This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
Aquaman
Template:Distinguish
Real Name: Orin II, adopted as Arthur Curry
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Former Aliases: No known former aliases
Other Current Aliases: The Sea King, the dweller of the depths
Status
Occupation: Adventurer, former Monarch of Atlantis & King of the Seven Seas
Legal Status: Citizen of Atlantis
Identity: Publicly Known
Marital Status: Separated
Group Affiliation: Formerly Justice League of America, Justice League International, Justice League, Justice League of America
Base of Operations: Sub Diego
Origin
Aquaman is the rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis.
Place of Birth: Poseidonis, Atlantis
Known Relatives: Atlan (father), Atlanna (mother, deceased), Arthur Curry III (son, deceased), Garth (Tempest, adopted son), Koryak (son), Mera (wife, estranged), Orm Marius (half-brother), Arthur Tom Curry (adoptive father, deceased), various ancient rulers of Atlantis (deceased - mostly)
First Appearance: More Fun Comics #73 (1941)
History
Aquaman
In his Golden Age appearances, as seen in his first appearance in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), Aquaman was presented as the son of a human scientist who gave him the ability to survive and breathe underwater, but had no other powers whatsoever.
This version of Aquaman was, in later years (after the establishment of DC Comics' multiverse) described as being the Aquaman of Earth-Two, an alternate Earth. The only appearances of the Golden Age/Earth-Two version of Aquaman after the Golden Age were in All-Star Squadron #59 and #60, just before he was retroactively eliminated from existence due to the changes wrought to DC's history by 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths.
In 1946, Aquaman's adventures moved from More Fun Comics to Adventure Comics, where he remained through the rest of the 1940s, the 1950s and early 1960s as a backup feature to the book's star, Superboy.
Most of Aquaman's adventures in the 1940s and 1950s consisted of Aquaman dealing with various criminals, pirates, and so forth, as well as threats to aquatic life and sailors. The first recurring supporting character Aquaman gained was Topo, his pet octopus, in Adventure Comics #229 in October 1956.
Starting in 1959, Aquaman saw his first major revisions to his mythos since the Golden Age, with various new supporting characters and adjustments made to to the character.
In Adventure Comics #260 and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of a human lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry and his mother Atlanna, an outcast from the lost continent of Atlantis. Due to this heritage, Aquaman soon discovered as a youth that he possessed various aquatic abilities, including the ability to survive underwater, communicate with sea life, and tremendous swimming abilities. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans and its inhabitants, starting a career as "Aquaboy." As Aquaboy, he eventually met Superboy (Earth's only other superpowered superhero at the time) on one occasion (Superboy (volume 1) #171). Eventually, Arthur grew up and changed his name to "Aquaman."
In 1960, Aquaman became included in the Justice League of America comic, appearing with the team in its very first appearance in Brave and the Bold #28, and later revealed to be a founding member (as shown in flashback in Justice League of America #9). Aquaman took part in most of the 1960s adventures of the superhero team.
Around this time, Aquaman also began gaining his familiar cast of allies and enemies, starting in Adventure Comics #269 (February 1960), which introduced Aqualad, an outcast orphan youth from Atlantis whom Aquaman takes in.
Aquaman gained his own comic for the first time in 1962, which saw further additions to Aquaman's mythos, including the introduction of Mera (in Aquaman (volume 1) #11, September-October 1963), the queen of an aquatic world in another dimension; eventually, Mera and Aquaman became wed (in Aquaman (volume 1) #18, November-December 1964), with the two having a child together (named Arthur Jr. or "Aquababy").
The 1960s also saw the introduction of enemies such as Ocean Master and Black Manta, would-be conquerors of the sea.
A noteworthy story of this era is Adventure Comics #452 (July-August 1977), in which Black Manta (as part of a trap) killed Aquaman's infant son.
In the early 1980s, Aquaman disbanded the Justice League, and reformed the team with a group of younger members, as well as relocating the team to headquarters in Detroit, Michigan; this new version of the team, however, proved short-lived, and was disbanded during the events of the 1986 miniseries Legends.
In 1986, following Crisis on Infinite Earths, a four-issue Aquaman miniseries was published, featuring Aquaman in a new costume. The series failed to stir much interest, however, and was soon forgotten. In 1989, Aquaman received notice again with that year's The Legend of Aquaman special, which was soon followed by a five-issue miniseries. The following year saw the publication of The Atlantis Chronicles, which revived interest in the character. In 1991, a 13-issue Aquaman comic was published.
