List of fictional toxins

This is a list of toxins, poisons, chemical weapons and biological weapons from works of fiction (usually in fantasy and science fiction). The toxins are divided into three alphabetical groups: fictional poisons, fictional chemical and biological weapons, and fictional mutagens.

Fictional poisons

This is the list for fictional poisons, the toxins that are used to hurt or kill on an individual scale.

Name Source Uses and effects
Achlys-9 "Red Rising" trilogy A lethal, gaseous poison frequently used to kill mining colonies of lowReds. Favored by the Jackal.
Akpaloli Clark Ashton Smith's The Plutonian Drug[1] A poison derived from a yellow weed that grows in Martian oases, it is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. It is almost immediately lethal, producing symptoms resembling those of heart disease. In small doses it can be used as a stimulant.
Alpha Jack Vance's The Palace of Love When ingested orally, shocks the main spinal ganglion, killing the subject in one to two seconds.
Amaranthine Gas Super Smash Bros. Brawl Amaranthine Gas is a dangerous gaseous substance found in some caves. When characters enter the purple mist, they quickly start taking poison damage at about 2% every half-second.
Apotoxin 4869 (APTX4869) Case Closed (also known as Detective Conan) Developed by biochemist Shiho Miyano, Apotoxin 4869 (APTX4869) was intended to be used by a secretive criminal syndicate to commit murders, but not leave any trace of the toxin behind in the corpse. It induces apoptosis, a programmed cell death in which it removes the signals that restrain the cell from self-destructing.[2] Unbeknownst to her and the syndicate, APTX4869 does not kill 100% of the time, but occasionally causes the human body's cellular structure to physically regress to a significantly younger state. Aspiring high school student detective Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi in Japanese version) was the first victim to survive this toxin, becoming 10 years younger. Later, Shiho survived using the toxin to regress to a girl around the same age as Jimmy when she attempted to escape the syndicate.
Anzid Barbara Hambly's novel The Ladies of Mandrigyn A toxin used for assassination. Its effects are extremely painful. Victims who are strong have been able to survive as much as two days of the agony.
ATP Decoupler Creatures 3 A toxin that converts ATP, the universal source of energy for all living things, into its depleted form, ADP. The cure is an injection called Medicine One. A possible real life parallel is 2,4-Dinitrophenol A chemical that stalls ATP Synthase by absorbing free electrons needed for its operation
Atroquinine Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney A synthetic poison that has a lethal dose of 0.002 mg. There is an indicator that turns blue in the presence of atroquinine. Atroquinine is slow-acting, so it takes 15 minutes after ingestion to do harm, and it attacks the central nervous system. The only recorded case of someone surviving atroquinine poisoning is the case of Vera Misham. A possible real life parallel is Tetrodotoxin, However this is a natural product.
Beijing Cocktail Crank A Chinese synthetic chemical that slows vital organ function until eventually those organs stop. Approximate time to live after injection is one hour. Symptoms include severe grogginess, blurred vision, and chest pain. To prolong life, the victim must do things that will increase his adrenaline, eat candy and do pills such as caffeine pills, energy pills, speed, fat burner pills, metabolism increasing pills, etc., and drink caffeinated and energy drinks. Also, epinephrine acts as a competitive inhibitor to this molecule and can be put into an insulin pump, however, it will only stave off the inevitable organ failure and death, as no antidote exists.
Basilisk Venom J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The venom of a Basilisk, the creature in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. The only stated cure for Basilisk venom in Harry Potter's world is the tears of a phoenix.
Bloat Terry Pratchett's Pyramids A poison extracted from a blowfish, which when ingested by a human, causes every cell to expand by 2,000 times—a process both "fatal and loud". Used by the Assassins' Guild.
Darestim David Eddings's The Elenium A rare and extremely virulent poison found in the deserts of Rendor. As symptoms seem very similar to those of the falling-sickness, deaths by Darestim are frequently ascribed to this illness. It is so virulent that there is no natural cure for it, and only certain magical objects, such as the Bhelliom, can cure it. The only people known to have been cured of Darestim are the King of Rendor and his family, and Queen Ehlana of Elenia.
Dark Water Slugterra A dangerous red liquid that seeps up from the Deep Caverns. If a Slug is exposed to Dark Water vapor, they will be corrupted into a Ghoul with enhanced power, a pack mentality, and a high level of unpredictability. Other life forms will become ghost-like and incorporeal if they inhale the substance. It can also be used to cause machinery, such as Mecha Beasts, to malfunction. Dark Water can only be purified by a healer Slug.
Daturon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Poison Belt This toxic agent is an unhealthy variant of the all-encompassing "ether" of space. It poisons all life into a deathlike stupor when the Earth passes through a belt of it. Daturon possesses some traits of a gas that's heavier than air: it concentrates first in lower regions like valleys or plains and inhalation of near-pure oxygen works as antidote. Daturon also has some traits of radiation: it can pass through hermetically sealed rooms and containers.
Despair Squid Venom Red Dwarf A potent toxin secreted by a giant squid-like alien that causes its victims to commit suicide by inducing vivid hallucinations of scenes and situations where they are revealed to be embodiments of principles and character traits that they despise.
Dragon Sand Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon A toxin that makes the user feel better than they have ever felt except that three days later, the victim bursts into flames. It creates toxic vapor when it comes into contact with any solid substance.
DS Ian Fleming's Moonraker A nerve gas that is lethal to humans only, not animals. Drax plans to fire it at Earth from space.
Fear gas Batman A powerful cocktail of toxins used by Scarecrow to create an irrational fear in his victims who hallucinate about their phobias coming to life.
Furux Jack Vance's The Palace of Love Developed from an organ of the meng lizard, this poison causes the inter-skeletal cartilage to dissolve, causing a persons body frame to go completely limp.
