Aquaman makes Batman look like a pansy
Aquaman: “You have hundreds of champions to defend a few land masses. I protect the other seventy percent of the world… and there is only one of me.”
Kingdom Come
A pirate crew has captured a ship. They are holding the passengers for ransom and threatening to kill one. Someone jumps onto the deck. The pirates aim their weapons. Then they laugh when they recognize the lamest superhero ever. Their laughter stops when the hero’s trident impales one of them.
The pirates panic as the hero demolishes them, saving the leader for last. He throws the leader into the sea. The pirate thinks he can escape until he sees fins circling him. No one hears his screams as Aquaman goes below to free the hostages.
As we’ve discussed before, Aquaman is friggin’ terrifying. He’s a founder of the Justice League and has been fighting evil since WWII. So why do people thinks he’s useless? Why is the king of Atlantis fighting crime? Who even is this guy? Time to find out.
Scene Select
Scion of the Seas: Aquaman’s Backstory
Arthur: “Fish jokes. ‘S’all I ever get are fish jokes.”
Smallville
Aquaman first debuted in 1941 in the pages of More Fun Comics #73. He was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. Despite being much more popular, Aquaman is a ripoff of Marvel’s Namor the Submariner.
Arthur Curry is the son of an Atlantean woman, fittingly named Atlanna, and a lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry. Arthur’s body began adapting to the sea as he grew older. He gained strength and durability, the ability to breathe underwater, and his infamous ability to communicate with sea life.
On her deathbed, Atlanna revealed that she was the Queen of Atlantis. She had been exiled due to superstitions about blonde Atlanteans and the machinations of a sorcerer. Arthur journeyed to Atlantis and overthrew the sorcerer. He was then recognized as Atlanna’s son and crowned King of Atlantis. And they all lived happily ever aft… oops, wrong story.
As King of the Seven Seas, Arthur opposed all who would harm the oceans. He eventually encountered The Flash (Grant Gustin in The Flash) and assisted him in a fight, gaining the nickname Aquaman. He fought crime and supervillains, but soon realized there were some threats even he couldn’t handle alone. During the invasion of Starro the Conquerer, Aquaman teamed up with Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds in a forgettable movie), and Martian Manhunter (David Harewood in television’s Supergirl), to create the Justice League.
Death, Rebirth, and Reboots Aplenty: Aquaman’s History
Aquaman: “I am not some pathetic self-appointed leader of an insignificant country who can be bullied into submission. Every port. Every ship. Everything that flies over the ocean does so with my blessing. Your world would grind to a halt if I willed it. Every landmass borders the sea. Your entire world is inside mine. Consider this a show of strength. Now get the hell out of my ocean.”
Injustice: Gods Among Us Vol. 1
Aquaman married a woman named Mera and had a child who was eventually murdered by his archenemy Black Manta (Khary Payton in Young Justice). Sound tragic? Trust me, this is about to get nuts. During a fight with Aquaman, the villain Charybdis forced a school of piranha to devour Aquaman’s hand. Aquaman replaced his hand with a harpoon just in time for a relaunch that basically turned him into Aqua-Conan the Barbarian.
This was the first of several attempts to relaunch or reboot Aquaman, who was seen as a joke thanks to Super Friends. Eventually the writers said “@#$& this” and killed Aquaman. Years later, Aquaman was reanimated as a Black Lantern. He was eventually resurrected, but with tainted powers that only commanded dead sea creatures. Yes, Aquaman could summon zombie sharks.
With the New 52 Reboot, Aquaman has become one of DC’s top sellers. While he is still a founding member of the Justice League, he’s mocked for seemingly being weaker than Superman or Green Lantern. Aquaman frequently debunks the myths and jokes about him.
Warrior King: Aquaman’s Powers and Personality
Dr. Fate:”Solomon Grundy’s grave is empty.”
Justice League: Unlimited “Wake The Dead” (Season 1, Episode 11)
Aquaman: “Tell me where to find those responsible, then dig more graves.”
Let’s get this out of the way, Aquaman can talk to fish. What he actually does is compel sea life to do whatever he wants. He can even use his powers to make people have strokes. Aquaman also has a body adapted to survive the ocean’s crushing depths, and may be weaker than Superman, but is stronger than almost anyone else. He had a harpoon mounted on his arm after he lost his hand, but eventually had his hand regenerated by a Black Lantern ring.
While Aquaman is a fair and reasonable king, he’s not someone to screw with. He is willing to kill if he deems his opponent evil enough or if there is no other way to stop them. He is a cunning warrior and equal in skill to Wonder Woman, an Amazon with decades of experience.
The Actors Who Played Aquaman
Marvin Miller – The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
Norman Alden – Super Friends
Miguel Ferrer – Superman the Animated Series
Scott Rummel – Justice League, Justice League Unlimited
John DiMaggio – Batman the Brave and the Bold (Briefly replaced by Ted McGinley)
Phil LaMarr – Young Justice
Cooper Andrews – Aquaman: King of Atlantis
Chris Diamantopoulos – Harley Quinn
Alan Ritchson – Smallville
Josh Keaton – Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Matt Latner – Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, The Death of Superman
Liam McIntyre – Justice Society WWII
Jason Momoa – Justice League, Aquaman
Didja Get All That?
Not the joke you thought he was, eh?
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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