In 1993, Aquaman received another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide; the four-issue miniseries delved into further details about Aquaman's origins.
In August 1994, Aquaman finally received his own comic again, initially scripted by Peter David, who also penned Time and Tide. This series ran for 75 issues; David left the series after nearly four years as Aquaman writer, and was replaced by Erik Larsen (with a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning bridging the two). Larsen's work did not prove popular, though, and he was soon replaced by Dan Jurgens as scripter, who saw the series through to its cancellation with #75.
In 2002, a new Aquaman series began publication, and is currently still being published by DC. Writers who have contibuted to the series thus far include Rick Veitch, John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer and John Arcudi.
Modern origin and Background
Aquaman by Alex Ross
After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, several miniseries in the late 1980s and early 1990s attempted to rewrite the Sea King's mythos and origin, though keeping most of his Silver Age history intact; the current version of Aquaman's origin and history is as follows:
Aquaman, born as Orin to Atlantis Queen Atlanna and the mysterious wizard Atlan, was abandoned on Mercy Reef as a baby because of his blonde hair, which was seen by the superstitious Atlanteans as a curse they called "the Mark of Kordax." The only one who spoke up on Orin's behalf was Vulko, a scientist who had no time for myth or superstition, and while his pleas had no effect, Vulko would later become a close friend and advisor of Orin's. Orin was found on the reef by dolphins; one of the dolphins, named Porm, took Orin in and became his adopted mother. As a child, Orin was found and taken in by a lighthouse keeper who gave him his own name, Arthur Curry. One day Orin returned to the lighthouse and found Arthur gone, so he set off on his own. In his early teens, Orin ventured to the far north, where he met and fell in love with an Inupiat named Kako. He also first earned the hatred of Orm, the future Ocean Master, who would prove to be his half-brother. He was driven away before he knew Kako had become pregnant with his son, Koryak.
Orin returned to the seas; he crossed paths with humans from time to time but for the most part he stayed well out of the reach of humanity, until a fateful day when Orin happened on the city of his birth, Atlantis. He was captured by the then-dictatorial government of the city and placed in a prison camp. He was helped by Vulko, at the time also a prisoner of the state, who taught Orin the language and ways of the Atlanteans. While Orin was there he realized that his mother was also being held captive, but once she was killed he broke out and fled. Eventually, Orin made his way to the surface world, and became a hero named "Aquaman." From this point on, Aquaman's history mostly follows his Silver Age history outlined above, though with a few differences.
When Aquaman eventually returned to Atlantis, he found that the citizens had been inspired to free themselves by his daring escape and that Atlantis was now a free city. Aquaman was recognized as the son of Queen Atlanna and so he became the King of Atlantis. Aquaman began a policy of slowly reintroducing Atlantis to the surface world, though after being ousted by a villain named Shark, he decided to become a more traditional superhero, even though with Shark's defeat he could have ascended the throne again. Around this time, Arthur met and married Mera, a queen from another dimension, and they had a son, Arthur Jr.
Eventually, Aquaman's foe Black Manta kidnapped and ultimately murdered Arthur Jr., causing a rift between Aquaman and his wife. Mera had been driven insane by grief and was soon committed to an asylum in Poseidonis. Shortly afterwards, an alien force conquered Atlantis. Arthur was forced to save the day, and in the process was hampered by an escaped Mera who personally blamed Arthur for the death of their son. In a fit of rage, Mera left Aquaman's dimension. After Atlantis was freed, Arthur knew he had to remain in Atlantis, and thus he resigned from the Justice League. For a time, he served as Atlantis's representative to the United Nations, but always found himself thrust back into the superhero role. Becoming more and more of a workaholic and solitary figure, Aquaman eventually returned to the oceans. He soon became tangled up in Black Manta's latest attempt at destroying Atlantis by dragging it into a war with a surface nation. In the aftermath of the war, Arthur received the Atlantis Chronicles, thus learning all about the history of his people and discovering that Ocean Master was really his half-brother, Orm. With all the chaos in his life, Arthur fell into a bout of severe depression. He retreated to his "Aquacave," having no real interest in Atlantis or superheroics.
New Look, New Attitude
Around the time of the Zero Hour storyline, Arthur was forced to return to action, compelled by his longtime partner Aqualad.[1] Shortly into his new adventures, Aquaman lost his hand when the madman Charybdis stole his ability to communicate with sea life and stuck Arthur's hand in a pool of water teeming with piranhas. This caused him to become somewhat unhinged, and Aquaman soon began having prophetic dreams. Aquaman soon after fitted a harpoon for his missing hand, which led to an entirely new look, discarding his classic orange shirt for a silvery piece of armor that only covered the upper right half of his chest and part of his right arm, while growing long hair and a scraggly beard. At first, it was just a crude hook, but after the hook's destruction, Aquaman had it replaced with a cybernetic replacement from S.T.A.R. Labs. This new harpoon had a retractable reel that he could fully control.
