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Aquaman is a DC Comics Superhero character who has graced the pages of DC comic books for well over 60 years.
1.2 Why should I be interested in Aquaman?
For the same reasons you would be interested in any popular culture icons. He is interesting both as a character in a story, and as the story of how the character came to be. This FAQ will try to cover both aspects of him.
1.3 Ok, give me a basic overview of the character
Aquaman is an underwater super-hero. He can breathe water and communicate with sea-life. While he was solo early in his career, he gained a sidekick, Aqualad, in the Silver Age. Later in the Silver Age he also gained a wife, Mera, a son, Artie Jr, and the entire city of Atlantis as his supporting cast. Aquaman is also known as Arthur Curry and Orin. Aqualad is also known as Garth and Tempest.
1.4 What is Aquaman's Current Status?
At the time of this writing, Aquaman is missing in action after an attack by Imperiex against the world. During the battle, Aquaman went to stop one of the Imperiex probes from destroying Atlantis, while Tempest tried to protect the city of Poseidonis with his magic. The probe exploded, apparently killing Aquaman, and Tempest used his magic to transport the city... somewhere. JLA: Our Worlds At War #1 (Sep 2001)
Aquaman is the focus of JLA: The Obsidian Age, subtitled The Hunt For Aquaman, running through JLA #75 and finishing with the debut of Aquaman's newest series in December.
AQUAMAN - aka Arthur Curry, Orin. Is called Arthur by most of his friends, including Tempest (Aqualad), Mera and Vulko. Atlan and Dolphin call him Orin. Surfacers who don't know him well usually call him Aquaman (exceptions are anyone who served with him in the Justice League, they call him Arthur). Most water breathers know him as the King of Poseidonis and de facto ruler of the ocean.
In the current continuity, Aquaman was abandoned as a baby on Mercy Reef. He was expected to die. The reason was his blond hair, which according to Atlantean legend was the "sign of Kordax" - a bad omen. (Atlantis Chronicles #7) He fended for himself, and was raised by dolphins for a time. (Aquaman: Time and Tide #2) As a young man he found Arthur Curry, a lighthouse keeper, and learned a bit about surfacers, including the English language. (The Legend of Aquaman) He dwelt among the Inupiat eskimos for a bit (and fathered a son, as he found out much later). (Aquaman: Time and Tide #3) He eventually returned to Atlantis, and found his mother, but she died before he had learned enough of the language to talk with her. He later learned that she was the former Queen of Atlantis (deposed by a religious extremist). (The Legend of Aquaman) Much later he learned from the Atlantis Chronicles, last kept by his mother, that his father was the legendary wizard Atlan (and not King Trevis, who committed suicide right after Aquaman was born). (Aquaman: Time and Tide #4)
This naturally leads to some issues about family.
His relationship with Garth (aka Tempest, Aqualad) is one big question mark in the whole mess. In the original continuity, an older Aquaman (in his 30s) meets Aqualad as a young boy, and they have a father/son relationship. However, thanks to DC's ten year rule, Aquaman and Aqualad are MUCH closer in age in current continuity. I personally go with the theory that Aquaman thinks of Aqualad as a little brother, because that fits their sometimes stormy relationship better than father/son. Aquaman has been genuinely abusive of Aqualad at times.
Aquaman had a pretty stable life in the Silver Age. He got a girlfriend, was elected King of Atlantis, then married his girl. He had a kid who definitely had powers. Then it all fell apart.
His son was killed by his arch-enemy Black Manta, and instead of trying to help save his son, he went for revenge. He actually had his finny friends return his son's body to his wife! Talk about a cad.
He and Mera broke up. They fought. They moved out of Atlantis to a city called New Venice (in Florida). They moved back. Mera went totally insane, tried to kill Aquaman, then apparently returned to her own dimension. This left him a wee bit down. (1989 Aquaman mini)
He became Mister Angst. Several writers tried to cure him, but it failed to stick. Peter David took the opposite approach, and made him overboard nasty - cutting off his hand, growing out his beard, and generally leading up to making him a water elemental, including giving him access to "The Clear" which has some link to Swamp Thing's access to "The Green".
PAD also had Aquaman confront his conflicted life: Husband, father, superhero, king... and made him decide on who he really was. He chose to be King, which is why he doesn't work and play too well with others in the Justice League. He's a head of state, he doesn't need to go off playing caped crusader. Indeed, he was willing to fight the JLA to prevent destruction of his home, and even took over a surfacer nation (Cerdia).
Of course, I don't know what he's been up to since he vanished in the Imperiex event. Who knows how he's changed?
2.1.1 Wait, I thought Aquaman wore orange and green? Who's this guy with the hook?
Sigh. It's actually a harpoon, not a hook.
