This is Part 2 of the History of Aquaman

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« History of Wonder Woman - Part 4 | Main | Alan Kistler's History of Aquaman - Pre-Crisis »
Thursday
29Nov2007
Alan Kistler's History of Aquaman - Post-Crisis
DateThursday, November 29, 2007 at 08:47AM

This is Part 2 of the History of Aquaman, covering the character Post-Crisis. If you wish to check out his Pre-Crisis history, go to Part 1.



RE-INVENTING ARTHUR CURRY

The Legend of Aquaman, written by Keith Giffen*, became the new Post-Crisis origin of the character. Several things were changed, starting with the circumstances of his birth (possibly because DC felt the story too closely resembled the origins of Marvel's Sub-Mariner, who was likewise a hybrid of an undersea woman and a surface man). Giffen mentioned nothing about a romance between lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and an undersea outcast. Aquaman was said to have been born to the King and Queen of Poseidonis but was seen as a freak due to his blonde hair, which was considered a "cursed" trait among Atlanteans.

Editors;
Thats a mistake.Prince Namor's a much stronger character,due his origins and hybrid nature.It give this caught two worlds like Tarzan of the Apes,kind of thing.Keith Giffens kind of a dum cluck.He stuff just dosen't interest men.I mean everything.I'm not saying I'm not a fan of his works.That's too kind.i'M SAYING HE JUST PLAIN STINKS AND IS CLUELESS,like a few other people in the comic business.

Doc Thompson.

The newborn boy was left to die in a place called Mercy Reef. When the tide came in, he would drown. But something happened. Inexplicably, he found he could breathe air as well as water. Now it's true that Atlanteans can stay out of the water up to an hour, but the baby should not have been strong enough to do this for more than a few minutes. Yet there he was, still breathing, as if nothing were wrong.

Jump ahead a few years to a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry.* Curry annoyed that someone was taking the food out of his crab traps. He then trapped the culprit, an amphibious adolescent with fins on his calves. Curry soon realized the boy grew weaker the longer he stayed completely dry, so he released the blonde lad to the sea. The boy returned, bringing Curry food as thanks. And so, the two began a strange father/son relationship. Curry taught the boy English and the basics of reading, as well as some surface habits and behaviors, such as what a chair is and how to eat with utensils. The boy also learned quite a bit about the art of cursing, something Curry did quite often.

*Editor's Note;
The Arthor Curry names off as lame.It's lame better suited to woman's Romance character,in a Harlequine Romance novel,that the name of a major DC Comic hero.There's no power it,like say Prince Namor or James Bond.
Doc Thompson

Eventually the old lighthouse keeper died. As a parting gift to the nameless boy, he told him he could have his own name since he wasn’t going to need it anymore. Thus, the mer-boy, now in his late teens, became “Arthur Curry.”

Jump ahead a few years. Arthur found himself on the outskirts of Atlantis and was immediately captured by palace guards. He couldn't speak their language and so they assumed he was some dangerous blonde-haired savage and threw him in jail. Arthur was given the standard prison uniform, green paints with an orange scaled shirt. One day, Arthur saw a couple of women walking by in robes. He saw one of them, an older woman, and felt that a connection and recognition. He didn't know how he knew exactly, but this was his mother. He couldn’t call to her as he didn’t know the language. A fellow prisoner named Vulko came up to Arthur and realized he didn't speak their tongue. Out of kindness, Vulko (being a scientist and a student of history) spent quite some time teaching Arthur how to speak Atlantean, as well as the basics of life and politics in the kingdom.

Editors Notes;
Not too bad Sort of has Edgar Rice Burrough/Andre Dumas-Count of Monte Cristo feel to it.
Doc Thompson

Eventually, Arthur once again saw a group of women in robes come by. But the woman who was his mother was missing. Apparently, she’d just died. Arthur flew into a rage and fought his way out of the prison, displaying he was stronger than any other Atlantean. He escaped Poseidonis, not realizing he’d inspired an uprising in his wake. For too long the Atlanteans had lived under a tyranny that have usurped the throne from the proper royal family. Now they were fighting back and they saw the stranger called Arthur as their hero.

Editors Note;
Actually a better idea is Aquaman begins to form a restince movement-an undersea garrilla navy sort of thing.See,here where DC Creators drop the ball.It was kind of get going and somewhere it gets lam again.

Skip ahead several months. Arthur wound up stopping a criminal on the surface world. Because of his outfit and Aquaman Trident abilities, the media immediately thought him to be another super-hero (Superman had just debuted a while ago and had already been followed by a few other costumed heroes). Mistaking the Atlantean symbol on Arthur's belt for the English letter “A”, they called him "Aquaman."

Not long after that, Arthur encountered other heroes and became a founding member of the Justice League of America. After being with the team for some time, he journeyed back to Atlantis out of curiosity and found a new government had been established. Soon afterwards, Vulko realized Arthur was the true king, believed to have been killed as a baby. Although he didn't initially want the thrown, the people agreed they wanted him and he was crowned. Arthur Curry, an outcast his entire life, now had a kingdom and a home.

The rest of history was intended to be pretty much the same, but notice the major differences in his past. No more family life, thus making him a far more somber and alienated character. And no longer did he grow up alongside Ocean Master.

Kieth Giffen then did a short-lived mini-series of Aquaman. The major significant thing that happened was that Mera kinda went nuts and attacked Arthur before vanishing from sight. She would not be heard from again for many years.

Right after that, Peter David wrote a mini-series entitled The Atlantis Chronicles. The series delved into the continuity of the ancient Atlantean sorcerer Arion, as well as past stories that had remarked on the differences between Aquaman’s people of Poseidonis and the people of Tritonis who, like Superman’s old flame Lori Lemaris, were mer-people in the strictest sense of the word (fish-tails and all). Peter David wanted a storyline that explained and connected all of this. He created a royal lineage of Atlanteans, beginning with the good King Orin who had been responsible for saving the city from death when it crashed beneath the waves. It was said that the dome over Posiedonis was not glass but rather a transparent variation of porous rock constructed by Atlantean science.

Atlantis%20Chronicles%201.jpgIn Peter David's tale, Atlantis (following the departure of the homo magi) had become a nation constantly pitting magic against science, faith against reason, and this was symbolized by the rivalry between King Orin and his brother, the blonde sorcerer Shalako. When Shalako finally decided that Orin was a heretic, he took his fellow religious believers into the remains of Tritonis, leaving the science-believers and Orin in Poseidonis. To protect the city and allow air to exist within, Shalako used his magic to create a dome over it similar to the one over Orin's city.

