History Main / MonsterWhale

So it's no surprise that, for centuries, it was very common for whales to be portrayed as {{Sea Monster}}s. Creepily enigmatic at best and outright malevolent at worst, whales were frequently cast in a negative light. For centuries (even millennia in some places), the most common image of a whale in many cultures was a violent, ravenous beast that devoured everything it could and destroyed whatever it couldn't. Tales abounded of unlucky people being SwallowedWhole by whales, to the point that "{{belly of the whale}}" became a metaphor to describe a dangerous and difficult to escape situation. Sperm whales in particular were hit with this image, due to how dangerous they were to hunt.

However, the general public's perception of whales has changed over the last few decades as a result of [[ScienceMarchesOn science learning more about them]]. In the 1960s, it was discovered that whales -- previously thought to be mute -- made vocalizations underwater. The 1970 release of the album ''Music/SongsOfTheHumpbackWhale'' helped re-characterize whales as intelligent, peaceful creatures that deserved protection, kickstarting the "Save the Whales" movement. As a result, whales are nowadays far more likely to be depicted as {{gentle giant}}s, and even antagonistic whales tend to be portrayed with at least some sympathy. Unsurprisingly, portrayals of whales as brutal monsters have largely [[DiscreditedTrope fallen by the wayside]]. While seemingly monstrous whales do still appear from time to time, they're now far more likely to be portrayed as benevolent or at least neutral (if [[SapientCetaceans sapient]]) or as acting like normal animals rather than ravenous beasts (if nonsapient). Even if a whale ''is'' portrayed as genuinely threatening, chances are it'll be the exception rather than the rule.

* ''Series/WalkingWithBeasts'' depicts the prehistoric whale ''Basilosaurus'' as a fearsome predator, hunting smaller whales, sharks and elephant-ancestors that wander into the ocean. Appropriately, the episode featuring it is called "Whale Killer". Ironically, the ''Basilosaurus'' is also the protagonist of the episode, with the plot revolving around a [[MonsterIsAMommy female looking for a safe place to give birth]].

* Icelandic folklore generally didn't depict real whale species this way, especially not the blue whale, which was imagined as benevolent and heroic. However, it did have some ''imagined'' whale species called illhveli ("evil whales") that fit this trope to a "t", being devoted to the destruction of humans and benign whales and taking sadistic pleasure in the death and devastation they cause. Notable species include the raudkembingur ("redcomb"), a bloodthirsty predator that will die of frustration if its prey escapes it; the mouse-faced mushveli, which can clamber on land to pursue targets; they stökkull ("jumper"), which has eyes obscured by hanging folds of skin and leaps in the air to smash ships to flinders; the sverdhvalur, which uses its sword-like dorsal fin to slice ships open; and the cowlike nauthveli, which lures cattle into the sea to kill. The sole exception is the skeljungur, which is described as NotAlwaysEvil (and unlike other illhveli, its flesh is edible).
* The mythology of the Pacific Northwestern Amerindians gives us the Tsemaus, generally depicted as being whale-like. It's typically imagined as disguising itself as driftwood so it won't alarm the people it encounters until it's too late for them. Like many examples, it goes out of its way to sink boats and kill humans, but unlike many examples, it can swim up rivers. Some folklorists believe it to have originated as a personification of water hazards like snags.
* On the North American West Coast there is also a flood story about an evil whale that kills other whales but doesn't get {{Thunderbird}}'s attention until it also starts causing floods on land so it can kill animals there too. Thunderbird blows its flood waters back into the ocean, then dives in and pulls it to shore, where the evil whale [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath slowly dies of dehydration]].

** Leviathans are sea monsters that resemble disproportionately large whales. They are inscrutable and intermittently aggressive; a leviathan will periodically attack anything crossing into its territory, smashing ships to flinders and swallowing sailors whole, before vanishing off the face of the earth for decades at a time before resuming its attacks somewhere else entirely.

* ''TabletopGame/MiddleEarthRolePlaying'': Demon whales are immense, predatory cetaceans native to the Ice Bay of Forochel. They're distinguished by their white or pale grey hides, five-inch teeth capable of shearing through steel, and penchant for swallowing people whole.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'': While you never encounter any, throughout the game you'll occasionally hear people spreading rumors about massive "ghoul whales" that supposedly haunt the ocean.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': Jeremiah Whitewhale is a human-sized anthropomorphic whale who is a monster in the metaphorical sense: a CorruptCorporateExecutive who mistreats and [[BadBoss outright murders]] his own employees. He is still a "giant" in the business sense and "swallows" smaller companies by buying them out similarly to how a real whale swallows its small prey.

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': One MonsterOfTheWeek was a giant sand whale that had a grudge against Eustace's father Ickett Bagge for stealing an accordion that belonged to him years ago. The whale himself is fully sapient and capable of speech. He ultimately regains his accordion and goes to perform at a concert made of other whales like him.

