History Main / RatKing

* Creator/AlanMoore's serial for ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'', ''ComicBook/TheBalladOfHaloJones'', had the heroine sign up in the Army to fight a deadly war on an alien planet. She discovers the heart of the supercomputer directing Earth's war effort is a malevolent and superintelligent Rat King plugged into the network as its CPU.
* A Rat King is the BigBad of the ''ComicBook/BeastsOfBurden'' story "Something Whiskered This Way Comes", leading a massive colony of rats in the sewers beneath the town. and plotting to [[spoiler: overthrow mankind with the help of a powerful supernatural entity.]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'', when the titular character started using trained rats to perform menial tasks.
--->'''Cathy''': ''"Brr, rats. I find them gross. Oh well. If they can do part of my work, I will put up with a horde of rats bustling about the dungeon. However, I see a minor problem."''
--->'''Mercury''': ''"Yes?"''
--->'''Cathy''': ''"[[ConversationalTroping All hail the Queen of Rats!]]"''
[[/folder]]

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' has one as its ultimate villain. Spider, so-called because it's made from eight young rats (eight being a number of great occult significance on the Discworld), has psychic powers so potent it can not only control rats and see anything they can see, but also influence human behavior. It can even strip away the magical awareness given to the protagonist rats and cat, making them ordinary creatures. Horribly, making a Rat King is part of the qualification for mastery in the Ratcatchers Guild, suggesting that there are many of these things across the Disc. It's specifically noted that the notion of Rat Kings being formed naturally is complete bullshit, as baby rats have very short tails and the mothers will keep their nests as clean as possible, and the myth that they get tangled together in filth is something invented to hide the fact that it's humans tying them together.
* Invoked by David in ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}''. When he [[TheBusCameBack reappears]] twenty-odd books after being [[ShapeshifterModeLock trapped as a rat]] and left on an island, he claims that rats see him as a natural leader and obey him, that he has armies billions strong. Rachel is skeptical and soon says that that's not possible, rats are not like that and he can't communicate with them that way and something else is going on. She's right.
* In ''Literature/BeyondTheSpiderwickChronicles'' the idea of a rat king is discussed when the protagonists find three salamander-like baby dragons with their tails fused together. [[spoiler: It's later discovered that the dragons are merging together into a massive Wyrm King, i.e., a hydra.]]
* In ''Literature/{{It}}'':
-->"A litter. Biggest litter I ever saw...''anyone'' ever saw, probably...Their ''tails''...they were all tangled up, Bill. Knotted together. Like snakes."
* In Creator/NancyACollins's UrbanFantasy novel ''Left Hand Magic'', a supernatural [[SwarmOfRats conglomeration of twelve New York street rats]] tries to eat the heroine's puppy. [[spoiler:Luckily, her [[WitchSpecies witchy]] boyfriend's {{familiar}} instead ends up eating the rat king.]]
* A somewhat literal take on the trope, in ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', the nations of London Below include a highly regarded class of humans called Rat Speakers, who carry out the orders of the rats, who themselves are ruled with absolute authority by an entity described only as "The Golden".
* The Mouse King from ''Literature/TheNutcracker'' has seven heads, which suggests that it might have been inspired by stories of Rat Kings. He's changed to the Rat King in many adaptations, since [[YouDirtyRat rats]] are seen as more villainous than [[NiceMice mice]].
* In ''Literature/TheRats'' by Creator/JamesHerbert, the alpha of the killer rats stalking London is a white, hairless and obese rat with two heads.
* In ''[[Creator/MaryGentle Rats and Gargoyles]]'', the eponymous [[RatMen Rats]] are ruled by groups of nine of their number with [[BodyHorror their tails deliberately fused together]].
* The ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' novel ''Triss'' features an even nastier variant using ''vipers'' instead of rats. The trio of newborn adders got their tails ensnared in the chain of a flail used by an enemy who'd killed their mother and, having no hands, couldn't untangle themselves.
* The primary antagonist(s) of Sterling E. Lanier's ''The War for the Lot'' is a blind, psychic HiveMind rat-king.
* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Firestar's Quest'', [=SkyClan=] is threatened to be wiped out by a swarm of rats. Firestar realizes that the rats have a leader, which is more intelligent than the others: it is able to speak Cat, and give commands to all the other rats. [[spoiler:Once he kills the leader, the rest of [[KeystoneArmy the rats have nothing to command them, and they scatter.]]]]

