This page is for the Orin version of the character, for other uses for the term Aquaman see Aquaman (Disambiguation)
| Aquaman | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Real name: | Orin |
| First Appearance: | More Fun Comics #73 (November, 1941) |
| Created by: | Mort Weisinger Paul Norris |
| Affiliations: | Justice League Formerly: Black Lantern Corps Justice League International Justice League Task Force |
| Abilities: | Master Swimmer Expert Combatant Expert Tactician Accomplished Diplomat |
| Portrayed by: | Alan Ritchson Justin Hartley Jason Momoa Marvin Miller (voice) Norman Alden (voice) Bill Callaway (voice) Miguel Ferrer (voice) Scott Rummell (voice) John DiMaggio (voice) Josh Keaton (voice) Matt Lanter (voice) |
Biography[]
Origin[]
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 adviser 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 Pre-Crisis history outlined above, though with a few differences.
Early Years[]
Aquaman made his debut assisting the Flash (Barry Allen), though he did it more because the fight was causing a disturbance than out of any sense of altruism. The Flash convinced Aquaman to become a hero and adopt his name. It was hard on Aquaman at first, learning the customs and ways of the surface world, but his team helped him along. Aquaman and Flash would then go on to be two of the five founding members of the Justice League of America (along with Green Lantern, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter). Aquaman would briefly become leader of the Justice League and was forced to disband it when breakdowns within the team made it no longer function. This paved the way for he and the Martian Manhunter to reform the team as Justice League Detroit.
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 and New Attitude[]
Shortly before Zero Hour, Arthur was forced to return to action, compelled by his longtime partner Aqualad. Shortly into his new adventures, Aquaman lost his hand when the madman Charybdis fights him. Charybdis eventually knocks-out the hero, and drags his body to a machine. Using the machine he steals his ability to communicate with sea life and sticks Arthur's hand in a pool of water teeming with piranhas. This may have 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.
Aquaman was also joined by Dolphin after Aqualad disappeared on a solo mission. Early on, Aquaman learned he had an illegitimate son named Koryak upon a visit up north. Aquaman fended off an attack by some villains from Apokolips. Koryak joined his father and returned with him to Atlantis. Aquaman's harpoon was soon destroyed, so 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.
Myth and Legends of Atlantis[]
Koryak's presence would lead to some disastrous results. After the king of Poseidonis was killed in one of a series of earthquakes, Koryak managed to convince the population to follow him on an exodus from the city. Aquaman returned to the empty city with Dolphin and they enjoyed a passionate night—unfortunately for Arthur, Mera returned and walked in on the two! Mera was briefly amnesic to her recent whereabouts (and mad as anything with Arthur for his infidelity). Aquaman and Dolphin pursued her to a nearby trench, where they were pulled into a parallel dimension by Thanatos.
The alien/demonic beings who ruled that dimension pitted Thanatos against Aquaman. When Aquaman refused to kill Thanatos, it was decreed that he must remain until he was sufficiently evil and that Thanatos would be freed to come to Earth. Thanatos expected to find a kingdom to rule, but instead arrived to an empty city. Posing as Aquaman, he declared war on the surface—only to be unexpectedly killed as a consequence of Major Disaster's machinations. Aquaman learned that Mera had been living in this other dimension for about nine years in its time (about one year in the real world) and that she had a son exactly nine months after arriving. The son, A.J., could have been either Arthur's or Thanatos's, since she was under his complete domination at the time. Aquaman managed to contact his father, Atlan, who used his magic to release Aquaman and his friends back onto Earth. Unfortunately, given the difference in time between the two and that A.J. was a native of the other universe, he began to age rapidly. To save his life, Mera took him back through the portal. Aquaman and Dolphin discovered they were beneath Poseidonis—and that the entire domed city rest on top of an enormous, skull shaped spacecraft. The sentient starcraft was pulling itself up from the ocean floor, which had been the source of the recent earthquakes. It finally managed to break through, coming to a stop with Poseidonis resting just above the ocean surface.
