New Elden Ring boss just dropped in the real world

A new Elden Ring boss may have just dropped in the real world, after people much smarter than me have discovered that Komodo dragons — the largest (living) lizard out there, that we know of — have iron-coated teeth. This is metal as f**k, if you ask me.

Komodo dragons are renowned Apex predators, and often sit high at the top of the food chain wherever you find them. It’s easy enough to believe given that these hostile albeit beautiful creatures can weigh over 300 pounds, have been known to attack humans (rarely), and will sometimes even eat each other.

The discovery that these fellas have iron-coated teeth is the cherry on top for why Komodo dragons can be so formidable, with the orange iron that covers the serrated edges and tips of their teeth making them exceptionally sharp. We know that these beasts will tear flesh from their prey, and their newly-discovered iron coatings go a long way in explaining how the creature is able to maintain its pearly whites throughout its lifespan.

This fresh discovery is also important because ultimately, it helps scientists and academics learn more about extinct species and dinosaurs, and how they lived. The serrated edges that a Komodo dragon’s teeth possess are known as ziphodant teeth; teeth that lack the amount of enamel that us humans have, but manage to remain healthy enough to shred prey for years upon years anyway.

Looking back at the past and gaining an understanding of how certain species lived is quite troublesome because of fossilization, but with the Komodo dragon being one of few remaining, living species to still have ziphodant teeth, there’s a lot to learn from them.

Now, I definitely do not suggest taking that Dark Moon Greatsword replica of yours and battling it out with a Komodo dragon. No amount of ‘getting good’ will help you win that fight, I’m afraid. If you get bitten by one of these guys, a Crimson Flask won’t save you from the likely sepsis you’ll endure given all the bacteria that the mouth of a Komodo harbors from consuming rotting flesh.

I’d stick to Elden Ring’s Magma Wyrm’s and Bayle the Dread for your dragon fix in the meantime. You’re more likely to come out unscathed.

Before you return to The Lands Between to show Greyoll or Agheel who’s boss, let me put you onto another badass creature that deserves more recognition while we’re here: the diabolical ironclad beetle. While not quite as brutal as a Komodo dragon, these guys are incredibly tough. So tough that this beetle is used to inspire tougher joints for engineering applications.

The beetle cannot fly. Instead, it has exceptionally structured elytra (wings) that allow it to resist being crushed; it can, quite literally, survive being run over by a car, making it the ultimate tank of insects.

Anyways, that’s enough of real world, Elden Ring-adjacent creatures for now, but let us know of any other real life beasts that you think would put up a good fight in a FromSoftware title!