Glove Cleaner The Twilight Zone; The Chaser A powerful poison that is virtually untraceable. Street value is $1000 a bottle, which is enough for only one use.
Hebenon Hamlet It courses through the natural gates and alleys of the body; and with a sudden vigour it doth posset and curd, like eager droppings into milk, the thin and wholesome blood
Horrible Gas LittleBigPlanet video game franchise A gaseous material that kills players on contact, and comes in various colors.
Hum Hunter: The Reckoning A deadly poison spread via a water supply.
Iocane powder The Princess Bride by William Goldman A deadly Australian poison, odorless, tasteless and highly soluble, used by the hero Westley in his 'battle of wits to the death' with Vizzini. Is available in a powder form, which Westley used. Although it takes a few years, the human body is capable of building an immunity to the poison.
Janis thorn Doctor Who Janis thorns are a small, poisonous thorn used by the Sevateem as weaponry. Their poison caused first paralysis and then death in humans. Though there was no naturally occurring cure, an anti-toxin was created by the Fourth Doctor using a bioanalyser. An almost perfect real life match to this chemical is tubocurarine.
Joker Venom Batman A poison that causes rictus (fixed grin) after victims expire. Contact with Joker Venom causes uncontrollable spasms of laughter and then causes a painful death, the victim's face contorted into a hideous-looking smile. The effect comes from hyper-stimulation of the laughter functions of the brain and the victim is unable to breathe. Possibly an organophosphate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. In the film adaptation Batman the poison is called "smilex". The villain uses non-lethal variants in some adaptations that cause paralysis.
Krayt Dragon Poison Star Wars A deadly toxin from the Krayt Dragon. Said to be in possession of Bib Fortuna.
Luminous Toxin D.O.A. A radioactive toxin with no antidote, it attacks internal organs and kills within one to two weeks. It is detected via blood test—in a darkened room the victim's blood glows with an eerie luminescence. Easily slipped into liquor, especially during wild, alcohol-crazed nights in San Francisco "jive" clubs. Apparently concocted by shadowy black market figures in the radioactive materials business during the Cold War. May have been inspired by the Radium Girls incident.
Malkite themfar Star Wars The signature poison used by the Malkite Poisoners, a group of assassins in the Star Wars expanded universe.
Merasha Deryni novels A yellowish liquid which has a sedative effect in humans, but in those with Deryni powers (including the human Haldane kings), it disrupts those powers and causes excruciating pain. It is intended for use against Deryni who abuse their powers, but is preempted by the corrupt Regents of Gwynnedd led by Archbishop Hubert MacInnis as a means of detecting and enforcing persecution of Deryni (including tainting sacramental wine at the ordination of priests to keep Deryni out of the clergy). It can be mixed with drinks or used as a coating for sharp implements, such as the human-controlled church's "Deryni pricker." The substance reacts with the Deryni's powers—as evidenced by the fact that Deryni whose powers have been blocked show no ill effects except for the humans' sedative reaction.
Meta-cyanide Dune Fatal toxin contained within and delivered by the gom jabbar, a small needle. It is "The high-handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by Bene Gesserit Proctors in the death-alternative test of human awareness." It was also used in Lady Gaga's "Cook 'N Kill" recipe in her music video "Telephone"
Mirror's wrath Ansem Retort (web comic) A brutal neurotoxin first used in the Crusades that "causes the victim to see the beast they truly are." Causes one's blood vessels to strangle one's own brain. Survival of injection of mirror's wrath can expose "werepire".
Mosfungus Final Fantasy Tactics A toxin derived from a fungus of the same name. It slowly kills the person over time in small doses and can be spread by air. The effects typically include a nagging cough and other undetectable, common symptoms. When a person dies of Mosfungus poisoning, Mosfungus will grow on the person's grave. It is said to be a sign of the end of the person's family name.
Nightbane 8-Bit Theatre A hallucinogen poison that causes its victim to experience increasingly horrible nightmares every time they sleep until an antidote is administered.
Nightlock The Hunger Games A poisonous berry from which toxins may be extracted. Ingestion causes death within seconds.
Passion Flower The Return of the Condor Heroes A flower with hidden needles capable of poisoning the casual investigator. The poison causes severe pain any time the victim thinks about love. A small dose wears off after three days or so, but if one falls into a field of the flowers, they will die slowly over a period of 36 days. Although there is an antidote, the recipe has been lost for years.
Pitviper Venom Red Rising series The venom delivered by the bite of a pitviper, subterranean snakes that live in Mars' Helium-3 mines. It is usually lethal and has no antidote, however, those who survive bites at a young age typically develop an abnormally strong and durable cardiovascular system
Rahkshi Poison Bionicle The venom produced by Green Rahkshi and the Makuta.
Red Skull's Dust of Death Marvel Comics The "Dust of Death" is a red powder which kills a victim within seconds of skin contact. The powder causes the skin of the victim's head to shrivel, tighten, and take on a red discoloration, while causing the hair to fall out. Hence the victim's head resembles a "red skull".
Red Water Fullmetal Alchemist A highly toxic cocktail of alchemic catalysts. Its immediate effects, coughing and constant fatigue, are not extremely dangerous, but prolonged exposure can lead to death. Also, children of people poisoned by it often die soon after birth. Through chemical processing, it can be refined into a Red Stone, an alchemic amplifier. It was not completely invented out of the blue, however. It is derived from actual alchemical legends that have their roots in sulfur, which though yellow as solid, is a blood-red liquid when molten; early alchemists were impressed by this transformation and so thought it might be related to the key to transmuting other metals into gold. However, its effects are the most similar to the real poison known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine.
Sandbat venom Star Wars The natural venom of a Tatooinan Sandbat. The Tusken Raiders milk the venom, coating their Gaderffi, making it more lethal.