After years of living beneath the waves, protected only by their dome and the air within, King Orin decided his people needed to adapt to their new life. He and his scientists developed a serum which mutated the body to make one amphibious. Also, their bodies could now adjust between air and ocean pressures. After many years, the effects of this serum had a long-term effect in making the people of Poseidonis unable to travel out of water for much longer than an hour before risking death.

When Orin later came and showed that the Tritonians could be given the serum too and thus join his people as trueShalako.jpg inhabitants of the sea, Shalako proclaimed that this science was an abomination. And when he saw his followers actually accept Orin's gift, desperate to escape the prison of their own city and be allowed to journey freely in the water, he became insane with jealousy. Shalako cast a spell so that all the Tritonians who had taken the serum would also grow scales on their legs and their feet would become flippers. When the Tritonians realized what happened, they killed Shalako for his betrayal. Over the years, the Tritonians evolved so that they had fish-tails rather than scaled legs. They had become literal mer-people and for some this led to distrust and prejudice between the two cities. Teenagers in both places would make remarks about how bizarre the "fish-tails" of Tritonis were or how slow and awkward the people of Poseidonis were with their legs.

Peter David also showed that an ancestor of Aquaman’s named Kordax, grandson of Shalako, had been born a fish-man who could control sea life telepathically. Kordax was insane and tried to conquer Atlantis before he was defeated. Like his father and his grandfather, both of whom were also villains, Kordax also had blonde hair and so this was why it was seen as a cursed trait by Atlanteans. Blonde hair was believed to be a sign of the magical/insane side of the royal family. Many centuries later, the royal prince Atlan would be born with blonde hair and strong magic and although he did great things, he also proved to be manipulative and generally untrustworthy.

The Atlantis Chronicles ended centuries later when Queen Atlanna, saddened that her husband seemed unable to produce a child, was seduced in a dream by the blonde sorcerer Atlan, who had used his magic to survive the long years. Atlan said that he and Atlanna would sire a son together, a son who would possess great power by the inheritance of magic that ran in his blood-line and who would one day rule Atlantis. Atlan explained:

Aquaman%20Ocean%20Master%204.jpg"He will know joy and sorrow, darkness and light, for the blood of Orin and Shalako will run through him ... He will produce a child with a woman from the world of the dark gods, and they will both leave him. He will battle the inner uncertainty caused by his mixed heritage ...

And he will battle his half-brother, whom I shall also sire with a women of the surface. For two brothers must always struggle for Atlantis. This is fate ...

And when they battle for the FINAL time, the outcome will determine the ultimate destiny of Atlantis. Either it will rejoin the surface world or be forever destroyed."

This mentioning of a half-brother was Peter David’s way of re-establishing that Ocean Master and Aquaman’s were still related, even if they hadn’t grown up together in the new continuity.

Atlanna gave birth to the youth, but immediately the palace panicked. This young boy, named Orin after the first undersea king, was born with blonde hair, the “Curse of Kordax." Atlanna mourned her son, who would be taken to Mercy Reef to die. The series ended and readers knew full well just what the boy’s fate would be.

After that, a new Aquaman series started, written by Shaun McLaughlin. Arthur was back in his orange and green outfit,Thanatos.jpg fighting crime above and below the waves, taking on not only criminals but eco-terrorists. Arthur clashed swords with the new leader of Atlantis and found that many of the Atlanteans wished for him to return to the throne. He also met up with Thanatos, a villain from another dimension who wore a blue camouflage costume that was quite familiar to older readers. Thanatos seemed determined to consider himself the new Aquaman, replacing our boy Arthur.

Aquaman also encountered Black Manta again and flew into a rage, smashing through the criminal's submarine and fully intent on killing him. He didn't, but he made it abundantly clear that he wasn't holding back with this particular enemy anymore.

Aquaman was angrier now and tired of all he’d suffered in life. But that wasn't the only change. During the series, Batman showed up and remarked that Arthur seemed somewhat stronger now and had been out of water for over an hour without weakening in the slightest. Apparently, constant adventures on land had toughened up his already enhanced system. He was now able to stay out of contact with water entirely for a couple of days at least without lapsing into a coma and dying.

Aquaman was making the rounds with guest appearances in other comics as well, such as Flash and Superman’s comics. He worked alongside Earth’s heroes during the Panic In the Sky story when Earth was invaded by the forces of the alien villain Brainiac. Later, he also joined the new Justice League Europe, even having a brief romantic thing with Power Girl before he left the team.

Aquaman’s own series failed to garner enough interest though and so DC canceled it after 13 issues. It ended with Vulko giving Arthur the Atlantis Chronicles. Arthur went off to read them and readers realized he would now learn all the history they had learned not too long ago.



WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED . . .

Among his other story lines he wanted to include, McLaughlin said that he was going to do a four-issue story arc that would redo the origin of Aquaman as the Silver Age tale of Atlanna and Tom Curry, with the added revelation that the sorcerer Atlan had pushed this union together through manipulation. It was also going to reveal that Curry had had a black-sheep brother who had been disowned when he went off to war: Captain Storm, who was featured in DC's World War II comics and had been leader of the Golden Age team The Losers.

Since the series was canceled before this ever came to pass, this story only exists in McLaughlin's imagination now.



TIME AND TIDE

Some time later, Peter David wrote the mini-series AQUAMAN: Time and Tide. As the series opened, Arthur had just finished reading over the Atlantis Chronicles. He then began writing his own addition to the Chronicles, adding in accounts of his own life. He began with the words “My mother was insane.” Arthur had just read the passage concerning how he had been born out of a union between his mother and a long-dead legendary sorcerer and had come to the conclusion that his mother had been delusional, not surprising since insanity seemed to run in the family as evidenced by the evil sorcerer Shalako and the villain Kordax. Arthur then went on to talk about his own life and thus Peter David filled in some gaps that had existed in the story told in The Legend of Aquaman.

It was revealed that between the time Aquaman had been left to die and before he was found by the lighthouse keeper Arthur Curry, he had been found by a school of dolphins. One of them, Porm, raised him as her own child alongside her natural son Drin. The dolphins called him Swimmer and, although he lived with them, he was still an outsider. The time came for young Swimmer to leave. But before this happened, his brother Drin was caught up in the propellers of a boat and was mortally wounded. When a man on the boat tried to harpoon Drin (in order to put the dolphin out of its misery), young Swimmer swam up and caught the harpoon before it could reach its target. Drin died and young Swimmer reluctantly handed him over to the sharks, understanding that this was the way of things but also deciding it was not a way he could live with anymore. He left the dolphins to find his own kind, eventually coming upon the lighthouse keeper. He also kept the harpoon forever after.