At the beginning of the 1994 Aquaman series, Peter David established that Aquaman does not control sea life. He asks for their obedience and is granted it. Some sea life, like piranha, don't necessarily listen to him. With that knowledge, Charybdis put Aquaman's left hand into a pool of hungry piranha, destroying the hand. Aquaman later put a harpoon on the stump of his arm to remind him of all he'd lost.
After a few more issues, the original harpoon was lost, as was Aquaman's shirt. The new look was established, and that's the look that has endured since, with a few minor changes.
2.1.2 What are Aquaman's super-powers?
Aquaman's powers are a little ill-defined. He has a gift with languages, mostly due to his telepathy. He is stronger and faster than the average Atlantean, which makes him MUCH stronger and faster than a normal human (see below). He can talk to fish, and usually is able to convince fish to do what he wants. He has an army at his command, and is no longer afraid to use it to help him out. PAD gave him access to "The Clear" which is some sort of elemental power that allows him to monitor all life in the oceans and instantly know where the trouble spots are, but the subsequent writers have ignored this ability. He also has a form of sonar, and can "see" even when blinded.
He also has great strength (certainly superhuman, possibly in Wonder Woman's class - too many references to count), very dense physical structure (as a result of life in the crushing pressures of the ocean depths - likewise), superhuman speed (not in Flash class, but faster than a normal human - see Aquaman '94 #3) and excellent night vision - certainly superior to that of Batman, for example (see JLA Secret Files #2).
2.1.3 What can the harpoon do?
When the harpoon was originally placed on Aquaman's arm, it was part of an actual harpoon. It had a lot of symbolism, but was little more than a giant pig-sticker on Aquaman's arm.
After the original was melted by a fire elemental, Aquaman went to S.T.A.R. labs for a replacement. The replacement harpoon can be retracted into its casing, or be temporarily replaced with a prosthetic hand. He can make it spin at high speeds to act as a drill, or he can fire it and control it, and the cord it is on, cybernetically.
2.1.4 So what did the harpoon symbolize, then?
Everything Aquaman had lost. More importantly, everything he had lost because of his own actions. He lost his son, he lost his wife. He lost the respect of his armies of sea life. He lost his people. He lost his powers, then his hand... it was a reminder that he wasn't an all-powerful god of the seas, that he was mortal and foolish and made mistakes. It was also a symbol of the fact that he'd never acted like the King he was born to be, and a reminder that kings aren't soft and cuddly, they have to have sharp edges and they carry out responsibilities that make others gasp in horror, or at least cringe.
The harpoon itself, the original one, was the same harpoon that a surfacer used to try to kill a very young Aquaman's dolphin brother after that dolphin brother was severely injured by running into a ship's propeller. The surfacer was trying to show mercy, and Aquaman stopped him. By putting that harpoon on his hand, Aquaman was indicating to himself that he was now willing to show brutal mercy if it was necessary.
2.1.5 I've seen Aquaman with a golden hand, what's up with that?
The hand has never been explained within the Aquaman book. It became part of Aquaman's continuity despite this oversight.
The hand can apparently morph magically into the harpoon if needed, and has a variety of uses in that form. Otherwise, it apparently acts entirely like a regular hand.
2.1.6 What's this "Hunt for Aquaman" thing going on in JLA?
I suggest you read the books to get a better idea of that. The issues to check out are JLA #69-75 for sure. You might want to start with JLA #66, since the story actually starts there.
TEMPEST - aka Garth, Aqualad. Doesn't like to be called Aqualad, Tadpole, or Gill-head (which is Arsenal's nickname for him). His friends mostly call him Garth. Others now refer to him as Tempest.
Was exiled from his home and was raised mostly by Aquaman... though his youth is now in question because he couldn't have been adopted by Aquaman as early as in the Silver Age.
He is the rightful ruler of Shayeris, also known as the Hidden Valley. However, he was exiled because the people of Shayeris believed he would be insane, like his father apparently was. It was later learned that his father, Thar, was NOT insane, but was trying to prevent his brother (Garth's uncle) from taking over. It's somewhat complicated, read the Tempest mini-series for more details. His mother is still alive.
Garth went to school in Scotland for a time, and is quite familiar with surfacer ways through his connections with the Titans. He is, however, a bit shy. In a crowd of guys, he's the one who quietly observes. While he's quite capable of violence, he will always go for the peaceful solution if it is reasonable.
He currently hangs out with the Titans, though I like to think that he also must be helping the survivors of the Poseidonis disaster (as told in Our Worlds At War), including the Cerdians and Tritonians, to get on with their lives. He may even be considered the ruler of Cerdia in Aquaman's absence, though he more likely is only serving as a link between Cerdia (and the rest of Atlantis) and the rest of the world.