Silverthorn Silverthorn (novel) Silverthorn is a shrub that grows on the edge of Moraelin, the Black Lake, in the Great Northern Mountains. The plant is made of light silver-green leaf of three lobes, red berries like holly berries, and branches covered in silvery thorns similar to that of rose branches.
Sennari Star Wars Fast-acting toxin delivered by a Kamino Saberdart and used by Jango Fett to eliminate Zam Wesell in Episode II.
Slag Borderlands 2 A bright purple liquid created as runoff from unrefined Eridium. Borderlands 2. It is a chemical weapon used to lower one's weakness, but can also be used to mutate life forms. It is a Pandoran urban legend that swallowing slag will give "Slag Powers."
Smilex Batman (1989) Poison created by The Joker, kills within minutes, leaves victims with a rictus grin on their faces.
Sodium Calcium Chloride Get Smart, Season 5, Episode 12, Is This Trip Necessary The second deadliest poison in the world, after artificial sweetener. Its antidote is Anti Sodium Calcium Chloride, which can be neutralized (thereby making the poison effective again) by Pro Anti Sodium Calcium Chloride. This in turn can be undone by Anti Pro Anti Sodium Calcium Chloride.
The Strangler George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire A fatal poison. Distributed as small crystals that can be dissolved into liquids. The poison's effects are immediate and cause the imbiber to choke and suffocate. Resembles the real-life effect of calcium oxalate crystals in the plant Dieffenbachia ("dumb cane") but much more pronounced, rapid and lethal.
Suicide-inducing neurotoxin The Happening An airborne chemical toxin produced by plants. The first stage of exposure is confused speech, the second stage is physical disorientation, and the third stage is fatal. It is explained: "Our brains come equipped with a self-preservation mechanism to stop us from harmful actions. This is controlled by a combination of electrochemical signals in the brain. The blocking of neurotransmitters by certain toxins has been proven to cause hallucinations, asphyxiation, and paralysis. This new neurotoxin is basically flipping the preservation switch, blocking neurotransmitters in a specific order, causing specific self-damaging and catastrophic effects." Simply put, it makes a person kill themselves.
Tears of Lys George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire A rare and expensive fatal poison. Can be dissolved into liquids without altering the taste. The poison's effects are delayed but damage the stomach and bowels resulting in a slow and painful death over several days.
Thalot David Eddings's The Malloreon A very potent toxin from Nyissa. Almost always fatal.
Tox Meratis Jack Vance's The Palace of Love Developed from the graybloom plant. Derived taking a bottle of its harmless and pleasant perfume, and turning it upside down in the dark for a month. A single waft of the resulting poison will kill. See hydrogen sulfide
Tracker jacker venom The Hunger Games The poison from a tracker jacker that can cause extreme hallucinations and death. possibly anticholinergic in nature.
Ulgar Jack Vance's The Palace of Love Developed from an organ of the meng lizard, this poison's symptoms are spasms, biting off of the tongue, and frothing madness similar to the viral infection rabies.
Unidentified poison The Jackal Used by the Jackal to take out a gangster targeting his weapon. He sprays it on a car carrying the components for this weapon and a thug who tries to open the car door is killed.
V-Poison Resident Evil Outbreak An acidic variant of wasp venom carried by wasps infected with the T-Virus. Ironically, it is one of the components necessary to create the anti-T-virus serum called Daylight.
Vorpent Venom How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse, How to Steal a Dragon's Sword, and How to Fight a Dragon's Fury, How to Train Your Dragon series. This poison leads to Vorpentitis, which causes symptoms similar to a fever until death. The poison is produced by the Venomous Vorpent dragon. The only known antidote is a potato. After someone has been treated with the potato, they retain immunity to the poison forever. Used by Alvin the Treacherous and his mother The Witch.
Ygramul's poison The Neverending Story A poison used by Ygramul, a sentient insect swarm dwelling the land of Dead Mountains. It kills its victim after one hour, but also provides an ability of teleportation.
Yozi Venom Exalted The venom of the Demons sealed beyond the Edge of the world
Unnamed poison Johnny Test An unnamed green-blue liquid that is only described as "an unstable isotope". Initial effects include red spots on the skin and a purple tongue, followed by violent bloating, before causing the victim to explode. Consumption of this substance leaves the victim a few minutes before exploding.

Fictional chemical and biological weapons

This is the list of fictional chemical weapons. Fictional chemical weapons are toxins that are used on large scale, by either military, paramilitary or terrorist organizations.

Name Source Uses and effects
Deadly Neurotoxin Portal and Portal 2 A chemical agent, green in color, similar to a nerve gas. Can be transported through a network of pipes in Aperture Laboratories. Frequently used by GLaDOS as a means to kill Chell.

It is released through a set of vents that GLaDOS calls neurotoxin emitters.

Agent Yellow The Host The chemical that South Korean forces used to fight the giant monster.
Black smoke The War of the Worlds Toxic gas used by Martian invaders. Spectrographic analysis shows an unusual triplet of blue lines. It is dispersed from hoses and coilgun shells carried by tripods. It is heavier than air and forms a black, crusty precipitate when exposed to water.
Bloodtox Prototype A specially designed toxin, named for its distinctive red color and thick consistency in liquid form. Causes necrosis in the flesh of any being infected with the Blacklight virus, but is completely harmless to ordinary humans. Used by Blackwatch forces.
Brainwash Gas Dune 2 Brainwash Gas is a nerve gas that temporarily converts units to become loyal to House Ordos. This gas is delivered by missiles from the Deviator, a special unit in the game.
Chaos spray Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge A gas spread by Yuri's Chaos Drones, that temporarily causes enemy units to attack their buildings and each other and makes civilians run in circles.