It was also now said that right after Arthur left the lighthouse keeper and before he found himself in Atlantis, the boy had journeyed to Alaska and met a Native American girl named Kako who lived with her grandfather. Arthur and Kako fell for each other. But Kako had a cousin who was not truly blood-related due to being illegitimate (a fact he could never escape since he was clearly white and both his parents were Native American). This man was named Orm Marius and had been attracted to Kako and was enraged when he saw the blonde kid with fins on his legs “seduce” her. He attacked Kako in revenge and soon afterwards Arthur was forced out of the house by her family who believed he was cursed. Arthur wouldn't find out until years later that he'd fathered a child with Kako.

As for how Arthur first became a “super-hero”, it was shown that during a fight between the Flash and the Trickster over open water, our boy Arthur had burst out from the waves and shouted “What the Hell’s going on? You’re scaring the fish!”

Arthur then met with the Flash (Barry Allen), introducing himself simply as "Curry", and they discussed the situation. Barry immediately saw Arthur as a fellow super-hero, but he didn’t see himself that way. He breathed underwater, yes, but he lived underwater so didn’t that make sense? Time%20and%20Tide.jpgAs for talking to fish, well, he’d always talked to fish, so why was it a “power”? After the adventure, Flash called him “Aquaman” in front of the press, saying that “Curry” was not a very super-heroic name.

Arthur later tried to return to the ocean, ignoring the Trickster's attempts to start another fight. When he realized the ridiculous villain wouldn't be ignored, Aquaman slugged him into unconsciousness with one punch and the public mistook this as a great victory by a super-hero. Despite his impatience with the surface people and his belief that he was not a hero, Arthur found himself liking this Flash person and opened his mind to the idea that not all surface people were bad. A couple of weeks later, he helped found the original Justice League of America and so had started his heroic career.

The final part of Time and Tide dealt with the new Post-Crisis first battle between Aquaman and Ocean Master. Here, it was shown that the day Arthur announced the birth of his son Arthur, Jr. to his kingdom, Ocean Master burst into the place. He demanded that Arthur turn over ruler-ship of the oceans to him.

To everyone's surprise, Aquaman grinned and said sure he would, just as soon as Ocean Master first introduced himself to every single living creature in all the oceans and got them to swear their loyalty. He then laughed, explaining that no one ruled the oceans really. Even his power of communicating with sea life did not mean commanding them. He ruled the nation of Atlantis, which only had direct authority over the cities of Tritonis and Poseidonis.

Oceanmaster%20Poster.jpgOcean Master then attempted to take the crown from Aquaman by force but was easily beaten. Arthur practically laughed at him, saying that even if the villain had defeated him in battle, that would have only meant that his wife and guards would have killed him right afterwards rather than accept his rule. The humiliated Ocean Master was then sent away. Aqualad and Mera thought he should’ve been imprisoned or killed, but Arthur was sure that the villain was so pathetic that he wouldn’t be a problem again in the future.

That night, Ocean Master attacked Atlantis and Aquaman and Aqualad responded in kind. At one point, Ocean Master had Aquaman captured and explained that he was the one who had attacked Kako years before. He also ranted at one point about how his mother had gotten drunk one night and claimed he was the son of some undersea wizard.

As he recalled this tale of the past, the present-day Arthur suddenly stopped in shock. When he had heard those words years before, they had meant nothing to him. Now he realized that this was a confirmation of what his mother had claimed in the Atlantis Chronicles, that Atlan had fathered him and someone else with a surface woman, the half-brother he was destined to fight because two brothers were always supposed to war for the fate of Atlantis.

Arthur was suddenly faced with the humbling revelation that his life may not have been his own, but just another part of a destiny he had no control over.



A NEW LOOK

A new Aquaman series started, also by Peter David. It began about a month after where we last saw Arthur, who had Aquaman%20Lost%20Hand.jpgdiscovered from the Chronicles that his birth name was “Orin.” He had fallen into a depression and had been isolated from everyone the entire month, not even shaving himself. Aqualad forced the now bearded Arthur into action as they fought a villain named Charybdis.

Charybdis was able to mimic Aquaman’s ability to communicate with sea life but was upset when he realized he could not command the fish to disobey their nature. Aquaman explained that the media had gotten it wrong, he didn’t control sea life, he could only communicate his ideas and wishes (a nice little retcon by Peter David and one that made our hero a bit more vulnerable). As Arthur explained, it was still up to the sea creatures whether or not they would listen and sometimes they simple didn't understand him. He couldn't, for instance, convince a school of sharks in a feeding frenzy to just stop what they were doing, not unless he gave them a very good reason.

Charybdis believed this to be a lie and to prove it he forced Arthur’s left hand into a lake full of piranha. Although our hero finally beat the villain, with the help of Aqualad and the female aquatic hero Dolphin, he had already lost his hand.

While recovering in the hospital, Aquaman had visions of his destiny and was reinvigorated. He went off to the “Aquacave” and found the harpoon that had killed his brother Drin so many years before. As Aqualad entered the cave, Arthur told him how important it was for people to have symbols, such as Batman with his bats. He decided he needed a true symbol now, something to show both that he was of the sea and yet of the surface, and that the weapons of the surface could be turned against those who used them on sea life. Taking his wrapped stump that had once been a hand, he placed the end of the harpoon into it. He then grinned as he turned to Aqualad and asked, “What do you think? Too much?”

Aquaman%20hook%20CU.jpg

Since no one had been caring about Aquaman, Peter David was getting people’s attention with the new look. Within a couple of issues, Arthur ditched the green and orange bodysuit and it would be roughly ten years before he wore them again. For now, he wore plated body-armor on his torso instead. He later had the harpoon replaced with a special one created by S.T.A.R. Labs (see the DC Comics Guide). This new hook could fire outwards on a long telescopic cord and would go in the direction Aquaman mentally commanded. It could spin like a drill and it could completely retract. Later on, it could shift into a robotic hand as well, allowing Arthur the ability to give two-thumbs up again whenever he really liked a movie.

With his new hook, mostly-bare chest, full bear, long hair and armor plating, Aquaman now looked like a modern-day viking. The idea was to make him as visually intimidating and powerful even though for years we knew as much from just reading the comics. Now, even people who didn't read Aquaman regularly could look at him and go "Man, he looks tough." The ploy worked and sales picked up.

Along with the new look, Peter David explored that Aquaman was more powerful than people realized. Since he could see in the deepest parts of the ocean, that meant he obviously had night-vision. And since he could distinguish a variety of clear sounds underwater, his hearing was certainly better than a human's as well.