* Discussed on ''Series/{{QI}}'', as well as the similar Squirrel Kings. Jeremy Clarkson finds the idea hysterical, in light of the damage grey squirrels have done to British woodlands, although he admits it's a bit sad that it usually happens to baby squirrels.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''' ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting, cranium rats function similarly to rat kings in that they become more intelligent and capable at higher population densities. Enough cranium rats crammed into a small space can rival the most intelligent beings in the multiverse, command other cranium rats to do their bidding, and host a variety of dangerous psychic powers.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has emperor rats, also known as "rat-hydras." They come to be when multiple giant rats are [[BodyHorror fused into one creature]] by [[WildMagic Wyld energies]].
* The fourth Bestiary for ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' contains statistics for these, in the traditional "entangled tails" form. They are smarter than normal rats (although still quite dim by human standards) and can communicate with them. They also carry disease, and make the diseases carried by other rats harder to resist.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warpath}}'', among their rat-like Veer-Myn, have the Tangle. A mass of undersized Veer-Myn infants born with their tails bound together, who are revered by their species and typically possess powerful psychic abilities. Though they're feared by the Veer-Myn as much as they are revered because they can just as likely bring and end to their nest.[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', a large hyper-intelligent rat actually goes by "the Rat King" moniker, commanding all other rats in the game. You can actually join the Rat King's Covenant--while he bemoans your un-rat-ness, he magnanimously allows you to serve him for some nifty multiplayer perks.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' has "Keeng Ra'at" who has an army of rats to do his bidding and his brother "Brain" who is the leader of a ghoul faction in the town of Gecko.
* ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'': [[FinalBoss The Rat King]] leads a group consisting of himself and 3 other rats. It and its followers symbolize the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, with the Rat King symbolizing Death.
* Going by the description of Alolan Rattata, it seems as though Alolan Raticate from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' are this. Not to mention, an Alolan Raticate serves as a Totem Pokemon boss in Pokemon Moon and summons Alolan Rattata to assist it in battle.
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns''' "Hong Kong" campaign, Gobbet's (a shaman with a rat totem) loyalty mission involves returning to collective she used to live in, in order to confront an old friend (another rat shaman) who's gone [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide toxic]] and started ruling with an iron fist after acquiring a [[UpgradeArtifact fetish]] (no, not that sort!). [[s

* The rat queen in ''Webcomic/{{Snarlbear}}'', a huge rat joined to many smaller rats.
* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' a mad biomancer created a rat king that could create wights, living shadows that feed on magic, which were shaped like rats.

* In ''WebVideo/RatMovieMysteryOfTheMayanTreasure'', the rats are lead by "the giant rat that makes all the rules". If the Giant Rat dies, another one grows in size and becomes the new leader.

* The Rat King in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS6E11LittleBrother Little Brother]]" is, of course, the king of all rats, being a normal sized rat with a crown and a cape hiding a legion of rats making him look taller.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has Patrick Poundstone aka [[http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Ratboy Ratboy]] from the episode "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E9Rats Rats]]", who can control the giant rats that live below Gotham. He is a StalkerWithACrush to Dana Tan, Terry's LoveInterest and kidnaps her. When she rebuffs him, he orders his rats [[IfICantHaveYou to kill her]] but Batman manages to save her. [[spoiler: Other people were not so lucky.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', an "undulating" rat king is listed among the reasons the Quahog Board of Health shut down a Medieval Times-esque restaurant.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'' (the Creator/{{Netflix}} adaptation at least) the Rat King is a swarm of rats that move in a hulking mass and speak in unison. They know all secrets overheard by the rats of Trollberg and will happily [[KnowledgeBroker trade them for more]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', there is a recurring antagonist named "the Rat King". He is a gigantic, muscle-bound rat in command of a gang of sewer rats.
* The Rat King from ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' tends to be depicted as having control over rats in some adaptations. In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the first cartoon]], he is initially capable of doing so via a flute ala ''Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin'', and in later episodes he can do it psychically. In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the 2003]] and [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 the 2012]] cartoons, he is able to do so mentally from the start.

-->- '''The Rat King''', ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''

Rat kings in fiction tend to have greater than typical intelligence, even on par with a human being, and the right to command other rats, be it through some conferred rat respect or overt psychic control, potentially turning a dissociated nuisance into a [[SwarmOfRats swarming wave of diseased, omnivorous devastation]]. They may be viewed as the manifestation of a rat HiveMind, the rodent equivalent of a HiveQueen. Storytellers who haven't done the research or don't like the "several rats conjoined by their tails" image may instead depict Rat Kings as [[VisualPun royalty]] of some sort, typically RodentsOfUnusualSize or anthropomorphic RatMen imbued with greater intelligence and rule over other rats.

