Smug Snakes in Religion.
- The Devil in many religions and media is always depicted as arrogant and smug, though not always without justification.
- Ironically while the King of Tyre (which is the title given to its deity Melqart)— not to be mistaken for the Prince of Tyre (the human ruler)— is called a fallen Cherubim who got cast out from the Garden of Eden due to Pride, and judging from the Apocryphal book of Enoch (which has been quoted by Jude). It was referring to the fallen Cherubim Shamsiel who was one of the angels guarding Eden after man was kicked out, not Satan.
- The other "evidence" for Satan's Smug Snake status comes from a description of Nebuchadnezzar (who was a Smug Snake) so Satan holding a Smug Snake status is unsupported in the actual Bible which implies he is willing to hand over his throne to the Beast of the Apocalypse out of fear of his power.
- Ironically while the King of Tyre (which is the title given to its deity Melqart)— not to be mistaken for the Prince of Tyre (the human ruler)— is called a fallen Cherubim who got cast out from the Garden of Eden due to Pride, and judging from the Apocryphal book of Enoch (which has been quoted by Jude). It was referring to the fallen Cherubim Shamsiel who was one of the angels guarding Eden after man was kicked out, not Satan.
- And let's not forget the Garden of Eden, where a literal Smug Snake tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, only to be cursed by God as a punishment. Indeed, some versions say that the snake exists in the first place because God punished the original for his arrogance by taking his limbs and ability to speak and forcing him to spend the rest of eternity crawling on his belly. However, the snake was cautious to come off as interested in Eve's status, persuading her by acting as if helpful.
- The Apocrypha (namely the same book of Enoch quoted by the epistle of Jude) describes the sole fallen Archangel Ramiel as the real Smug Snake of the fallen Angels and being the king of Pride. He gets bonus points for being an actual snake (hinted to be the Leviathan itself).
- Another fallen Angel who was a Smug Snake was Azazel, the Goat demon who revealed the secrets of fashion to humans, who later wound up being chained to a rock bound until the End Times where he'd be thrown into the Lake of Fire due to his lack of subtlety in his arrogance towards the Almighty even after losing.
- Tengu in Japanese mythology tend to be this. Arrogance is their Fatal Flaw, to the point that Japan has a common phrase that goes "becoming a Tengu" (basically meaning "getting a swelled head"), and despite the fact that they're tricksters, there are just as many myths about their tricks being turned around on them as there are about them messing with humans.