When Aquaman joined the newly-formed JLA team years later, writer Grant Morrison also touched on Aquaman's prowess. In JLA #4, Arthur defeated a powerful enemy by using his telepathy on the part of the other man's brain that he'd inherited from his marine ancestors, causing a seizure that knocked the villain out cold. Performing this telepathic attacked seemed to daze Aquaman a bit though and for a moment he was unsure of himself. Also in a JLA story, Aquaman was seen actually sensing when a body of water was nearby. And towards the end of Morrison's run, when the team was fighting the color and light-based villains Dr. Spectro, Dr. Light and the Rainbow Raider, our boy Arthur just smirked as he explained that their powers wouldn't work as easily on him, since his eyes were adjusted for the murky ocean depths.

Peter David’s run became quickly well-known for his quality writing and intricate long-term subplots. For a time, Dolphin and Arthur were involved. This caused quite a bit of trouble when Mera showed up from her home dimension again, carrying a young boy named AJ. It turned out that Mera had been the prisoner of Thanatos for quite some time and the other-dimensional villain had convinced her that he was Aquaman, so much so that they'd fathered a son together. Mera was back now and quite put-off by everyone calling her husband "Orin" and by Dolphin who made it a point to walk around wearing only Aquaman's old orange shirt.

And in terms of old loves and kids, when it rains it pours, 'cause our boy Arthur visited his old flame Kako and found his almost fully grown son Koryak, hot-tempered and with a serious resentment towards his father. Koryak had great strength and could breathe underwater as well and for a short time he tried ruling Atlantis himself.

Tempest%20King%20small.jpgDuring one adventure, it looked like Aqualad was believed killed. In fact, he was brought to another dimension where the wizard Atlan trained him in magic for several years. During these years, Garth learned the truth about his family history.

For years, Aqualad had believed (after reading the history books of the Idylists) that his father had gone insane and that his people were forced to kill him. Now, he learned that his father King Thar had been deathly afraid of his sorcerer brother Slizzath (which once again showed how Atlantean leaders tend to fight with their fathers). Slizzath had engaged in the dark arts and raised an army of the undead to help him attain power.

To prepare for his brother's assault, King Thar assembled a massive armory and the pacifist Idylists assumed this behavior was bred from insanity and had attacked him out of fear. But before he had died, Thar was able to imprison his evil brother into a dimensional prison. But Queen Bera knew this prison wasn't perfect and the Slizzath was powerful enough that he could manipulate certain spells in the outside world to one day free himself. When Garth was born with violet eyes (a sign of great magical potential), Bera feared that her son would be used by Slizzath when the boy began to practice magic, as was his birthright. Deciding she had no choice if she wanted the villain to stay imprisoned, Bera abandoned her son in the ocean depths far away from Atlantis,Tempest%20Cover.jpg believing he would die and never be used as Slizzath's tool.

Of course, the boy survived and wound up living an interesting life. After learning about his tragic heritage, Garth became a bit of an edgier guy, more sarcastic whereas he'd once been a goofball. After meeting Slizzath and defeating him, Garth returned to Earth's dimension and called himself Tempest. Although years had passed for him, only weeks had passed in Earth's dimension. With his new mystical abilities and training, Garth was far more formidable. He adopted a new uniform and took the new name Tempest. Among his abilities, he could now control the temperature of water around him and emit violet energy blasts from his eyes.

It was quite an adjustment for people to meet the older, somewhat tougher young man who no longer answered to "Aqualad." Now knowing that his mother was still alive and living among the Idylists, Garth found her and the two began to re-establish some kind of relationship.

When Aquaman left Atlantis and Dolphin for a time, the girl began seeing Tempest instead. As Peter David later explained in an interview, this was a nod to the fact that dolphins are not monogamous by nature.

It was awkward for Arthur at first when he returned, realizing he'd lost a girl he'd been dating to his former sidekick (even if the kid was suddenly older). But he dealt with it and wished them both the best. Years later, Tempest finally asked Dolphin to marry him and they soon had a son named Cerdian.

Later on, Aquaman fought against Ocean Master again and revealed to him that they were half-brothers, a truth which only increased the villain’s hatred for the hero. Due to magical energies being used at the time, Orm and Arthur had a brief vision of a world where they had been raised together as brothers. Orm dismissed this as madness and took off.

In the crossover story Underworld Unleashed, the demon lord Neron went around the DC Universe offering villains increased or altered power in exchange for their souls. Black Manta and Ocean Master both made bargains with him for their souls.

Ocean Master got a staff that gave him mystical energies to command but also caused extreme pain when he was separated from it. Black Manta was mutated into a half-man, half-manta creature with increased strength, senses and resiliency to injury. Now able to breathe and survive indefinitely underwater and with a body that could deal with the pressures of the lowest ocean depths, Black Manta finally felt he was on equal footing with Aquaman.

Aquaman also got new interest due to his involvement in Grant Morrison’s new JLA title, which restaffed the team with all of DC’s big guns such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Working with the Justice League of America again, Arthur was able to show folks who didn't read his comics just how powerful and formidable he could be. He joined the League against renegade angels from Heaven, the new menace of the alien Star Conqueror and rogue government agents such as General Wade Eiling and his misguided Ultramarine Corps. During Ocean%20Master%20Staff.jpgone adventure, the League fought against the newly re-organized "Injustice Gang." Led by Lex Luthor, this team consisted of many villains who held personal grudges against the Leaguers, including the Ocean Master.

Although he was in several League adventures, Arthur made it very clear to the team that he considered his duties in Atlantis to be his first priority and that he wouldn't come running just whenever his JLA Signal Device went off. Despite this, he proved a valuable asset to the group. He also wasn't against bringing in Atlantean military technology or calling in his royal army if he thought he needed the fire-power.

Meanwhile, in his own title, Aquaman went through a lot of hardships. He found out that the comet that had sunk Poseidonis and Tritonis had actually been a space-ship from a race known as the Hunter/Gatherers, a race that had now come back to Earth to claim it as their own. Arthur was able to fend them off, though during the conflict he and the rest of the world had to deal with Poseidonis suddenly being pushed to the surface. Arthur had to deal with the political and social effects of this for a while before the city finally sank beneath the waves again.

Aquaman%20Atlantis%20risen.gifAquaman also returned to his old status as an environmental hero when he found that his surrogate dolphin mother Porm had been killed by human interference. Arthur also teamed up with Swamp Thing and Animal Man, two heroes who were very self-conscious about the effects human society had on the planet they lived on (Swamp Thing being a plant elemental and Animal Man being an animal rights activist).

