One Surprising Marvel Hero Is Beating Spider-Man & X-Men 2 Weeks Into Its Release
The mightiest defenders and antiheroes of Marvel's vast comic book favorites are so plentiful they couldn't hope to be contained to just one Earth. They come in all shapes, sizes, and species, with one surprisingly popular addition that enjoyed particular stardom was the adorable Jeff the Land Shark, whose stardom quickly grew immense following his playable character debut in Marvel Rivals. But beyond behind Jeff's cute, puppy-like facade is a shadow even he can't control in one story that's been trending above all other Marvel properties including Spider-Man and X-Men on one particular platform.
The series in question is 2025's limited-run series Jeff the Land Shark which, while already complete, is enjoying renewed popularity with its MAKMA-reformatted vertical-scroll edition on Webtoon. Originally written by the character's co-creator Kelly Thompson with the help of manga artist Tokitokoro, Jeff the Land Shark is the perfect bite-sized adventure making waves internationally thanks to his instant appeal for casual readers and far-reaching presence for Marvel fans, too, a solid fit for the biggest webcomic app of its kind. Now, just shy of two weeks since dropping on July 31, Jeff the Land Shark appears ready to finish his first of hopefully many adventures hosted by the platform.
A Returning Marvel Hit Has Been Dominating Mainstay Superheroes For 2 Weeks Straight
Despite enjoying acclaim and strong charting presence for its original print release, the broader readership clearly either didn't get a chance or can't get enough of Jeff the Land Shark, with Webtoon's users providing an impressive influx of attention. Quick to garner 100,000 views ahead of paid chapters releasing and costing a fraction of the price of corresponding full issues such as on Globalcomix, the series quickly leaped up the Superhero charts on Webtoon. It has and continues to rank above all other Marvel properties in the category, including Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Daredevil and Ultimate X-Men. The series is now seen frequently hovering at #2 or #3 behind the platform's native #1 hits like unOrdinary or The Superhuman Era.
It's hard to see why Jeff the Land Shark wouldn't be popular with this latest accessible option, for that matter. The series features Jeff unwittingly releasing a Shadow Demon who, upon escaping, seizes Jeff's shadow, takes on a dark, mischievous copycat form, and causes mayhem across the Marvel universe. It's a perfect blend of the goofy, chaotic adventures with Jeff, with enough input from regular Marvel heroes to keep the story focused and enhance Jeff's interactions.
For fans, it means fun bite-sized exchanges between Rogue and Gambit, with the latter trying on various casual Louisiana French nicknames for the little creature. It also includes surprisingly insightful moments early on with Deadpool, a frequent caregiver for Jeff, along with encounters featuring others close to Jeff like Elsa Bloodstone or the one who adopted and named him, Gwenpool, with half the battle being Jeff trying, and frequently failing, to communicate with the heroes. It's a fun exercise in fan service, especially for other characters who gained notably more popularity from Marvel Rivals like Luna Snow, who appears in a chapter which happens to feature Wolverine trying to cooperate with the critter.
Starting in Sanctum Sanctorum, and going to a chaotic array of familiar Marvel locales, Jeff the Land Shark is a totally approachable comic, with its latest charting success being thoroughly unsurprising. His cuteness factor and proximity to some of Marvel's most fun and recognizable legends makes for a wide net to attract Webtoon audiences, especially as other gimmicks come along, including his cartoonish appetite drawing him to consume numerous power-bearing MacGuffins akin to turning Jeff into a food-motivated Rogue. But Jeff's current run may come to a close with its next installment.
Jeff The Land Shark's First Webtoon Appears To Be The Last (For Now)
With roughly half an issue per episode apparent in the Webtoon formatting courtesy of MAKMA, Kelly Thompson and Tokitokoro's 2025 Jeff the Land Shark series will likely conclude this coming Saturday, August 15. With his latest collaboration including Magik, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Voodoo, Jeff's latest story is set for its conclusion on episode 10's release.
But it doesn't have to be the end for the Webtoon run, much like other properties on the platform and how they've brought various print stories to new life there. After all, the Stranger Things addition has completed one limited series and seamlessly moved onto another in what appears to be a months-long push to bring each of Dark Horse Comics' Stranger Things stories to Webtoon.
Beyond various one-shots starring everyone's favorite aquatic Marvel pet, one likely reasonable candidate to feature for Marvel's Webtoon collaboration would be the Jeff the Land Shark: Superstar series featuring Thompson and Tokitokoro again. Given Tokitokoro's increasingly growing profile across both major IPs and emerging original content such as VIZ Media's recent release of Lynx, it'd be a great way to bring more voracious viewers' eyeballs to the pair's combined work.
This all comes before mentioning another solid candidate, It's Jeff by Thompson and Gurihiru, which ultimately won the Eisner Award in 2024 for Best Humor Publication. Its vertical-scrolling format makes it an easy transition, provided Disney and Marvel's continuous partnership with the Webtoon platform enables it. After all, one can reasonably see Marvel's Infinity Comics at one point as the competition, so to have an award-winning hit from its service featured via third-party might be a difficult pill to swallow. But for Jeff, who deserves the widest adoring audience possible, the ball is in Marvel and Webtoon's court on how many stories of his will surface there.