Aquaman, having forged a psychic link to the sentient starship, began to have more clairvoyance about what was coming. He sensed that there was an impending alien invasion. Aquaman decided he had to seek out the five lost cities of Atlantis and join them with Poseidonis and Tritonis. Aquaman is confronted before he can begin by the Justice League who are seeking a declaration for "his" declaration of war. Aquaman abruptly turns them away. Aquaman recruited the city of Hy-Brasil without too much trouble. Unfortunately, Aquaman and Dolphin encountered Ocean Master at one of the other cities, a city that was destroyed in the subsequent battle. Also during the battle, Garth returns—Aqualad no longer, he is now Tempest, having been trained by Atlan in another dimension. Aquaman then recruits the cities of Thiena Na Oge and the floating city of Basilia. They also recruit Atlan to their cause and head for Tritonis—all while the aliens (known as the Hunter/Gatherers) turn up in Washington D.C. under the guise of seeking peaceful relations.
Aquaman finds Tritonis in ruins—Koryak and Vulko had led the people of Poseidonis into the forbidden tunnels beneath the city and awakened Kordax from antiquity. Kordax, using his mind control power, forced Koryak and the Poseidonis citizens to attack their relatives in Tritonis, maiming or killing much of the population. Aquaman helped the Tritonis people out before rallying all of his allies for the final confrontation: Atlan, The Guardian of Hy-Brasil, Arion, Tempest, Tsunami, Nuada, Dolphin, the Sea Devils, Power Girl (at this time still thought to be a descendant of Atlantis), Spought(the Guardian of Basilia)and Deep Blue. Aquaman leads the others to Washington D.C. by flying the skull ship (with Poseidonis on top) straight to the capital. A major battle ensues inside the White House with Aquaman's allies battling against Kordax, Tiamat, and Koryak (still under Kordax's control). Kordax kills himself in the battle when he cannot defeat Aquaman. Basilia is destroyed in the fighting that happens there. The Hunter/Gatherers leave the Earth without any further destruction. Around this time, Aquaman becomes a charter member of the new JLA.
The Blonde Curse[]
During the Final Night, the sentient starship ejects Aquaman, Dolphin, and Koryak (now free of the brainwashing) after having a disagreement with Aquaman (regarding the amount of control the ship was exerting over Arthur). Aquaman's adoptive dolphin mother, Porm, was murdered during the darkness, crushing Aquaman. Following a clue, Aquaman ventures to Japan and discovers that the murderer of Porm was a cyborg called Demon Gate, a man who had been maimed by Lobo and who blamed Aquaman for the incident (events that happened in Aquaman #4). Aquaman threatens to ban Japan from the oceans unless Demon Gate is handed over. Japan refuses. Aquaman recruits Martian Manhunter to retake Poseidonis, forcing the sentient ship to obey him, and then takes the city to Japan. Demon Gate is turned over and Arthur sentences him to life imprisonment on a deserted island, surviving only on what the local sea life bring to him.
Aquaman was called by Deep Blue and the Sea Devils to investigate a seemingly bottomless trench. Deep Blue is dragged into the trench by a bizarre sea creature. Aquaman goes into the pit, but Dolphin cannot follow all the way because of the pressure. Aquaman encounters Black Manta, now a horrible manta-like monster thanks to his deal with Neron. The two arch-enemies battle at the bottom of the trench, encountering the ghost of a dead leviathan. The creature "consumes" Black Manta and tries to do the same with Aquaman, but Arthur uses the full brunt of his psychic abilities to drive it off. Fleeing back up the trench, he retrieves Deep Blue and they return to Sea Devil's sub. Up from the trench, Arthur discovers that his flesh is now covered in scales. Getting called back to Poseidonis, Aquaman finds Shark has taken up residence. A mental battle ensues and Aquaman forces Shark to devolve back into a normal shark. Arthur has now mutated further—hard green scales and a webbed hand, looking just like Kordax.