CN-20 Aliens Apparently a nerve agent used by the Colonial Marines, dispersed from canisters. Unknown if effective against Aliens.
Cynochrin Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception This Gas is released in the game Ace combat X Skies of Deception by Leasathian (fictional country in the Ace Combat Universe) stragglers otherwise known as the "Hamlet unit", with its effects being alluded to as a deadly, nerve agent, that becomes a dense fog when it contacts air. The player's objective is to neutralize the agent, made difficult by the fact that the neutralizer chemicals are highly volatile if sudden, high g-force maneuvers are used making the player a slow moving target.
Dark Mirror Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror A deadly neurotoxin that can spread very quickly by fusing to oxygen molecules in the atmosphere.
DS Moonraker A nerve gas that is lethal to humans only, not animals. Drax plans to fire it at Earth from space.
Delta Nine Goldfinger Invisible nerve gas. Causes immediate death (at one point claimed, apparently as a lie, to cause "complete unconsciousness for 24 hours"), but disperses harmlessly after 15 minutes.
Dip Who Framed Roger Rabbit Made from turpentine, acetone and benzene (essentially oil, paint thinner, and film dissolver), it is capable of killing a cartoon character.
Fetaine Lois McMaster Bujold's The Vor Game Powerful mutagenic military chemical weapon that had never been used on or by the armed forces of Barrayar because it is regarded as a terror weapon, on a planet that is very heavily prejudiced against mutants.
FoxDie Metal Gear Solid An engineered retrovirus developed by the DIA for The Pentagon. "Pre-programmed" to identify a specific person's DNA and nanomachine implants, and then trigger a cardiac arrest. The length of time between contraction and death, and passes from any carrier to a targeted victim. Notable victims in Metal Gear Solid include Decoy Octopus and Liquid Snake.
G3 Universal Century Gundam A nerve gas original developed by Colonel Asakura of Zeon's special weapons division, the gas was later used by the Titans in the 30 Bunch Incident. As seen in 08th MS Team, it has a greenish color in concentrated form.
Heat 16 Spawn (film) A deadly biological weapon developed by an organization called A-6, run by Jason Wynn.
Ice-nine Cat's Cradle (book:Vonnegut) Ice-nine is a polymorph of water that melts at 45.8 °C (114.4 °F). When ice-nine comes into contact with liquid water below 45.8 °C it acts as a seed crystal and causes the solidification of the entire body of water into ice-nine. Ice-nine kills nearly instantly when ingested or brought into contact with soft tissues exposed to the bloodstream, such as the eyes or tongue.
Loedorvian Brain Plague Star Wars A natural virus concentrated an purified into a bioweapon by General Grievous. Grievous' flagship, the Invisible Hand, deployed it throughout the Weemell sector during the latter stages of the Clone Wars. All humans and near-humans throughout the sector were dead and the system uninhabitable within months.
Mephisto Sysco book series Mephisto, a deadly neurotoxin chemical created by the BioVectra Chemical Corporation, corrodes people's brains. The corporation sold it as a supposed cure for cancer, in the form of red see-through diamond shaped pills.
Nova 6 Call of Duty: Black Ops Death within 60 seconds (children - 30-45, in-game — near-instantaneous), massive tissue necrosis of the entire body surface. No known antidote, appears to function on contact with exposed tissue, surgical methods did not provide a delay. See maitotoxin and sulfur mustard for real life chemicals with a somewhat similar mechanism of action.
Octuptarra Virus Star Wars An artificially-created virus developed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the virus got its name from its primary means of deployment, Techno Union octuptarra combat droids. The virus only targets the DNA of Jango Fett, meaning the virus attacks the Republic's clone army.
Oxygen Destroyer Godzilla (1954) A chemical that is able to cause any living thing to die of asphyxiation, after which the remains of the organism is liquefied. Most likely an exaggerated version of potassium cyanide as this chemical kills by inhibiting aerobic respiration.
Pegasus Apt_Pupil (novella by Stephen King) A nerve gas sent to Kurt Dussander's concentration camp for testing — it didn't work well enough for Dussander, so he sent five men into the "shower" where the gas was sprayed on some concentration camp inmates to shoot them (since they did not all die immediately, some just lost control of their bodily functions and laughed uncontrollably).
Rabbit's Foot Mission: Impossible III A chemical weapon, the protagonist never finds out about it.
Silent Night xXx A toxic gas, a nerve agent which can kill millions of people. The gas only breaks down in deep water.
Soltoxin Lois McMaster Bujold's Barrayar A poison gas that targets soft tissue in the body, usually causing death by melting the lungs in about an hour. The teratogenic antidote for this poison caused the deformation of the main character's son in utero.
Symbiote Poison Stargate SG-1 Symbiote poison is a compound first created by Tok'ra scientists. The poison is released as a gas, and is capable of spreading over large areas. The poison is only fatal to symbiotes, and leaves humans unharmed. However, dying symbiotes release their own toxins into the host bloodstream, which makes the poison useless in saving hosts from their Goa'uld captors. The poison is also deadly to Jaffa still reliant on symbiotes for survival.
Sentox VX-1 Nerve Gas 24 Sentox nerve gas is a very deadly toxin that does not dilute in oxygen. It was stolen in the series by a terrorist organization under the leadership of Vladimir Bierko.
Theragen Star Trek A Klingon nerve gas. A derivative of theragen, in an ethanol solution, was developed by Dr. McCoy, to counteract the insanity-producing effects of a spatial interphase near the Tholian border.
