The Evolution of Leprechaun (Animated)
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The Leprechaun is a C-Tier Villain with an A-Tier evolution and there’s nowhere he won't go to recover his gold. Let's go through his looks, abilities and story... animated!
warning: spoilers ahead!In 1993's Leprechaun, The Leprechaun first wears a green tuxedo, red shorts, striped socks and heeled shoes. He has craggy skin, curly hair, poor dental hygiene, a tiny top hat, and an affinity for shining shoes. He's bulletproof, can reattach lost limbs, mimic voices, use force powers, and teleport. After searching for his lost shilling, he's fed a four-leaf clover that melts his skin before falling down a well that gets drenched in gasoline and engulfed in an explosion.
In the sequel, Leprechaun 2 (1994), the Leprechaun sports a robin hood style getup, complete with cape and pointy hat, and his hair is longer and lighter. In this film, strangely, his nails are sometimes red. Fast forward 1000 years, and he’s back in his usual attire, but with a red and blue vest, a purple-y lapel, puffy cuffs, darker shorts, smaller buckles, socks with thinner stripes, and he’s extremely bald. His new skills include creating realistic illusions and shapeshifting. This time, he aims to claim a young bride but is stabbed with an iron rod, blowing him apart.
In the third film, Leprechaun 3 (1995), Lep first appears as a stone statue, but after his medallion is removed, he's brought back to life. His lapel is no longer purple, his vest is a dark blue, and his sleeves feature an additional chain. His shorts are now brown, his sock stripes are even thinner, his shoe buckles are rounder and his skin is more heavily dotted. He also dresses in a Lawyer-ly outfit, religious robes, a psychic getup, doctors scrubs and magician’s attire. This film also portrays him expanding people to explosion, and reveals that his bite – mixed with his blood – can turn his victim into a Lep-Human hybrid. Lep hits Vegas in search of his booty, but when it's burnt, he sets ablaze.
Leprechaun 4 (1997) introduces Leprechaun in a black tuxedo, wooing a space princess. While his main look remains consistent, the buckle on his hat is more circular. He also wears a sheriff costume, safety helmet, and a hazmat spacesuit. After being obliterated and peed on, his spirit flows into the miscreant, allowing him to re-materialize, and he has the power to create force-fields now. He faces off against space-marines, which accidentally enlarge him, but he's sucked into space, and bursts apart.
In Leprechaun in the Hood (2000), Lep appears as a stone statue, again… gets awoken briefly, and then transformed into a different looking statue. Years later, he's unleashed, but his skin is darker, his hair is even longer, and he sometimes sports snazzy shades. His new powers consist of creating electrical currents and possessing people. He hits the hood looking for his magical flute, and then steps in to manage a rising rap star.
In Back 2 Tha Hood (2003), Leprechaun's clothes are darker, and he wears a long coat, a frilly dress shirt, and a fancy cloak. His top hat is taller, and his face is slightly orange in tone. He lacks most of his powers, but his eyes can apparently glow demon red. He's condemned and dragged into hell, then when his gold is discovered, he climbs out to reclaim it – but he's crisped in an oven, shot with clover-laced bullets and knocked into wet cement.
The reboot – Leprechaun Origins (2014) – features a hunched goblin with an extremely deformed face. He can be imprisoned by ancient monoliths and loves to feast on tasty people, but he's easily decapitated and promptly forgotten.
Ignoring all the sequels, Leprechaun Returns (2018) opens with one of Lep’s survivors accidentally ingesting his well water, leading to Lep’s re-birthing. He appears shorter, and sports a brown suit, socks with much thinner stripes, an overcoat covered in fungus, while his nose is hooked, his skin is green, and he has yellow eyes, more curved ears, and longer hair. His hat is smaller and covers up a prominent bald spot. He can now remove his face and also hide inside of his hat. Although sorority girls explode him to goo, he re-materializes as miniature clones and reforms as a full-size Lep. Eventually, the girls electrocute him to flames, leaving him in need of a crucial makeover.
And now? Well, we wait for the old-west reboot to complete this odd-ball series.
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