Tiger Shark (Todd Arliss) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a supervillain. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner #5 (September 1968). Todd Arliss is a recurring antagonist of the antihero Namor. His powers come from both the DNA of Namor and shark DNA. He is also known under the codename Tiger Shark.
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Publication history
Todd Arliss debuted in Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner #5 (September 1968), created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema. He appeared in the 1977 Ms. Marvel series. He appeared in the 2018 Avengers series.
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. Although successful, the process changed Arliss both physically and mentally, endowing him with razor-sharp teeth and gills and making him savage and predatory.
Becoming a supervillain and calling himself Tiger Shark, Arliss finds and threatens Lady Dorma, demanding to be crowned Lord of Atlantis. Namor, however, deposes Tiger Shark, who is imprisoned in Atlantis. Tiger Shark escapes from Atlantis during a rebellion caused by the artifact the Serpent Crown and encounters Namor once again.
Tiger Shark battles Orka, the minion of Atlantean noble Warlord Krang. The pair cause an undersea avalanche that buries them for several months.
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. After encountering the Hulk at Niagara Falls, 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. 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.
Tiger Shark joins the supervillain team the Masters of Evil who battle the Avengers. With the Masters of Evil, Tiger Shark aids villain Egghead in a plan to ruin Hank Pym, but is ultimately defeated by Pym. Tiger Shark joins Baron Helmut Zemo's version of the Masters of Evil and invades Avengers Mansion, escaping when the Avengers retake their headquarters. The character flees with fellow Masters member Whirlwind to California, where both are captured by Avengers West Coast members Tigra and Hellcat.
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. 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. 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.
During the "Fear Itself" event, the Undying Ones used magic to mutate Tiger Shark into a two-headed monster.
Reception
Nicholas Brooks of Comic Book Resources described Tiger Shark as a classic aquatic character.
Other versions
An alternate universe version of Tiger Shark from Earth-295 appears in Exiles #61. This version is a creation of Dark Beast, who hides his existence from Mister Sinister and Apocalypse.
An alternate universe version of Tiger Shark from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four #60. This version possesses a more shark-like appearance.
In the alternate reality of the 2008 Marvel Apes miniseries, Tiger Shark is a gorilla named Tigorilla.
Following the defeat of Goblin King (Norman Osborn), Roderick Kingsley sells one of Tiger Shark's old costumes to an unnamed criminal. During the "AXIS" storyline, Tiger Shark allies with Phil Urich (the current Goblin King) and the remnants of the Goblin Nation.
In other media
Television
The Todd Arliss incarnation of Tiger Shark appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "Command Decision", voiced by Tony Daniels. This version is a member of Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil.
The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Tiger Shark appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Shadow of Atlantis", voiced by Matthew Mercer. This version is a former general of Attuma's who rebelled against Atlantis in protest of the treaty between his homeland and the surface world and joined the Shadow Council.
The Todd Arliss incarnation of Tiger Shark appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Tarusuke Shingaki in the Japanese version and by Patrick Seitz in the English dub.
Miscellaneous
The Todd Arliss incarnation of Tiger Shark appears as a boss in Marvel Avengers Academy.
The Todd Arliss incarnation of Tiger Shark appears as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Beau Weaver. This version is a member of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil.
In 2015, Hasbro released an action figure of Todd Arliss / Tiger Shark in the Ant-Man Ultron series as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.