SKYSHARKSKYSHARK
Real Name: Elias Schleigal
Identity/Class: Human, unconventional weapons user; German citizen (World War II era)
Occupation: Nazi airplane Pilot, Captain in Luftwaffe
Group Membership: Battle-Axis (Aarkus, Doctor Death, Human Meteor, Spider Queen, Strongman/Percy Van Norton, Volton, Golem/Jacob Goldstein), the Luftwaffe, the Nazi party, an unnamed Axis Team (Brain Drain, Master Man, U-Man)
Affiliations: Slicer
Enemies: Dr. Johann Goldstein, Invaders (Blazing Skull, Captain America, Human Torch, Miss America, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Silver Scorpion, Whizzer), the Liberty Legion (Blue Diamond, Jack Frost, Miss America, Patriot, Red Raven, Thin Man, Whizzer), the Thing (Ben Grimm)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Himmel Hai
Base of Operations: Germany, Holland, Poland, USA, possibly other places
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One Annual#1 (1976)
{Edizione Italiana: Fantastici Quattro#200 Editoriale Corno (4 dicembre 1978)}
Powers/Abilities: Skyshark was a skilled air pilot. He was a very cruel man who found pleasure in killing others. He used a modified Stuka, a bombardier, with extra features, knew how to pilot a dirigible, and also used a gun.
History:
(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#1 (fb)) - Before 1939, the man who would
become Skyshark was a skilled pilot and killer. He joined his two talents when
he became Captain and piloted a stuka in the Luftwaffe (the World War II German
Air Force). He was cruel, as he shot to every civilian he saw from his
airplane. This attracted' the Fuhrer's attention on him, so the Fuhrer named him Himmel
Hai (Skyshark) and ordered him to create a squadron to
attack the USA country.
(Marvel Two-In-One#20 (fb) - BTS) - Hitler gave a half Vibranium cylinder to Skyshark, with the order to take care of it (and possibly to employ it in any research or weapon created by Brain Drain). Skyshark joined with Brain Drain, Master Man and Meranno the U-Man.
(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#1) - Skyshark set his first air
squadron up, and in 1942 attacked New York. Six of the seven planes of the squadron were
defeated by the Liberty Legion, and only the plane with Skyshark and Slicer
managed to flee. Skyshark revealed to his passenger, Slicer, that the airplane
squadron had merely been intended to unnerve the Americans by demonstrating
Germany's ability to strike at their country.
They faked a flight towards the inner land but they actually turned in
the direction of the sea and reached a wide fog cloud hiding a floating platform
of an aircraft carrier where they landed.
(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#1 - BTS) - Inside the platform Skyshark showed Slicer the giant flying swastika-craft designed by Brain Drain and assembled from stolen American war materials. Later, Skyshark and Slicer left for a mission. They had to capture an American genius and steal his plans for a gyroscope. When they arrived on the place Skyshark saw the Thin Man's plane and, understanding he could not capture the scientist, reverted to the secondary plan and shot the scientist with the plane's guns. He was sorry that he had no time to fly over the farm a second time and kill the scientist's daughter, too. However, when Skyshark tried to battle against Thin Man's plan, he soon understood that the other airplane was faster than his stuka, and so he fled, producing a smoke cloud. He was unaware that the scientist was only wounded.
(Marvel Two-In-One#20) - Skyshark, Master Man, and U-Man were in the floating
platform. Brain Drain was forced by the Thing to turn back from a mission on the
flying giant Swastika and the two landed on the aircraft carrier. The Axis
agents then attacked the Thing. Skyshark didn't enter very much in the fight,
because he had to defend the half Vibranium cylinder, but he was hit by the
Thing and lost the half cylinder. He then helped his allies shooting at the Thing, with
little success. The axis agents had almost beaten the
Thing when they were attacked by the Liberty Legion and then defeated by the
heroes. Skyshark
abandoned his comrades to make good his escape, and Slicer slipped aboard
Skyshark's plane. They were pursued by Thin Man on his plane and when Skyshark
found that Slicer was aboard, he told him that the extra weight would slow the
plane, and jettisoned Slicer from the plane. Then the Nazi used his smoke cloud
again and avoided Thin Man's pursuit.
(Invaders II#2) - The night of June 22nd, 1942, Skyshark piloted a dirigible on Los Angeles. The dirigible was hidden by a huge cloud of fog that covered the Hollywood hill. On the Hollywood Hill, he let Doctor Death, Strongman, Jacob Goldstein, and the Spider Queen get off to accomplish to the first parts of the Mojave Project; his orders was to wait for three hours.
(Invaders II#2 - BTS) - Skyshark transported his allies and the hostages to their secret base under the Desert of Mojave.
(Invaders II#4) - Skyshark attended the Doctor Death's explanation of the Mojave Project: it's purpose was to create an earthquake and free a toxic gas to create chaos and destruction on the American territory. When the captive Invaders tried to free themselves from the tubes where they were contained, Skyshark intervened, but Doctor Death's sedative gas easily resolved the problem.
Later Captain America freed the Invaders, and Skyshark tried to help the Battle-Axis to stop them. He saw Dr. Johann Goldstein who was trying to stop Doctor Death from activating the Oscillotron, so he shot at Goldstein, wounding him to the left arm. Eventually, the Invaders destroyed the Oscillotron, and the Battle-Axis surrendered.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema and Grainger/Tartag/Roussos.
If you think that the Thing's presence in 1942 was not part of Earth-616 Timeline read the comments under the Slicer profile.
Skyshark's first name was revealed in Liberty Legion's entry in OHOTMU A-Z HC#6.
Clarifications:
Skyshark has no known connections to
The Skyshark's airplane was a Stuka, a bombardier, similar to the other airplanes of his squadron, but his airplane showed a couple of unconventional features more than the normal Stukas.
All the Stukas of the squadron had a shark face painted on the plane's muzzle. Skyshark's Stuka didn't have any bomb under it and had the usual pair of shotguns on the wings. It also had a smoke-device, capable of producing a dense artificial smoke cloud in order to help the escape. The plane also had an ejecting device for the navigator's seat (and probably for the pilot, too).
Skyshark probably used the same artificial fog in the dirigible he used at Los Angeles when he was the pilot for the Battle-Axis.
--Marvel Two-In-One Annual#1 (Marvel Two-In-One#20
Images:
Marvel Two-In-One#20, page 8, panel 2 (Skyshark)
Marvel Two-In-One#20, page 9, panel 7 (Skyshark, head shot)
Marvel Two-In-One#20, page 13, panel 4 (Slicer)
Marvel Two-In-One#20, page 13, panel 6 (Skyshark's plane, and Slicer)
Appearances:
Marvel Two-in-One Annual#1 (1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (artist)
Marvel Two-In-One#20 (October, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (pencils), Sam Grainger (inks)
{Edizione Italiana:
Fantastici Quattro Corno#201 (18 dicembre 1978)}
Invaders II#2 (June, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dave Hooker (pencils), Brian Garvey (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
{Marvel Extra#12 Marvel Italia (aprile 1995)}
Invaders II#4 (August, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dave Hooker (pencils), Brian Garvey (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
{Marvel Extra#12 Marvel Italia (aprile 1995)}
First Posted: 05/18/2005
Last updated: 05/19/2005
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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