Aquaman

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**Aquaman** is the fierce but noble king of the underwater realm of Atlantis and ruler of the Seven Seas. The son of a human lighthouse keeper and an Atlantean princess, Aquaman is gifted with incredible strength, telepathic control over marine life, and the ability to survive both in water and on land.

A child of two worlds, Aquaman fights to protect both the land and the sea, using his abilities and political influence as a founding member of the Justice League of America.

## Background

Arthur Curry was born the son of the Atlantean queen Atlanna and the Amnesty Bay lighthouse keeper Tom Curry. Atlanna returned to Atlantis, so Tom was forced to raise Arthur alone. As a child Arthur began to show that he had inherited his mother's gifts. Tom turned to Doctor Stephen Shin, a scientist he saved from a storm, so he could better understand Arthur's abilities.

During the time of Arthur's graduation, Shin attempted to release his research to the public, so Tom destroyed all of it except a phial of Arthur's blood, which he took. Shin paid a treasure hunter known as the Black Manta to retrieve the phial from the Curry household. However, there was a struggle and the stress caused Tom to suffer a heart attack, and he died in the hospital soon after. Arthur then tracked Black Manta down and killed his father, believing it to be Manta himself. He then fled civilization until he was brought to Atlantis by his mother's royal adviser Vulko.

He ruled over Atlantis for a while until he abandoned his role, and his brother Orm took the throne. At some point during his first reign an Atlantean general named Mako took Arthur to a hidden vault full of "contingencies" for a war against the surface. Mako revealed that he had Atlantean sleeper agents hidden on the surface ready to launch retaliation attacks if the surface ever harmed Atlantis. Arthur ordered the project shut down but many of the sleepers remained.

Arthur went on to form The Others, a team made up of outcasts who would search the globe for the Dead King's Atlantean Weapons so they could be safe guarded. After retrieving the artifacts and keeping the Trident of Neptune, Aquaman parted ways with the Others. At some point between leaving the Others and joining the Justice League, Arthur met and fell in love with Mera, a Xebelian princess sent to kill him.

While investigating a disturbance on the ocean surface, Arthur encountered the Flash (Barry Allen) in mid-battle with the Trickster. Dubbed "Aquaman" by Flash during a press conference in Crescent Shore due to the symbol of his belt looking like an "A", Orin unwittingly became part of the emerging mass of superheroes who were announcing themselves to the public at the time.

Soon thereafter, both Arthur and Flash became founding members of the Justice League of America and Orin even led the group for a period of time when they were based in Detroit, Michigan. Leading the team on many adventures Orin eventually left after feeling the need to return to Atlantis for personal reasons.

Upon his return, Atrhur learned that Vulko had led a revolution following Arthur's escape from the prisons and Vulko revealed his mother's identity as Queen and his birthright as the King of Atlantis. As Arthur began to slowly introduce Atlantis to the surface world, it was also around this time that Arthur discovered and took in another banished child named Garth, who would become known as Aqualad.

Dividing his time between being a king and being a superhero and member of the JLA, Orin met a Queen from an underwater dimension named Mera and the pair became an inseparable couple. Eventually marrying, they had a son named Arthur Curry Jr., however Black Manta later kidnapped and murdered Arthur Jr. which caused a rift to grow between the couple until, consumed by her grief and placing blame on her husband, Mera left Earth's dimension. After freeing Atlantis from an alien invasion, Orin resigned from the JLA in an attempt to devote himself more to his role as king, however, he always found himself thrust back into the superhero role.

Becoming more and more of a solitary figure, Orin eventually fell into a bout of severe depression after learning of the prophecy about himself and Ocean Master's eternal conflict and abandoned his duties; returning to the oceans and distancing himself from Garth and his people.
Recently, a massive earthquake causes a portion of San Diego to fall into the ocean. However, while searching for survivors within the submerged city, it was discovered that the city's residents were developing gills thanks to the machinations of a scientist who worked at the city's Water Works facility. Fearing the long term effects of global warming, the scientist had perfected a mutative serum that radically altered a human being's anatomy and allowed them to survive indefinitely under water. Having become a puppet for some unknown villain, the scientist introduced the serum into the water supply before the earthquake's occurrence and inadvertently saved numerous residents from potential death.
Aquaman becomes the self-declared protector of Sub Diego and recruits a new Aquagirl to assist him. During the Infinite Crisis incident, after the Spectre destroys Atlantis and Atlantean refugees are forced to move to Sub Diego for refuge, Arthur and his allies defend Sub Diego against an attack by the Secret Society of Super-Villains and he is later seen during the Battle of Metropolis confronting a last-ditch effort by the villains to destroy the city.

While stoically bearing the heavy weight of his birthright as king, Arthur continues to tend to the needs those in need of his help; whether they be air or water-breathers.