Space Whale: Difference between revisions

''We carry our harpoons... ''<br />

''But there ain't no whales, so we tell tall tales,''<br />

 

[[Space Is an Ocean]]. This is a well-known phenomenon. For some reason, though, the ocean is pretty much devoid of fish.

* Whales become even more interesting [[Space X|when they]] are [[Recycled in Space]].

* [[Rule of Cool]].

 

[[Gilbert and Sullivan|But nevermind the whys and wherefores]], space and whales are just two great tastes that taste great together. Bonus points are awarded if the whale in question is also a [[Living Ship]].

 

 

See also [[Sapient Cetaceans]], [[Flying Seafood Special]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Macross 7|Macross Dynamite 7]]'' features space whales in a bizarre cross of [[Moby Dick]] and [[The Power of Rock]].

* In ''[[Gundam Seed]]'', space explorer George Glenn discovers a fossilized Space Whale -- with wings, yet -- in orbit around Jupiter, dubbed "Evidence 01" of alien life in that universe. Live ones (or possibly ghosts) show up from time to time in various side stories.

* ''[[Idol Project]]'' featured the "Tropical Dimension", basically a resort/ocean planet. And yes, it had space whales.

* ''[[Plastic Little]]'' features a crew and ship whose business is capturing exotic creatures in the 'sea of clouds' of the planet Ietta, apparently a gas giant of some kind, and selling them to collectors and zoos. In the sequence in which you get to see the exotic creatures, one of those shown is most definitely an Air Whale.

* The spaceships of ''[[Blue Drop]]'', while mechanical, are clearly inspired by this trope. The main character's sentient ship (the Blue) looks like a sperm whale, complete with fins and a random whalesong whenever she moves.

* One episode in the third season of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' features a painting done by Michiru that is of a whale in space. This is particularly fitting for her, since she's Sailor Neptune and has ocean/water powers.

== Comic Books ==

* ''Abraxas and the Earthman'' by Rick Veitch (originally serialized in ''Epic Illustrated,'' later released as a graphic novel) is all about this trope: There are space whales (which look exactly like Earth's whales, and "swim" through space with their fins and tails), and space whalers. The whalers are from a civilization based on Organic Technology; they fly in ships which look like small asteroids covered with trees -- the leaves serve as "sails" with which they can reach lightspeed. And everyone can breathe in space (no explanation is even attempted for that). The Great Red Whale Abraxas = Moby Dick, of course, and Captain Rotwang = Captain Ahab.

** Still better/worse: Superboy calls him on the coincidence the first time they meet.

** And that's not even the only space whale in ''Legion Of Super-Heroes''. In the original continuity, Lightning Lad lost his arm to the "Super-Moby Dick of Space!"

** Speaking of Lobo, in [[Fifty Two|52]], [[Crowning Moment of Funny|he gets a talking space dolphin]] [[Morality Pet]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Side kick]]. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* In the ''[[Green Lantern]]'' comics, it was recently revealed that the [[Anthropomorphic Personification|cosmic personification]] of willpower, Ion, looks very much like a big green whale.

* Doug TenNapel seems fond of this one.

** ''Creature Tech'' features Giant Space Eels with humanoid alien riders. The Mad Scientist tries to use one of these eels to destroy California.

 

== Film ==

* The 1965 Belgian animated movie ''Pinocchio in Outer Space'' was a [[Recycled in Space]] sequel to Disney's [[Pinocchio]] that had Astro, a [[Space Whale]] version of Monstro the Whale, complete with a jet nozzle replacing his blowhole.

* ''[[Treasure Planet]]'' - Wins bonus points for having [[Space Pirates|full-rigged sailing ships in space]] as well. Still, that was kind of the POINT.

* In the "Pines of Rome" sequence of ''[[Fantasia]] 2000'', some sort of [[Negative Space Wedgie]] gives a pod of whales the power of flight, whereupon they rise into the atmosphere, enter space itself, and [[Disney Acid Sequence|ultimately breach the surface of the 'ocean' of the atmosphere]] - the animators [[Shrug of God|assure us it's intended to be ambiguous]]. Besides, the sequence's [[Crowning Music of Awesome|titular song]], by Ottorino Resphigi, is so majestic [[Rule of Cool|we can pretty much not care about that]].

