Re: Around the World With A New Character Each Week
#146 Silver Shark (Saint Kitts & Nevis)
SILVER SHARK
Simon Mosse
Character Sheet (Click Here)
Background
Irving “Irv” Irvine could believe it. How on Earth did his wife convince him to take a vacation, especially seeing how Irv was the greatest and busiest TV producers in Hollywood, and how in the world did she find this place, Saint Kitts. Iriv Irvine had never even of the island nation until his wife had told Irv about their reservation. Didn’t she know how busy Irv was?
The sun was torture on Irv’s skin, and the hat his wife had given him just wasn’t enough to keep the sun off of his face. Irv sighed a little as he reached for the zinc for his nose that was on the small table beside the pool chair he was sprawled in. Tube in hand, Irv was just about to slaver some of the zinc on his nose when Irv saw the boy coming out to of the pool. He was amazed. The boy was an Adonis for sure. Irv instantly knew that he would be perfect for the new show that Irv was producing, ‘The Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark’. This boy would be perfect for the part of the Silver Shark, well almost perfect. The boy was a black. Well Irv could work with that. Irv was no racist. Hadn’t he escaped Nazi Germany when he was a little kid? They didn’t call it Hollywood magic for nothing. It could work.
Irv knew this kid from MIT or one of those egghead schools back east, who had been pestering Irv about this new design he had come up with, and needed some major backing for his research. Irv was known around Hollywood for his realism. The ‘Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark’ were going to be as realistic as the studios could afford, Irv would see to it.
Irv was mildly surprised that the star of his new TV show was actually the bartender.
Holding up his umbrella topped pineapple, Irv got the kids’ attention.
The bartender toweling himself off came over with a big smile.
“Say, kid,” said Irv, “how would you like to be in pictures?”
“Sure,” said Simon, “that would be great.” Again a great smile.
‘The Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark’ ran for two years from 1967 to 1969. It was eventually cancelled to the extreme costs of building the Silver Shark armor. In fact the cost of the armor itself almost bankrupted the studios, but Irv did get his way. Later when reruns became popular, ‘The Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark’ became a cult classic.
Personality
Simon, and through him Irv, was never one to shy from the spotlight. Irv knew how to pick a star, and Simon was certainly that. In his day, he was one of most popular actors in Hollywood, and if he was refused services in some places, there were certainly others that were willing to pander for him, and Irv always had reporters on hand to get great photos of him. Simon loved and lived it.
Naturally being in the public’s eye had had a serious impact on Simon. He started to believe his own publicity. Simon believed that he was the life the party, the center of everyone’s conversation. It came as a great surprise to Simon to find out that his name was no longer on everyone’s lips when ‘The Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark’ was finally canceled. Since his show was canceled Simon found himself typecasted for the rest of his career.
Throughout his career as the Silver Shark, Simon portrayed a super-heroes super-hero. He never cursed or seriously harmed anyone. Silver Shark was known for giving talks to school children encouraging them to stay in school, and to never miss an episode of ‘The Undersea Adventures of Silver Shark.’
Quote
"By the sea!"
Powers
Simon wears a state of the art (for the 1960's) battlesuit. The suit provides him with superhuman strength, stamina, and speed, making Simon a true super-hero. Servos in the suit allow Simon to lift two hundred tons over his head without stress on the suit. Naturally the suit had a power pack that provided all of the energy for the Silver Shark.
The suit was completely self-contained even carrying its’ own oxygen supply. Because of Irv’s desire for realism, the battlesuit was armored, able to resist bullets fired at Silver Shark point blank.
One of the most amazing things about the battlesuit, was that while wearing in Simon could actually fly, without wires even. The suit was so aerodynamic that Silver Shark could fly through the water with greatest of ease.
The suit also has the highest level of sensors built into it. Silver Shark had sonar, the ability to see underwater as if it were a clear day, and the ability to hear the clicking of dolphin several miles away while underwater.
Appearance
The Silver Shark suit was the state of the art in battlesuit in the 1960's. The suit itself was a skintight suit of a silvery metallic which covered the wearers body entirely. A dorsal fin ran the length of the back of suit, from the tip of the head down to lower back. Similar fins were located at the wrist and ankles.
Outside of the Silver Shark suit, Simon Mosse was an extremely handsome black, always with a quick smile for the cameras. Simon always wore the most fashionable clothes for a star of his age.
