There aren’t any rules in place that say a superhero blockbuster must only use characters from the comic book run starring the title character, and the advent of the shared cinematic universe has torn up the playbook in regards to who can show up from where, never mind the what and why.
It’s an approach that’s helped the Marvel Cinematic Universe become the biggest game in town, and now James Wan’s DCEU sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has gotten in on the act by plucking a secondary villain from Green Lantern lore and adding them to Jason Momoa’s second solo outing as Arthur Curry.
The Hollywood Reporter recently announced a quartet of new additions to the ensemble, with Pose star Indya Moore revealed as Karshon. Those familiar with DC lore will recognize the name, and for those who don’t; The Shark has a wild backstory, even by comic book standards.
Debuting in a 1963 issue of Green Lantern, Karshon was a regular tiger shark who then evolved into a creature with superpowers after being exposed to radiation. They possess the power of mind-reading, mental manipulation and the means to conjure bolts of pure energy, and have lived both on land and in the sea at various points.
Obviously, a baddie who began life as a literal shark makes perfect sense within the context of something like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and provides yet another obstacle for Arthur to overcome with Karshon joining new creation Stingray, Patrick Wilson’s Vorm, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta and Randall Park’s Stephen Shin on the antagonistic side of the equation.