2.2.1 Where did Tempest's costume come from? I miss the old Aqualad short pants.
During the Peter David Aquaman run, Aqualad is apparently killed by a flesh-eating whirlpool. We soon learn, though, that Aqualad was actually transported to The Grotto, another dimension, where Atlan (Aquaman's father and a powerful wizard) was waiting to train Aqualad in his magical birthright.
After his training, Garth returned to his home dimension, and eventually went to claim his full birthright (as chronicled in the Tempest mini-series). During his search for his powers, he magically wraps himself in the flag of his homeland, Shayeris, and that became his new costume.
2.2.2 What are Tempest's powers?
Aqualad originally had the ability to speak to fish, but that was taken away at some point and now he never had it (go figure). What he has now are powerful magical abilities, honed by the training of the wizard Atlan. He does not yet know the extent of his powers, and he may well be constantly developing them. His training with Atlan took place in another dimension, and aged him a couple of years, so he is now a bit older than the other Titans, and considerably more calm and level-headed than he was before the training.
Powers we know for sure about are the ability to control the temperature of any liquid, and a teleportation ability. Tempest is responsible for sending Poseidonis wherever it went during OWAW, just as he was the one who eventually saved the day in OWAW by sending the menace away with his powers. The reality that he may have killed every soul in the capitol city of Atlantis no doubt lies heavy on his head, especially since his wife and child were safely living in Titans Tower and unaffected.
2.2.3 Why on Earth did he marry Dolphin?
His relationship with Dolphin is quite the horrible mess. Aqualad's girlfriend and soul-mate, Tula, died in the Crisis. He carried a torch for her for years, and towards the end of the Peter David run on Aquaman started to experiment with his emotions to see if he was truly over her. This lead to him kissing Dolphin, and starting to try a relationship with her. Erik Larsen read that as "he slept with Dolphin and made her pregnant". The jump was a bit much, and was, frankly, illogical, but the damage has been done and we have to live with it. Larsen had Aqualad evading responsibility for the pregnancy while Dolphin demanded a "shotgun wedding" but the Aqualad *I* know would have immediately stepped forward and taken on any burden his action had caused.
In addition, there's another girl who he's close friends with, Letifos of the shark-people. She helped him through a bad bit when he first got his current powers.
Anyway, he's currenly married to Dolphin, who I'll cover in more detail later, and they have a child who goes by the unfortunate name "Cerdian" which the Tempest fans have reasonably shortened to "Ian".
The relationship between Dolphin and Garth is being explored in The Titans, and has just taken a turn for the worse as of issue #44.
A Tempest is a powerful storm at sea. Part of Garth's new magical powers include the manipulation of the temperature of water: presumably he could easily create a tempest. The name also alludes to Shakespeare's classic play which included the use of magic.
Would you want to go around being called "Aqualad"?
MERA - everybody calls her Mera, though people in another dimension call her "Your Highness".
Gave up everything for Aquaman. Literally EVERYTHING. She was a queen in her dimension, but she left her kingdom, left her home, and moved to Atlantis to be Aquaman's wife.
She lived comfortably as the Queen and had a son, Artie Jr. Everything was going pretty well for her until Black Manta came along and killed her child. The first she heard of it was when Topo (Aquaman's faithful octopus) brought her son's body back to her with no explanation. Artie was still alive, and she went on a quest to try and save him, but failed. Had Aquaman been there, the quest may have succeeded.
She broke up with Aquaman, but they eventually got back together and lived comfortably for a time. Then she suddenly went completely nutso and tried to kill Aquaman, and vanished into another dimension. An explanation given at the time was that the waters of this dimension were driving her mad. However, a better explanation was given when an old "villian" Thanatos was brought back. Thanatos caused Mera's insanity and lured her into his dimension in order to eventually take Aquaman's place. While in that dark dimension, Mera gave birth to another son. No one knows for sure who his father is. Mera, still under Thanatos' influence, believed the boy to be her first child. His name is AJ.
Mera eventually escaped from the dark dimension with no memory of the years since the happy days. Aquaman was able to free her from Thanatos' influence, and return her and AJ to his home, but AJ started to age rapidly, so Mera and AJ went to another dimension.
But the story doesn't end there! AJ returned to Aquaman's dimension to ask for help repelling invaders, and Aquaman returned with him to Mera's home and fought off the invasion. At the end of this adventure, AJ made Mera follow Aquaman back because she was so conflicted on whether she wanted to stay with her son or follow Aquaman.
Once back in Aquaman's home for good, she decided to start over. Their marriage was over for the moment, she wanted to fall in love again. So Larsen brought in some competition in the form of Noble and the lurkers. Mera fell completely head-over-heels in love with Noble, though she eventually came to her senses and fell in love with Aquaman again. By the end of Dan Jurgens run they are back together, albeit not officially. Simply in love again.