The Spore Metallica's music video for All Nightmare Long, from Death Magnetic In the music video, it is explained that a mysterious phenomenon in Communist Russia has created (or delivered) a dust-like spore, capable of revitalizing even long-dead organic materials, from healing wounds to resurrecting the dead. The USSR engineers the spore into a weapon to use against the United States of America; by way of hot-air balloon, the spore released into American air space, and the trade winds spread the spore, thus creating a localized zombie apocalypse.
Tiberium Command & Conquer series This fictional material turns anything into itself — any unprotected human can become "infected" on contact; any vehicle will be slowly corroded. The Brotherhood of Nod used a handful of Tiberium-based weapons, such as the Tiberium Trooper. "Tiberium Wildlife", such as the Visceroids, naturally uses it. The Scrin consist mostly of Tiberium, so they have a lot of military applications for it: the Corruptor sprays a tiberium-based sludge, which heals Scrin and kills everything else; some Scrin units are armed with Tiberium shards, which should be toxic to targets as well. See prion and Ice-nine for a real life and a fictional example of a substance that can convert other substances into itself.
Trihexalon (Dragon's Breath) Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter A type of hex chemical weapon outlawed in the Galactic Republic. It was developed by Trade Federation scientists in the Karthakk system under the direction of mercenary Captain Cavik Toth for Count Dooku's Separatist movement. A single vial is said to be capable of killing 200 Wookiees. Toth's Saboath Squadron is directed to test the weapon for use against the Republic's clone army.
Trihexalophine1138 Star Wars A chemical weapon developed by Count Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars for use in battle. Its field testing was to commence on Naboo, but Loyalist forces destroyed the weapon's transport ship, the Gahenna over the planet Honoghr. The weapon devastated Honoghr's ecosystem for the next forty years, allowing Darth Vader to enslave the populace.
Trixie The Crazies A "Rhabdoviridae prototype" bio-warfare agent that is unleashed on Ogden Marsh, Iowa when the airplane loaded with it crashes and contaminates the town's water supply. Groups of law-abiding citizens become very violent, bloodthirsty killers.
V2 Gas E. E. Smith's Lensman series A fast-acting, lethal nerve agent that is usually administered as a gas. It was also used dissolved in water, against an amphibious species (the Nevians). A victim can be saved with prompt administration of the antidote. Very similar to the real life nerve agent sarin
Vexxon Gas Lightning – Dean Koontz A fast-acting, lethal nerve gas that rapidly dissipates in sunlight and eventually decomposes into harmless substances when exposed to air. A pill can be taken to render somebody immune to its effects for a certain time. It is most likely a carbamate.
Virus Toxin Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge A gaseous toxin that causes cells over the entire body to immediately form more of the substance, resulting in bursting of the cells. Eventually the entire body explodes, releasing a deadly cloud of gas that may infect others nearby.
VX-2 Gas The Rock A green volatile liquid which causes the skin of its victims to bubble and melt as they die. It is stored in small glass spheres for some reason. Injection of the antidote into a victim's heart immediately after exposure brings total immunity. (Note: VX gas is a real nerve agent. However, the effects, and physical representation shown in "The Rock" are not accurate. Atropine, used in the movie to stop the effects of VX gas, does not need to be injected into the heart, but is usually injected into the thigh, where it would be taken up through the femoral artery from surrounding tissue.) The closest real-life molecule that matches the depiction of VX in this movie would be mustard gas.
VZ Binary - Michael Crichton A binary nerve agent, lethal within two to three minutes.
X1 Nick Carter-Killmaster series of spy novels A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas developed by AXE (a super secret US Government agency) which causes immediate death; it is stored and delivered via "Pierre" – a stainless steel ball about the size of a large marble or golf ball. Agent Nick Carter can hold his breath up to 4 minutes—more than enough time for the gas to exert its lethal effect. It could possibly be a derivative of palytoxin; however, palytoxin and derivatives are reported to have a strong metallic odor.
Manticore Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare A greenish gas developed by the Atlas Corporation. It targets only those people whose genetic code has not been entered into Atlas' database. Atlas CEO Jonathan Irons deploys it onto a U.S.-led strike force in New Baghdad, killing all but those who were not in its radius and the former Atlas operators Gideon, Ilona, and Mitchell.

Fictional mutagens

While real-world mutagens produce genetic alterations, or mutations, fictional substances often produce sudden, visible changes in the morphology of organisms. The list below therefore includes fictional substances that produce such effects, as well as more plausible mutagens.

Name Source Uses and effects
2,4,5 Trioxin Return of the Living Dead series Gas that brings the dead back to life as zombies. Originally created by the military as a herbicide to use on cannabis plants.
ADAM BioShock A stem cell-based biological modifier harvested by Little Sisters and processed into useful forms like Plasmids or EVE. Excessive usage of ADAM tends to result in addiction, severe cosmetic and/or mental damage.
Batch 5 V for Vendetta A toxic mutagen that causes random disfigurements and mutations over a period of months, before driving the victim mad and killing them – perhaps an exaggeration of the effects of contaminated Agent Orange batches that were used in the Vietnam War.
"Buzzz Cola" Surf II: The End of the Trilogy An addictive mystery chemical agent treated with petroleum waste created by deranged chemist Menlo Schwartzer, who distributes it under the guise of "Buzzz Cola" as part of a plot to rid the beaches of surfers. Its effect changes human physiology, turning the drinker into a bumbling zombie capable of ingesting anything from garbage to hydrochloric acid.
Cardamine Freelancer A natural product of the ecosystem on the planet Malta, it is found in trace amounts in nearly everything on the planet, including the atmosphere and water. A very addictive mutagenic narcotic, its withdrawal symptoms are extremely violent and invariably fatal. Exposure over generations is known to cause unnatural longevity as well as greatly decreased fertility and a genetically-encoded dependence on the drug.
