There are so many awesome and iconic dragons from geek pop culture in video games, movies, tv shows, anime, books, tabletop games and pretty much any kind of media you can think of. So it was hard to narrow down this list of top iconic dragons but we tried our best!

Also just a note for the nit-picky geeks out there, this list is using “dragons” as a blanket term since technically this list includes dragons, wyverns, and drakes. So don’t get too hung up on that!

There’s badass dragons, terrifying dragons, good or evil dragons and even just plain cute dragons! We only included one per franchise, even though many more could be added from dragon heavy media like Pokémon, D&D, How to Train Your Dragon, Game of Thrones and more.

15. The Ender Dragon from Minecraft

To start off the list of iconic dragons, it’s the final boss of Minecraft!

14. Mushu from Mulan

Next is Eddie Murphy’s funny little Mushu from Disney’s 1998 animated feature film, Mulan.

13. Ash’s Dragonite from Pokémon

The adorable and powerful chonky dragon from Pokémon. Personally I prefer Charizard, but as fans are painfully aware, Charizard is fire-flying type and not a dragon.

12. Shenron from Dragon Ball

Shenron is a magical dragon from the manga Dragon Ball, as well as the animes Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball GT.

11. Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer

Dragonslayer was on our The Top 20 Best ’80s Fantasy Movies list so of course this iconic dragon had a place on this list too.

10. Haku from Spirited Away

Though appearing to be a young boy, Haku is actually a lost river spirit that also can take the form of a white dragon.

9. Paarthurnax from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The big dilemma in Skyrim, does your Dragonborn kill Paarthurnax or let him live?

8. Granamyr from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Lord of the dragons of Darksmoke, Granamyr is one of the oldest, wisest, and most powerful beings in Eternia. 

7. King Ghidorah from Godzilla

Also dubbed Monster Zero or just simply Ghidorah, he is a giant extraterrestrial three-headed dragon kaiju.

6. Tiamat from Dungeons & Dragons

The iconic Tiamat is a unique chromatic dragon who has one head for each primary color of common species of chromatics. She is the lawful evil goddess of greed and queen of evil dragons.

5. Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon

Toothless is the last known Night Fury in existence and is the mount and best friend of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

4. Drogon from Game of Thrones

Queen Daenerys’s personal mount Drogon was one of the three dragons born in Game of Thrones, along with his brothers Rhaegal and Viserion, but sadly now the last known living dragon in existence.

3. Spyro the Dragon from the Spyro series

What can I say other than I love this spunky little guy! Lots of us grew up playing these video games and there’s so many in the series. It was great to replay the first three games recently in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy remake.

2. Falkor from The NeverEnding Story

Falkor the Luck Dragon is probably the most beloved iconic dragon on this list. He’s one of the most wise, optimistic, dignified and friendly beings in Fantasia. *wink*

1. Smaug from The Hobbit

Coming in a number one is of course J. R. R. Tolkien’s Smaug the fire drake of the Third Age, and last great dragon to exist in Middle-earth. “My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”

That concludes our list of iconic dragons! Did we forget any? Who are you favorite dragons and which ones would you add to the list? Leave a comment below!