The sea life begins to fear him. Aquaman goes on a quest of soul searching, reflecting on the fact that his inner fears are that he is a failure as a king and as a man. A minor journey through time thanks to Atlan helps him put things in perspective. Returning to the present, Aquaman's appearance is restored (although his hand is still webbed). Seeking to regain the trust of the sea life, Aquaman appeals to Poseidon who forces Aquaman to battle his son, Triton. Aquaman wins the fight, and Poseidon restores his title as "King of the Seas." A spiteful Poseidon blinds Aquaman in his bitterness. One short adventure with Animal Man later (one that involves Animal Man teaching Aquaman to expand his powers some more) and Arthur's sight was restored.
King of Atlantis Once More[]
The people of Poseidonis, forced by Aquaman to serve the people of Tritonis whom they maimed, are finally released of their service and return to their city. Aquaman greets them and they accept him as their king once more (while marveling at the state of their city, now resting on the ocean's surface. Vulko encourages thoughts of Koryak that drift towards a coup de tat. Dolphin, having lost all interest in Arthur, now enters into a relationship with Tempest. Dr. Polaris invades the city, using his vast power to turn it on its side. The battle is only won with the help of Maxima, who had come to make Arthur her new king. Aquaman isn't interested, even if she was found appealing with the citizens of Poseidonis. When the Millennium Giants emerge, Aquaman is unable to stop one from destroying Thiena Na Oge.
Meanwhile, Triton—anger over his loss to Aquaman and the contempt his father has for him—kills Poseidon and seizes most of his power. He approaches the Mother of Monsters for aid against Aquaman. Triton attacks Atlan first, but the sorcerer manages to get a warning to Poseidonis. Triton attacks the city next, destroying the sentient ship completely and returning the city to the ocean floor. Aquaman is stabbed in the battle, and his soul travels to the Greek Underworld. He manages to fight his way in to seeing Hades and convinces Hades to allow him and Poseidon back to the land of living. Poseidon takes back his power from Triton before killing his son and casting his trident at Aquaman's feet.
Shortly thereafter, Aquaman has to venture into another dimension to help Mera and A.J. In that other realm, several years have passed, and Mera has become hardened because of a life of constant fighting. A.J. forces Mera to go with Aquaman back to Earth, but she is not interested in reconciling with him after all that has happened between them. Koryak attempts to kill his father and seize control of Atlantis, but he is easily stopped and Arthur has him banished.
The Vicious Sea King[]
Garth getting Dolphin pregnant and subsequently marrying her, and Arthur reconciling with Mera.
From One War to The Next[]
Dan Jurgens would become the lead writer beginning with issue number #63, which started a plot thread involving a war between Atlantis and the island nation of Cerdia. This war would result in the utter devastation of both Poseidonis and Tritonis as well as ravaging Cerdia as well. It was revealed during the course of the war that the Ocean Master was behind Cerdia's aggression. He also kidnaps Tempest and Dolphin's son right after the boy is born. The war is eventually won, Ocean Master is driven off, and Cerdia is annexed by Atlantis. As a token of peace, Tempest and Dolphin name their son Cerdian (nicknamed "Ian").
Atlantis had not fully recovered from the war with Cerdia when it was drawn into another conflict. This one involved the coming of Imperiex, a force of nature that was coming to destroy the planet. An intergalactic alliance of aliens came together to make their stand at Earth. The JLA big guns were quickly swept aside by Imperiex's advance force. Aquaman gave his all against one of the probes, battling it over Poseidonis. An explosion resulted and when the water cleared, Atlantis was gone and a great rift in the ocean remained. It was originally thought that the city was destroyed with a loss of all those in it, but it was soon discovered that Tempest has used his magical abilities to send the city somewhere through time to protect it. The JLA eventually rallied together and embarked on a mission through time to rescue Atlantis—and Aquaman.