The people of Poseidonis really love Mera. She's become their queen despite her status with Aquaman. While Aquaman is the hand that rules Atlantis, she is the heart of Atlantis.
Her powers aren't too shabby either. She has the ability to control water, making it form into temporary hard creations (kind of like an underwater Green Lantern, only she must use water for her creations and they aren't as tough). The power uses her hands: if her hands are immobilized, she cannot manipulate water. She also can have her powers dampened or stopped entirely by the presence of lead touching her.
Mera went with Poseidonis when it was sent away. She may have changed considerably in the time away, just as the Atlanteans themselves may have.
Dolphin originally was a mysterious underwater dweller who didn't say much. Then PAD got ahold of her. She followed Aquaman around for much of his series (and we later learn that she was under a compulsion to kill him, but resisted a LONG time). They were lovers for a bit. Then she got scared of him when he turned a little monster-y and she fell for Garth. Then Larsen got her pregnant (he should've used protection). Since then, she's been almost impossible to like, having been turned into a stereotype "new mother" who is overprotective and whiny. Living in Titans Tower, she's also been a problem in that book.
Anyway, she doesn't talk to people she doesn't like. She is VERY good at staying silent. She can live in or out of water. She doesn't have a normal sense of modesty, and only covers up because it's expected of her. She is, in a lot of ways, a bit like a wild sea creature, and could easily bolt back to the sea if she started to feel the call of wild. At the moment, though, she's likely to see Ian, her son, through infancy.
She is currently living in Titans Tower with Garth and Ian. She may not feel too much pain about the disappearance of Poseidonis, as she was never popular in the city and didn't spend all that much time there.
CERDIAN - aka Ian. Just call him Ian. Cerdian is too cruel a name. It was given to him by Aquaman after the conquest of Cerdia as a token of Aquaman's ongoing commitment to the Cerdian people to make their lives better.
Ian's father is Tempest, and his mother is Dolphin. He lives in Titans Tower and is therefore under the questionable influence of Arsenal and Lian (Arsenal's daughter). Dolphin, being overprotective, might be shielding him from the worst of it, though.
His eyes are purple like his father's, but he's shown no signs of powers yet.
VULKO - aka Doctor Vulko, King Vulko, Commander Vulko, Professor Vulko... you get the idea. If there's a position of leadership in Atlantis, he's probably held it at some point.
Vulko, despite some depictions is not fat so much as stout. He's primarily a scholar. He knew Aquaman's mother and was an advisor to King Trevis. He was present at Aquaman's birth, and argued against leaving Aquaman to die, claiming the curse of Kordax was a silly superstition.
While Vulko is Aquaman's friend and advisor, he primarily wants what is best for the people of his city. That desire led him to urge revolt against Aquaman when Aquaman changed into Captain Harpoon. Vulko helped Aquaman's son Koryak lead the people of the city into disaster. After all was said and done, though, he eventually reconciled with Aquaman, and is again a friend and advisor.
Vulko has only his knowledge as a power. That, and he can live and breathe underwater. He has ruled Atlantis in Aquaman's absence, and even led the armies of Atlantis, and is extremely popular with the people of the city (although that probably changed a bit after the Koryak fiasco). Vulko was in the city when it was transported away.
2.7 What other members of the supporting cast are there?
There are a few...
3.1 Who is Aquaman's Greatest Foe?
I can answer without hesitation that Aquaman's Greatest Foe is the man who killed Aquaman's son: Black Manta. However, there is another strong contender for the title, and many Aquaman fans would disagree with me and instead say Aquaman's half-brother Ocean Master.
We've never really seen the first Black Manta story, since Aquaman already knew who he was when Manta first appeared. They clashed several times in the Silver Age, but it was a late Silver Age story that changed the Aquaman book, and made Black Manta into what I consider Aquaman's most dangerous enemy.
Black Manta reveals his face in that story. Although he is revealed as a black man, he claims that there is no profit in prejudice, and that race has nothing to do with his plans. His ultimate goal was to establish a homeland for outcasts, particularly African-Americans, under the waves. But, while that was a shocking revelation, it's what Black Manta then does to Aquaman that causes pretty much ALL the angst to come boiling up.
Manta captured Artie Jr and trapped him in an air bubble. Then he forced Aquaman and Aqualad to battle each other for the life of Artie Jr. Instead of trying to find another solution, Aquaman decides to seriously try to kill Aqualad to save his son. While the two heroes eventually find another way to save the day, Aqualad's confidence and trust in Aquaman is destroyed forever. And Aquaman still couldn't quite save his son.