 

== Literature ==

** Discworld itself is carried through space on the back of [[Turtle Power|another enormous aquatic animal]].

* An Italian satirical science-fiction novel titled ''Terra!'' featured an extended Moby-Dick parody sequence, with metal-rich asteroids and miners.

* [[Alan Dean Foster]]'s novel ''Cachalot'' (1980), part of the [[Humanx Commonwealth]] universe. In the future, Mankind had decided to save the last survivors of the cetacean species of Earth (whales, dolphins, orcas) and transplant them to a planet almost completely covered by oceans which had no native sentient species (or so they thought, because they didn't look deep enough in the oceans). The cetaceans prospered, on a world that belonged to them and on which humans and thranx were only allowed as traders and researchers. By the time of the novel, all the cetaceans are sentient to some degree, with the toothed whales more so than the baleen whales (either due to evolution or genetic Uplifting done prior to the whale diaspora or shortly afterwards, it's not entirely clear). Some species of toothed whales have even grown more intelligent than humans and live for hundreds of years since they are no longer hunted. The book ends with the revelation that these whales have developed [[Psychic Powers|psionic powers]] like telekinesis and telepathy (since they have no hands and thus a civilizations based on song, not artifacts and tools), and with the help of these powers they can levitate their bodies from the water and travel into space.

* Wayne D. Barlowe's ''Expedition'' not only gives us a planet with a wide variety of "Floaters", several of whom are basically Air-Whales, one of these is of human-like intelligence.

* [[Iain M Banks|Iain M. Banks]]

** ''Consider Phlebas'' briefly mentions the chuy-hitsi warp animal, spacebourne creatures capable of interstellar travel.

** A largely un-related but voluminous B Plot in the sequel ''Look to Windward'' introduces the "dirigible behemothaur": a very, very, very large Air Whale.

** The Dwellers fit this - although they mostly live on gas planets as Air Whales, it is implied that they created a massive intergalactic network of wormholes. It is certain that at one point they used them. Their culture is intimately examined in [[The Algebraist]]. In some ways they are similar to the Affront from [[Excession]], being gleefully violent and cruel to their offspring, and being possessed of a rather macho attitude to life. They are, however, also quite scholarly and thoughtful at times.

** The Hitchhiker's Guide also has space ''dolphins''- the {{spoiler|second}} most intelligent species on Earth {{spoiler|escapes before the planet is destroyed.}}

{{quote| ''[[Ear Worm|So long and thanks for all the fish, so sad that it has come to this...]]''}}

** Also, the whale survived for only a few minutes. A whale could hold their breath for that long.

* In the 1970s Robert F. Young wrote [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?26084 a series of stories] about a man who teams up with a space whale. (The stories also featured lots of complex typewriter-generated graphics, for reasons best known to the author.)

* It didn't take long for Star Wars Expanded Universe to invent some: the first example of a space whale species was introduced in 1984 by one of the earliest Star Wars novels. Other examples followed, eventually making their ways into cartoons (see below).

* The Star Trek TNG novel ''Dark Mirror'' by [[Diane Duane]] has a [[Sapient Cetaceans|dolphinoid]] ambassador aboard the Enterprise-D; he [[My Significance Sense Is Tingling|detects differences in the hyperstrings]] when the starship has crossed between universes. In fact it's his sense that something is different that gives them time to figure out what's going on.

* Philip Reeve's ''[[Larklight]]'' novels subvert this trope: space is almost devoid of whales, and filled with fish. The protagonists' father is actually a biologist whose specialty is these fish. The few 'wind-whales' that do appear are clearly described to be more like jellyfish.

* In the Seafort Saga series, by David Feintuch, the allied governments of humanity are attacked by giant space goldfish we accidentally lured into our space by FTL travel; apparently it sounded just like someone calling out to them and they were exploring to find out who was out there. {{spoiler|The protagonist kills them all at the end of the series by tricking them into the Sun}}.

