History Main / GiantSquid

* Another species on the list of largest squids, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_squid Humboldt squid]], while not considered giant, (5-foot long mantle) best fits this trope in its behaviour; whereas Giant and Colossal squid are thought to be mostly docile around humans, the Humboldt does ''not'' share this trait. In California and Baja, where the squid are fished for, it's gained a nickname amongst the fishermen. ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Diablo rojo]]'', which means "red devil". This is a squid that quite literally TurnsRed when it goes on the offensive, flashing between its neutral white colour and a vivid blood red. Humboldts do not sink boats, but when feeding or being fished up, they are extremely aggressive. Their beaks are too weak to break bones, but their strong arms have sharp teeth which can rip through skin and most wetsuits, inflicting serious bleeding that has the potential to be fatal if it rips its way into a major artery. They have also been known to attack underwater cameras and will eat other wounded Humboldts. However, outside of feeding and being fished, they have also been observed to be calm and curious, so their behavior is a subject of debate. Regardless, underwater cameraman Scott Cassell--who made a career filming them--won't go in the water with them without wearing a chainmail wetsuit.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}},'' Inklings are humanoid creatures who can morph into roughly human-sized squids. However, the "Kraken" special ability allows an Inkling to temporarily become a massive and virtually indestructible squid capable of destroying all it touches.

* In one story of ''Literature/PrinceValiant'', the epynomous hero is trapped above a large, deep pool with an enourmous octopus at the bottom trying to reach him. In another story, he is at sea with a small crew in a boat and is attacked by a giant squid.

* A [[UpToEleven really, really]] Giant Squid is worshipped as a god on a planet where the Doctor and Romana seek the Key to Time in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E5ThePowerOfKroll The Power of Kroll]]".

* ''TabletopGame/DystopianWars'' takes this up to eleven -- the Empire of the Blazing Sun have the Ika class Mechanical Squid -- a gigantic robotic squid large enough to grab and drag down the largest warships into the briny depths.

* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'' has the Tusoteuthis, a 30 foot long squid loosely based on the real prehistoric creature [[note]] The real animal was an octopus, not a squid[[/note]]. It can grab prey (including players and various other giant sea predators) and crush them to death, inflincting torpor which can cause the creature to lose consciousness, while [[LifeDrain regaining health by drinking their blood]]. If you manage to start doing serious damage to one, it will spray a blinding ink cloud and flee. There's also an Alpha version which is [[UpToEleven even bigger]], being the largest alpha creature on the island. Pretty impressive given it has [[DeathWorld serious competition]]. Fortunately, both the common and Alpha varieties are only found deep in the ocean and will not come to the surface unless tamed, so one can avoid them easily enough.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Squid Ink acts as a recurring magical item used to temporarily freeze the user's target in place. In Season 3, Gold and Baelfire summon and kill a giant squid in Neverland to take it's ink for this specific purpose. Season 6 also introduces krakens as a similar but much more aggressive and menacing creature, almost looking like mutant giant squids.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': Ursula is already a rather large octopus lady, but this trope is truly {{invoked|trope}} in the climax, when she [[MakeMyMonsterGrow grows enormous]]. When she dies, the way her tentacles clutch the wrecked ship while flailing looks a lot like old drawings of giant squids attacking ships.

* The Walt Disney version of ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' prominently featured a giant squid that Kirk Douglas went against mano a mano (a mano, a mano, a mano...) with a harpoon.

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'', the Watcher in the Water was decidedly squid-like, with bits of octopus thrown in for good measure. In the books the description is a bit more vague but still retains most of the Giant Squid properties.

* Dianoga in ''Film/ANewHope'' is definitely this. Some people InUniverse even call it "Trash Giant Squid".

* One episode of ''TheSeanCullenShow'' had a giant squid take over Sean's basement. It eventually kidnapped William Shatner and fell through a wormhole. Sean sang about it.
* ''Franchise/UltraSeries''

[[folder:Pinball]]

* ''VideoGame/EXTRAPOWERGiantFist'': The boss of the Milles City industrial area stage is a giant squid that attacks from the water and attacks with whatever arms are holding aloft TheMenInBlack enemies that were attacking throughout the past two stages. Rather than being a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere, it serves as a CallBack to the unearthed bracelet having a rampage effect on animals within its range. A clue that the players are getting closer to their objective.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': To destroy Lord Hinjo's private ship, Redcloak summons a giant octopus. It was eventually defeated by a [[ThreateningShark shark]]-[[HorseOfADifferentColor mounted]] paladin.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', a giant black [[strike:squid]] kralamoure is protecting Oma Island by destroying in its tentacles any ship coming too close. [[spoiler:It is in fact the form chosen by an ancient shapeshifting dragon.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' episode "It Came From Beneath the Sea Duck", a giant squid enters Cape Suzette's harbor when [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Mad Dog and Dumptruck]] cut away the safety net while sneaking in. After tasting frosty pep ice cream, the squid develops a craving for it, causing mayhem in its search.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', an episode had Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda visiting Atlantis, where their immediately arrested because [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cosmo was responsible for sinking the continent]]. Timmy, having [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Wet Willie]] powers, attempts to summon a giant squid to help them, to which everyone laughs, thinking it doesn't exist. At the end of the episode, the squid finally shows up and destroys Atlantis.

** The Big Octo miniboss from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is a land-based variant.
** The Big Octo from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. By ''GOD'', the Big Octo. Basically to sum it up, it's a giant squid that is always preceded by a large flock of seagulls, and will try to suck in your boat if you go near said seagulls, at which point you must attack several places on its body with your boomerang.

* A [[UpToEleven really, really]] Giant Squid is worshipped as a god on a planet where the Doctor and Romana seek the Key to Time in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E5ThePowerOfKroll The Power of Kroll".

