If you’ve been playing NetEase’s hit hero shooter Marvel Rivals, you have likely run across the adorable land shark named Jeff, whether he’s healing you up as the battle rages or taking you and your allies and spitting you off the map for multiple KOs (guilty!). Jeff has actually been around for a little while, though while he’s been a beloved character in the comics since then, Jeff has hit a whole new level of popularity with his introduction to Marvel Rivals. For those new to Jeff’s world, here’s everything you need to know about everyone’s favorite land shark.
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The Origin
Jeff has been a part of the Marvel Universe since 2019, with his first appearance taking place in West Coast Avengers #7 (Vol. 3). Everyone can thank the team of writer Kelly Thompson and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo for Jeff’s creation, as he was initially introduced as one of M.O.D.O.K’s creations made to attack Santa Monica, and the land sharks were all supposed to be a one-issue threat.
Thompson actually broke down what led to Jeff’s creation on her substack, revealing when she noticed the cute little shark in the background of a bigger battle splash image. “The landsharks were just supposed to be a one-off thing for that first story, a fun thing to fight. But in Caselli’s beautiful pages I noticed this very concerned landshark in the background. This guy was CONCERNED. Very very concerned. Like, this guy did NOT want to be here. And I couldn’t stop thinking about him,” Thompson wrote.
The very concerned land shark was then combined with Thompson’s lovable cats The Monarch and Clive, and that’s when Jeff the Landshark was truly born. In the issue, Gwenpool tells Hawkeye she’s bringing Jeff home with them. Hawkeye protests a bit but Gwen wins him over eventually, and Jeff hit the ground running from there.
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Across The Universe
Jeff would become pretty close to Gwenpool and Jeff even becomes a member of the West Coast Avengers for a time. Jeff was very protective of Gwenpool, especially when she took on foes like the Hulk, but he wasn’t just friends with Gwen. Later Gwen leaves Jeff with Deadpool, and this leads to the delightful time that finds Deadpool as King of the Monsters on Staten Island.
During that time Jeff was the royal pet of the King and helped Wade and Elsa Bloodstone at several points along the way, including during the Knull attack which led to Jeff being briefly taken over by a symbiote, and unfortunately bit Deadpool’s arm off. Elsa would then take over as Jeff’s guardian, and that lasted through to It’s Jeff.
In It’s Jeff, Kate Bishop takes over as Jeff’s guardian as he experiences hilarious adventures across the Marvel universe and encounters a who’s who of Marvel characters. It’s Jeff collected the Marvel Infinity comics all the way through issue 12, and then It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse collected #13 through #24 of those adventures.
Now Jeff is helping out his team in Marvel Rivals, and Jeff fans can actually pick up a new skin for him as part of the Marvel Rivals Winter Celebration. It all kicks off on December 20th, and not only does it introduce a Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival mode that sports 4 vs 4 (think Splatoon and you’re on the right track), but it also allows players to earn limited-time items like Jeff’s Cuddly Fuzzlefin costume. You can check out the full trailer for the winter celebration above.
What’s your favorite Jeff the Shark moment? You can talk all things gaming and comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
