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Big Whoop

The lava stream derived from Big Whoop, located underneath Monkey Island as it appears in The Curse of Monkey Island

Este artículo trata sobre el tesoro del Big Whoop. Para el parque de atracciones del mismo nombre, ver La feria de los Malditos.

"El Big Whoop es pura maldad, tuviste suerte de escapar con vida."-La Señora del Vudú describe la verdadera naturaleza del tesoro a Guybrush Threepwood.

Big Whoop is the name for the supposed largest, most powerful treasure in the Seven Seas and is even rumored to contain the gateway to another world, though the exact nature and contents of such a world are initially unknown to most. However, it is eventually revealed by LeChuck to be the source of his demonic powers as it serves as a dimensional nexus to an infernal demon netherworld that is derived from its original position of Hell itself, binding the physical realm with the manifestation of evil itself; thus the rumored gateway to another world is in actuality Hell itself.

Passage through the portal results in the individual forming a covenant with the infernal powers of Big Whoop and being granted eternal life as an undead entity, therefore killing the individual in the process, though one whose soul is doomed to eternal damnation in the event his or her's new form is destroyed. Therefore, as it names implies, the true riches of Big Whoop are worth nothing of true value to pirates who value wealth and can not only be an extreme disappointment, but a hellish nightmare for any pirate. In LeChuck's mind, however, who has an insatiable lust for voodoo and power, harnessing Big Whoop is a useful if dangerous prize to aid in his plans to conquer the seas as well as death itself.

The portal to Big Whoop itself is located inside the bowels of the Caverns of Lava within the Giant Monkey Head on Monkey Island, though it was originally believed that the treasure was located within the jungles of Dinky Island. The reality is, however, that Dinky Island is an atoll off the coast of Monkey Island and contains a secrete passageway within its jungles that leads to a series of mysterious tunnels that run beneath the ocean floor, connecting Dinky and Monkey Island together. It was LeChuck who discovered such passageways during his quest to obtain Big Whoop for his own greedy purposes before Elaine's grandfather, Captain Marley, and his own crew located it first. However, when Marley and his crew learned the true nature of Big Whoop just as they witnessed LeChuck pass through its portals, they were horrified at what they saw and immediately fled the island and prepared a series of red herrings and precautions to ensure no one else would find Big Whoop and be subjected to its amoral and demonic energies.

To this end, they buried and cemented a chest containing an E-ticket over the connecting tunnels on Dinky Island to pass as the treasure of Big Whoop and then created a new map that was torn into four pieces, with one piece given to each of the four men. The crew then spread false rumors that the treasure was located on an island called Inky, and other variations of the fabricated name, while they all went on to lead their own separate lives in hopes that Big Whoop would never truly be discovered again. Tragically for all four men, LeChuck was also keen to ensure no one else knew of Big Whoop until the appropriate moment in his plans presented itself and brutally orchestrated the deaths of the entire crew, torturing and killing Marley personally himself.

The title itself, Big Whoop, is indicative of a sarcastic phrase used to express disappointment, a fitting title for such a horrifying treasure that was previously built up to be something much more gratifying for most pirates; immense wealth in the form of gold and silver. In the third game Guybrush translates the true meaning perfectly by describing Big Whoop as "expecting so much more, and felt so let down."

The Secret of Monkey Island[]

While it was initially unknown to Guybrush Threepwood at the time, the Caverns of Lava he navigates through underneath Monkey Island by entering the Giant Monkey Head are actually derived from the portals of Big Whoop itself. Since his use of the insidious treasure, LeChuck has converted the caverns into a secondary base of operations for his forces and as a hideout to plan his schemes to abduct Elaine Marley. It is important to note that while the caves are altered into a hellish domain due to the energies of Big Whoop, they are not the the exact portal that LeChuck previously used to become an undead entity and simply serve as a staging ground for the notorious treasure's powers. The exact portal to the true core of Big Whoop, Hell itself, is hinted to be hidden within the bowels of the caves, a location that only LeChuck knows, a secret he keeps with him at all times to ensure that only he and he alone knows how to tap into the true energies of Big Whoop. The lava itself in the caves, however, holds some of the horrifying power that transformed LeChuck, though to a much lesser extent, turning any who pass through it into undead skeletons as later demonstrated in the series.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge[]

In the second game Big Whoop is described as a fabulous pirate treasure, located on the relatively unknown island of Dinky Island. While Guybrush Threepwood is initially searching for Big Whoop to simply satisfy his own greed, he later additionally seeks it after Largo LaGrande resurrects LeChuck to escape the villain's wrath once and for all as he is encouraged by the Voodoo Lady to find Big Whoop before LeChuck finds him. To do this he has to collect the four map pieces left back by Captain Marley and his crew (Rum Rogers, Rapp Scallion and Young Lindy).

Through a number of events the player gets to Dinky Island and discovers a chest by digging at the great X of Dinky Island. Hitting concrete, Guybrush blows a hole with dynamite and finds a treasure chest which he believes is the treasure. However, falling down the chest breaks and merely reveals the mysterious E ticket. At the bottom of the cavern, Guybrush ends up at the tunnels that connect to Monkey Island, now filled with various carnival items plundered throughout the Caribbean by LeChuck, while combating the villain with a voodoo doll until they both emerge on Monkey Island in the Carnival of the Damned with Guybrush under the influence of a hex of LeChuck's creation, making him believe to be a child with his parents and brother Chuckie. The game ends with Guybrush indulging in the fantasy as Chuckie's face becomes distorted with demonic power, implying that Guybrush becomes trapped in both the hex and LeChuck's carnival.

The Curse of Monkey Island[]

Carnival of the Damned

The Carnival of the Damned in The Curse of Monkey Island

In the third game, Guybrush learns the true nature of Big Whoop as a portal to a demon netherworld and also serves as the name for an amusement park, where he was previously trapped and under the influence of a hex of LeChuck's creation. LeChuck goes on to explain that, during the events in which Guybrush obtained the four pieces to the map to Big Whoop, he had constructed the theme park to increase his army of the damned by creating a roller-coaster attraction that sends the participants through a river of lava that is energized by Big Whoop's demonic power, transforming them into undead, skeletal warriors for LeChuck's new army.

In part five of the game, Kiss of the Spider Monkey, LeChuck also goes into a lengthy explanation of the fact that the treasure of Big Whoop was actually a Gate to Hell and is what turned him into a ghost; in the first game LeChuck was said to have died in a shipwreck, but the story explains that he survived and made it to Dinky Island ahead of Captain Marley and his crew. After Guybrush and Elaine's escape from the carnival, LeChuck is buried under a mountain of snow and ice from an explosion caused by Guybrush and the gates to Big Whoop seal up themselves as they were used to their full potential, ending the threat of Big Whoop once and for all. The carnival itself would be completely destroyed by LeChuck not too long after these events, as it no longer served a purpose without the energies of Big Whoop, after being rescued from the snow pile by Ozzie Mandrill.

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