Chemical A0-3959X.91-15 Prometheus An extremely potent mutagenic pathogen, composed of millions of small micro-organisms, that was manufactured by the Engineers as a biological weapon, presumably for military purposes
Chemical X The Powerpuff Girls A mysterious chemical created by Professor Utonium. When he accidentally mixed it with sugar, spice, and everything nice, it created The Powerpuff Girls. Its effect on humans is variable: it can either grant super powers or cause monstrous mutations.
  • Chemical X (or a similar variant) can also be found in prison toilets and when mixed with snips, snails and one talking dog tail, created The Rowdyruff Boys.
  • Its chemical opposite and neutralizer is a mysterious substance called Antidote X
Colour out of space H. P. Lovecraft's horror tale "The Colour Out of Space" Toxic and mutagenic element, possibly sentient. The substance is of indescribable colour and unknown spectrum, and is released from a meteorite that lands in a field.
Compound X07 Marvel Comics Experimental compound developed by A.I.M. Granted Madcap his fantastic regeneration and recovery.
Corrodium Ben 10 A purple crystal that can be a great power source for alien technologies, and can also mutate living organisms that are nearby.
DC-2 Planet Terror A green gas of unknown chemicals and origin. Once exposed, one requires constant exposure to the gas or he or she will mutate into a zombie. Any human bitten by a DC-2 zombie will become one when the infected flesh reaches the brain area. DC-2 can also reanimate corpses of those killed by a zombie.
Energized Protodermis Bionicle A living, liquid form of Protodermis with the power to either transform or destroy any living creature it comes into contact with.
Empathy Code 46 A virus forbidden by law that allows an infected individual to read other people's thoughts. The virus only works if the target is currently telling the infected individual something emotional about itself.
Energy X Freedom Force A mysterious substance of extraterrestrial origin. When humans come in contact with it, they develop super powers based on their personality.
Ephemerol Scanners Tranquilizer, used as a morning sickness remedy; a mutagen, it induces telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Ephemerol also suppresses those abilities in adults so affected.
EXP Radiation Adventurers! online comic A beneficent radiation released by killing RPG monsters. Once a threshold has been reached, the character's stats upgrade. It is used as a hand-wave to explain why monsters disintegrate into red balls and upgrade player characters upon death.
Fetaine Lois McMaster Bujold's The Vor Game Powerful mutagenic military chemical weapon that had never been used on or by the armed forces of Barrayar because it is regarded as a terror weapon, on a planet that is very heavily prejudiced against mutants.
Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) Fallout (Video Game) A virus created by the government and stored in the Mariposa military base and Vault 87, it causes victims to mutate losing sexual differences, and causing them to grow bigger and physically stronger, but lose mental capacity with age. The results are enlarged versions of animals and insects, a combination of several creatures called Centaurs, and humanoid Super Mutants, derived from FEV-exposed humans.
G-23 paxilon hydrochlorate ("Pax") Serenity (2005) Tranquilizer introduced into the atmosphere of the terraformed planet Miranda that produced total apathy and loss of will to live in most of the population. However, it had a paradoxical effect on 0.1% of those exposed, creating a murderous group (Reavers) that wiped out the remaining planetary population and continued to terrorize the local planets.
GC-161 The Secret World of Alex Mack A mutagenic chemical responsible for giving Alex Mack her unique powers. A recurring plot device.
Gene Seed Warhammer 40,000 Gene Seed is responsible for creation of Space Marines. There are about 19 separate gene seeds. All gene seeds are produced in a pair of glands in the Astartes's chest cavity and throat. For further reading, see Space Marine (Warhammer 40,000).
Gingold DC Comics Marketed as a soft drink, it is derived from a rubber tree, and when drunk by someone with a rare "x-factor" in his genetic make-up, grants powers of elasticity. It is used by the hero Elongated Man.
Heiarchy Radiation Universe at War: Earth Assault A mutagenic radiation similar to nuclear radiation in that it is composed partially of gamma rays and contaminates the surrounding area. Unlike atomic radiation, it is fluorescent green or orange, glow-in-the-dark, and turns people who die of it into zombies.
Hellfire Warhammer 40,000 A type mutagenic bio-acid developed originally by the Imperium of Man to combat the Tyranid threat. The toxin rapidly destroys the flesh of the struck target, making it nearly impossible for an average human-sized creature to survive, and dealing severe damage to larger creatures. The bio-acid is delivered via Hellfire ammunition, which are modified boltgun rounds that replace the explosive charge of the round with a chamber of the bio-acid that is pumped into the target on impact. The larger-caliber Heavy Bolter can fire a version known as Hellfire Shells, which showers an area with the acid upon impact
Human Performance Enhancer Spider-Man A green mist that causes the user to permanently develop stronger muscles, and better coordination and reflexes, but at the price of their sanity. If in any way the user is angered, a more aggressive and murderous personality takes over long enough to kill the source of frustration. An upgraded version, created simply by allowing the chemical to age for three years, allows the user to keep their sanity, or focus their rage more effectively.
Katalyst SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron In this series, there are Katalysts according to number. In the series, there is Katalyst 99, Katalyst 100, and even Katalyst X-63. All these used by Dr. Viper to make the city either Megaswamp City or Mutation City.
Kryptonite Superman A radioactive crystalline compound created by the explosion of the planet Krypton's core. Most commonly found in its green form, it is deadly to all things native to the planet Krypton. It also causes mutation in humans, plants, and animals when exposed to it. Often it acts through a catalyst, imbuing beings with various powers, usually with some negative side effect. Some varieties, including red kryptonite, gold kryptonite, and blue kryptonite, have varying effects.