Recently, Atlantis and its denizens were taken into the ancient past by a powerful sorceress, who trapped Aquaman as a water-creature in a pool of water for the fifteen year period (dubbed "the Obsidian Age", as the storyline was also called) Atlantis spent in the past. Eventually, the Justice League freed Aquaman, and they returned Atlantis and its people to the present, though not before Aquaman was forced to sink ancient Atlantis. This caused displeasure among Atlantis' denizens, and they drove Aquaman out of Atlantis; Aquaman afterwards spent some time in Ireland, including meeting the Lady of the Lake, who gives him a new prosthetic hand composed of magical water. From there he returned to his more classic look: orange shirt, clean shaven, and short hair.
Even more recently, Aquaman went to San Diego when the city suffered a massive earthquake that plunged half of it into the Pacific Ocean. Aquaman soon discovered that the survivors of the catastrophe were able to breathe underwater, and started to help the survivors rebuild their submerged portion of the city (now called "Sub Diego"). During this time, Aquaman picked up a new sidekick named Lorena, who makes herself into the new Aquagirl. There have been indications that Aquaman may reconcile with Mera.
Characteristics
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 325 lbs (147.41 kg)
Eyes: Aqua Blue
Hair: Blonde
Unusual Features: Left hand replaced with cybernetic/Waterbearer hand.
Powers
Aquaman
Known Powers:
Amphibious Physiological Adaptation: his body is specially developed for underwater conditions, granting him specialized blood circulation to withstand freezing temperatures and highly developed vision to see clearly even in murky ocean depths. This hybrid physiology means he can survive indefinitely underwater or on land (though he would still need occasional contact with water to survive)this length can be prolonged by the humidity in the air.
He also possesses superhuman levels of strength, speed, endurance and durability, all by-products of his body being adapted to survive unprotected in the tremendous pressures of the ocean depths.
Although other Atlanteans possess similar adaptations, Aquaman is super-Atlantean as well as super-human, and as such he has greater physical capabilities than does a typical Atlantean.
- Superhuman Strength
- 'Superhuman Speed': said to be the fastest thing underwater, he can swim fast enough to beat a fighter jet at top speed flying overhead. He has been clocked at 1 thousand knots.
- Superhuman Endurance
- Superhuman Durability
Marine Telepathy: Aquaman has a form of telepathy which works particularly well on other aquatic life. This is related to the universal force known as the Clear.
Echo Location: Aquaman has highly enhanced senses, most notably a natural form of sonar.
Energy-Heat Resistance: Aquaman is extremely resistant to energy/heat based attacks as he has with stood multiple balsts from Amazo's heat vision, and Black Mantas heat beams.
Waterbearer Hand
- Molecular Manipulation: Aquaman can alter the shape and density of the hand.
- Healing: It possesses healing properties.
- Farsight: Can be used as a scrying pool.
- Negate Magic: Can negate other magics.
- Prolong Adaptation: Significantly increases the time Aquaman can spend out of water.
- Independent Life: The hand can be separated from Aquaman and continue to work.
Cybernetic Hand (formally)
- Harpoon: normally had a harpoon attached to a retractable line that he can use to fire at ranged targets.
- Cybernetic Weapon Alteration: Can be altered to form weapons
Limitations: Aquaman must return to water after a period of time or he will weaken.
Overuse of the Waterbearer Hand for violent means will cause the Thirst to attack the Secret Sea.
Known Abilities: Aquaman is an excellent swimmer.
Strength Level: Aquaman has proven capable of lifting an oil platform and a chunk of a city block, both weighing in at the hundreds of tons marks.
Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment.
Transportation: No known transportation.
Weapons: Aquaman was given a cybernetic hand (to replace the one he lost) that can act as a harpoon and other weapons. At times he also uses the Trident of Poseidon.
Notes
- Aquaman's first media appearance was as the star of his own cartoon series from 1967 until 1968; the series failed to find a large audience. The series featured Mera, Aqualad, a pet walrus named Tusky, and Aquaman and Aqualad's large sea horses, Storm and Imp.
- Aquaman was also a major character in the long-running animated series Super Friends (1972-1985).