Instead of trying to revive the baby, Aquaman goes after Black Manta, intent on revenge. He captures him, but leaves Mera to deal with the death of her son alone. To say Aquaman made some really poor choices during this adventure is to understate the obvious, but Black Manta was the author of all the problems, and Aquaman hates Manta like he hates no other creature.
Manta popped up a couple more times, including in the McLaughlin run, in which he taunts Aquaman about the death of Artie Jr. At the end of that story, Aquaman kills Manta, or at least tries very hard to kill him. But apparently Manta got some help from the underworld in the form of Neron (of the Underworld Unleashed crossover). The next time Manta appears, he's been transformed into a Manta-like creature, having lost all his humanity.
In the Sins of Youth crossover: Aquaboy and Lagoon Man, Manta appears as his old self, complete with giant helmet. This is soon discovered to be a magical illusion, as Manta is trying to regain his humanity by finding magic artifacts that might help him. Apparently his deal with Neron has soured a little. In a Wonder Woman story, he kills a boatload of girls who are under Wonder Woman's protection because Triton promised to restore his humanity if he did.
In his original form, Manta could not breathe underwater. His helmet and suit were protection and air, and also weaponry. His helmet has neato death rays that shoot from the eyes, and knives in various places in case he gets tangled up in hand-to-hand combat. His main goal is establishing an undersea home for outcasts, so his normal activities include terrorizing any undersea dweller he doesn't like, converting surface people into water-breathers, and trying to get rid of Aquaman so Manta can be the undisputed ruler beneath the waves.
In Manta form, he is completely at one with the water and can dive to extreme depths and survive. His natural weaponry are his tail and ray, which can slice and dice. His new goal involves only trying to become human again, though once he's human he'll gladly start up with his old goals again.
In the Larsen run, it was also established that former Manta lackeys, in a power grab, have been donning the Manta uniform and continuing his reign of terror over the seas in his name. Unfortunately for them, Manta doesn't like their motives and will kill anyone he finds in his uniform.
In a recent appearance in Green Arrow, Manta was wearing his old duds over his new manta-form. In the recent JLA appearance, we can guess that Manta was still the manta creature underneath his old uniform.
The Ocean Master is Orm Marius, Aquaman's half-brother. Orm was born in Alaska, and was in love with Kako (youthful Aquaman's lover). He tried to kill Kako in revenge when he found that Aquaman and Kako were lovers, which eventually led to Aquaman leaving and losing Kako, as told in Time and Tide.
In the current continuity, Orm didn't really know that Aquaman is his brother until Aquaman told him in order to confuse him, and Aquaman doesn't really want to admit to himself that Orm is also Atlan's son.
Orm has the ability to breathe underwater. He originally had no other powers, just a bit of technology. When Neron started "upgrading" villians in Underworld Unleashed, Ocean Master got a magical staff which he is still in the process of mastering. The catch is that if he lets go of the staff, even for an instant, he is wracked with intense pain that burns him (and leaves scars). He used the magical staff to create creatures that destroyed Tritonis and damaged Poseidonis during the Cerdian war, and at the end of the war Aquaman snapped the staff and imprisoned Orm.
Orm is willing to work with other villians to achieve his goals, and has often been part of groups like the Injustice Gang.
A note: Brother versus Brother. Peter David, in the Atlantis Chronicles, set up an ongoing storyline of Atlantis. In it, two brothers are always destined to fight each other for control of Atlantis. The first king of Atlantis was a scientist who fought with his religious brother. Orm and Aquaman are supposed to be the current incarnation of this fight between brothers. Some fans consider this to be one of the most important aspects of the current Atlantis mythos and thus consider Ocean Master to be Aquaman's most important enemy.
3.4 What other bad guys are there?
There are a few...
4.1 Is Atlantis a city or a place?
ATLANTIS is a place, a former continent, made up of a bunch of city-states, the two main powers being Poseidonis and Tritonis. Other cities include Shayeris, Thierna na Oge, and Hy-Brasil, and possibly more we don't know anything about. The surfacer island of Cerdia was also annexed into the territory after it waged war on Atlantis.
In recent history, just about every city in Atlantis has been destroyed. I think only Hy-Brasil has avoided disaster.
The people of Poseidonis mainly consist of decendents of the original sinking. Through the sciences of Atlantis, they have the ability to survive at great depths in the ocean and are considerably stronger than regular humans. They can only stay out of water for a short time. They think highly of themselves and are massively xenophobic and fickle.