* As pointed out in the ''Walking With...'' entry, other prehistoric whales were all hunting other large marine lifeforms rather than filter feeders. ''Basilosaurus'' was an apex predator in its day, although its body is much more slender than most modern wales, hence its NonIndicativeName, as it was initally mistaken for a reptile.

* ''Webanimation/{{RWBY}}'': The Monstra is a Grimm whale of gigantic proportions, shaped like a sperm whale that has some baluga whale elements. It has huge teeth, gouges in the side of its body that act as landing platforms for airships, and enormous, multiple flippers that extend from its body like the fins of a lionfish. Its upper and lower body is covered in Gravity Dust. It functions as a LivingShip, using organic features to replace technological and architectural functions, controlled by Salem from a throne that is located in the region a real life sperm whale's junk would be found. Its name is a ShoutOut to Monstro, the whale that appears in Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}''.

* ''Webanimation/{{RWBY}}'' provides one in Monstra, a ''titanic'', flying whale-like Grimm that is also [[BigBad Salem's]] personal "flagship".

Whales are some of the largest things that swim. Mysterious giants of the open ocean, they've spent millions of years swimming the seas, often as apex predators. In modern times, sperm whales plunge the depths of the ocean to hunt {{giant squid}}s, and even baleen whales will devour enormous amounts of prey.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Subverted with Whamon. He first appears as a creepy-looking {{cyborg}} whale who swallows the Digidestined whole, but he was BrainwashedAndCrazy by a black gear. Once they free him he goes on to be one of their major allies, showing himself to be a GentleGiant and serving as their LivingShip.

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': The show's MonsterOfTheWeek is a giant sand whale that has a grudge against Eustace's father Ickett Bagge for stealing an accordion years ago. The whale himself is fully sapient and capable of speech.

Given how old this trope is, it goes without saying that many of the examples are not particularly accurate to real whales. They may combine features of various species together-- it's not uncommon to see a sperm whale depicted with the massive teeth of an orca and the grooved throat of a baleen whale, for example. Other times, especially in older works from the Middle Ages and earlier, they might not look like whales at all, instead being an example of InformedSpecies. Check a medieval map, and you'll often find strange creatures with boarlike tusks and fish scales, only discernible as a whale by the waterspouts from their head.

Given how old this trope is, it goes without saying that many of the examples are not particularly accurate to real whales. They may combine features of various species together-- it's not uncommon to see a sperm whale depicted with the massive teeth of an orca and the grooved throat of a baleen whale, for example. Other times, especially in older works from the Middle Ages and earlier, they might not look like whales at all, instead being an example of InformedSpecies.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': While all whale-like monsters technically qualify, there are some that are especially good fits. Fortress Whale, Darkest Fortress Whale and Citadel Whale are some very scary-looking monsters that resemble a cross between a sperm whale (though the latter two [[ArtisticLicenseBiology appear to have baleen]]) and a fortification with turrets.

Given how old this trope is, it goes without saying that many of the examples are not particularly accurate to real whales. They may be MixAndMatchCritters, combining features of various species together-- it's not uncommon to see a sperm whale depicted with the massive teeth of an orca and the grooved throat of a baleen whale, for example. Other times, especially in older works from the Middle Ages and earlier, they might not look like whales at all, instead being an example of InformedSpecies.

However, the general public's perception of whales has changed over the last few decades as a result of [[ScienceMarchesOn science learning more about them]]. In the 1960s, it was discovered that whales -- previously thought to be mute -- made vocalizations underwater. The 1970 release of the album ''Music/SongsOfTheHumpbackWhale'' helped re-characterize whales as intelligent, peaceful creatures that deserved protection, kickstarting the "Save the Whales" movement. As a result, whales are nowadays far more likely to be depicted as {{gentle giant}}s, and even antagonistic whales tend to be portrayed with at least some sympathy. Unsurprisingly, portrayals of whales as brutal monsters have largely [[DiscreditedTrope fallen by the wayside]]. While seemingly monstrous whales do still appear from time to time, they're now far more likely to be portrayed as benevolent or at least neutral (if [[SapientCetaceans sapient]]) or as acting like normal animals rather than ravenous beasts (if nonsapient). Even if a whale ''is'' portrayed as genuinely terrible, chances are it'll be the exception rather than the rule.

Physically, these creatures tend to take after sperm whales, possessing their blunt, massive heads and mouths full of teeth rather than baleen. However, while real sperm whales have comparatively very small mouths, with thin lower jaws, toothless upper jaws and small throats, monster whales possess gaping, cavernous maws filled with razor-sharp teeth; they also tend to be white in color. They basic version is an aggressive predator eager to feed on sailors and schools of fish alike, all of which it swallows whole and often imprisons in a vast, cavernous stomach.

