Sea serpent

For other uses, see Serpent (disambiguation)

A sea serpent follows Pintel and Ragetti while the pirates row on a longboat.

"I see our stray serpent is returning..."

―Davy Jones

A sea serpent, also referred to as simply serpent, was a type of sea monster of various myths, legends, and pirate lore. It was a mythological creature either wholly or partly serpentine, described as either snake or dragon-like. Various mythologies featuring sea serpents include ancient biblical cosmology (leviathan) as well as Greek mythology or Scandinavian folklore. Although a Sea Serpent was a creature of the sea and oceans, particularly said to appear during violent storms, it may also be a creature of land.

History

"'Ow about for dental advice, then? That breath of yours could kill a sea serpent, mate."

―Jack Sparrow to Chevalle

Various mythologies featuring sea serpents were widespread and appeared frequently. These include the Bible, Scandinavian or Greek mythology, as well as myths, legends, and pirate lore that had mythological descriptions of large sea creatures, in which sea serpents may be compared to leviathans, like the Kraken. Sea serpents were not like the Kraken, which was more of a beast, being a much more intelligent creature, and although it was a creature of the sea and oceans, a sea serpent may also be a creature of land.

Notable sea serpents include a "giant sea snake" considered aggressive hunters that could swallow a sailing vessel and rip prey apart with their long mouths and sharp teeth. They could be found off the coast of Hispaniola, Dominica, and Jagged Cove, among other locations across the Seven Seas. More than likely sea serpents may lurk at the bottom of the ocean floor and surface to eat people or other fish.

According to the legend that Captain Jack Sparrow told an audience at Fort Alvo Grande at Panama, the Serpiente de Muerta was a blue sea serpent that was covered with fish-like fins and breathed blue fire, which Jack Sparrow claimed he and Elizabeth Swann had once previously encountered on Isla de Muerta.

Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl had also encountered a giant serpent that was mentioned in the lore of the game Snake Eyes the very next day after they had played the game. The serpent approached the ship and swallowed the pirate Mary Bonny, who later appeared alive on a remote deserted island.

Following their escape from Fort Charles, Pintel and Ragetti encountered a sleeping sea serpent which was floating around for so long it grew trees on its back, making the two pirates mistake it for an island.

Davy Jones had a serpent that once fought Will Turner.

One sea serpent appeared to be part of the Flying Dutchman, and under the command of the cursed captain Davy Jones. It was more free-spirited than the Kraken, and could be seen sometimes swimming away from the ship on a whim. Davy Jones sometimes used the serpent to capture sailors for his cursed crew. The sea serpent was awakened by Will Turner while Turner was stowing away on the Flying Dutchman. Although the serpent attempted to retrieve Will, he managed to turn the tables and gained control of the creature.

During Cutler Beckett's War Against Piracy, the sea serpents were attacked and killed by pirate alliances because of their bodies resources were obtained for multiple things, many monsters were attacked for the same reasons as the Mermaid, the Cursed Wanderer, Ancient Octopus, Banshee, Spectral Sawfish, Mutated Whale and the Giant Lobster.

At least one "Giant Sea Snake" that was drawn by a young Henry Turner.

Prior to the search for the Trident of Poseidon, Henry Turner spent his life studying the myths of the sea, knowing every legend and every curse, mainly to save his eternally cursed father, Will Turner. By the time he was twelve years old, Henry had drawn several recorded encounters with the sea snakes, at least one being a "very aggressive hunter" that "can swallow a skiff or like vessel." Another series of notes showed at least one serpent found off the coast of Hispanola, had a long mouth with sharp teeth that could rip prey apart, which Henry found at least one lost tooth on a beach near Jagged Cove, and that it probably lurked at the bottom of the ocean floor and surfaces to eat people or other fish. At least one encounter depicted a man named Sam Brown having his leg bit off by a "Devilish Sea Seppent" that was sighted off the coast of Dominica.

Behind the scenes

"Jack. A sea serpent. Only to be found at sea. Aye?"
"Does no one pay attention to language? Sea serpent. Two words. Serpent. Snake-like creature. Sea. Large body of water. Sea serpent, together, snake-like creature found --"

―Scrum and Jack Sparrow

Sea serpents first appear through the Serpiente de Muerta in the 2006 video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, although it is unknown if the serpent actually inhabited Isla de Muerta or if such a creature ever existed due to it not appearing in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The term "sea serpent" would first be used in either The Sleeping Island! or The Journey of Will Turner!, both published by Disney Adventures.

The phrase "Here there be monsters", first said by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) during the climactic battle scene between Barbossa and Jack Sparrow in The Curse of the Black Pearl, derives from the inscriptions on old maps of the mostly unexplored world, were on the edges, the mapmaker, having run out of information, would draw fanciful creatures (such as Sea Serpents) and write, Here There Be Monsters. Barbossa's line would later be called back in Terry Rossio's original 2012 screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which also featured sea serpents. One serpent was killed by Jack Sparrow on the streets of Georgetown, San Domingo. Three other sea serpents attacked the abandoned Spanish fortress, Fort San Cristóbal, during the final battle, with one of them killing the main villain, the Sea Widow, who was marked with the Black Spot.

While unconfirmed, the Rainbow Serpent and the Sea beast may be kin to sea serpents.

Davy Jones' sea serpent from The Journey of Will Turner! may be related to another serpent that guarded the Cloak of Caladonis on the Island of the Cloak of Caladonis in Legends Lost!. They are both green and have red eyes. However, the other serpent has several heads, and this one has only one head.

In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, grape shot cannons were described in hints as being "useful" against sea serpents. Though the creature never appeared in the game, models in the developer phase files indicated that they were in development but were presumably cancelled, like many other updates.

In the 2011 non-canonical video game LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, a sea serpent chases Jack Sparrow when Barbossa's crew led the mutiny and threw him overboard. When Jack is marooned on Smuggler's Den for the second time with Elizabeth Swann, a sea serpent appears.

Appearances

• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (First appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online (Mentioned only)
• The Eyes Have It!
• The Sleeping Island!
• The Journey of Will Turner!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

External Links

• Sea serpent on Wikipedia