Poseidonis had a LOT happen to it in a relatively short time. A series of earthquakes led to the people abandoning the city (led by Koryak and Vulko). Then Aquaman discovered that the cause of the earthquakes was an ancient and powerful ship that had moved itself under the city. Aquaman found that the ship could lift the entire city to the surface, and in fact fly it around. He then forced his will on the cybernetic entity controlling the ship (with the reluctant help of the Martian Manhunter), and used the ship/city to terrorize Japan. After serving their time as slaves for the Tritonians, the people returned to their now mobile city, which was a tourist mecca for a bit. Then an angry godling (Triton) destroyed the ship, but spared the city and put it down in a slightly different location. After dealing with some of their new neighbors in a smallish skirmish, Aquaman's open-door policy towards immigrants caused a lot of tension among the xenophoic Poseidonians. Then they were attacked by the surfacer island nation of Cerdia. The Cerdian war caused lots of death and destruction and hard feelings on both sides. At the end of the Cerdian war, Aquaman had annexed Cerdia, and people from both nations were trying to rebuild. The chances are very good that there were Cerdians in Poseidonis when it was transported by Garth's magic during the Imperiex attack, just as there were probably Poseidonians left behind in Cerdia. At the time of the Imperiex attack, the mix of people in Poseidonis could have been just about anything, from purely humanoid to every type of undersea intelligence. What has happened to the city since is a complete mystery to us.
The people of Tritonis are true mer-people. Because of their form, they have a closer and more reasonable relationship with the ocean and accept changes more easily than their cousins in Poseidonis.
In recent history, Tritonis was destroyed first by Koryak and the people of Poseidonis, who then became slaves of Tritonians at Aquaman's command until they had rebuilt the city for the Tritonians. Then it was completely and utterly leveled in the Cerdian war. Most Tritonians were probably either refugees in Poseidonis or busy rebuilding when Imperiex attacked, so a good chunk of the people transported by Garth's magic may have been Tritonian.
Shayeris is also known as the Hidden Valley. These are Garth's people. Complete pacifists with absolutely no desire to visit or be part of the outside world. They come from the same stock as the people of Poseidonis, augmented by whoever may have stumbled into their valley and stayed for the peace. They love art, hate violence, and reject Garth because he uses his abilities in a violent manner.
Shayeris was destroyed when Garth's uncle tried to steal Garth's powers and turned the city into zombie-land. They've probably had time to rebuild.
Thierna na Oge is the home of magic in Atlantis. The people are the same as in Poseidonis - humanoids adapted to undersea life. Their society is ruled by women. An ancient being by the unfortunate name of Spought also now lives there.
Thierna na Oge was completely destroyed by the Millennium Giant Cerne, then was trashed by Black Manta after they'd rebuilt. They are probably mostly recovered by now.
Cerdians are third-world surfacer people who have lived through years of dictatorships and war. They are not as "sophisticated" as Atlanteans (who have millenia-old cultures) but have a lot of common sense and the desire to better their fate.
Cerdia was ruled by dictatorship. The people were poor and desperate, and bought their leader's line that taking over Atlantis would lead to prosperity. The people of Cerdia were almost completely uninvolved in the attack on Atlantis itself, as that was carried out by Aquaman's half-brother Orm (aka Ocean Master) using magical powers he got from Neron during the Underworld Unleashed crossover. The revenge the Atlanteans brought to Cerdia was felt first-hand, though, and massive death and destruction put them even further into misery than they'd been before. Once Aquaman stopped the war, he announced he was taking over Cerdia and rebuilding it with the technology of Atlantis. That rebuilding should have been progressing when the Imperiex attack took Aquaman and Poseidonis away.
4.1.6 What other people live in Atlantis?
The people of Hy-Brasil keep to themselves. They are some sort of mixture of mantas and humanoids. They are at Aquaman's beck and call, but generally refuse to associate with outsiders unless there is an emergency. We don't know a lot about them.
Another group in the area is the Sher'Hedeen, who are offshoots of the Poseidonians who managed to turn themselves into half shark mer-people. Letifos is one of the Sher-Hedeen. They keep to themselves and hate outsiders of any type. They killed Garth when he stumbled into their territory.
4.2 What's the Religion of Atlantis?
At the beginning of the Atlantis Chronicles, you could say there was an ongoing battle between the science of ORIN the first (the king) and the sorcery of SHALAKO (his brother). Shalako worshipped SUULA, the goddess of the sky. When Orin put a dome on the city to protect it from invaders, Shalako believed it angered Suula. The rest of Orin's advisors figured that Suula was a small threat, and saw no reason it would anger PALLAIS, the more powerful sea goodess. When the dome was completed, Shalako's sorcery no longer worked, so he turned to the DARK GODS to do his bidding. In the meantime, Suula apparently had her revenge, by sending a huge meteor down that sank the continent of Atlantis. After the sinking, the Atlanteans were split into two camps: those who believed in science, and those who followed Shalako not realizing he'd turned to dark gods. Eventually the religion of Atlantis became settled into the same pattern. Those who believed in science or had very little religion were followers of Orin. Those who wanted to have serious religion in their lives were followers of Shalako (called Shalakites). Both groups exist in the current Atlantis, with a little crossover and worship of other gods and ancestors.