[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warpath}}'', among their rat-like Veer-Myn, have the Tangle. A mass of undersized Veer-Myn infants born with their tails bound together, who are revered by their species and typically possess powerful psychic abilities. Though they're feared by the Veer-Myn as much as they are revered because they can just as likely bring and end to their nest.

* Invoked by David in ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}''. When he [[TheBusComesBack reappears]] twenty-odd books after being [[ShapeshifterModeLock trapped as a rat]] and left on an island, he claims that rats see him as a natural leader and obey him, that he has armies billions strong. Rachel is skeptical and soon says that that's not possible, rats are not like that and he can't communicate with them that way and something else is going on. She's right.

[/folder]]

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1478753749097679900
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* The Mouse King from ''Literature/TheNutcracker'' has seven heads, which suggests that it might have been inspired by stories of Rat Kings. He's changed to the Rat King in many adaptations, since [[YouDirtyRat rats]] are seen as more villainous than [[NiceMice mice]].
* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Firestar's Quest'', [=SkyClan=] is threatened to be wiped out by a swarm of rats. Firestar realizes that the rats have a leader, which is more intelligent than the others: it is able to speak Cat, and give commands to all the other rats. [[spoiler:Once he kills the leader, the rest of [[KeystoneArmy the rats have nothing to command them, and they scatter.]]]]

* In ''[[Creator/MaryGentle Rats and Gargoyles]]'', the titular [[RatMen Rats]] are ruled by groups of nine of their number with [[BodyHorror their tails deliberately fused together]].

* Invoked by David in {{Literature/Animorphs}}. When he [[TheBusComesBack reappears]] twenty-odd books after being [[ShapeshifterModeLock trapped as a rat]] and left on an island, he claims that rats see him as a natural leader and obey him, that he has armies billions strong. Rachel is skeptical and soon says that that's not possible, rats are not like that and he can't communicate with them that way and something else is going on. She's right.
* In ''Literature/TheRats'' by Creator/JamesHerbert, the alpha of the killer rats stalking London is a white, hairless and obese rat with two heads.

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: TabletopGames]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns''' "Hong Kong" campaign, Gobbet's (a shaman with a rat totem) loyalty mission involves returning to collective she used to live in, in order to confront an old friend (another rat shaman) who's gone [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide toxic]] and started ruling with an iron fist after acquiring a [[UpgradeArtifact fetish]] (no, not that sort!). [[spoiler: When you meet her, she's somehow merged with a swarm of rats to become a sort of EldritchAbomination.]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' a mad biomancer created a rat king that could create wights, living shadows that feed on magic, which were shaped like rats.

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', there is a recurring antagonist named "the Rat King". He is a gigantic, muscle-bound rat in command of a gang of sewer rats.
* The Rat King from ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' tends to be depicted as having control over rats in some adaptations. In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the first cartoon]], he is initially capable of doing so via a flute ala ''Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin'', and in later episodes he can do it psychically. In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the 2003]] and [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 the 2012]] cartoons, he is able to do so mentally from the start.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has Patrick Poundstone aka [[http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Ratboy Ratboy]] from the episode "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E9Rats Rats]]", who can control the giant rats that live below Gotham. He is a StalkerWithACrush to Dana Tan, Terry's LoveInterest and kidnaps her. When she rebuffs him, he orders his rats [[IfICantHaveYou to kill her]] but Batman manages to save her. [[spoiler: Other people were not so lucky.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', an "undulating" rat king is listed among the reasons the Quahog Board of Health shut down a Medieval Times-esque restaurant.
[[/folder]]

* The fourth Bestiary for ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' contains statistics for these. They are smarter than normal rats (although still quite dim by human standards) and can communicate with them. They also carry disease, and make the diseases carried by other rats harder to resist.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''' ''TabletopGame/Planescape'' setting, cranium rats function similarly to rat kings in that they become more intelligent and capable at higher population densities. Enough cranium rats crammed into a small space can rival the most intelligent beings in the multiverse, command other cranium rats to do their bidding, and host a variety of dangerous psychic powers.

Not to be confused with the boook by [[Literature/AsianSaga James Clavell]] or the one by [[Literature/KingRat China Miéville]].

