Sea monsters

**Sea monsters** (alternatively called **Whalefin**, **Whalephin**, or the **Sea Eater**) are a species of gigantic, mutated sea life. As the apex predator of Waterworld, these monsters are one of the greatest dangers of the flooded planet.

## Description

The sea monsters are approximately forty feet long, with an estimated weight of twenty tons. They are the apex predator in Waterworld.

It is unclear whether they are fish or mammal. They somewhat resemble whales, albeit with numerous flipper-like appendages. Their mouths open sideways and can extend to a giant size. These gaping maws are covered in rows of large teeth, like a shark. The teeth are long and needle-like. Also like a shark, the sea monster will be drawn to commotion on the surface and/or blood. Whilst an atoll would be likely be too large for a sea monster to attack, people or even boats can easily be swallowed whole by a sea monster.

For a skilled and experienced hunter such as The Mariner, if a sea monster is killed their meat is not only edible to humans but a delicacy. In the film, Helen and Enola complain of hunger and the Mariner kills a whalephin, using himself as bait to lure it in. The trio enjoyed grilled whalephin steaks, while the Mariner was especially fond of sucking the juice from it's eyeballs.

As seen in the comic books, whalephins are capable of rage and have have an extraordinary memory, being able to remember the face of a human who has harmed it in the past, and exact a form of revenge.

## Galleries

### Film

The Mariner is swallowed whole by a sea monster in the 1995 filmThe Mariner grills some freshly-killed whalephin meat on the deck of his trimaran
### Comics

The Mariner prepares to battle a Whalephin in the comics
### Video games

The Mariner ambushed by a Whalephin in the 2022 mock-arcade game

## Production

The original script by Peter Rader described the creature as a "mammoth hammerhead shark". However, later script rewrites made it into a completely new creature.

As depicted in the film, the sea monster was created by use of both a prop and digital effects. The latter of which were provide by Industrial Light and Magic. The decision was made to show as little as possible of it. The shot of the Mariner being swallowed whole was created by Kevin Costner's stuntman drifting into a windsock which was then closed around him, so the digital effects team would have as many points of reference as possible ie. shadows, water ripples ect.

The sea monster was actually one of the few computer generated shots in the movie, whose production prided itself on not relying on CGI and being authentic, instead relying on practical effects and stunts.

### Production gallery

Whalephin concept artwork by Steve BurgPre-visualisationA CGI placeholder image used by Industrial Light & Magic, later popularised as an internet meme
## Trivia

* The sea monster has had a number of different names across different mediums, although the 'whalephin' seems to be the commonly used name, including in the film script and comics books.
* Although barely seen in the film, the novelisation and audio book describe the whalephin in detail. The creature is also depicted clearly in the *Children of Leviathan* comic books, where one plays a large role in the story. In the latter is also implied that the Mariner's species have some genetic connection to the sea eater.
* Exactly as to why they are so big is unknown, although it could be due to Deep-sea gigantism, radiation-induced mutation (such as breeding near a submerged power station), or deliberate genetic engineering by the Foundation.

## External links

* Article on Kaiju-matic
* Reddit article breaking down how the Mariner captures the sea monster
* Article on the Monsters Wiki