Aquaman doesn't really worship any gods, because he's met a few, and had some problems with them. For instance:
The Aquacave is Aquaman's hideaway. In the Golden Age it was an old Atlantean temple that Aquaman had made airtight and used as a base. In the Silver Age it was a high-tech home for Aquaman, Mera, and Aquababy (with Topo as a babysitter!). In the Modern Age it was again airtight, but an actual cave where Aquaman keeps momentos of his life, as well as The Atlantis Chronicles.
5.1 What comic books has Aquaman been in?
The short answer: More Fun Comics, Adventure Comics, and various series of his own. But let's go into a more detailed breakdown...
Aquaman's Golden Age run consisted of MORE FUN COMICS #73 (November 1941) to MORE FUN COMICS #107 (January 1946) and ADVENTURE COMICS #103 (April 1946) to ADVENTURE COMICS #259 (November 1959) with a few gaps. He also appeared in WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #6 (Summer 1942).
Aquaman's Golden Age run in Adventure Comics continued into the Silver Age: ADVENTURE COMICS #260 (May 1959) to ADVENTURE COMICS #280 (January 1961), and then he jumped to Showcase for a four issue test run (SHOWCASE 30-33, Jan 1961-Jul 1961). The results were good, and after a short run in Detective (DETECTIVE COMICS 293-300, Jul 1961-Feb 1962) as a back-up, he got his first solo series.
The AQUAMAN series ran for 56 issues, from Feb 1962 to Apr 1971 bimonthly. After a two year gap he jumped back into Adventure for a three issue back-up (ADVENTURE COMICS 435-437, Oct 1974-Feb 1975), then later for a longer run (ADVENTURE COMICS 441-452, Oct 1975-Aug 1977) as the main feature. A month after the climax of the storyline in Adventure 452, Aquaman was back in his own book, which started numbering where the first series had left off (AQUAMAN 57-63, Sep 1977-Sep 1978). This book was cancelled in the infamous DC Implosion.
NOTE: For the purposes of tracking Aquaman series, the first Aquaman series and the continuation of the the numbering in the later series are generally considered to all be the first series, despite the 6 year gap.
Between 1978 and 1986, Aquaman had another long run in ADVENTURE COMICS, and some back-up stories in ACTION COMICS after that. His Justice League appearances during this time are nearly as important for the character as his solo stories, as he took charge of the League after an alien invasion, disbanded the original League, and started a new one. He then left the League to spend more time with his wife.
He didn't really get back into the limelight until his mini-series of 1986. The mini, which introduced a new costume for Aquaman, was very successful (in terms of reader reaction), but didn't lead to anything (AQUAMAN 1-4, Feb 1986-May 1986).
After a forgettable special in 1988, he came back in style in 1989 with THE LEGEND OF AQUAMAN (a new origin story) and a second mini-series (AQUAMAN 1-5, Jun 1989-Oct 1989). The following year Peter David wrote the excellent ATLANTIS CHRONICLES (1-7, Mar 1990-Sep 1990), and Aquaman began to take off again.
In December of 1991 he got another solo series, starting again from issue #1. It did well, but Peter David was poised to take over the book, and rather than simply switch writers, DC decided to relaunch the series. The 1991 series lasted 13 issues (AQUAMAN 1-13, Dec 1991-Dec 1992) and received much critical acclaim, and is even now a fan favorite.
DC relaunched Aquaman with his third mini-series, AQUAMAN: TIME AND TIDE (1-4, Dec 1993-Mar 1994), which went into even more detail on Aquaman's origins.
The third solo Aquaman series, written by Peter David, started in August 1994 (AQUAMAN 1-75, Aug 1994-Jan 2001). This series had five Annuals, a Secret Files, and two oddly numbered issues (0 and 1,000,000). During this series, Aquaman's former sidekick Aqualad also had his own series (TEMPEST 1-4, Nov 1996-Feb 1997).
The fourth Aquaman series is due to ship in December 2002 with a cover date of February 2003.
5.2 Which Aquaman books are in continuity?
Aquaman is very, very lucky in this respect. Only one of his many series has got the official out-of-continuity stamp on it. The four issue Neal Pozner series of 1986 is the only Aquaman series that is totally out of continuity. Despite this, other Aquaman writers have incorporated that series into Aquaman's history.
Other stories that are out-of-continuity for Aquaman are his other origins, and any story that has been directly contradicted by the current book. His Golden Age stories can be handed off to a different Golden Age hero (like Neptune Perkins or even Atlan) and therefore not simply thrown out.
