Jaws shark (Spielberg movie) poster

Jaws

(Great white shark)


Context

Jaws was a 1975 movie directed by Steven Spielberg, about a monstrous man-eating shark. Widely considered one of the all-time classic, it was influential in the horror genre and seminal in establishing the Hollywood summer blockbuster business model.

Jaws itself is The Iconic Great White Shark. I only used the original movie, this profile does not encompass the later films of the same name.

This profile contains many SPOILERS but hopefully not too many.


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Background

  • Known Relatives: None.
  • Group Affiliation: None.
  • Base Of Operations: Waters around Amity island.
  • Length: 25’ Weight: About 6,000lbs.
  • Eyes: Black Hair: None


Powers and Abilities

Jaws is a 25 foot, three ton, killing machine. It has three-inch long serrated teeth that turns victims into hamburger in seconds.

Jaws is a rogue shark and is very territorial.

Yet, the beast is purposefully inconsistent in its attacks. Hooper, the oceanographer, said it was a nighttime hunter. But its second attack was in the day, as was its third. When a group of amateur fishermen tried chumming the waters to catch it, Jaws steered clear of them. Only killing two men out to sea, but it didn’t sink their boat or eat them.

Jaws loves to take advantage of blindsiding its prey. Attacking from their backs or coming up from underneath. When coming from below the victim has no chance to see the dorsal fin above the water. This is Jaws’ normal first attack, if it fails it will pursue its victim relentlessly.

Jaws will batter a boat in an attempt to sink it. Even thrusting its body weight onto the vessel.

It switches its tactics all the time. If something isn’t working it tries something else.


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History

This unusually large great white shark was responsible for several deaths around Amity Island. Attempts to dissuade locals and tourists from swimming in those waters repeatedly failed due to lack of evidence that a shark was responsible for the deaths. There also was the mistaken belief that a tiger shark caught in a shark hunt was the lethal predator they were looking for.

The weight of evidence in numerous deaths finally convinced the authorities to take the shark seriously. Amity Police Chief Martin Brody and oceanographer Matt Hooper accompanied professional shark hunter Captain Quint on his vessel, the Orca, to hunt down the beast once and for all.

After several dangerous encounters they finally killed the shark, but not before Quint and the Orca were both lost.


Personality

The territorial Jaws, staked its claim to the hunting grounds off the coasts of Amity island. This is a rare place to find a Great White. Its territory reaches from Cape Scott to South Beach.

When on the hunt, this shark moves near its targets before choosing one. Jaws normally only kills one victim before moving back out to sea.

Jaws’ personality changes when attacked or wounded itself. At that time it turns on its attackers with a vengeance. Jaws will attack without care of how much it is being injured itself. The beast won’t stop until all its enemies are dead.

It trailed the Orca for hours waiting for an opportunity for a sneak attack. Jaws got a chance when Brody began chumming the waters again.


Quotes

Hooper: “He’s going to go under !”
Quint: “Yeah, he can’t with three barrels on him, not with three, he can’t !”
-Jaws submerges pulling down the three barrels.
Hooper: “You ever have one do this before ?”
Quint (shaking his head in disbelief): “No.”
Chief: “You ever have a Great White…”
Hooper: “…No !

Sheriff Brody (just seeing the shark for the first time): “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”


Description

Jaws is a huge Great White Shark.


DC Universe History

Aquaman could easily control it and have him for an ally on some adventure. Jaws could also have been one of Carcharo’s pet megalodons. In fact, it would then be much bigger than even in the movie.

Another option is to pit street level characters in similar situations as the film protagonists were placed. Of course, this would be a life and death situation for the heroes, but heroes face that everyday.

Shark attacks

A third alternative is the third DCU Shark, the mutated one who fought Green Lantern. Shark was a tiger shark but changing him to a great white shouldn’t pose any issues.

In this version, Jaws was not killed in the final battle but was instead severely wounded. Driven away from Amity Island, the shark encountered toxic radioactive waste that entered its wounds and triggered his mutation in the supervillainous Shark. Jaws’s unusual intelligence and aggression made it an even deadlier foe as the Shark than any other normal member of the species would have.

One might even have the subsequent movies (assuming one wants to consider them as part of this amalgamated  history) taking place during the periods that the Shark had been returned to his mutated form, albeit with a heightened degree of intelligence retained from his altered state.

In this scenario the subsequent sharks in the series were in fact rejuvenated versions of the original shark, with its continued survival and increasingly complex behavior being side effects derived from its various transformations.



Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Jaws

A 521 points character.

Dex: 03 Str: 07 Bod: 07 Motivation: Survival then Revenge
Int: 01 Wil: 02 Min: 02 Occupation: Carnivore
Inf: 02 Aur: 00 Spi: 02 Resources {or Wealth}: 000
Init: 08/11 HP: 010

Powers:
Analytic Smell/Tracking Scent: 10, Claws: 08, Detect (Electromagnetic Fields): 04, Detect (Motion): 04, Directional Hearing: 04, Extended Hearing: 07, Growth: 07, Swimming: 06, Water Freedom: 06, Super Hearing: 04, Ultra-Vision: 05

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Analytic smell/tracking scent may only be used to detect blood.
  • Growth is always on and already calculated into Stats.
  • All powers are Innate and therefore cannot be Neutralized.
  • Detect (EM Fields) can be used to pick up natural magnetic fields to aid in navigation or to sense electrochemical impulses in living beings’ nervous systems (+0 FC).
  • Detect (Motion) is dependent on the moving object sending vibrations through the water (-1FC).
  • Detect (EM Fields) and (Motion) both have a Range of 0 APs (-1FC).
  • Normal use of Directional Hearing does not consume an Automatic Action, though using Directional Hearing against a source trying to stay hidden still requires a Dice Action (+1FC).
  • Super Hearing is only sensitive to low-frequency sounds (-1FC).
  • Ultra Vision relies on light enhancement and thus cannot be used in total darkness or to spot invisible objects (-2FC).

Skills:
None demonstrated.

Advantages:
Lightning Reflexes.

Drawbacks:
Serious Irrational attraction toward Revenge.

By Ethan Roe.

Source of Character: Jaws the 1975 movie.

Helper(s): Wikipedia, imdb.com , Animals file from W.org, Alan Wilkinson, Frank Murdock, William Chamberlin, Sébastien Andrivet, Pufnstuff, Roy Cowan, Phillip Lambert, a bigger boat.

Writeup touched up on the 3rd of February, 2019.