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Suicide Squad’s King Shark has been called a god and a demigod, but those divine descriptors haven’t always applied to the DC fan-favorite.
While he just made his debut on the big screen in The Suicide Squad, King Shark has been around the DC Universe for a few decades. Although he originally menaced Superboy, King Shark has gone on to vex several different heroes in the DC Universe. Also known by his real name of Nanaue, King Shark’s amphibious appearance has been the source of much debate.
King Shark has sometimes been a mere marine mutation, but many continuities have also stated that he’s actually a supernatural Samoan shark god. Now, here are all of the ways in which King Shark has been portrayed over the years and how they factor into his origins.
Pre-Flashpoint King Shark
King Shark debuted in 1994’s Superboy #0 by Karl Kesel, Tom Grummett, Doug Hazlewood, Dennis Janke and Tom McCraw. The beast boasted great strength and dexterity, as well as a magical heritage, making him more than a threat for the half-Kryptonian Clone of Steel as well as Aquaman in later years. Nanaue was supposedly the King of All Sharks, a.k.a. the Shark God to the native Hawaiian people, leading Superboy to take him down. Local Sam Makoa, however, believed that such theories about King Shark were mere island superstition and that instead, he was a mutated shark. This also meant that he could be one of the Wild Men, which were mutant humanoid animals reminiscent of the ones seen in the adventures of Kamandi.
Ironically, it would be the Suicide Squad that helped Superboy keep King Shark at bay, with Nanaue continuing to be a threat in Superboy’s side for years afterward. He would appear in a less antagonistic role in the book Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, which featured a new Aquaman and a more fantasy-based tone compared to other superhero books. This meant that King Shark’s mythological origins were finally cemented, and he was officially revealed to be the son of the shark god and part of a great prophecy involving Aquaman. This would see him become the partner of the new Aquaman, with many of his previous actions being retconned as him simply following his father’s orders.
New 52 King Shark
The New 52 would change King Shark somewhat, specifically in his appearance. King Shark now had the appearance of a humanoid hammerhead shark instead of a great white. His origins were not initially detailed, but they would later be shown in the pages of Suicide Squad. King Shark was now the son of Kamo, a marine Hawaiian deity who was based on the mythological figure Kamohoalii.
Amanda Waller had previously captured Kamo in the wake of Superman’s public debut, hoping to have her own group of Supermen that worked for her. She also captured the young King Shark, hoping that the child would be pliable than his father. King Shark would eventually leave the Squad and attempt to live a peaceful existence in the wild.
Most adaptations of the character have stayed true to some version of these mythological origins, with King Shark being either the shark god’s son or the shark deity himself. This includes the newly released The Suicide Squad, where said godly nature is disguised by King Shark’s seeming lack of intelligence. One notable exception was the Arrowverse, in which King Shark is merely a mutated metahuman named Shay Lamden. Outside of the odd instance like that, King Shark really is much more divine than the average fish.
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