* Elder Pael from ''Manga/SazanEyes'' resembles a colossal squid the size of an airplane, with an incredibly elongated body and a prawn-like head. Justified, since Hyoma like himself can take mix-and-match forms thanks to their ability to merge and assimilate other creatures.
* Early on in ''Manga/DragonBall'', during the Red Ribbon arc, General Blue swaps an arrow signal inside the pirate cave so that Goku ends up falling into a small grotto containing a giant, hungry octopus (who feels insulted when called a squid). The beast then tries to smash and eat Goku. Unfortunately for him, Goku fries him with a Kamehameha and eat some of his tentacles to regain strength.

* The revived monk Seikai Miyoshi from ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'' transforms into a giant red octopus to fight (a pun on the fact that monks, due to their shaved heads, are often called "octopi"). Later in the story, MoonRabbit Shingetsu merges himself with a giant squid, gaining CombatTentacles with a HealingFactor and the ability to spit ink.

** Much smaller but still quite sizeable itself is the ''land-dwelling'' megasquid, larger than modern-day elephants and has evolved to have elephant-like traits and lifestyle.

* ''Series/TheFutureIsWild'': 200 million years after humanity has gone extinct, the oceans have become home to the enormous 25 meter Rainbow Squid. However, despite being carnivorous they are actually [[GentleGiant gentle giants]] that use their incredible color changing abilities for dazzling courtship displays and to hide whenever predators are nearby, even if said predators are significantly smaller than it.

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': During [S] Jack: Ascend, Bro Strider is seen battling a giant octopus-like monster that lives in the lave seas of the Land of Heat and Clockwork.

* One of the bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 2'' is a huge, many-tentacled Kraken.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' series has the Squid Baron, [[BossSubtitles Reoccurring Rascal/Concerned Parent]]. Despite his name, he looks more like a giant octopus than a giant squid. He may not be large enough to drag down a ship, but he's still roughly twice the size of an average human.
* One of the optional ship battles in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is against a giant flying squid.
* The giant pink squid thingy Krusher from ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' starts off as a boss fight before the Guru manages to talk it into temporarily joining you. You later control Crusher to defend Bentley by smashing pirates in a fashion in a scene that is best described as "Giant Squid Bongo with a Body Count".
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}'' is this, even named as such by the research base's scientists. Being [[spoiler:heavily mutated by [[MutagenicGoo Structure Gel]]]], this creature patrols the [[EldritchOceanAbyss Abyss]] for prey, and after [[spoiler:eating Johann Ross alive]], it constantly stalks you along the way to station Phi, with only cramped rock tunnels for cover. If you're caught, the squid grabs you in its jaw and hauls you off in a random direction, often undoing your progress.

* The Crabsquid in ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' isn’t that big in comparison to some of the other creatures but is still a few times larger than the average human. It's also highly aggressive and has both [[MixAndMatchCritters razor-sharp, crab-like talons]] that it uses to attack as well as a short range {{EMP}} that can disable any electronics in the area, including your vehicles.

->''"...Just so you understand exactly what it is you're dealing with: besides its eight huge tentacles, this thing has two whips. Each one is probably as long as this room and three or four feet thick. Those whips are covered with suction cups as big as this notepad. In the center of each cup is a claw as big as my fist and razor-sharp. The squid grabs and impales its prey with those whips and drags it towards its beak, shredding the flesh as it goes, and these things can shred a one-hundred-pound tuna in five seconds. Its beak is like an eagle's, only it's about fifty times bigger and can bite through steel. Now, you make a mistake trying to kill this thing, and it gets you first...you pray to God those whips kill you before you get to that beak."''

* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}'' is this, even named as such by the research base's scientists. Being [[spoiler: heavily mutated by [[MisappliedPhlebotinum Structure Gel]] ]], this creature patrols the [[EldritchOceanAbyss Abyss]] for prey, and after [[spoiler: eating Johann Ross alive]], it constantly stalks you along the way to station Phi, with only cramped rock tunnels for cover. If you're caught, the squid grabs you in its jaw and hauls you off in a random direction, often undoing your progress.

* To destroy Lord Hinjo's private ship in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Redcloak summons a giant octopus. It was eventually defeated by a [[ThreateningShark shark]]-[[HorseOfADifferentColor mounted]] paladin.
* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', there's a [[KrakenAndLeviathan kraken]] [[spoiler:in the moat of the two vampire hipsters. And it [[BunnyEarsLawyer wears puppets on his tentacles.]]]]

* In the seventh ''Literature/JamesBond'' novel - ''Literature/DrNo'' - the title character puts him through a torture labyrinth ending with an apparent escape only to be attacked by a giant squid. Improbably, Bond wins.

** In the ''Series/UltraQ'' episode "Fury of the South Seas", the characters visit a South Pacific Island where the locals worship a gargantuan octopus called Sudar and try to appease it with human sacrifice. Notably, it was brought to life using the Giant Octopus puppet from ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld'', and ''Film/WarOfTheGargantuas'' (see Films - Live-Action).

* ''TabletopGame/DystopianWars'' takes this up to eleven - the Empire of the Blazing Sun have the Ika class Mechanical Squid - a gigantic robotic squid large enough to grab and drag down the largest warships into the briny depths.

* One of the largest squid-like entities in the game ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' is the Lord of the Deep. Nobody knows if it really is squidlike, as only its tentacles are ever seen - its body is deep within the Mariana Trench. Said tentacles are several MILES long, and thick enough to pose a threat even to the ultratech battleships of rifts Earth.

* The 2000 film ''Film/{{Octopus}}'' features a submarine facing off with a gigantic, mutated octopus deep under the ocean. The sequel, ''Octopus 2: River of Fear'', has the NYPD having to deal with a equally gigantic octopus that has made its home in New York Harbor.