* The novel ''A Deeper Sea'' by Alexander Jablokov involves a whale being turned into a spacefaring cyborg to fulfill a religious prophecy of the dolphins, with whom man has learned to communicate.

* The ''[[Ring World]]'' series briefly mentions these, called "starseeds". The Outsiders, a race that could easily dominate the Galaxy but is content to sell information, follow them for whatever reason.

* In [[John Varley]]'s [[Gaea Trilogy]], the artificial planet Gaea is home to ''air whales.'' (Since Gaea itself is in orbit around Saturn, they are also, technically, in space.)

 

 

** In series 5, {{spoiler|Spaceship UK's engine is in fact a captured Space Whale, almost literally (they call it a star-whale).}}

*** In this case it even gets the bonus points {{spoiler|since the ship wouldn't exist/would fall apart without it.}}

*** Not to mention in "A Christmas Carol", when there are sharks and fish in the atmosphere.

** According to the ''Enterprise'' blueprints, cetacean engineers actually '''designed''' much of the navigation system. That's engineers who are cetaceans. From Earth.

** In the TNG episode "Galaxy's Child", they're under threat by a Space Whale baby who thinks the Enterprise is its mother, and is sucking the energy from the ship.

** Likewise, there's an episode of ''Voyager'' which involves the ship getting mixed up in some sort of space whale mating ritual. The male space whales even challenged U.S.S. Voyager as a mating rival. The ship escaped by rolling over and turning blue, because that's how real ocean-going whales indicate submission.

** TNG also had another space whale which was also a [[Living Ship]] called Gomtuu in the episode "Tin Man".

** ''Farscape'' also features budongs, natural creatures that can grow to the size of a small moon. In one episode Talyn gets swallowed by one.

* The [[Speculative Documentary]] ''Alien Worlds: Blue Moon'' features Sky Whales.

 

 

== Video Games ==

* What exemplifies this trope more than the ''[[Darius]]'' series' Great Thing? Nothing, that's what.

** ...except, perhaps, for its little-known relative, Great Force.

** There was also a space whale in the Sector Y level of the game, though it had to be encountered in a special way. {{spoiler|Shoot all the small stingrays in the level 'till they turn blue, and the whale shows up near the end and drops lots of powerups for you.}}

** It's explicitly stated that it's neither fish nor bird in one inscription. [[Fridge Brilliance|Now think about what whales are...]]

* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', Pinocchio's Monstro was, again, a whale that swam through the void.

** And in the GBA version, to make it more relevant to the moon and space, they name it Lunar Whale.

* [[Final Fantasy X]] revolves around the destructive monstrosity called ''Sin'', which is a huge whale .. {{spoiler|it also grows wings during one of your fights against it}}.

* The oceans in the world of ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' were originally created by a great whale, but the whale and the oceans were swallowed by the ancient evil Malpercio.

* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' had dolphins in space.

** Also the flying psychic dolphins from the future.

* The [[Visual Novel]] ''[[Ever 17]]'' doesn't feature any actual space whales, but its aquatic theme park does have a "Cosmic Whale Room," with a lifelike animatronic whale suspended in a room painted to look like outer space.

* While no space whales are found in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', there is a space Flounder, and its Space Flounder spawns which all look like tadpoles with a guys face on it.

** Given the way Vyse and Aika react when they first encounter Rhaknam, and the fact that you never see any other arcwhales through the course of the game in spite of traversing the entire world, it's reasonable to assume that arcwhales are incredibly rare and seeing one is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. {{spoiler|Or they don't exist.}}

** It is not likely that they do not exist, as Rhaknam was mentioned to be an existing creature that was modified, rather than constructed from scratch. {{spoiler|Rhaknam may be the last one though.}}

* ''[[Starscape]]'' had space fire dragon-''things''...

* The reason the [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Zerg]] can survive in space, according to ''[[Starcraft]]'' [[Backstory]], is that they absorbed a flock of [[Space Whale|Space Whales]] that got too close to their homeworld. Also, some of their air units, such as the Guardian and Overlord, certainly fit the trope.

