George R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire (and its TV adaptation, Game Of Thrones), features strong emotions, fascinating political intrigue, and even the occasional poignant romance. They also both feature giant flying lizards that can roast you alive by coughing, which is pretty neat.
But does ASOIAF have the biggest fire-death-lizards (or “dragons” as they’re sometimes known)? That’s the question addressed by this chart, created by The Daily Dot, comparing the size of Daenerys Targaryen’s ‘children,’ Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal, to a host of other famous fire iguanas. So now, if you’re ever having an argument about how Charizard from Pokémon would compare to Shenlong, the wish-granting dragon from Dragon Ball Z, you can use this handy reference to settle the question and move on with your life. (Shenlong by a country mile, by the way).
Not surprisingly, the largest contender is indeed from A Song Of Ice And Fire: Westeros’ largest dragon, the long-dead Balerion, the Black Dread, dwarfs such other draconic luminaries as Smaug, the dragons from Skyrim, and Elliott (who you probably think of as Pete’s Dragon, because you’re a speciesist). The Daily Dot extrapolated Balerion’s size from a painting by artist J. Gonzalez that was recently released by George R.R. Martin, showing the massive beast with a human rider on his back.
The full version of the chart, along with the reasoning behind some of the selections, can be found here.