Because rats are social, have long tails, and happily live in dirty environments, it occasionally happens that they [[TheWormThatWalks get stuck together]]. In particular, their tails can become tangled, and once this occurs they lack the wits to separate themselves. Given rats' propensity toward grooming themselves, this phenomenon is quite rare, but it's spectacular enough that humans--long-time unwilling companions of ratkind--have noticed these unfortunate entities and ascribed them with special properties. Details vary by region, but generally they're held to be omens of plague and other rat-based calamities.

Because rats are social, have long tails, and happily live in their own filth, it occasionally happens that they [[TheWormThatWalks get stuck together]]. In particular, their tails can become tangled, and once this occurs they lack the wits to separate themselves. Given rats' propensity toward grooming themselves, this phenomenon is quite rare, but it's spectacular enough that humans--long-time unwilling companions of ratkind--have noticed these unfortunate entities and ascribed them with special properties. Details vary by region, but generally they're held to be omens of plague and other rat-based calamities.

Because rats are social, have long tails, and happily live in their own filth, it occasionally happens that they [[TheWormThatWalks get stuck together]]. In particular, their tails can become tangled, and once this occurs they lack the wits to separate themselves. Humans, long-time unwilling companions of ratkind, have noticed these unfortunate entities and ascribed them with special properties. Details vary by region, but generally they're held to be omens of plague and other rat-based calamities. In fiction, at least. Real rats are quite cleanly and won't ever get matted to the point of becoming adhesive.

Rat Kings in fiction tend to have greater than typical intelligence, even on par with a human being, and the right to command other rats, be it through some conferred rat respect or overt psychic control, potentially turning a dissociated nuisance into a [[SwarmOfRats swarming wave of diseased, omnivorous devastation]]. They may be viewed as the manifestation of a rat HiveMind, the rodent equivalent of a HiveQueen. Storytellers who haven't done the research or don't like the "several rats conjoined by their tails" image may instead depict Rat Kings as [[VisualPun royalty]] of some sort, typically RodentsOfUnusualSize or anthropomorphic RatMen imbued with greater intelligence and rule over other rats.

Because rats are social, have long tails, and happily live in their own filth, it occasionally happens that they [[TheWormThatWalks get stuck together]]. In particular, their tails can become tangled, and once this occurs they lack the wits to separate themselves. Humans, long-time unwilling companions of ratkind, have noticed these unfortunate entities and ascribed them with special properties. Details vary by region, but generally they're held to be omens of plague and other rat-based calamities.

Rat Kings in fiction tend to have greater than typical intelligence, even on par with a human being, and the right to command other rats, be it through some conferred rat respect or overt psychic control, potentially turning a dissociated nuisance into a [[SwarmOfRats swarming wave of diseased, omnivorous devastation]]. They may be viewed as the manifestation of a rat HiveMind, the rodent equivalent of a HiveQueen. Storytellers who haven't done the research or don't like the "several rats conjoined by their tails" image may instead depict Rat Kings as RodentsOfUnusualSize, or anthropomorphic RatMen, nevertheless imbued with greater intelligence and rule over other rats.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{TinkerQuarry}}'': The rats in the Dollhouse are ruled by the Rat King, a massive, three-headed, EvilAlbino rat that serves as one of the last few bosses of the game.

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' has one as its ultimate villain. Spider, so-called because it's made from eight young rats (eight being a number of great occult significance on the Discworld), has psychic powers so potent it can not only control rats and see anything they can see, but also influence human behavior. It can even strip away the magical awareness given to the protagonist rats and cat, making them ordinary creatures. Horribly, making a Rat King is part of the qualification for mastery in the Ratcatchers Guild, suggesting that there are many of these things across the Disc. It's specifically noted that the notion of Rat Kings being formed naturally is complete bullshit, as baby rats have very short tails and the mothers will keep their nests as clean as possible, and the myth that they get tangled together in filth is something invented to hide the fact that it's humans tying them together.

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' has one as its ultimate villain. Spider, so-called because it's made from eight young rats (eight being a number of great occult significance on the Discworld), has psychic powers so potent it can not only control rats and see anything they can see, but also influence human behavior. It can even strip away the magical awareness given to the protagonist rats and cat, making them ordinary creatures. Horribly, making a Rat King is part of the qualification for mastery in the Ratcatchers Guild, suggesting that there are many of these things across the Disc.

-->- The Rat King, ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''