- During the Super Friends tenure, he was often paired with Wonder Woman, leading some fans to speculate on a possible romance between the Atlantean King and the Amazon Princess.
- Aquaman made an appearance in one episode of the 1990s cartoon Superman:The Animated Series; he was voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He was drawn in the "classic" Aquaman appearance as having an orange shirt, green gloves, green pants with green boots, a gold belt with gold "A" insignia belt buckle, short hair and a clean shaven face, but had a fairly intense personality.
- Aquaman has guest starred in several episodes of the 2000s cartoons Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, where he is voiced by Scott Rummell. This version was based very closely on his hot headed anti-hero persona, especially with the "Viking" appearance and hook. Though a founding member of the Justice League in the comic books, he was left out of the main line up for the animated series in favor of the tomboyish Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol so that the team could have another female character opposite Wonder Woman. While the Justice League series remains popular, a number of fans were genuinely disappointed that Aquaman was not included as a regular character.
- Aquaman also appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo video game.
- Arthur Curry made a guest appearance on an episode (entitled "Aqua") of the 2003 live-action series Smallville, which aired on October 20, 2005. The episode features Arthur investigating the marine life-devastating effects of a project Lex Luthor has been developing for the United States military. In this series, Arthur is revealed to have the power to gather water-based energy balls and shoot them underwater, along with the ability to swim faster than Clark Kent. It is also revealed that Arthur wears his orange and green costume because he attends the University of Miami. The role of Arthur is played by Alan Ritchson.
- The CW Network (formerly known as the WB) was slated to produce a live-action Aquaman television series named Mercy Reef. Mercy Reef was originally intended as a spin-off of Smallville, recasting Alan Ritchson in the role of Arthur Curry. Ritchson was eventually replaced by Passions star Justin Hartley. A pilot episode was filmed but the CW executives ultimately decided to cease production of the series. The pilot episode is available from iTunes.
Trivia
- In MTV's sketch comedy show The State, Aquaman is belittled by the other members of the Super Friends for his comparably uninteresting powers. Superman assigns all of the other members difficult tasks, and then flippantly tells Aquaman to "go...talk to some fish."
- In HBO's series Entourage, the main character Vince Chase is given an offer to do a superhero movie about Aquaman, directed by James Cameron.
- Thomas Farr and Jeff Klein also made a fan film entitled "Aquaman - Cast Of The Angler" in 1984. Running for 21 minutes, it was never released commercially.
- The song Arthur Curry by the band Ookla the Mok on their album less than art talks about the grimmer and grittier portrayal of Aquaman in the comics.
- In the animated series Spongebob Squarepants, the characters of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are parodies of Aquaman and Aqualad.
- In the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld episode "The Deal", George and Jerry debate Aquaman over lunch. "What's the deal with Aquaman?" asks George. "Can he only in survive in water, or what?" Jerry replies, "No, I think I've seen him on land a couple times."
- In the animated series South Park, the episode "Super Best Friends" includes a character named "Sea-Man" (pronounced "semen" by the other Super Best Friends), who is a spoof of Aquaman.
King of the Seven Seas; illustration by Brian Kurtz
- In an episode of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist called "Electric Bike" (summarized here), Dave Chappelle discusses Aquaman with Dr. Katz, asking why anyone would want to be Aquaman. "What the hell would you want to say to a fish?"
- Aquaman has been referenced on two occasions in the animated series The Simpsons. In one episode, when Homer is drowning at the beach, he shouts out to his infant daughter, "Maggie, help! Call Aquaman!" In a Treehouse of Horror Halloween special, the Comic Book Guy is shown reading an Aquaman comic.
- In the Family Guy episode "The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz", the opening scene shows the Griffin family watching Aquaman (on TV) abusing his powers to communicate with the fish.
- In the animated series The Fairly Odd Parents, Timmy Turner wishes for "the best friends ever," and receives spoofs of several superheroes, including an analog of Aquaman named "Wet Willy," who summons whales to crush things. He is continuously made fun of by the others for his useless powers.
- In the 2006 feature film Superman Returns, young Jason White is seen wearing a pair of Aquaman pajamas.
Recommended Readings
- Aquaman (Volume 1)
- Aquaman (Volume 2)
- Aquaman (Volume 3)
- Aquaman (Volume 4)
- Aquaman (Volume 5)
- Aquaman (Volume 6)
Related Articles
- Aquaman appearances list
- Aquaman image gallery
- Aquaman fan art gallery
External Links
References
- ↑ Aquaman(Vol.3) #1