And of course, one of the most important elements that Peter David brought into the Aquaman series was a sense of humor. Garth, Arthur, Dolphin, even Mera, all developed a natural wit, sarcasm and style of banter that made you interested inTempest%20CU.jpg how they interacted rather than just waiting for to get on with another battle and action sequence.

This take on Arthur influenced other writers to follow suit when they handled him, such as in a Devin Grayson penned story where Aquaman realized that Batman was feeling glum and alone and in need of company. Arthur grabbed Batman around the shoulder, chuckled that he should just said as much so they could've gotten some beer to relax with, and then remarked about how hilarious he found the Disney movie Atlantis (which wasn't actually meant to be a comedy). This also made sense when you considered that Tempest had been portrayed as having a wry and flirtatious sense of humor even in his young Aqualad days. With his mentor now seen making smart remarks, fans could see where Garth got his sense of humor from.

Aquaman was not just an angry guy with a chip on his shoulder, he was the grumpy curmudgeon who underneath was a noble hero and enjoyed his friends and family more than he'd care to admit. But cross him and you risked losing a limb. In Grant Morrison's story JLA: Earth-2, Aquaman confronted the villain Power Ring, an evil version of Green Lantern who came from an anti-matter universe. When Power Ring laughed at Aquaman's abilities, Arthur simply fired his harpoon, lancing the villain straight through his arm (bad-ass!). And before the bad guy was even done screaming in pain, Aquaman then decked him with a super-humanly strong punch.

Let this be a lesson to you, kids. If you see a man who is the rule of two-thirds of the planet, can bench-press a Buick and has a harpoon/drill attached to his arm, do not make fun of him because he also happens to be able to speak to fish!

Grant Morrison also brought back the water sprite Quisp, revealing that he was actually named Qwsp and that, like qwsp.gifSuperman's enemy Mr. Mxyzptlk, he was an imp from the fifth-dimension with nearly limitless power. Since Aquaman had changed his image and was looking tougher and meaner now, Qwsp decided to mirror this and go from being a prankster to being a villain. Introducing himself as Aquaman's greatest foe (and conveniently forgetting that he hadn't even been seen in several years), the little terror caused a lot of havoc and destruction world wide. Fortunately, Batman was able to realize Qwsp's true nature and it took the efforts of both the Justice Society and the Justice League to take him down (of course it didn't help matters that the League was simultaneously fighting off an attack from rogue ex-member Triumph).

aquamanLARSEN.jpg

Peter David finally left the Aquaman title, sadly. Writer/artist then Erik Larsen took over for a time, giving Aquaman yet another new costume (which didn't last long) and a new crown with a sea-shell on it (which seemed to be inspired by something Arthur wore in the Elseworlds story Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross). I have yet to meet an Aquaman fan who enjoyed Larsen’s stories and none of them seemed to have any lasting effect, other than the introduction of a young aquatic character named Lagoon Boy.

Eventually, the sales started dropping a bit and although some, in my opinion, very good storylines started coming out at the end, the series was canceled.



A KING'S SACRIFICE; THE WATERBEARER

Aquaman%20fish%20army.jpgAquaman continued as a member of the JLA. Then, during the Superman-centric crossover Our Worlds at War, Aquaman fought an avatar of the incredibly powerful villain Imperiex head-on. To protect Atlantis, he set up a plan where an ancient spell would be used to send the two underwater cities to “a safe place.” The spell was cast as he charged into battle. There was a massive explosion as Aquaman pierced the armor of the Imperiex avatar. After the blast cleared, Atlantis and Aquaman had both vanished entirely, leaving only a great trench in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Hoping their friend was still alive, the JLA set up the "Atlantic Trench" to be monitored and displayed a hologram of Aquaman watching over it. Tempest, who had not been in Atlantis when it had vanished, was left wondering if his mentor was dead.

It was several months before any writer touched on Aquaman's character again. He wasn’t to be brought back until a new exciting direction could be figured out for his character.

After a long absence, the JLA found proof that Aquaman and the city of Atlantis had been transported thousands of years into the past. The team went back in time and found that the Atlanteans had been enslaved by their magic-wielding ancestors, who had not been the peaceful, good-natured people the history texts had spoken about. From the perspective of the Atlanteans, it was nearly fifteen years before the Justice League arrived from the future to help them.

Aquaman himself turned out to be alive fortunately, having been transformed into a being of living water by magic. He aquaman%20throne.jpgregained his human body and he and the JLA fought the evil ancient Atlantean sorceress Gamanae. The heroes were able to return Atlantis to the present day. But in the process, Aquaman had to resink the city in order to prevent Gamanae from destroying the world.

Afterwards, Aquaman planned to resume his role as king and protector of his people but then found that Mera and Vulko had turned against him. In tears, Vulko said that Arthur had committed crime against Atlantis. Not only did he re-sink their city for the sake of the surface world, but he had proven that some of their beloved history about the goodness and greatness of their ancestors had been lies, a truth they could not forgive him for uncovering.

Arthur was arrested and found that a new magic-wielding elitist named Hagen was gaining power in the city and had influenced Mera to turn over her royal powers. Hagen exiled him to the surface to be bound and forced to die of a slow and long period of dehydration. Hagen's followers even used dark magicks to make sure Aquaman couldn't summon sea creatures to escape his shackles. Nor could he summon the JLA for help.

As time passed and Arthur couldn't free himself, he became dehydrated and weak. Passing out, he had dreams of Aquaman%20Waterbearer%2001.jpgbeing approached by the legendary Lady of the Lake, the same one who gave Arthur of Camelot his famous sword Excalibur (it should be pointed out that there's no real question about the existence of Arthur, Merlin and Camelot in the DCU). The Lady of the Lake chose Arthur to become a conduit between the Secret Sea (an ocean of spirits that lies beyond thought and imagination) and the Earth dimension.

When Aquaman woke up, he was free and now understood he had become the “waterbearer.” His hook was gone, replaced with a hand of mystical, living water. The hand could heal and ward off dark magicks, as well as act as a doorway into the Secret Sea itself. By giving Aquaman a stronger connection to magic, he now had more direct visions of the future at times rather than the vague dreams he'd occasionally experienced before. He could alter the density of the hand to give devastating punches or to have it flow like a flood from his body. And he could connect it with the oceans of Earth for some startling effects. During a tropical storm, Arthur used his new hand to cause some of the waves to actually part rather than hit the ship he was aboard.

Not too long afterwards, Aquaman encountered Black Manta again, who was still suffering from his mutation thanks to Neron. Rather than take revenge, Aquaman actually used his healing touch to restore the villain's humanity, finally realizing in his heart that it was better to forgive and enemy and hope they change rather than seethe with hatred and try to bring about their death. Sadly, the Manta still has a dark heart and now only hates Aquaman even more for this act of kindness.

