH! Factor
TWO HEADS - One head produces gas while the other creates a spark. When the two heads combine, it creates a massive explosion of fire. [3]
The Hideous Zippleback is a large, two-headed dragon. It is sly and surprising, but certain noises can confuse it and cause it to entangle its heads.
The dragon has two personalities and two minds, one in each head, and one often argues with the other head The Hideous Zippleback in the training arena
over what to do. This dragon reminds some vikings of bickering siblings when they aren't running away from it. However, its two heads also give it a deadly weapon that is unique from any other dragon species. One of the dragon's heads breathes a green, flammable gas while the other head uses an electrical spark in its mouth to ignite the gas, creating lethal explosions. The Hideous Zippleback's spine has many bright red lobes that run down it. Occasionally the Zippleback will us these to hold it necks together, making it less intimidating. They have serrated fangs which they use to inject venom for predigestion. Its top teeth are much sharper and are all the same size, while its bottom teeth are very long and stick up above its jaw line.
In the film, Hiccup learns from Toothless that most dragons hate eels enough to actually fear them and uses thisRuffnut and Tuffnut on the Hideous Zippleback, when fighting the Red Death
against a Zippleback to scare it back into its den during dragon training. At the end of the movie, a Hideous Zippleback is flown by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Each head seems to agree with one twin.
The official Website describes the Hideous Zippleback as follows: "Of all the dragons that inhabit our world, one of the most unusual and dangerous is the HIDEOUS ZIPPLEBACK. The Zippleback is one of the largest dragons you may ever encounter. It is unmistakable with its twin heads. The heads are distinct, with separate thoughts and different personalities. Like most dragons, Zipplebacks can fly, but their wings are small and they spend most of their time on the ground. Zipplebacks are solitary, preferring to hunt alone. They come out after sundown, prowling dark forests for victims. The attack of a Zippleback is like no other. Instead of breathing fire, a Zippleback makes explosions. One head BREATHES gas, and the other head LIGHTS it."[4]
"This two-headed threat is the longest dragon and has the smallest wings & stubbiest legs.But the way it produces fire makes up for any physical drawbacks. While one head shoots out a flammable gas, the other ignites it with a spark -- allowing for attacks from long distances. “It is based more on a Siamese cat combined with a devious snakelike quality,” DeBlois says."[5]
wings, during the young Vikings' counterattack against the Red Death in the movie, it is shown that the Zippleback is agile, fast, and effective at flying. However, during the battle, it is never shown to attack with its two-headed fireball attack, so it may not be able to fly and attack at the same time as its previous attacks were only shown being done when it had landed.
The Hideous Zippleback probably resembles a Hydra (a mythological dragon said to have seven or nine heads).It also resembles Zmey Gorynych,the Slavic Dragon.
The Hideous Zippleback's two heads working together is based on the proverb, "Two heads are better than More Hideous Zippleback concepts.
It is shown in a training addition to How to Train your Dragon (film) that Hideous Zipplebacks (and other dragons) have a sense of humor; when a Hideous Zippleback attacks Ruffnut and Tuffnut while the two twins fight, the heads grin at each other as the twins continue to fight dangling from the Zippleback's mouths!
The Zippleback is greenish, but the McDonalds promo toy is blue.
The Zippleback resembles Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda if you look closely.
A rare case is a Zippleback with three heads; it is mentioned by an unnamed character but no more is stated.