The DCEU has made many mistakes in past films when it comes to their characters, whether that be oversexualizing their female heroes for no good reason, or trying to pack too much development into a single film. Before The Suicide Squad was released, some fans were skeptical about whether or not the project would be a success, because of the harsh criticism the original Suicide Squad recieved.

This time around, it seems as if DC Studios and Warner Bros. have fixed some of their previous flaws, and King Shark serves as an excellent example. King Shark only spoke here and there throughout the entire movie, oftentimes using just a single word or a short phrase to communicate what he was thinking. He was never working a secret angle, like Peacemaker was when trying to destroy the evidence of Project Starfish.

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His motives behind joining the team weren’t rooted in another distant problem, such as Bloodsport, who was forced into making an alliance with The Suicide Squad to save his daughter from jail time. The only reason King Shark went on the mission was because he had a bomb planted in his skull and he needed to do what he was told.

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In terms of intelligence, King Shark is smarter than the typical sea creature, but still not as advanced as the average human, because he relies quite heavily on his natural animal instincts. He still needs to take cues from the rest of The Suicide Squad when it comes to learning how to navigate dangerous situations, similar to the way Baby Groot needed assistance from the other Guardians after sacrificing himself in Guardians of the Galaxy. All of these quirky character traits came together in a seamless blend to create King Shark’s loveable disposition, because his childlike behavior encourages audiences to root for him, even when he’s tearing the heads off of grown men.

King Shark’s personality in combination with his desire to find a friend makes audiences want to root for him even more, because it's something that any viewer can relate to. In one particularly heart-wrenching scene, King Shark stumbles upon an aquarium full of tiny aquatic creatures in the tower of Jotunheim, who mirror his movements and are quite adorable in that moment. He happily cries “friends!” before running around in excitement while he plays with his new pals. A few minutes later, King Shark’s supposed friends turn on him while they start tearing his flesh apart.

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Struggling to fit in is a pretty common plot device in major forms of media, but it worked extremely well in The Suicide Squad. Seeing this fishy betrayal play out on screen, although it only lasted a few moments, brought a surprising amount of emotion to the film. Despite his “nom nom” frenzies, King Shark comes off as a very wholesome character, because of how juvenile his mind is. He fully believed that he had found what he was looking for in the mysterious sea critters and violence wasn’t what he was expecting from them.

Even though he’s done his fair share of cold-blooded murder, it’s hard to watch him suffer at the sharp-toothed ends of his new companions. However, that moment of tragedy made King Shark’s ending even more impactful when he realized that he could trust the remaining members of The Suicide Squad. Because he had spent so long searching for friendship, watching him bond with Bloodsport, Harley Quinn and most importantly Ratcatcher in the final moments of the film was one of the most satisfying parts of the entire movie.

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From the beginning to the end of The Suicide Squad, King Shark wanted two things: to complete the mission and make some friends along the way. His objectives never changed, which made it easier for him to beat the bad guys and find friendship amongst the rest of his team as they worked together, side by side. DC definitely made the right call by sticking to a single story throughout the entire film, instead of trying to overcomplicate his character. Given the nature of his character, it wouldn’t have made sense if King Shark suddenly started turning on the rest of the team, or decided that he wanted to be one of the real bad guys. This might have worked for Peacemaker, but King Shark wants people to like him, so a major plot twist could have ruined his character completely.

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Even though his arc wasn’t very complex, King Shark’s story delivered some serious emotion to the fans as they watched him fight alongside the rest of the antiheroes.By keeping his story straightforward, DC managed to wrap up this stretch of King Shark’s journey with a satisfying and complete ending. There were no plot holes or characterization discrepancies, because of how simplistic his journey in The Suicide Squad actually is. Overall, King Shark is a pretty simple guy with pretty simple goals, but he definitely proves that sometimes less is actually more.

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