Aquaman%20Pirate.jpg Aquaman%20Waterbearer%2004.jpg

Arthur was no longer king of the seas. He was an exile who had returned to the surface world that call him a super-hero. And now, he was carving out his own life and destiny away from Atlantis.



AMERICAN TIDAL (not my idea, it was the story title)

When Will Pfeiffer came on as the new writer, he threw Aquaman back into his old orange and green outfit for the first time in a decade and also gave him a new purpose in life. A portion of San Diego was hit by a huge quake and fell into the ocean. Searching for survivors, Aquaman found that although most of them had died, a few had survived and now amazingly breathed water rather than air. An investigation found that his DNA had been used to create a mutagenic virus that was administered to the people of San Diego that would activate when they were forcibly drowned in water. The mutagenic effect only worked with some people, obviously.

Aquaman%20American%20Tidal.jpg AquagirlLorena1.jpg

One girl named Lorena was uniquely affected in that she was amphibious now (though being out of water entirely for too long caused her to slowly weaken and suffocate). Lorena became the new Aquagirl as she helped Arthur find the scientist who had done this. The scientist, Dr. Geist, claimed he did it as an experiment to begin preparing human life for when global warming would force everyone back into the sea, but Arthur later found out there were darker plans behind it all as the whole affair had been part of a corporation's scheme to attain power.



Aquaman%20WB%201.jpgAQUAMAN IN MEDIA

In other media, Aquaman showed up on the WB network in the popular SUPERMAN: The Animated Series. He was dressed in the familiar green and orange, but was quite definitely not the Superfriends version of the character. This was Peter David’s Aquaman, moody and ill at ease with having his demands questioned. He was tough and somewhat rude and very aggressive. He was able to take on people in hand-to-hand combat and also command the sea creatures around him, bringing down entire sub-marines.

Later, this version of the character made another appearance in the Justice League cartoon on Cartoon Network (which took place in the same universe/continuity as the animated Superman show). Now he had a beard and was shirtless, resembling his later Peter David incarnation more. In the episode, Arthur had his throne usurped by his brother Orm, who was depicted as just another Atlantean (the animators felt that his costume and "Ocean Master" name were too silly).

At one point, Orm had Arthur and his infant son chained to a rock that was heading towards lava. Arthur had one hand aquaman%20WB2.giffree, but couldn’t reach his son still. Cartoon viewers were stunned when, rather than let his child die, Aquaman actually cut off his own hand to free himself. I personally think this was a better way of having him lose his hand, because it makes his injury as symbol of his heroism and his no-nonsense, don't hold back attitude.

Although he was never a regular member, Aquaman would continue making appearances on the cartoon show and audience members unfamiliar with the comics were pleased to see he was in no way the friendly, clean-cut guy they expected. And no wonder. When asked about their take on Aquaman, the good writers at Cartoon Network said they wanted to depict him as “Conan underwater.” Good for them!

Sadly, due to legal matters, the people of Cartoon Network are no longer allowed to use Aquaman or related characters in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Recently, they had a story that involved Black Manta, but due to the same legal concerns were forced to slightly redesign the character and rename him "Devil Ray", even though true fans would all realize who it was really supposed to be. A shame, but at least we had a cool Aquaman on TV for a while.

Smallville%20Aquaman.jpgSpeaking of TV, a 20-year-old version of Aquaman played by Alan Ritchson appeared on the TV show Smallville (which features Clark Kent during his youth). In the show, Arthur Curry (or "A.C." as he preferred), was a champion college swimmer who's father had been a lighthouse keeper and whose mother had died when he was young. In regards to his unusual abilities to swim at super-speed, breath underwater, and somehow create mini-whirlpools from his hands while submerged, he joked that he guessed his mother "had the genes." A.C. rankled young Clark Kent, as he was very cocky and a little bit in love with himself, not to mention all too aware that he was found handsome by others. But A.C. was also very concerned with the enviornment and joined forces with Clark to stop a project that could have been incredibly harmful towards ocean life. At the end of the episode, A.C. thanked Clark for his help, telling him "Stay super, bro," and then headed out.

Personally, I found this version of Aquaman to be way too jock-like and fairly annoying. He seemd pretty full of himself and I got very tired of him referring to everyone as "bro." But he did take the time to actually read up on the character and his history, so I have to give him credit for that. Maybe it was just bad direction. Also, it was quite cool to see this live-action version of the character tossing around those pressurized watter blasts that had not been seen since "The Adventures of Aqauman" cartoon shorts.

The WB planned to create a new live-action series based on a young Aquaman, though using a different actor (which I Justin%20Hartley%201.jpgwas glad about, because Alan Ritchson didn't thrill me with his performance). The show was going to be entitled Mercy Reef and actor Justin Hartley was cast as the young A.C., whose mother was mysteriously killed while at sea and who, before her death, had called young Arthur by the name "Orin."

Years later, A.C. is a boating instructor in his early twenties who often gets in trouble with the police for being an environmental activist. This also brought him in conflict with his father (Lou Diamond Phillips) who worked for the Coast Guard. A.C. couldn't fully explain why he cared about sea life so much, saying only that he sometimes felt dolphins "calling" to him, not through words but through feelings. What's more, A.C. had a secret: he could breathe underwater, was stronger than a normal human should be, and could swim faster than any dolphin.

In the show, A.C. was shocked when he found himself attacked by a real-live siren and then saved by a mysterious stranger (Ving Rhames) who claimed to be from Atlantis. He further explained that A.C. himself and his mother were from the undersea kingdom as well, that they were part of the royal family and had fled after the king was killed and his throne usurped. A.C. (who leaned his birth name was Orin) was the surviving prince and was now a target because the rulers of Atlantis didn't want him to become a rallying symbol for the common citizens.

A.C. decided he would eventually free Atlantis, but first his new friend was going to train him, both physically and mentally, for he had to learn how to think and strategize as a true king before he even attempted to become one. For instance, despite his protests, his first assignment was to start reading Shakespeare and to give a report on it.

Justin%20Hartley%20Lighthouse.jpg Justin%20Hartley%202.jpg

The show was hokey at times but was still interesting and entertaining. Just as the old Adventures of Aquaman series had emphasized how Aquaman was different than Superman and operated in a completely different environment against unique threates, this new take seemed to be the anti-Smallville. Rather than hide from his friends for a few seasons before telling them anything, A.C. told his best friend about his super-powers and Atlantean heritage in the first episode. What's more, he was young but not in high school, meaning we got to see him act with some independence and not have to dumb himself down to what producers might feel is "teenage intelligence" (something I think Smallville does a bit too often, at least during its early seasons).