* Let's not forget the Liir of ''[[Sword of the Stars]]''. Some peculiar cross between [[Space Whale|Space Whales]] and Space Dolphins, the eldest members of the Liir are literal whales, albeit whales with immense [[Psychic Powers]] and an intelligence several times that of a human. All Liir who ever set their flippers into space are murderously insane... At least by Liir standards, as they're actually willing to harm other beings. Though they can't survive vacuum and use starships.

** Now, with ''SotS 2'', we finally know that the {{spoiler|Suul'ka}} are actually Liir who have grown so large that, normally, the [[Square-Cube Law]] would cause them to die underwater. Instead, they choose to teleport themselves into space using their immense [[Psychic Powers]] and go mad with power. Screenshots reveal that they are, in fact, several times larger than the new ''Leviathan''-class warships (which are about 800 meters long).

* In the 1993 [[Amiga]]-Game ''Whale's Voyage'' http://hol.abime.net/1692 you're cruising around in a spaceship shaped like, well, a whale.

* ''[[Ratchet and Clank]] Future: Tools of Destruction'' has what appear to be space whales or sharks in two of its [[Space Pirate]] levels (though the first of which is on a planet with an atmosphere). Also, Stratus City has floating jellyfish. Additionally, there are the Basilisk Leviathian enemies (space serpents) in two levels and ''Quest for Booty'' had Pythors (space python-thingies).

* In the [[Sengoku Rance|Rance universe,]] a Space Whale created all of existence [[God Is Evil|so that it could watch humans fight amongst themselves and cause chaos for as long as they exist.]]

* One mission in ''[[Haegemonia]]: Legions of Iron'' involves defending your colonies against ship-sized space jellyfish, which can shoot back. They are [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|never mentioned again]].

* ''[[Nexus the Jupiter Incident]]'' has the Locust Queen, a massive spaceborne creature capable of "launching" waves of insect-like drones.

* The second stage of ''[[Child of Eden]]'' has space whales as well as space manta rays and a space phoenix.

** The boss Vorash is basically a lava whale.

* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' has the Master of the Clouds, a giant [[Air Whale]] who is used to travel from the Shepherd Republic to {{spoiler|Earth}}.

* The ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies had a peculiar shortage of Space Whales in the movies that ''[[Darths and Droids]]''' [[The Loonie|Sally]] tried to amend [http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0263.html in this strip].

* Mentioned in one ''[[Far Out There]]'' strip. Apparently, they can have [http://faroutthere.smackjeeves.com/comics/1090124/page-295-i-have-no-idea-where-claires-gun-went/ mommy issues].

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* The animated series ''[[Bounty Hamster]]'' has enormous purple space whales that act as long-haul truckers, carrying cargo from planet to planet.

* The '80s cartoon ''[[Blackstar]]'' has an episode not only featuring one variation of this trope, but titled after it: "The Air Whales of Anchar".

* In the series ''MTV's Oddities: [[The Maxx]]'', the Air Whales of Pangea appear as blimps (or technically, dirigibles) to the eyes of Mundanes in the city back in the Real World... although, as Mr. Gone claims, the Real World is a mere fantasy world, a shadow of Pangea, so who knows which version is true.

** The same juxtaposition is also explored in the original ''[[The Maxx]]'' comics. There are also the Earth Whales (whales which swim in earth and breathe water) in another Outback, but their "real counterpart" was never shown.

** Notably the next line after the ones included in the page quote is 'But there ain't no whales, so we tell tales and sing our whaling tunes'.

** The Encyclopod of the 4th movie, ''[[Into The Wild Green Yonder]]'', is a space manta ray.

** And finally, the episode "Möbius Dick" introduces a Space Whale. [[Eldritch Abomination|A four-dimensional one]] that spouts fractals, has a Moebius strip colon, and "breathes" the vacuum of space.

* In an episode of ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'', a Space Whale is seen trying to eat two Space Squids, in the manner similar to a black hole.

* Care-a-Lot in the latest ''[[Care Bears]]'' series is visited every year by the Thunder Whales, flying whales who spout storm clouds.

* In one episode of ''[[Rocket Power]]'', a whale is shown being kidnapped by a flying saucer in the background of one scene.