The Obsidian Age: In search of Aquaman[]
The JLA learned that Aquaman had long ago planned a contingency should anything ever threaten to obliterate Atlantis—take the citizens into the ancient past, to the golden age of Atlantis about 3000 years before. The city was still under the sea at that time, and the belief was that the people would welcome them there as lost kin. Tempest triggered the spell, but instead of a paradise, the Atlanteans encountered sorrow and suffering. In the past, they found a lost piece of history, when a blonde-haired sorceress had raised Atlantis. She enslaved the future Atlanteans and submerged (literally) Arthur's consciousness into a pool of water. Fifteen years passed before the JLA showed up—but by then, the evil sorceress had prepared a line of defense. The league battles in both the past and the present. Finally, Aquaman is freed, and as King of Atlantis he exacts a punishment upon those in the past, forcing the island back beneath the waves and reverting the people back into water breathers.When everyone is returned to the present, Mera announces that there must still be a reckoning—even though he did it with good intentions, Aquaman is still responsible for the sinking of Atlantis and for much of the suffering endured by its people. He agrees to be put on trial for treason.
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.
Sub Diego[]
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.
One Year Later[]
During the event a year later, much of the population of Sub Diego has lost the ability to breathe underwater. To save his friends, Aquaman made a covenantwith the Gods of the Sea to be able to return to the surface of Sub Diego. The gods gave him powers to do so, but as a consequence, Orin was transformed into a creature that looks like an old man with tentacles, he then became the Dweller of the Depths and became the tutor of the new Aquaman.
Later shot dead by Narwhal, a young man with no memory that has been manipulated by the Bishop of the Deep Church.
The Blackest Night[]
Orin was revived as one of the Black Lanterns whereby his hand has been restored to his corpse. Aquaman was among the twelve people revived by the White Lantern Central Power Battery at the dawning of the Brightest Day.
Brightest Day[]
Aquaman reunites with Mera in Amnesty Bay. During an attack on Somalian pirates, he discovers that he's retained his Black Lantern ability to command undead sealife. Mera's twin sister Siren returns from their dimension leading a Death Squad. They attack them in the Bermuda Triangle, and Mera confesses that she was originally sent to Atlantis to murder Arthur. Her home dimension of Xebel is revealed to have actually been a penal colony holding separatists who waged war against Atlantis. The Entity appears again when Deadman gains control of the White Lantern, and his voice commands Aquaman to find Jackson Hyde. Mera reveals that she already knows the child, and he's Black Manta's son.
Arthur stops Manta and Siren from murdering the boy's adopted father after he charges Mera with finding someone to help protect the surface world from her people. They escape together with Mr. Hyde and discover that part of Jackson's birthright is a map. This leads them to an ancient suit of battle armor with Waterbearers to control his powers; Aquaman compels Jackson to follow his destiny and help imprison the armies of Xebel. They make their stand at the beginning of the Aquawar when Siren leads hundreds of Xebel soldiers to march against surface-dwellers on the beaches. Black Manta appears again and chops his hand off with a butchering knife. Jackson cauterizes his wound, and Mera pushes her hard-water powers past their limits to destroy the enemy force in a massive tidal wave. Underwater they are decimated by Aquaman's army of undead sea creatures, and Jackson uses his new powers to turn the barrier back on imprisoning Manta and the colony of Xebel in the Bermuda Triangle again. His mission completed, the Entity restores Arthur's life back to him completely and then vaporizes him. He is converted into one of the four Elementals representing water, alongside Firestorm representing fire, Hawkman and Hawkgirl representing wind, and Martian Manhunter representing earth.
The Entity explains that his greater purpose was to bring them together so they could protect humanity from the Dark Avatar, a version of Swamp Thing whose connection to the Green had been tainted by Nekron. Their presence staves him off long enough to resurrect Alec Holland. Holland is transformed into the new Swamp Thing and destroys his evil counterpart, becoming the new avatar of the White Lantern Corps. Aquaman is returned to normal with his hand repaired. Reexamining the weapons Xebel used when he returns, he realizes they are Atlantean in origin.
