All time Greatest monsters

As the new Clash of the Titans rereleases the Kraken all over multiplexes this weekend, we're going fishing for sci-fi/fantasy's best underwater beasties. Here's our attack of the clash of the greatest sea monsters ever!

The Kraken
While the word "kraken" is Scandinavian in origin and, as such, was never a part of classic Greek myth, thanks to the two Clash of the Titans films — in which the kraken is a massive wet beast that needs vanquishing — it's become synonymous with the legend of Perseus.

Moby Dick
Also known as the giant Dick that bit off Captain Ahab's leg and sent the peeved mariner on a self-destructive quest for revenge.

Hydra
Now, here's one that was in the legit Greek myths — a multi-noggin'd dragon-y creature who grew back a pair of heads whenever one was cut off. Slaying the Hydra was one of Hercules' Twelve Labors. Most recently seen in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, not requiring the hero to break a sweat.

Leviathan
Biblical scholars may know leviathan from Isaiah 27:1: "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish the leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." I know leviathan from that 1989 Peter Weller movie. (Not the Greg Evigan one; that was Deep Star Six, also out in '89, and it also had a sea monster. And a giant beard — on Evigan, not the monster. But that'd be funny.)

Cthulhu
Listen, if you're coming to this site and you don't know who/what Cthulhu is, you should just turn right around and go visit redbook.com or something. Go on, git!

The Avanc
Okay, when I was putting together this list, io9's capo di tutti capo Annalee Newitz said "don't forget the awesome sea monster in China Mieville's The Scar." So, despite me not having read The Scar — yet another blind spot — here it is.

Bruce
While not the biggest sea monster on the list, nor the oldest, he's clearly the most famous. See, more people have seen Jaws — which saw Bruce (named after Steven Spielberg's lawyer) terrorize the deliciously coastal town of Amity — than anything else on this list.