Fictional character biography
Todd Arliss is a selfish Olympic swimmer who, seeking public acclaim, attempts to rescue a drowning man. In the process, Arliss suffers a spinal cord injury when waves push him into a ship. Desperate to regain his swimming ability, Arliss willingly participates in an experiment by scientist Lemuel Dorcas, who splices his DNA with that of hero Namor and a tiger shark. [7] Although successful, the process changed Arliss both physically and mentally, endowing him with razor-sharp teeth and gills and making him savage and predatory. [8] [9]
Becoming a supervillain and calling himself Tiger Shark, Arliss finds and threatens Lady Dorma, demanding to be crowned Lord of Atlantis. [10] Namor, however, deposes Tiger Shark, who is imprisoned in Atlantis. [11] Tiger Shark escapes from Atlantis during a rebellion caused by the artifact the Serpent Crown [12] and encounters Namor once again. [13]
Tiger Shark battles Orka, the minion of Atlantean noble Warlord Krang. The pair cause an undersea avalanche that buries them for several months. [14]
Once free, Tiger Shark discovers he is losing his powers and teams with the villainess Llyra against Namor and his allies Stingray and the Human Torch. Tiger Shark's powers are restored by Llyra, and Tiger Shark accidentally kills Namor's father, Leonard Mackenzie, as the villains retreat. [15] After encountering the Hulk at Niagara Falls, [16] Tiger Shark reunites with Lemuel Dorcas and battles Namor and the hero Spider-Man. On this occasion, Tiger Shark is savagely beaten by Namor and left for dead. [17] [18] Tiger Shark, Dorcas, and Atlantean warlord Attuma seize the island Hydro-Base and again battle Namor, who allied with Doctor Doom. Dorcas is accidentally crushed to death, with Tiger Shark and Attuma being defeated and imprisoned. [19]
Tiger Shark joins the supervillain team the Masters of Evil who battle the Avengers. [20] With the Masters of Evil, Tiger Shark aids villain Egghead in a plan to ruin Hank Pym, but is ultimately defeated by Pym. [21] Tiger Shark joins Baron Helmut Zemo's version of the Masters of Evil and invades Avengers Mansion, escaping when the Avengers retake their headquarters. [22] The character flees with fellow Masters member Whirlwind to California, where both are captured by Avengers West Coast members Tigra and Hellcat. [23]
During the Acts of Vengeance storyline Tiger Shark battles Wolverine; [24] feigns illness to escape prison, and eventually battles Stingray. Tiger Shark ceases the hostilities to help rescue his sister, who is trapped in a cave-in. [25]
After being captured for study and then rescued by Namor, [26] a grateful Tiger Shark renounces crime. Renaming himself Arlys Tigershark, he marries a woman from an undersea tribe of nomads. However, he reverts to his savage ways when his pregnant wife and her tribe are killed by savage undersea creatures called the Faceless Ones. [27] He aids Namor against Suma-ket, the master of the Faceless Ones, who leads an attack on Atlantis that fails when Suma-Ket is killed in battle. [28] Together with the Inhuman Triton and the Fantastic Four, Tiger Shark reluctantly aids Namor against an attacking alien [29] and after a battle with Namor clone Llyron [30] features as part of the team Deep Six and battles the Avengers. [31]
In Thunderbolts , Tiger Shark mutates into a shark-like being. He joins Crimson Cowl's version of the Masters of Evil and has several skirmishes with maverick superheroes the Thunderbolts. [32]
Tiger Shark — once again in human form — joins Attuma's version of Deep Six (consisting of Nagala, Orka, Piranha, and Sea Urchin) to conquer Atlantis, [33] initially successful the villains are eventually defeated, with Tiger Shark quickly defeated by cosmic hero the Silver Surfer. [34]
Tiger Shark appears next — again in mutated form — in the title She-Hulk , and is imprisoned in the prison facility called the Big House, where inmates are kept at miniature size. Escaping with several other inmates at microscopic size by riding on She-Hulk's hand, Tiger Shark and the other villains emerge and attack when she visits a law firm. Tiger Shark is defeated when She-Hulk throws the villain Electro into the water he is standing in, electrocuting Tiger Shark and Electro. [35] Tiger Shark appears in his original form during a mass breakout at the Raft and is recaptured by the New Warriors. [36] [37]
In the 2007 limited series Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America , Tiger Shark steals an artifact called the Horn of Gabriel and uses it to summon sea monsters and direct them against the surface world. He is defeated by the Mighty Avengers. [38] Tiger Shark also features as part of a supervillain enclave solicited by the Hood, who hopes to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act. [39]
During the 2008 "Secret Invasion" storyline, Ms. Marvel saves Tiger Shark from being killed by a Super-Skrull. [40] Tiger Shark also skirmishes with Deadpool at the direction of Norman Osborn. [41] The Grandmaster recruits Tiger Shark into the Offenders in a bid to thwart the Hulk. [42]
Tiger Shark joins a new version of the Lethal Legion, led by the Grim Reaper, during the 2008-09 "Dark Reign" storyline. [43] Quasimodo researches Tiger Shark for Norman Osborn, stating that he has the potential to be a valuable ally with only a few compensations in line like food, frequent combat, and women. [44]
During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, Liz Allan and Normie Osborn encounter two men, one of whom was wounded by Tiger Shark during his bank robbery. [45] Tiger Shark later joins Attuma (in the form of Nerkodd: Breaker of Oceans), Tyrak, and Attuma's sister Aradnea in taking over New Atlantis. [46] As Namor and his allies fight off Nerkodd's forces and the Undying Ones, Loa is attacked by what appears to be a two-headed Tiger Shark. [47]
Tiger Shark attacks a cruise ship which Stingray and Diane Newell are on. Namor breaks up the fight and demands their allegiance. After Namor attacks Stingray, Tiger Shark reluctantly takes up Namor's offer and joins his Defenders of the Deep. [48] Tiger Shark later returns to crime and is enlisted by Justine Hammer to distract Iron Man from her plans to take over Stark Unlimited. [49]
Powers and abilities
Before gaining his powers, Todd Arliss was a record-breaking Olympic swimmer but otherwise an ordinary human. Via Lemuel Dorcas' experimental genetic engineering process, he was transformed into an amphibious humanoid with the traits of a human, an Atlantean ( Homo mermanus ), and a tiger shark. As Tiger Shark, he possesses the same, albeit weaker superhuman strength, stamina, water speed and durability compared to Namor, although he must be immersed in water to achieve his full strength as he weakens outside of the water. On land, he must wear his special costume containing a water circulation system which bathes him with a thin layer of water, to retain his strength. Tiger Shark also possesses an innate hunting instinct inherited from his shark genes, as once he locks onto prey he cannot stop tracking it until it has been captured or he has been forcibly repulsed. He has the ability to survive indefinitely underwater via gills on his cheeks and has razor-pointed adamantium teeth. [42] Tiger Shark gained the tenuous ability to shift between a more monstrous shark form and his humanoid state, either given to him by the thieves' guild or something he grew into over his criminal career. [32] This vastly increased his physical abilities due to excess bulk and muscle mass, and he even gained a healing factor powerful enough to regenerate damaged brain tissue over time. [50]
During the "Fear Itself" event, the Undying Ones used magic to mutate Tiger Shark into a two-headed monster. [47]
