Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Even Low Level Super-Crooks Have A Pecking Order

I was disappointed during Villains for Hire #2 that Tiger Shark's diss on the Shocker didn't come back to haunt him. I fully expected Shocker to blast him through a wall. Nice bit of humble pie for the loudmouth. Instead, he throws Shocker through a window. Unless it was Bombshell who did it, but there was no explosion, and Tiger Shark strikes me as more quick to violence, anyway.

OK, so Shocker is a what, C-list villain? We're talking about Count Nefaria here. It's just Tiger Shark. Is "Gets occasionally pummeled but not killed by Namor" that much better than being 'Spider-Man's punching bag'? I've seen Tiger Shark lose to Hellcat and Tigra, and to Deadpool when Wade was lost in some Die Hard fantasy. Repeated defeats to Spider-Man don't look so bad in that light.

Yes, the most notable team I can remember Shocker being part of was the Sinister Syndicate, while Tiger Shark's been part of a couple of versions of the Masters of Evil. My love for the Sinister Syndicate aside, Masters of Evil is a more high-profile group. But in one case, I think Zemo just drafted every super-strong villain there was, a category that includes Tiger Shark. The other I know of was the version the Crimson Cowl put together during the early stages of Thunderbolts. Does that group really even count? There were an awful lot of D-listers on that crew.

The thing about the Shocker is, he's a crook who knows what he is. He's not a take over the world guy, not a mass murdering loon, just a guy with some gear that he uses to make some cash off illegal activities. Lunch pail super-villainy. Tiger Shark is a character who thinks he's a bigger deal than he is. He's a glorified leg-breaker, but we're supposed to be impressed by his stupid costume (not that Shocker's costume is anything to write home about) and pointy teeth. He has the attitude, but not the power, brains, or reputation to back it up. Like the Hood, but without the benefit of a writer (Bendis) who thinks the same way.

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