Garth first appeared in Adventure #269, a story now out of continuity. Historically, (found in Adventure #453-55), he is the son of King Thar and Queen Berra, rulers of the Idyllists (remember Atlan's prophesy in The Atlantis Chronicles #5 -- "Beware of babes with purple eyes."?). Thar went insane and ordered the people to stockpile weapons and planned on attacking other undersea communities (perceiving a threat which didn't exist). To save their pacifistic way of life, the council decided to assassinate Thar and banished Berra, who was, from appearances, in her third trimester of pregancy. She somehow managed to make it to Poseidonis, where she gave birth to Garth.
According to the most recent Who's Who, he, too was exiled as an infant, because the Poseidonians, being a community prepared for war, believed the purple eyed were genetic pacifists and therefore, basically useless. Berra's fate was never revealed (and IMHO, it makes no sense to have banished a purple-eyed infant and not a purple-eyed mother).
Somehow, Garth managed to survive and was found by Arthur when he was about 7 or so, if appearances are accurate. Arthur did adopt him, and he became a member of the royal household when Arthur became monarch. Of course, Garth was a founding member of the Teen Titans, and when he was about 14, met and began dating Tula (aka Aquagirl)...and is still recovering from her death during the Crisis.
Recently, (shown in Showcase 96 #1), Garth finished his training with Atlan and will be known as Tempest. His appearance in the current Aquaman, starting with #19, shows off a few of his new abilities and powers, and his *ahem* maturity (check out the startling kiss with Dolphin!).
Check out Garth's own mini-series: Tempest
Some of his appearances include the early Adventure issues after #269, the Showcase issues...B&B #54 and 59...Showcase #60 (I'm going from memory, so I may be inverting the numbers on the last two)...Teen Titans #1-19, 28-29, 30 (back up story with Tula), 36 (back up story), 40, 45-52. New Teen Titans #s 18, 23...Tales of the Teen Titans 45-47, 50...Baxter Series #6, 20-22...New Titans #72-73, 79, 81, 85, 92-93, 100-103 (if memory serves, it may have been just to 102), 111-112. Teen Titans Spotlight 9-10, 18. Adventure 453-55 (solo story, back up feature)
- History by Leah Adezio
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