Liquid Tiberium Command & Conquer 3 Liquid tiberium is a derivative of crystal tiberium used by Nod and Reaper-17. Instead of random mutations leading to a Visceroid, it augments muscle mass, and subsequently speed, permanently. Using too much liquid tiberium, beyond initial infusion, eventually leads to insanity. Users exhale tiberium gas, and can walk through a tiberium crystal field undamaged, although the player still gets an exposure warning. It is also highly explosive.
Lot Six Firestarter Lot Six, an experimental drug that supposedly had been proven to alter the subject's chromosomes and pituitary gland, was administered to a group of college students who volunteered to take it through injections. Only certain people got the drug, and some people just got tap water. Only two people came out fine after being injected with the drug: Andrew McGee and Vicky Tomlinson, who later married each other. The mutagenic effect of the drug resulted in the pyrokinetic abilities of their daughter Charlie.
Magestone Mage Knight A crystalline substance coveted by the Atlantean Empire for technomagical experiments. Causes mutations with prolonged exposure; mutants are known as Mage Spawn.
Mako Final Fantasy VII A thick, blue-green liquid that is produced by the "Lifestream," a river of souls that circles the planet Gaia. Identified as a type of bio-plasma, and considered to be the planets "blood". It can be burned in a reactor to produce electrical energy. Creatures exposed for an extremely short amount of time (for example, stepping in a puddle of it) develop magical abilities (in the case of humans, the ability to use materia crystals to cast magic). Middling term (a few hours or days in an immersion vat) causes this to become permanent, causes the creature to develop vibrantly blue eyes, and become faster and stronger. For this reason, it was used in a super soldier project, known simply as "SOLDIER". Long term exposure causes grotesque mutations, resulting in a monster known as a "Makinoid". Stagnant Mako, which is fluorescent green, is much more potent than fresh Mako, and was used in Shinra's next-generation super soldier project known as "Deepground".
Medusa Serum The Penguins of Madagascar A green, bubbly, goo-like substance that Dave the octopus uses to turn the penguins of the world into monsters and then unleash them in the streets of New York City. When cranked up to its highest power level, it burned a hole in the test panel. It also turned a cricket into a vicious, crazed beast.
Melange Dune series The spice Melange causes the whites and irises of the eyes to turn blue after prolonged exposure, as with natives of the planet Arrakis, where the spice is everywhere. Melange's beneficial effects include prolonging of life and the granting of various abilities to humans such as the Bene Gesserit. Extreme doses can cause heavy mutation, as evidenced by the Spacing Guild's navigators, who use Melange to gain the limited precognitive ability required to navigate a ship safely through folded space between planets. Eventually, the high-level navigators mutate to the point they must live the rest of their lives in tanks filled with spice gas, their minds and bodies wholly dependent on the drug. Humans addicted to lesser levels of the spice suffer severe withdrawal symptoms and death if denied access to it.
Mustakozene 80 Doctor Who, Timelash
Mutagenic Compound (The Ooze) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles A highly toxic and radioactive green sludge that mutates organisms into humanoid/animal crossbreeds. Created by TGRI, its original purpose and origin vary by adaptation, and in some cases is alien in nature.
Nitrous oxide Turbo Although nitrous oxide is real, in the movie Turbo it is the source of Turbo's superhuman speed.
Philosopher's stone Fullmetal Alchemist (manga version) A small red pebble, the ultimate transmutation amplifier. It consists of the transmuted souls of thousands of people. When injected directly into the body, it repeatedly destroys and reforms the organism. This ultimately kills the organism, or else the organism metabolizes it and becomes invincible. The only outward sign is a welt shaped like the alchemical symbol Ouroboros, the signature of a Homunculus.
Poison Joke My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode Bridle Gossip The toxin of the blue flower called Poison Joke causes those infected to develop random physical changes, or "jokes". The only shown victims of poison joke are the six main characters of the show; Twilight Sparkle's unicorn horn becomes limp and specked with blue spots, Rarity's coat and mane grow out of control, Rainbow Dash's pegasus wings move to her stomach and she loses control of her flight powers, Fluttershy's voice become deep and manly, Pinkie Pie's tongue becomes swollen (and specked with more blue spots) and she becomes unable to talk normally, and Applejack shrinks and gains a high-pitched voice. They originally believed they were cursed by Zecora, but when the truth becomes known, they apologize and Zecora helps them develop the cure.
Phazon Metroid Prime 1, 2 and 3 A highly toxic and radioactive glowing blue living substance. Extremely mutagenic, it is used by the Space Pirates to alter their own stock and that of other creatures, such as Metroids, and in attempts to xenoform both their own homeworld and strategically important Federation worlds. The Chozo recognize it as the "Great Poison," as it ultimately leads to madness and death in most life which comes in contact with it for extended periods. It also comes in an orange version that is much more mutagenic and dangerous, and even organisms resistant to normal blue phazon can be affected by the orange variety.
Polymorphine Warhammer 40,000 A shape-altering drug used by the Callidus Temple Assassins Witch Hunters army to infiltrate enemy organisations by mimicking key figures and taking their place. Polymorphine weakens the molecular binds and combined with high levels of training in physical control and cybernetic implants, Callidus Assassins can use the drug to mimic any humanoid race.
Promicin Inhibitor The 4400 A compound which blocks the neurotransmitter Promicin, from which members of the 4400 gain their powers. The compound tends to build up in the body after long-term inoculation, causing pox-like rashes and eventual death.
PX-41 Despicable Me 2 PX-41 is a purple chemical that turns organisms into monsters that are depicted as hairy, mean, rude, destructive, indestructible, and purple. It is used by El Macho in an attempt to take over the world. Its antidote is a yellow chemical simply called the PX-41 antidote.
Re-Agent Re-Animator A serum developed by Miskatonic University student Herbert West which reanimates cadavers. The cadaver must be extremely fresh, or brain damage will occur due to the buildup of free radicals in brain tissue.
