Suicide Squad’s King Shark Shares a Surprising Power with Superman

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Suicide Squad: King Shark #10

As a regular member of the Suicide Squad, King Shark has mostly been utilized as the team’s muscle during their missions in DC Comics, but in his latest adventure it is revealed that King Shark shares a surprising power with Superman. Given his status as a usual side-character, it is easy for fans to forget that King Shark is more than just a super strong humanoid shark, but a literal demi-god. One of the powers granted him as someone with godly heritage is super hearing which rivals the ability exhibited by Superman himself.

In Suicide Squad: King Shark #10 by Tim Seeley and Scott Kolins, fans learn that King Shark has the ability of super hearing as he references a piece of information he overheard in the first issue of the series, something no one could have normally overheard. King Shark developed feelings for one of his fellow inmates while in prison during Suicide Squad: King Shark #1 based on what he overheard her saying during a group therapy session. That inmate, Shawn Tsang, also known as Defacer, realizes she had been overheard in the tenth issue of the series, thereby confirming King Shark’s super hearing ability. 

King Shark heard Defacer truly open up about herself from halfway across the prison which sparked his feelings towards her. Defacer comes to the conclusion that King Shark had overheard her in prison after learning that he has the ability to hear a struggling seal from miles away, so the fact that he heard her within the prison was a pretty easy feat for the demi-god. Just as King Shark can hear things happening from miles away, Superman has also exhibited his own version of super hearing. Superman’s ability has been shown in more subtle fashion as he protects an entire city from danger and can be at any given location in a second across Metropolis once he hears an ongoing threat. 

While this superhuman ability is a surprising link between Superman and King Shark, it isn’t the only one. King Shark made his debut in Superboy #9 by Karl Kesel and Humberto Ramos. The first time fans saw King Shark, he was going toe-to-toe with a clone of Superman, showing that he can hold his own against the seemingly indestructible Kryptonian and introducing him as a villain who can handle fighting a hero as powerful as Superman.

From sharing a superpower with the Man of Steel to being forever linked to the hero due to the circumstances of his debut, King Shark is more and more becoming established as a true and worthy rival of Superman. While Superman’s powers other than super strength and hearing easily put King Shark to shame, the two godly characters are more alike than fans originally thought as Suicide Squad reveals they share a surprising power.

About The Author