5.3 What is 'The Atlantis Chronicles'?
In 1990, Peter David set out to rewrite the history of the DC Universe's Atlantis. The result was the excellent Atlantis Chronicles mini-series. It starts just before the sinking of the city of Poseidonis and ends with the birth of Aquaman. Introduced in the series are a cast of characters that gives background to Aquaman that he never had before, including: Orin, the monarch of Poseidonis when the city was domed and sunk; Kordax, a second generation water-breather and Orin's grandson; and Atlan, the second son of a warrior King and a wizard who survived to be Aquaman's father.
In addition to adding these elements, the series also retconned Aquaman to be Atlan's son, and gave him an Atlantean name: Orin. It also retconned Aquaman's brother, Ocean Master, and added him back into the mythos.
That's a tough one. The truth is no one knows for sure. DC, along with most other publishers at the time, failed to keep records. The only credits given in the books were to artists (Paul Norris in Aquaman's case).
Many people believe that Mort Weisinger created him. He is credited with the creation of many of DC's most popular characters of that time, including the still-popular Green Arrow. In addition, Aquaman's survival through the Golden Age into the Silver Age argues that someone in power liked him enough to help keep him in print, like, oh, say, Mort Weisinger. Of note: on the Aquaman Filmation series of 1967, Mort was the sole story consultant. Also of note: Mort Weisinger used Aquaman as a guest in several Superman stories.
There is apparently some evidence that he may not have been involved in Aquaman's creation, though, so we get back to the truth: No one knows for sure. The evidence is strongly in favor of Mort Weisinger being the creator, but no one knows.
What we do know is that the first artist on Aquaman was Paul Norris, and he designed the look that lasted almost unchanged until 1986.
6.1.1 Is it true that Aquaman was just a rip-off of Marvel's Sub-Mariner?
The Sub-Mariner, Namor, first appeared in 1939. Two years later Aquaman showed up. You might think, then, that Aquaman is a rip-off, but comparing the two might just change your mind.
Namor was a water-breather, half-human, who came from a place called "Aquaria" (in the far North) and hated air-breathers. He was both a hero and a villain in his early stories, sometimes fighting the Nazis, often beating up on New York. He was super-strong and could fly.
Aquaman was a water-breather, totally human son of an American scientist who had discovered Atlantis. He was always a hero, and never destroyed New York. His only "super" power was breathing underwater.
They have actually gotten much more similar through the years. Namor was eventually linked to Atlantis, and "Aquaria" retconned out, and Aquaman got more powers. But when they started, they were very different.
The presence of Namor may have inspired the creation of Aquaman, but Aquaman is not a rip-off of Namor. In fact, it could be argued that both characters were inspired by earlier water-based heroes, though both of them are quite original in their takes.
6.2 Who drew him in the Golden Age?
Paul Norris was the first Aquaman artist, and drew the first ten Aquaman stories.
He turned over the duty to artist Louis Cazeneuve who drew him for the reminder of the More Fun run, and into the Golden Age Adventure Comics.
in 1947, John Daly took over the art chores, and did over 35 stories until 1951.
6.3 Who wrote his Golden Age stories?
Because of the lack of records, it's very hard to be sure. We do know some of the names who worked on early Aquaman stories. Mort Weisinger is generally credited for the first Aquaman tale, and many of the earliest stories.
Joe Samachson and Don Cameron apparently worked on many of the stories that Cazeneuve drew.
George Kashdan and the legendary Otto Binder worked with Daly early on, and Jack Miller may have contributed a few stories.
6.4 Who worked on the character in the Silver Age?
Ramona Fradon was the primary artist on Aquaman during much of his Silver Age Adventure Comics run. George Kashdan may have written many of those stories.
The original (1962) series was first drawn by Nick Cardy. Working with writer Bob Haney, he managed to draw almost the entire original series.
Jim Aparo and Steve Skeates then took over until the book was canceled. When picked up again, the book was drawn by a number of folks, including Jim Aparo.
6.5 Who worked on all the various Aquaman mini-series?
6.6 Wasn't there a series before Peter David took over?
Yes. Aquaman's second series (1991) was written by Shaun McLaughlin. This was an excellent run that had Aquaman becoming Poseidonis' representative to the UN, and featured a particularly good issue spotlighting Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter's friendship. This series also revamped Thanatos into the villain that Peter David later used, and included a brief cameo of Mera in Thanatos' thrall.
This series also had a nice arc to it that was never resolved, including a plot thread involving one mysterious Minister F'ancha of Poseidonis. For more information about this series, check out the Second Series Resolution Notes.
6.7 Who worked on the 1994 series?
6.8 Who will be working on the new 2003 Series?
At the moment, we have Rick Veitch listed as the writer, with Yvel Guichet doing the pencils and Mark Propst on inks. The cover artist is Alex Maleev.
That's it for now. Stay tuned for future updates.
