The Sea Devils were amphibious Earth reptiles. Like their land-based cousins, the Silurians, they lived in prehistoric times in a scientifically-advanced civilisation.
- You may wish to consult
Sea Devil (disambiguation)for other, similarly-named pages.
As their aquatic colonies awoke from hibernation, these one-time rulers of the Earth attempted to reclaim their planet, usually leading to conflict with the new rulers: humankind.
Biology
Sea Devils looked somewhat like humanoid turtles or plesiosaurus. They had beak-like mouths, large eyes, two fins on their head and long necks. They had three webbed digits on their hands and feet. Their skin tones came in a variety of shades, including green, blue and orange. They were much tougher than humans, since they needed to survive the crushing depths of the ocean. Sea Devils communicated in a language like SONAR, but they could speak human languages in a whispering, rasping voice. (TV: The Sea Devils)
The Silurians were related to the Sea Devils, though they were genetically divergent enough to create problems for the offspring of such matings. (PROSE: The Scales of Injustice)
Culture
The Sea Devils worshipped the Great Old One known as Dagon as their god. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire) They were determined to retake the planet from the humans. They held an unwavering view that, as the original rulers, it would always be their right to do so. (TV: The Sea Devils)
Technology
The Sea Devils were more advanced than the humans of the 20th century when they went into hibernation. They had thousands of underwater colonies dotted across the globe, each filled with millions of their kind. These bases were carved out of rocks and were generally covered in algae and seaweed. The colonies could be awoken en masse through the use of a sonic signal.
They used a less effective hibernation technology in these bases, leading to some muscular degradation when they were brought back. (TV: Warriors of the Deep) They also used special orange capsules to transport land-dwelling creatures. (TV: The Sea Devils)
The Sea Devils had stockpiles of weapons in these bases. They typically used small, round, side arms. (TV: The Sea Devils) During their invasion of Sea Base 4, they made use of a larger version of the device to cut through the doors. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)
Common Sea Devils wore a blue, gauze-like dress. (TV: The Sea Devils) The elite soldiers in the 2084 invasion wore thick black armour reminiscent of samurai armour. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)
History
While the Silurians ruled the Earth, the Sea Devils were used as foot soldiers. When the Moon was coming dangerously close to Earth, they also went into their colonies to hibernate. After millions of years, some of the colonies were awoken. (TV: The Sea Devils)
In the mid-20th century, a group of Sea Devils hibernating beneath the English Channel were awoken by the Master. He attempted to persuade them to reclaim the planet from the human race. Despite the Third Doctor's efforts to convince them otherwise, the Sea Devils decided to go to war with the humans. However, the Doctor destroyed their base with a submarine. (TV: The Sea Devils)
In 1983, Sarah Jane Smith and K9, visiting Warren Martyn's archaeological expedition in Egypt, discovered an underground city of Silurians and Sea Devils. Sarah Jane opened diplomatic relations with them. On her return to England, she contacted the Brigadier, who wished to make amends for his earlier mistakes. (COMIC: City of Devils)
A colony of Sea Devils were awoken in 2084 by the Silurians. They were sent as shock troops to invade Sea Base 4. Though they were better prepared, they were all killed by the Hexachromite gas used by the Fifth Doctor. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)
By the 26th century, the inter-species conflicts appeared to have come to an end. Silurians and Sea Devils were accepted into Earth society, and the term "Earth Reptile" was apparently popularised among humans. (PROSE: Love and War)
In the 30th century, the Earth Reptiles were part of the Earth Empire and were considered full members of that government as an Earthborn species. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin) In the 32nd century, it became illegal to trade in Earth Reptile pituitary analogue extract on the planet Dramos. (PROSE: Burning Heart)
Around the 26th century, a number of Sea Devils and humans colonised the planet Chosan, which was being attacked by Calabraxian terrorists. The Earth Reptile Council asked the Braxiatel Collection for aid. They sent Bernice Summerfield. She found the ocean planet held a sentient protein in the waters which had began to infect the water-dwelling Sea Devils.
The entities attempted to possess the Sea Devils and use them as an army against the humans but faced difficulty in integrating themselves into the host's biology. This led to mutations. They took the Sea Devil Lurnix as a host. They tried to have Lurnix lower the security grid and infect all the Sea Devils for an army.
However, Bernice Summerfield evacuated the colony and detonated a bomb at Chosan, ending that threat. The Sea Devils were forced to abandon the Chosan colony due to the tcontinuing threat. (AUDIO: The Poison Seas)
In the 101st century, the Earth Reptiles were part of the Union. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)
Undated events
During the Last Great Time War, a Sea Devil was imprisoned by an unknown force. (COMIC: The Forgotten) A group of Sea Devils were imprisoned in the TARDIS by the Master. (GAME: Destiny of the Doctors) The Sea Devils was worth an unidentified amount of points in the I-Spyder Book of Earth Creatures if it was spotted. (PROSE: The Last Dodo)
Alternate Histories
- In one alternative version of the 1990s, the Doctor having died during the Wenley Moor incident, the Silurians ruled Earth unchecked while the Sea Devils served them as underwater soldiers. (PROSE: Blood Heat)
- In an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian where the First Doctor never left Gallifrey, and became Lord President, the Sea Devils and the Silurians fought over the Earth along with several species of alien invaders. This timeline was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor retrieved the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)
Behind the scenes
- A Sea Devil was to have appeared as one of the dead prisoners on the spaceship in The Stones of Blood. Although Malcolm Hulke was paid a copyright fee, shots of the creature were lost at the editing stage.
- The Alan Moore graphic novel series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen refers to lizard-men called Silurians and Sea Devils and retcons the Creature from the Black Lagoon as one of the latter.
- The Sea Devil and Silurian are shown as the original inhabitants of Earth in the steampunk graphic novel Scarlet Traces: The Great Game.
