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| “ | The wendigo is insatiable. It wants flesh. It wants blood. It is never satisfied with the amount of what it can eat.
— Dallas Tanner
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In the mythology of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of North America, the wendigo or windigo is a type of evil spirit or creature. It is associated with winter, famine, starvation, gluttony, and, most notably, cannibalism.
Although its appearance, origin, and abilities vary between the traditions of the many Algonquian tribes, the wendigo is consistently portrayed as a malevolent being with a ceaseless hunger for human flesh. In most tales, it is depicted as a gigantic, emaciated humanoid, so gaunt to the point of appearing skeletal. With each human that it devours, the wendigo's body grows larger in proportion to its prey, ensuring that its stomach will never be filled.
Some stories claim that each wendigo was once a human, transformed through greed and excess, by resorting to cannibalism to survive, or simply by coming too close to another wendigo. Other accounts describe it as a spirit, rather than a physical entity, with the ability to possess humans and drive them to insatiable cannibalistic urges. It is sometimes said to be capable of human speech, which it uses to taunt, threaten, and manipulate its victims.
Outside of tales that feature the wendigo as a literal monster, the creature also serves as a cautionary metaphor for unchecked greed, excessive consumption, and moral decay. Some real-life instances of murder and cannibalism have been attributed to the influence of a wendigo. The creature even lends its name to the controversial concept of "wendigo psychosis," a supposed mental disorder marked by a compulsive obsession with cannibalism.
Battle vs. Grendel (by CuchulainSetanta)[]
In Denmark, Grendel pulls himself out of the swamp and stalks towards the great hall of Heorot. However, as he approaches, he is puzzled by the lack of noise coming from inside the hall. Grendel throws open the doors, and is surprised to see another massive shape hunched over a dead warrior, devouring him. Sensing Grendel's presence, the figure turns, revealing itself as the fearsome Wendigo. Seeing Grendel as a threat to its prey, the Wendigo lets out a bloodcurdling roar and charges the other man-beast.
Grendel prepares himself for the Wendigo's charge, and, as it approaches, slams his arm into the Wendigo's head, knocking it down. Quickly regaining its senses, the Wendigo grabs onto Grendel's leg and bites it, causing Grendel to roar in pain. Grendel kicks the Wendigo several times in the face, finally making it let go.
The Wendigo rises to its feet and charges Grendel again, grappling with him. The two monsters wrestle, both evenly matched in terms of strength. However, glancing at his surroundings, Grendel forms an idea. Pushing the Wendigo away from him, Grendel picks up a large table, slamming it into the Wendigo. The monster is knocked down again, and Grendel slams the table several more times onto the Wendigo's head, splattering the floor with blood. With his enemy finally killed, Grendel drags the Wendigo's corpse back to his lair to feast.
Winner: Grendel
Expert's Opinion[]
Although he may have lost to Beowulf in the original saga, Grendel had plenty of advantages over his foe. The foremost of these was his superior intellect, allowing him to formulate strategies over the more savage Wendigo.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Allosaurus (by MonsterMovieguymeetsBenedictArnold)[]
- It all starts in the Jurassic Period, in a forest, where two male allosauruses are on the hunt for food. They keep walking until they spot a stegosaurus. The alpha male looks at the allosaurus and gives a silent growl. The allosaurus pops out from the shrubbery and causes the stegosaurus to notice it, which it turns to its side and swings its tail back and forth. The allosaurus needs to try to last long enough so the alpha male can finish it off.
- The stegosaurus swings its tail at the allosaurus's head, but he dodges it. He then charges at it, trying to bite down on the skin of the stegosaurus but, it moves backs. It looks up and sees the alpha male charging right at it. Coming at full speed, it slams it's head into the ribs of the stegosaurus, breaking it, and it falls on the ground, helplessly. The alpha was about to takes its first bite out of it but then, in a blink of an eye they were both transported to our time. In the same forest, they both look at each other and split up.
- The alpha male picks up a new scent and follows it. It keeps following and picks up two scents at once. He still follows it and sees the Wendigo eating a deer. The alpha rears its head back and lets out a roar to intimadate it. The Wendigo stands its ground. The alpha roars and charges at it. The wendigo moves out of the way.
- It turns around to face the allosaurus, which it snaps at him but he snaps back. The allosaurus whips around and hits the head of it, knocking it down. He goes in for the kill but the wendigo kicks him away. It gets up and charges at it.The allosaurus tries to snap at him but it grabs ahold of his head and scratches his eye, which causes a deep cut.
- Enraged, he charges at the wendigo and jumps on the wendigo. The jump breaks the ribs of the wendigo, so it can't get up. He picks it up by the head and crushes the skull by the jaws of the allosaurus. He drops the body and it lays motionless. The alpha male roars in victory! His now dead foe is food for the King of the Jurassic Period.
Expert's Opinion[]
While the wendigo had a slight advantage with its arsenal, the allosaurus was both exceptionally larger as well as a more experienced fighter. Dealing with evenly matched foes far more often than the wendigo.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Skin-walker (by Deathblade 100)[]
Forested Plains, 2015
A bloodcurdling roar filled the air as the Wendigo looked up from its most recent kill, blood still dripping from its mouth. As the Wendigo fed on its victim, a large wolf appeared and after a while, flung itself at the cannibal, teeth snapping. The Wendigo threw the shapechanger off it before countering. The Skinwalker quickly started to withdraw as the Wendigo angrily summoned a snowstorm to mask its presence.
The Skinwalker pricked its ears up as it attempted to detect the Wendigo's approach through the howling of the wind. A roar echoed through the air as the Wendigo approached. The Skinwalker quickly imitated a human voice to draw the cannibal off. For a split second it threw the Wendigo off of the shapechanger's trail. Almost half a minute later, the cannibal started to work its way back towards its victim.
As the cannibal started to return to its meal, the Skinwalker, now having changed into a large Grizzly Bear, leaped towards the Wendigo, clawing at it. The Wendigo started to slash back, tearing a chunk of flesh loose. As the two creatures struggled, the Skinwalker plunged its jaw onto the Wendigo's neck and tore it open. As the Wendigo started to falter, the shapechanger ran into the cannibal, knocking it off the edge of a cliff killing it.
With its opponent dead, the Skinwalker roared in victory before staggering off into the forest to change back into it's human form.
Expert's Opinion[]
While the Wendigo was a fearsome opponent, the Skinwalker's more versatile shape-changing powers and varying abilities such as speed or strength swung the battle in its favour.