SubTrope of SeaMonster. If the whale is large enough, this may overlap with KrakenAndLeviathan. For other marine mammals portrayed in a similar light, see MonstrousSeal, WilyWalrus and especially DeviousDolphins (which negative portrayals of orcas fall under, despite them being popularly known as "killer whales"). Compare and contrast SpaceWhale, which takes the "big, mysterious swimmer" aspects of whales and puts them in space instead. Also compare KillerGorilla and CruelElephant for other cases of a large, intelligent mammal being portrayed negatively.

* Icelandic folklore generally didn't depict real whale species this way, especially not the blue whale, which was imagined as benevolent and heroic. But it did have some ''imagined'' whale species called illhveli ("evil whales") that fit this trope to a "t", being devoted to the destruction of humans and benign whales and taking sadistic pleasure in the death and devastation they cause. The sole exception is the Skeljngur, which is described as NotAlwaysEvil (and unlike other illhveli, its flesh is edible).

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': In the ComicBook/WonderGirl Impossible Tale in issue 111 a giant whale that looks like a combination sperm and pilot whale attacks Renno the merboy and a sea-centuar. Diana saves them by tricking the massive whale into attacking its own reflection until it knocks itself out.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Behemoth Whales are a subversion. They're certainly gigantic (commonly reaching over 1,000 feet long and 400,000 tons) and have been known to swallow ships whole... but they're generally neutral in alignment, and rarely attack sapient creatures unless provoked.

Needless to say, the general public's perception of whales has changed over the last few decades as a result of [[ScienceMarchesOn science learning more about them]]. In the 1960s, it was discovered that whales -- previously thought to be mute -- made vocalizations underwater. The 1970 release of the album ''Music/SongsOfTheHumpbackWhale'' helped re-characterize whales as intelligent, peaceful creatures that deserved protection, kickstarting the "Save the Whales" movement. As a result, whales are nowadays far more likely to be depicted as {{gentle giant}}s, and even antagonistic whales tend to be portrayed with at least some sympathy. Unsurprisingly, portrayals of whales as brutal monsters have largely [[DiscreditedTrope fallen by the wayside]]. While seemingly monstrous whales do still appear from time to time, they're now far more likely to be portrayed as benevolent or at least neutral (if [[SapientCetaceans sapient]]) or as acting like normal animals rather than ravenous beasts (if nonsapient). Even if a whale ''is'' portrayed as genuinely terrible, chances are it'll be the exception rather than the rule.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'''s [[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Behemoth Behemoth]] is a [[MobySchtick giant white sperm whale]] with a narwhal's horn that it uses to sink ships and a maw filled with six-foot-long and razor-sharp teeth.

* ''Webanimation/{{RWBY}}'' provides one in Monstra, a giant whale-like Grimm that is also [[BigBad Salem's]] personal vessel.

* Myth/ClassicalMythology: The SeaMonster sent by Poseidon to devastate Aethiopia in the myth of Perseus and Andromeda was named Cetus, from which we get the word cetacean. This has led some modern artists to depict it as whale-like, even though the original myth does not explicitly call it a whale.

* The Ziphius of British and Scandinavian folklore is a man-eating whale that can and will sink ships with its knife-like dorsal fin. Like Cetus, it too has lent its name to modern science-- ''Ziphiidae'' is the family of beaked whales.

* The Trolual (a Latinized form of "trolval", meaning troll-whale), is one of the more familiar sights on ancient and medieval ocean maps. It's a type of tusked whale large enough to have vegetation growing on its back, and it's known to take a proactive approach in killing humans by crushing and capsizing their ships.

* One example of this trope, the Trolual (a Latinized form of "trolval", meaning troll-whale), is one of the more familiar sights on ancient and medieval ocean maps. It's a type of tusked whale large enough to have vegetation growing on its back, and it's known to take a proactive approach in killing humans by crushing and capsizing their ships.

* ''Film/KujiraGami'': This 1962 film from the company that later released the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' series features an unusually large North Pacific right whale, which terrorizes a small fishing village and prompts one of their men to try and kill it after it destroyed his family, while an brutal drunkard also comes to the village, intent on killing it himself. (The film's plot is apparently inspired by ''Literature/MobyDick''.)

* On the North American West Coast there is also a flood story about an evil whale that kills other whales but doesn't get Thunderbird's attention until it also starts causing floods on land so it can kill animals there too. Thunderbird blows its flood waters back into the ocean, then dives in and pulls it to shore, where the evil whale [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath slowly dies of dehydration]].

* ''Film/ThePagemaster'': The albino whale from ''Literature/MobyDick'' puts in an appearance, first appearing on the mural of the library ceiling. When Richard and his friends are traveling over sea, he sees Captain Ahab, whose entire crew is quickly wiped out by the whale, which then circles back to attack Richard's boat as well.

* On the North American West Coast there is also a flood story about an evil whale that kills other whales but doesn't get Thunderbird's attention until it also starts causing floods on land so it can kill animals there too. Thunderbird blows it's flood waters back into the ocean, then dives in and pulls it to shore, where the evil whale [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath slowly dies of dehydration]].