Sky Shark is the fifth member of Conservation Corps, a team of alien enhanced animals chosen to be Earth's champions against the same ecological fate that befell their creator's homeworld. She was introduced in the second issue of the 1993 Archie Comics Conservation Corps miniseries which it's self was a spin-off of the TMNT comic 'The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet the Conservation Corps'.
Biography[]
Background[]
Sky Shark was a normal Earth shark, minding her own business when a strange object came into her view. Thinking it might be food she followed it into a shipwreck and once close was hit with a green ray that changed her. What Sky Shark had found was an EnviroPod, sent by the alien Benevolence to find beings to serve as champions of Earth to save his world and their own. Sky Shark however didn't know this, all she knew was that she'd changed- her heightened intelligence and emerging sapient mind where horrified at what she was becoming and in her panic caused the ship to collapse around her. For this reason she was not taken along with the others to learn why this had happened. She spent several days [1] trapped there, which gave her time to adjust to her new form though rather limitedly given her situation.
Issue 2[]
When the wreck was destroyed from the outside she emerged to find a strange being, Water Buffalo, a mutant like herself and attacked but failed to land a hit as the being rushed to the surface and she discovered she could fly. The being recognized a symbol that was on a belt put around her by the powers that transformed her and stated that she must be their lost brother. This caused Sky Shark to stop her attack in complete shock that the being couldn't tell she was a lady shark and her verbal confrontation segued into civil conversation. She was told of her purpose but was rather resentful at being changed the way she was. Before the conversation can go much further she and Water Buffalo are teleported to the planet Danopaulus. Water Buffalo tells her the others like her are there but when they arrive the place is in ruins. She searches along with Water Buffalo and having been without food for several days almost eats one of the natives but Water Buffalo stops her and in terror the man tells them what happened to Benevolence and the other Conservation Corps members. She and Water Buffalo eventually find the others and Benevolence being poisoned in a chamber with gas. Seeing them in this state Sky Shark clicks into a more heroic mindset deciding that she has to do something she surprised even herself when on impulse she separates the poison from regular air around them. Together with Benevolence she and the Conservation Corps confronts the alien Malevolence and his investors. When Malevolence gets the chance he activates the Virtual Ecology projectors in a bid to conceal the planet's ecological ruin. When it seems the team has failed it's revealed that the person Sky Shark had initially tried to eat when she arrived on Danopaulus had followed them long enough to learn Malevolence's plan and tell others. With the support of the group he gathered and a coordinated effort Sky Shark and the other members of the Conservation Corps destroyed the projectors. In retaliation Malevolence unleashes a secret weapon, a cyberfied Oily Bird- one of the team's first adversaries before Sky joined.[2]
Issue 3[]
The cybernetic Oily Bird is too much for the rest of the team to handle. At first concerned Sky Shark becomes amused watching the guys of the team try and fail. Eventually she tells them their failing is being of an inferior gender as they work too hard and do little thinking. She then lands a blow on Oily Birds mechanical eye and the foe reacts with a sexist retort that she returns in kind. Taking flight Oily Bird is suddenly breathless and choking looses flight and plummets to the ground. Water Buffalo bewildered asks Sky Shark what she did to which Sky Shark explains that she simply removed the oxygen from around Oily Bird's head until he lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Malevolence is arrested, and revealed to be Benevolence's brother. Benevolence's name being misheard, as it's actually Ben Evolence- his brother being Mal. Ben Evolence sends the Conservation Corps back to Earth after informing them of the great work he'll have to do to both address the corrupt government of his world and repair the ecosystem there. The ship he sends them back on becomes the teams new base of operations in Antartica. [3]
Personality[]
Sky Shark is initially abrasive but shows a bit more of a dynamic personality as she gets comfortable with the others. Due to Water Buffalo's mistake regarding her gender she's self conscious enough to use comments to frequently remind those around her that she is a woman. For reasons the short lived series never addressed Sky Shark has a very negative perception of men. Compared to the other four members of the Conservation Corps she has the most moral difficulty. Much like her physical form her mind wasn't fully transformed by the time she had a panic and caused the EnviroPod that gave her powers to be buried and likely destroyed. She struggles the most with primal instincts that where repressed by those who had been fully transformed. Where as the other four members readily took up heroic personalities Sky Shark had to be guided, primarily by Water Buffalo who was given guardianship over Earth's waterways, in being 'good'. She's the most aggressive member of the team and still needs some reminders at times when she gets carried away. She comes off as confident at best and arrogant at worse.
Appearance and Physiology[]
Sky Shark from the lower waist up appears anthropomorphic but her lower half is still much like that of a normal shark giving her a merfolk-esque look. She has a light blue underbelly and blue hide. She uses her ability of flight to move about when outside of the water.
Abilities[]
- Air Breather: Unlike a normal shark Sky Shark is capable of breathing air.
- Airokinesis: Sky Shark is able to move air around her in order to create twisters or jets of wind.
- Flight: Sky Shark is capable of flight.
- Shifting of Air Particles: Sky Shark is able to separate air particles to filter air such as filtering toxins away from those who might be afflicted by them. She can use this to even separate oxygen from around an individual's head. [3]
Quotes[]
- "Brother?!? Listen buddy, I'm gonna overlook that remark on account that you probably ain't never seen a lady shark before-- ... An' as for that 'C' on my belt youre guess is as good as mine!" [2]
- "But I just wanna eat, er--MEET him!" [2]
- "Got to get those guys away from all the poisonous gas!" [2]
- "Wow! I control the sky! Just think of it-- ME, a plain old shark-- HEY! That' sounds good... boys, from now on you can call me-- Sky Shark!" [2]
- "*yawn* Whipped up a twister to wipe out the evil transmitter! Too easy!" [2]
- "Hi five! Woooo!" [2]
- "I love watching the inferior gender make fools of themselves!" [3]
Source Citations[]
- Conservation Corps Issue 1
- Conservation Corps Issue 2
- Conservation Corps Issue 3