The show also made me interested to see what A.C.'s journey into a hero would entail. Justin Hartley came off as smug but charming and likeable and you could relate to his personality. I think he was a great Aquaman and you could see quite clearly that he had the potential to be a hero. Sadly, before the pilot could air, WB merged with UPN, becoming the new channel CW. This meant some shows had to be sacrificed and Mercy Reef was one of them. Due to fan demand, they put the pilot episode on iTunes for download, re-titling it as simply Aquaman so that folks would have an easier time finding it. To everyone's surprise, it quickly entered the top ten video downloads off iTunes for the next few weeks.

Rather than let him go entirely, the CW realized they had a charismatic, handsome actor in Justin Hartley and quickly brought him on board Smallville to play Oliver Queen AKA the hero Green Arrow. In the later episode "Justice", Justin Hartley and Alan Ritchson got to share screen time when it was revealed that Aquaman worked for Green Arrow. During this episode, I really wanted Hartley to just turn to Ritchson in the middle of the show and say "Dude, I was such a better Aquaman than you."

For the past couple of years there has been constant talk in Hollywood about making an Aquaman movie. Several of the people involved have argued for a more campy take on the character, while others have said they want a movie that touches on the character’s mystical and mythic roots. The HBO show Entourage had a storyline in which the lead character was cast into the role of a fictional Aquaman movie and was humiliated at having to play such a “sucky” character. What will become of this movie in real life remains to be seen, but we can only hope that when it’s made it will be given the same time and care that Batman Begins got.



CRISIS IN ATLANTIS

Aquaman took it upon himself to be both protector and policeman to the residents of the underwater “Sub Diego”, while also trying to find a way to either cure them or punish those responsible for their change. Meanwhile, Vulko and others were tyring to convince him to come back to Atlantis, very apologetic that they were wrong, only to be told by Arthur that he had his own life now.

And then Infinite Crisis came. In that story, the Spectre went nuts trying to destroy all sources of magical energies and so Atlantis was on his list. His attack left the city destroyed and Tempest was possibly killed (we haven't seen him since). Arthur's son Koryak and his old adviser Vulko were among the many who died during those last days.

Following the year after Infinite Crisis, the people of Atlantis were now more scattered and formed more isolated communities. In the weekly comic series 52, readers learned that when Atlantis was once again in trouble, Arthur collected the bones of his lost left hand to perform a mystical ritual that would protect its people, though it meant that he'd have to invoke the powers of dark gods and unstable magic.

The spell work, but Arthur became "transformed into one akin to a great and terrible enemy of your people and become the vessel of power strange, ancient and terrible." Now a half-man, half-squid creature who couldn't survive outside of water at all, his face was barely recognizable and his mystical water-hand remained the only proof of who he used to be. His mind clouded as a result of the transformation, Arthur no longer connected himself to his own memories. His life as Aquaman seemed to belong to someone else and he became a wanderer of the oceans known as the "Dweller of the Depths." No one connected him to Aquaman, who was thought to have died during the Spectre's attack.

Kurt Busiek took on writing chores for the newly re-titled AQUAMAN: Sword of Atlantis and started the new era. A year after the events of Infinite Crisis, an oceanic research center at Avalon Cay, a small island off the coast of Miami, was Joseph%20Curry%20and%20Dweller.jpgdestroyed by a terrible storm. The only apparent survivor was a young blonde-haired man who could breathe underwater and was searching desperately for signs of his father. The young man was found by the Dweller and the two of them recruited Aquaman's old enemy King Shark for help.

The Dweller said that he'd had visions of this young man, that he was Arthur Curry, the son of an undersea queen, whose foster father had been a humble surface human. What's more, he'd had visions of the future in which he saw that this young man would command the kingdom of Atlantis and take on a queen who originally inhabited another dimension, that he would lose a child and join a team of Earth's greatest heroes and would later be exiled by his own people again, despite all the times he'd saved them.

But the young man told the Dweller that he was not the one these visions talked about. His name was Arthur Joseph Curry and he had no connection to Atlantis. He was a meta-human. The Dweller became disturbed and eventually realized that this particular vision of the future had actually been a vision of the past somehow. But what this meant, he wasn't sure.

Arthur Joseph Curry explained his own story. His parents were Dr. Philip Curry and Elaine Curry. Philip was a research scientist. At the research center at Avalon Cay Miami, he studied marine adaptation and amphibian evolution. Later, his mother went into premature labor and a storm prevented her from being brought to a hospital on the mainland. Elaine died and Arthur Joseph was born three months early, with his lungs not yet fully formed. To save his son's life, Philip Curry subjected him to a mutative catalyst he'd been developing. The boy lived and grew gills. As time went on, his circulatory system and muscles changed and adapted. He could only spend short periods of time out of water, so he lived in the main tank of the Curry-Jonas Oceanographic Center, occasionally being allowed on supervised excursions into the ocean.

Philip divided his time between research and raising his son, while at the same time trying to help Arthur Joseph strengthen his lungs so he could survive longer and longer oustide of water and trying to isolate just how the serum had mutated him. Arthur Joseph learned about most of the world through his father's teachings and through television programs. Although he saw reports about Aquaman, Arthur Joseph had been more impressed by heroes such as Green Lantern and Superman.

Joseph%20Curry.jpgSo basically, Busiek gave us a new Aquaman whose origin was a retooling of the original Golden Age version. Now, with the research center destroyed and his father possibly gone, Arthur Joseph was without a home. The Dweller gave him armor that resembled Aquaman's old costume and told the young man, who was barely in his twenties, that it was his job now to become the new Aquaman, the new protector of the lost souls of Atlantis who needed to be united again. With the Dweller as his guide and King Shark as his unlikely bodyguard, Arthur Joseph went around and met up with Mera and the Sea Devils and the ghost of Vulko, who was still hanging out on the Earthly plane.

Vulko was happy to meet young Arthur Joseph and revealed to the young man that Thomas Curry, who had raised Aquaman, was in fact Arthur Joseph's granduncle! And Mera realized that the Dweller was actually her estranged husband, changed by the magicks he had incurred during the events of 52. The Dweller himself finally realized the truth, but didn't speak of it openly, believing he was no longer the man he had once been and that it was up to his grandnephew Arthur Joseph to succeed him.



BRINGING BACK THE SILVER AGE

Interestingly, some writers still seem attached to the Silver Age Aquaman origin. Jeph Loeb in Superman/Batman and John Ostrander in a recent issue of Aquaman both referenced Arthur as being born of a union between a sea princess and a lighthouse keeper. Likewise, so does Batman in the JUSTICE series, although that comic is not necessarily in continuity.