The Signal Brannon Braga's TV series Threshold A sound and/or electromagnetic waveform capable of initiating a change of the DNA of whoever hears enough of it from the standard double-helix structure to an alien triple-helix structure. It is the means which an alien race is using to convert the populace of Earth to a different biological form, allegedly to protect them from an expanding wavefront of gamma rays emitted by the collision of two neutron stars in a distant part of the Galaxy.
Solanum World War Z A virus that kills its victims and within five hours reanimates them as zombies.
Substance X Operation Neptune A mysterious and highly reactive substance found beneath the surface of Asteroid Argos. It has the ability to mutate harmless sea creatures, such as Pufferfish, into monsters.
Quantum Foam Eoin Colfer's WARP trilogy An extradimensional substance that makes up the fabric of spacetime. It mutates time travelers into their subconscious wishes, although sometimes its effects are random. It most notably transformed Agent Pointer into a dog, Agent Rosales into a giant squid, and Agent Chevy Savano into a human/feline hybrid.
Royal Jelly Alien vs Predator Potent mutagenic pathogen generated by the Xenomorph Queen. Believed to be involved in the creation of new Queens, similar to the way Bees and other eusocial insects create fertile queens. Royal Jelly could be used to create Praetorians from Warriors if the situation called for it. If the Queen died and there were no Praetorians to take her place, the Royal Jelly could be a last resort to creating a new Queen. Its exact purpose is still unknown.
Rune Rogue Galaxy An orange gel that apparently speeds evolution. Powerful monsters have a reservoir on their foreheads; this makes a weak spot. It also has the unique property of rearranging the molecular structure of inanimate objects, but only high-level or expensive objects.
T-Energy Sacred 2: Fallen Angel A volatile and glowing blue liquid. Contact with any organic lifeform causes various mutations, including monstrous growth. T-Energy mutated creatures have glowing blue streaks all over their bodies.
Terrazine StarCraft: Ghost Terrazine is a mysterious gaseous substance, which is responsible for the evolution of the Terran Spectre troop, an offshoot of the Ghost spy. It may also be responsible for the development of some of the mutations and evolution of the Zerg troops in the game (all zerg must be at least weakly psionic to receive instructions and transmit data). It is poisonous to non-psychics. Not much is known, as Ghost has been "put on hiatus," i.e., cancelled.
Terrigen Mists Marvel Comics Mutagenic catalyst discovered by the Inhuman geneticist Randac sometime between 21,00 and 15,000 years ago. It can grant most any Inhuman or Human being superpowers, but leaves approximately 75% of Inhuman subjects with radical physical deformities as well; it also occasionally induces amnesia in both Inhuman and Human subjects.
Tiberium Command & Conquer A highly valuable crystal in the Command & Conquer series used as a resource. Tiberium extracts all mineral deposits out of the ground and can be harvested, for easy extraction. Extremely toxic and mutagenic to terrestrial life-forms, Tiberium is an extraterrestrial terraforming agent by an alien race known as the Scrin. It was also used in Lady Gaga's "Cook 'N Kill" recipe in her music video "Telephone".
The Stuff The Stuff Tasty white substance mined from the earth which turns out to be a sapient creature who mutates its consumers into zombies and eats them from within, leaving empty human shells behind.
U4 SiN Dangerously addictive narcotic developed by biochemist Elexis Sinclaire. A deliberate effect of the drug is genetic alteration, causing horrible mutations in the user. The drug was developed and distributed for the purpose of building a bio-engineered army for world conquest.
Vespene gas StarCraft Vespene is a fluorescent green gas that issues from geysers. All three races (Zerg, Terran, and Protoss) harvest the gas. In its processed form, it is an effective fuel. In its raw form, it is used by the Zerg as food and an evolutionary catalyst, mutating the swarm into bigger, stronger forms. The best example is the Torrasque, bred from normal Ultralisks, then repeatedly exposed to vespene gas.
Unknown substance Species 2 An extremely potent mutagenic pathogen that infects humans with an extraterrestrial genetic sequence. Its only known weakness is sickle cell anaemia, which was used to destroy the alien-infected Patrick Ross, who spends most of the movie impregnating females, who in turn undergo accelerated pregnancies and are killed when they give birth to their offspring. Anne Sampas, who was also infected, is killed while having sex with her husband.
Viper Mutagen 368 SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron A mutagen created by Dr. N. Zyme and Dr. Elrod Purvis in Megakat Biochemical labs. This mutagen was able to rebuild any limbs of plants. However, this chemical also mutates people into half-cat, half-snake creatures when the chemical spills on them. The only victim affected by the mutagen was Dr. Purvis himself who mutates into Dr. Viper.
The Bionicle series, "City of the Lost," "Prisoners of the Pit," and "Downfall." The water of the ocean surrounding the island of Voya Nui had mutagenic properties. The water's effects turned the Piraka into aquatic snakelike creatures.
Warpstone or Wyrdstone Warhammer , also Warhammer 40,000 1st and 2nd editions A greenish-black crystal apparently of solidified magic that holds tremendous transmutatory powers. Among other things, it can be used as fuel, or even to turn base metal into gold. Highly prized by the Skaven, who use it to make bullets and poisons, as well as generate energy and Vampire Counts, as it is integral to creating many of their undead minions.
Zygrot 24 Freaked A fertilizer manufactured by the Everything Except Shoes Corporation that possesses potent mutagenic properties, not the least of which is its ability to turn a wrench into a hammer. It is used by Elijah H. Skuggs to create a troop of freaks who perform in his sideshow attraction.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Clark Ashton. "The Plutonian Drug". Short Stories in the Bibliography of Clark Ashton Smith. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "File 10. A Bullet from the Past". Case Closed Vol. 24. Viz Media. ISBN 9781421516769.
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