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House of the Dragon: Is Vermithor Bigger Than Vhagar?

House of the Dragon: Is Vermithor Bigger Than Vhagar?
Image credit: HBO

How does the Bronze Fury compare to the previously established meanest and greatest dragon?

The Doom of Valyria destroyed almost all dragons. Five of them took the Targaryen family to safety, and out of them, only Balerion survived. He became the world’s largest dragon since the Doom, growing impossibly huge by the time of his death. Only years after the Black Dread was gone, his mate Vhagar caught up to him in terms of size, taking over the crown of the biggest dragon since the Doom.

But now that we have Vermithor back in the game, he does look kind of… Ridiculously massive. Is Hugh’s new ride bigger than the Queen of All Dragons?

Vermithor Arrived to Change the Game

King Jaehaerys I Targaryen was Vermithor’s first dragonrider back in the day, but after the man’s death, his dragon refused to bond with others. Called the Bronze Fury for his fierce personality, Vermithor made himself a lair and didn’t let anyone new close, with the exception of Daemon Targaryen who almost died trying to bond with the huge dragon.

Later, Rhaenyra Targaryen called upon Vermithor and told her dragonseeds to claim him. All of them failed and were brutally killed by the unhinged dragon, but eventually, one of them — Hugh, Saera Targaryen’s bastard — managed to bond with him.

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Vermithor’s arrival to the scene changes the game massively, giving the Blacks a dragon rivaling Vhagar’s power and fury. But is he larger than her?

Vermithor Is Not the Biggest Dragon… Yet

While the Bronze Fury is properly massive, he’s still not quite as big as the Queen of All Dragons. Vhagar remains the biggest beast in the world — for now, admittedly. The tides might yet turn in the years to come for two separate reasons: first, the respective ages of the two dragons, and second, their performances in air battles.

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Vhagar was already there during Aegon’s Conquest, making her significantly older than Vermithor whose first dragonrider was the fourth Targaryen king. Like Vhagar became the new largest dragon after Balerion’s death, Vermithor will take over after her — and since the size difference between them is already less significant than between the Black Dread and Vhagar, he might even grow to be larger than her.

Second, Vhagar is understandably the priority target for the Blacks: she alone is a menace capable of wiping out most of their dragons. Aemond and his allies will have to focus on protecting Vhagar, but there’s still a good chance someone will take her out, once again making Vermithor the new biggest and baddest airborne beast.