Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was fully unveiled at DC FanDome this weekend. The Squad, however, has had many different iterations over the years, and fans will be wondering who some of the new faces are among the anti-hero lineup.
Harley Quinn makes her triumphant return, alongside characters Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark. The latter is quite possibly the weirdest addition to the Squad, as he is a tattooed bipedal shark-man whose bite is far worse than his bark. This has left many fans wondering who the character is and what they can expect from him in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
King Shark
While characters like Captain Boomerang have classically ridiculous origin stories like being hired and humiliated by an Australian toy company, King Shark’s origins are deceptively simple. King Shark, also known as Nanaue, is the son of the Shark God.
In the New 52, King Shark’s appearance was changed to resemble a hammerhead. Since he resembles a Great White in the Rocksteady game, we can assume that the studio is going with the characters’ first origins. King Shark has always been a shark-man. Unlike other DC villains, he was never mutated or transformed, though some observers originally believed him to be some sort of mutation until he was confirmed to be the Shark God’s son in the Aquaman comics.
Much of King Shark’s original acts of villainy came as direct orders from his father. He killed priests of the Order of the Thorny Crown on the Shark God’s behest, but was captured and tortured for some time after Aquaman defeated him in the comics. At other times, King Shark has been less antagonistic, holding a tenuous peace with the Kingdom of Atlantis. As such, Suicide Squad leader Amanda Waller originally recruited King Shark for underwater missions.
His sharkskin gives him protection against the pressure of the deep, and he has also been known to regenerate lost limbs and other body parts after losing them in battle. David Ayer, director of the Suicide Squad movie, has stated that King Shark was originally intended to be in the Squad’s film lineup but was replaced by Killer Croc because the character was easier to realize with practical effects. However, the character is confirmed to be appearing in James Gunn’s soft reboot as well as Rocksteady's new game set in the Arkham universe.
What Can Fans Expect in the Game?
In the game, WWE's Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, AKA Samoa Joe, will voice King Shark. Fans can expect King Shark to pack the biggest punch of the four playable characters in Suicide Squad, likely filling in the role of the heavy on the team, though it remains unclear exactly how his powers and abilities might change when underwater.
Despite his terrifying appearance, King Shark can also have a strangely soft interior. Compared to more foul-mouthed characters like Captain Boomerang or more unhinged anti-heroes like Harley Quinn, the Suicide Squad teaser trailer already shows King Shark as something of a peacemaker, offering to “translate” between Captain Boomerang and Deadshot, while also gently scolding his coworkers for messing up their last mission.
King Shark even appears to admire “the mighty Superman” in the Suicide Squad trailer, at least before the Man of Steel vaporizes the helicopter pilot he just rescued. The Squad will be tasked with taking the Son of Krypton down, as well as other members of the Justice League, and so it'll be interesting to see how King Shark's dual nature comes into play. Fans can expect King Shark to be the brutal but good-natured heavy of the Suicide Squad’s Rocksteady lineup, giving the character his long-deserved time in the spotlight of a mainstream DC project in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launches in 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.