SAMOAN SHARK RIDER

Real Name: Unrevealed 

Identity/Class: Human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, presumably New Zealand citizen

Occupation: Unrevealed 

Group Membership: Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders

Affiliations: His shark

Enemies: Unrevealed

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Samoa and the ocean around it

First Appearance: Avengers VIII#50 (February 2022)

Powers/Abilities: Shark Rider presumably possessed superhuman strength and durability, as well as immunity to conventional smallarms, and could generate fire, even underwater. As his name suggests, he rode a shark (a Great White I believe, though I could be wrong on the exact species).

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: (human form) unrevealed; (Ghost Rider form) red
 Hair: (human form) unrevealed; (Ghost Rider form) none

History:
(Avengers VIII#50) - As Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder) fell through time he caught glimpses of heroes from throughout the ages of Earth, including Shark Rider, a Samoan Spirit of Vengeance.

Comments: Created by Jason Aaron and either Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Fonteriz, or Aaron Kuder, or Ed McGuinness, or Javier Garrón - I'm not good enough at distinguishing between these artists' styles to pick out who drew the specific page where Shark Rider appeared.

   Note that just because he was riding a shark in Avengers VIII#50 he is not the same Shark Rider Spirit of Vengeance as either the Atlantean Shark Rider seen in Ghost Rider VI#31 or the Maori Ghost Rider seen in Avengers VIII#61 (despite some online seeming to think they are all one and the same); not every Ghost Rider who rides a motorbike is Johnny Blaze, so why assume that all Spirits of Vengeance who ride sharks are one and the same? All three shark-mounted Spirits have different ethnicities, as confirmed by script or on panel text; all three have different outfits and looks, and the one in Avengers VIII#50 is definitely male while the one in #61 is definitely female. The shark-riding Ghost Rider in Avengers VIII#61 isn't named on panel as being the Maori Ghost Rider from Danny Ketch#3, but the matching outfits, necklaces, shields and very distinctive spears are pretty conclusive.

   Could Jason Aaron, who wrote both the issue where the Atlantean Shark Rider debuted and the one where the Samoan Shark Rider debuted, have intended them to be the same individual? Perhaps, assuming he forgot or decided to retcon the nationality of the from Ghost Rider VI#31 when Avengers VIII#50 came around. And assuming that the differences in appearance (see below) get written off as being down to the different artists. But that's a lot of assuming to rebut counter evidence in order to justify merging two apparently different characters as the same just because both ride sharks, especially considering we definitely do have at least one other shark-riding Spirit of Vengeance.

Comparing the Shark Riders

Ghost Rider VI#31: script identifies as Atlantean

Avengers VIII#50: identified on panel as Samoan

Avengers VIII#61: identified on panel in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3 as Maori


Skull has visible teeth and no visible markings


Skull has no visible teeth and no visible markings


Skull has visible teeth and visible forehead markings (both in A#61 and GR:DK#3).


Arms, shoulders and upper chest are covered in brown material or spines, abdomen skin appears to be blue


Arms, shoulders and chest are uncovered but with tattoos, skin appears pinkish


Arms have bindings on wrists and biceps, wears amulet round neck, breasts covered and abdomen and arms have tattoos.


Pelvic region covered in brown material (breeches ?), no loose material behind


Red waistband, grass skirt


No waistband, brown material covering pelvis with loose material behind (presumably a skirt)


Shark's eyes are black voids, no apparent reins/bridle


Shark's eyes are normal (for a shark), very obvious reins/bridle


Shark's eyes burn with hellfire, no reins/bridle, color markings more distinct

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Shark Rider is definitely connected to, but should not be confused with

but has no known connections to:

Shark Rider's Great White

Shark Rider's steed was a gigantic Great White Shark empowered by the Spirit of Vengeance.

 

--Ghost Rider #31, (Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire #6

 

images: (without ads)
Avengers VIII#50 , p22, pan1 (main image)

Appearances:
Avengers VIII#50  (February 2022) - Jason Aaron (writer), Aaron Kuder, Carlos Pacheco, Ed McGuinness & Javier Garrón (pencils), Aaron Kuder, Rafael Fonteriz, Ed McGuinness & Javier Garrón (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 09/18/2023
 Last updated: 09/18/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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