TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Pirate Shark

Go To

Pirate Shark (trope)
A ghost pirate shark, in this case.

Sharks are often considered the most frightening animal one can encounter in the ocean. Pirates were seen as the terror of the seas. So why not combine the two?

Cartoon or anthropomorphic sharks are often given stereotypical traits or attire of pirates. Expect to see them Dressed to Plunder: a pirate hat or Eyepatch of Power are common, but there may also be Hook Hands (hook fins?), pirate vests or jackets, and even a Seadog Peg Leg in more anthropomorphic cases.

Whether these characters actually act like pirates or merely look the part depends on the narrative. While sharks in media are usually villainous, if they are not fully anthropomorphic (as is more often than not the case with fish characters), then they are more likely to be friendly, Played for Laughs, or appear in children's media, as the sight of a cartoon shark in pirate attire may be considered too humorous to be seen as frightening.

Subtrope of Semiaquatic Species Sailor and Animal Occupation Stereotypes. Overlaps with Threatening Shark if the character is a villain. If not, they may be an example of The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Also overlaps with Shark Man if the character has human-like limbs. For more animals depicted as/associated with pirates, see Pirate Parrot.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • The Brave of Gold Goldran has the secret ninth Brave Captain Shark, a Humongous Mecha that transforms from a shark to a robot with a cutlass, a hook, a harpoon, and a pirate's cap on his eyepatched robotic noggin.
  • One Piece: Several members of the Fishman race are shark-like in nature and, given the state of the world, turn to piracy to make a living. This includes Arlong, who's based on a sawfish; Hody Jones, who's based on a great white; and Jinbe, a whale shark fishman who eventually becomes the Helmsman of the Straw Hats' ship.

    Comic Books 
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics): Played with; Razor the Shark is a former pirate who left his crew because of their amoral deeds and has been trying to make amends for his past actions. His sister Blade, by contrast, is a member of the same pirate crew, but does not do a Heel–Face Turn like her brother.

    Films — Live-Action 

    Literature 
  • Wereworld: Count Vega is the swashbuckler ruler of the Cluster Isles. Like most of its residents, his wereform is that of a sea creature, his being, appropriately, a shark.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Magic: The Gathering: Sharkfolk known as Chordatans from an unknown plane arrived on Avishkar through an Omenpath at some point after March of the Machine. The majority of them that are on Avishkar currently are pirates, such as Captain Howler.

    Video Games 
  • City of Heroes: The villain Captain Mako is a mutant Shark Man and the former leader of a pirate crew.
  • CookieRun: OvenBreak: Sorbet Shark Cookie is a member of Pirate Cookie's crew, capable of changing between a land-dwelling Cookie form and their true form of a mer-shark thanks to making a deal with an unknown forcenote .
  • Crayola Treasure Adventures: The Big Bad, Redbeard, is an anthropomorphic shark pirate with a cutlass, pirate hat, vest, and as his name indicates, a red beard.
  • Dungeons of Aether: Slade, one of the four playable characters, is an anthropomorphic shark who is a pirate and looks the part, wearing a jacket and using a cutlass as his weapon. In terms of gameplay, he's the group's Fragile Speedster, and personality-wise, he's a fairly heroic Lovable Rogue who is only trying to find a way to help his homeland and will turn down the opportunity to take treasure for himself if it means doing the right thing. He also counts as a Shark Man, as he has arms and legs.
  • Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes: Downplayed with the Shi'arcs, who are a race of shark people who talk like pirates.
  • Fate/Grand Order: First introduced in the Sixth Summer Event, the Shark Pirate, also known as the Shark Soldier, is a recurring Berserker-class enemy unit. True to this trope, they're anthropomorphic sharks that are dressed like pirates and wield cutlasses as weapons.
  • Kingdom Rush Vengeance: The Deep King, one of the five Pirate Kings faced in the DLC campaign of the same name, is a Great White Shark Man and the captain of a pirate crew, although he also acts like a stereotypical The Don.
  • Pirate101 has a race of pirate sharks called the Cutthroats that serve as antagonists.
  • Super Mario Bros.:
    • Luigi's Mansion 3: Captain Fishook is a ghost pirate shark. He has an eyepatch and a hook hand, and he is battled on a pirate ship. In one phase of his boss fight, he possesses his ship, turning into a scary shark face embedded in the ship's wooden walls.
    • Super Mario RPG: Jonathan "Johnny" Jones, who Mario and company encounter while searching for the fifth Star Piece, at least looks like a shark, although his appearance implies that he may actually be wearing a shark suit, leaving his actual species ambiguous. Either way, he's the captain of a pirate crew using the Sunken Ship as their base, and he certainly dresses like a pirate with his jacket, red cape, a hook in place of one hand, and the trident he carries in the other. His underlings (who are more clearly shown to be actual sharks) also count, carrying spears and wearing bandanas. All of them are "bipedal" and move around via Tailfin Walking.

    Western Animation 
  • Big Blue: One of the recurring antagonists, Captain Nobeard, is an anthropomorphic shark and a pirate captain.
  • Delfy And His Friends by D'Ocon Films Productions has two antagonists named Sharky and Sharko, who are pirate sharks. One has an eyepatch and a Hook Hand, and carries a cutlass, while the other has a pirate hat, and both wear bandanas.
  • Mixels: Sharx is the leader of the Pyrratz and has the appearance of a cartoonish shark with a captain's hat, a Hook Hand and a barrel-like peg leg, plus a black eye that makes him appear to be wearing an eyepatch.
  • While eye-patched, pirate-speaking Kwazii from The Octonauts is an anthropomorphic cat, he's very closely associated with his personal ship, the shark-themed Gup-B, of which he's very proud and quite protective.
  • Space Ghost has to battle a pair of shark-shaped pirate ships that "swim" through space, raiding merchant vessels. These shark-ships are crewed by anthro sharks as well, though they have legs and feet instead of tail fins. Notable in that when Space Ghost is able to damage one shark ship, its companion ship begins attacking it, which results in the destruction of both ships.
  • Turtle Island (1995): An Affably Evil shark named Splash is part of the villainous pirate crew, though he spends most of his time in the water.
  • Wolf King: Like in the Wereworld books that the series is adapted from, Count Vega is the pirate ruler of the Cluster Isles, and his wereform is a shark.


Top