In Kurt Busiek's issues of AQUAMAN: Sword of Atlantis, he seemed to imply that while Orin was in fact the son of Atlanna and Atlan, he was not just found by dolphins for years only to meet the human Arthur Curry later. Instead, closer to the Silver Age origin, his mother fled Atlantis and was discovered by Thomas Curry (his name is Thomas again!), who took her in and fell in love with her. They raised young Arthur as their own and it would be years before Arthur learned that Tom Curry was not his real father. The circumstances of his mother's death are still unknown and as yet there's nothing to say for sure that Orin didn't hook up with a family of dolphins at some point in his young life.

Perhaps in a couple of years we’ll see what happened with Superman in SUPERMAN: Birthright happen to Aquaman and will be presented with an origin that merges the best elements of Pre and Post-Crisis, while also including elements of the cartoon and live action interpretations. In truth, I actually wrote my own story that attempts to do just that and I think it's pretty fun, but I’m not a published author or working for DC Comics, so whatever.



JOSEPH'S STORY

Tad Williams came onto the title and quickly decided he want to get rid of the cast that Busiek had set up. King SharkAquaman%20Joseph%20Mera.JPG went his own way, deciding it was time to move on. Athur Joseph decided to get out of Atlantis. And the Dweller was killed very abruptly and without any real meaning. As an added twist, it seemed the killer was Koryak, back from seeming death and having been driven mad by the manipulations of others.

The Justice League came down to Atlantis and said that Aquaman looked dead, certainly. But since he'd become a creature of magic when he'd mutated into the Dweller, they couldn't be sure. Perhaps one day he would return (in which case, why kill him at all?). The same story showed that Tempest was still around, having somehow lost the ability to breathe underwater.

Arthur Joseph went off to continue his adventures, now joined by Topo, a humanoid with an octopus for a head. Yeah, it's as silly as it sounds. The next several issues were pretty tame and insignificant and finally the word was given that Sword of Atlantis was to be cancelled.

In the final issue of AQUAMAN: Sword of Atlantis, Arthur Joseph curry learned the truth about the connection between him and the original Aquaman. The Lady of the Lake appeared and told him that over a year ago, Orin/Arthur had visited Phillip Curry to discuss his mutated son (named Arthur Joseph after Aquaman) who had died. Despite the healing gifts of the Secret Sea, Aquaman couldn't help the boy and offered his apologies and condolences.

But unbeknownst to him, Phillip took a sample of the living water that made up his left hand. Phillip used this on his son and it apparently restored the boy's life but he still appeared to be in a coma. Months later, when Orin conducted the magic spell that mutated him into the Dweller, part of his soul attached itself to the dead body of Phillip's son Arthur Joseph and resurrected him, also giving him his ability to speak to marine life.

Believing that Orin would not have been mutated if his soul had not been weakened by being split apart, and that therefore he'd also be alive and well today by being at full strength, Athur Joseph decided he could not continue being called "Arthur." He felt that he'd stolen this name as much as he'd stolen a piece of Orin's soul. He was now simply Joseph Curry (which, frankly, is what he should've been called from the start to make it less confusing) and went off into the depths of the ocean, determined to avenge Aquaman or bring him back to life somehow.

And so the series ended. While there isn't an Aquaman book going right now, Black Manta himself seems to have joinedBlack%20Manta%20New%20Helmet.jpg Lex Luthor's new Injustice League group. Although he's wearing his classic outfit, he's now altered the helmet to be more manta-like (and it looks fairly cool, if ya ask me).

But, alas, the Aquaman series is still gone. And so it will remain until a writer finally decides to bring the real Aquaman back and give Joseph Curry a super-hero name of his own (or maybe they'll simply feel wasteful and kill him off). We'll just have to wait and see what happens on that end.

And if any of the good folks at DC Comics are reading this (or Hell, even if any of their interns are reading this), I want to urge them to put out more Aquaman trades to help people get caught up and into this character. Considering how well received Peter David’s run was (particularly his Atlantis Chronicles and the storyline in which Arthur got his harpoon hand) and what fun the “American Tidal” storyline was, it seems ridiculous and sad that more story lines haven't been collected. If you want readers to get into the new stuff, you need to make at least parts of the past available rather than forcing people to search through back-issue bins and try to piece things together. The Sub Diego story arc and several of Peter David's tales should be made easily available and The Atlantis Chronicles would be great as a hard-back tome (with maybe minor revision by David himself since elements of the Silver Age have returned). Just my two cents.

Aquaman%20End.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this look back on Aquaman. Write-in your suggestions for other characters you'd like to see profiles on. 'Till next time, cheers!
AuthorAlan Kistler | Comment6 Comments | Share ArticleShare Article
in CategoryDC Comics
Reader Comments (6)
Fantastic history. I wish there were more trades on some of the stories you mentioned, I really want to read them now.
December 29, 2007 | Unregistered Commenterchris
This totally gives me a new appreciation for Aquaman. I wonder if they could give him a movie like BATMAN BEGINS and reinvigorate the character.
July 22, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJen
Wow! What an exhaustingly comprehensive recap of Aquaman's character and publication history! This really is fantastic, Alan. I was just looking for a little background information on the death of Arthur, Jr. and I got an epic.

I am a longtime fan of Aquaman who has only rarely been satisfied by his depiction in comics. And I agree that more trade paperbacks should be released. The only books I know of are "Time and Tide", "The Waterbearer" and the first part of "Sword of Atlantis", as well as some Showcase Presents volumes.

Once again: outstanding work here, Alan. Thanks.
August 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRyan
Thanks very much for the kind words, Ryan. Glad you enjoyed it.
August 13, 2008 | Registered CommenterAlan Kistler
Just Recently on the animated Batman Brave and the Bold we got a full episode with Aquaman with Ocean Master and Black Manta.

its sad that Aquaman was excluded from Superfriends. and some fans of superfriends were disapointed.

but its nice that after all the legal crap that Aquaman came back in full force on Brave and the Bold.

this version is a bit egotistical and cocky but it was still a decent episode.
January 25, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterTraven
It's a shame that he's commonly referred to as a "lame" hero. I think his video game didn't really help his reputation either, it's so bad it inspired an award on G4 called the, "Golden Mullet" that they give to horrible games. I wonder why his treatment on those older cartoons has kept this perception up though. If I recall, there weren't too many flattering depictions of any of our heroes from those shows.

Good article. Here's hoping he comes back.
February 23, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterJeremy
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