Powers[]
In Other Media[]
Television[]
Smallville[]
Mercy Reef[]
- See: Aquaman (Justin Hartley)
Animated[]
- He was also a major character in the original season of the animated television series Super Friends (1973). Super Friends is often credited with having exposed Aquaman to a much wider audience outside of the comic book community. In this series, Aquaman was shown to display superstrength—hefting a bulldozer blade over his head, for example, and using it to help stop a tidal wave. He also had encyclopedic knowledge of oceanography and oceanology, in addition to his more familiar water-breathing power and aquatic telepathy. However, this series been blamed for making Aquaman unpopular by and even laughable by reinforcing a weak image of the character. In the first two seasons of Super Friends, he was voiced by Norman Alden, and for the rest of the series he was voiced by Bill Callaway.
- Aquaman was one of the guest appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, in episode A Fish Story. In this episode Metropolis is attacked by sea creatures, because Aquaman was kidnapped by Lex Luthor for their genetic experiments. He's voiced by Miguel Ferrer.
- As seen in the Batman Beyond episodes "The Call: Part 1" (airdate November 11, 2000) and "The Call: Part 2" (airdate November 18, 2000), Aquaman's daughter Aquagirl is a member of a future Justice League. During the episode, Terry McGinnis/Batman goes over profiles of the current Justice League members. According to Aquagirl's profile, Aquaman is currently missing.
- In the Justice League animated TV Series aired Aquaman appears in episodes "The Enemy Below" and "The Terror Beyond" voiced by Scott Rummell.
- Aquaman reappears in the new Justice League animated series Justice League Unlimited, in episode "Wake the Dead", where along the Justice League tries to defeat a resurrected Solomon Grundy by the magic of chaos.
Aquaman[]
- See: Aquaman (Aquaman Animated Series)
Batman: The Brave and the Bold[]
Young Justice[]
Film[]
- Alan Ritchson reprised his role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman for a cameo appearance in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the graphic novel DC: The New Frontier. In this film, he is referred to as "Arthur of Atlantis". He and some Atlantean doctors were seen treating Superman's injuries.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths[]
DC Extended Universe[]
- See: Aquaman (Jason Momoa)
Video Games[]
- Aquaman also appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive video game as well as in Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis for Xbox and GameCube.
- Aquaman appeared as an unlockable character in the Justice League Heroes game for Xbox and PlayStation 2. He can be unlocked by paying 27 orange shields when collected. His powers are chiefly water-based, creating hard water weapons such as a sword, whirlpool tornadoes and water-blasts.
- The prequel comic book for the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe shows that Arthur Joseph was one of the many characters killed by the violent merger of the two earths prior to the beginning of the game.
- Aquaman appears as a supporting character in Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame, voiced by John DiMaggio.
- Aquaman appears in the DC Universe Online video game voiced by Jens Anderson. Circe ends up mind-controlling Aquaman into attacking the surface world causing the players to assist Martian Manhunter into fighting both of them. When under the control of Circe, Aquaman is served by Brine Hatchlings, Brine Hulks, Cancer Makos, Cancer Threshers, Kitefins, Pisces Makos, Sandtigers, Scorpio Kitefins, Scorpio Makos, Threshers, Tidepool Kitefins, Tigersharks, Whitetips, and a Trident of Poseidon.
- Aquaman appears as a unlockable character in Lego Batman 2 DC Super Heroes. He was one of the ones being monitored by Martian Manhunter. He can be found by Gothem Beach. He can shoot water from his trident and swim under water. He can be purchased for 125 studs after the player collects 50 Gold bricks and buids a Gold door.
- Aquaman appears as a playable character in the game Injustice Gods Among Us