Orin

**Orin**, also known as **Aquaman**, is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *Adventure Comics* #229 (October 1956), but his first appearance in *Swamp Thing* comics was in *Swamp Thing* #24 (May 1984). He was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris.

## History

Originally in Silver Age continuity Arthur Curry was the son of a lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry and a woman named Atlanna. Tom Curry lived in Amnesty Bay, Maine and raised his son with wife in the local Lighthouse. Arthur started to manifest incredible strength and speed at a young age, as well as the abilities to breathe underwater and talk to fish. On her deathbed, his mother revealed that she was an exiled Queen of Atlantis and he would someday inherit rule of the seven seas. His father gave him an education and taught him to control his powers, eventually allowing him to grow up and become the superhero Aquaman.

His origins were changed when the universe was rebooted during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Orin was born an heir to the Atlantean Royal Family. His mother Atlanna had been unable to conceive a child with her husband King Trevis, but she was impregnated during a dream by the immortal wizard Atlan. Atlan prophesized the child's future and named him after his ancestor Orin, promising that he would sire another son because two brothers must always struggle for the fate of Atlantis. Trevis immediately knew the child wasn't his because of the blond hair, a long-held superstition that a child might carry the curse of Kordax. The baby was announced as a miscarriage and left to die on Mercy Reef, where his ability to communicate with sealife allowed him to be raised by Dolphins. His adoptive mother was named Porm and she gave him the name Swimmer, although he left this new family after fisherman killed his adopted brother Drin.

His next encounter with humanity was a lighthouse operator named Tom Curry who took him in as a son, giving him the human name Arthur Curry before his death. Spending time in Alaska, he met and fell in love with the beautiful Inuit girl Kako. They conceived a child together, but the demonic god Nuliajuk forced Arthur to leave before he could learn of the pregnancy. His next fight against a God would be Poseidon's son Triton when he rescued Princess Diana from his sexual advances. Returning to Atlantis, he was arrested and sentenced to hard labor in the Aquarium prison. He found mentorship in the former professor Vulko who taught him Atlantean, although he decided to escape when he learned that his birth mother had died. Curry's first encounter with another super-hero was The Flash, who named him "Aquaman" during a press conference in Crescent Shore after they fought the Trickster. Upon his next return, Orin learns that Vulko has led a revolution and claims his birthright as the King of Atlantis.

This has supposedly changed during Infinite Crisis, as a conversation with Jackson Hyde during Brightest Day reveals him to be once again the son of Atlanna and lighthouse keeper Tom Curry.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Atlantean Physiology:** The Atlanteans are an offshoot of humanity that is biologically adapted to the deep ocean environment. For most Atlanteans, this means that can breathe underwater, endure the pressures of the deep (among other adaptations), and can only spend a very limited time out of water. He also possesses superhuman levels of strength, speed, endurance and durability, all by-products of his body being adapted to survive unprotected in the tremendous pressures of the ocean depths. Although other Atlanteans possess similar adaptations, Aquaman's royal lineage makes him a super-Atlantean as well as super-human, and as such he has greater physical capabilities than does a typical Atlantean.
* **Amphibious Nature:** Aquaman, as an Atlantean, can breath underwater and on land. He can be immersed indefinitely without suffering any ill effects but being super-Atlantean due to his royal lineage, he can survive on land longer than an average Atlantean. This length can be extended by the humidity in the atmosphere but eventually prolonged dehydration will weaken him thus he must return to aquatic environment at various period.
* **Enhanced Vision:** His ability to see in the murky depths of the ocean allows him exceptional night vision while on land. He has claimed that his eyes are adapted to see at 6,000 fathoms (or 36,000 feet below the surface of the water).[citation needed]

Enhanced Hearing: several times more acute than human capacity.

* **Enhanced Smell:** several times more acute than human capacity.
* **Superhuman Strength**
* **Superhuman Stamina**
* **Superhuman Durability**
	+ **Energy-Heat Resistance:** Aquaman is extremely resistant to energy/heat based attacks as he has withstood multiple blasts from Amazo's heat vision, Black Manta's heat beams, and energy blasts from an OMAC.
* **Superhuman Reflexes:** While no speedster, Aquaman's reflexes are superior to even near metahumans such as Deathstroke the Terminator, and his reflexes are on the order of 12-15 times faster than a normal human. Aquaman is probably the greatest swimmer in the world.
* **Marine Telepathy:** Aquaman has the ability to communicate directly with sea life and has done so throughout most of his life. Lately he possesses a greater range of control that can actually force sea creatures to obey his whims. Currently, he requests their assistance and they comply. He has chosen to continue to request since, if he forces them to comply, they will ultimately lose respect for him. He now also has access to a quantum field phenomenon called "The Clear". "The Clear" quantum phenomenon has been observed with the subject called the Swamp Thing who called it the Green or the Morphogenic Field of Animal Man (also called the Red). Aquaman is also an accomplished telepath in general and can perform such telepathic feats as mind to mind communication, mind probes, mental domination of a non-aquatic mind, and mental attacks. The potency of such mental domination is unclear but he has been seen to use his powers to great effect against the White Martians and Doctor Polaris.
	+ **Psychic Vibration Manipulation:** Aquaman learned a new technique while traversing the home planet of the Hexapuses, he could channel his psionic force into potent mind and body disorienting psychic waves which throw his opponents off balance. As though they were josseled about by a tremendous earthquake.
	+ **Limited Mentifery:** To a marginal extent, Orin is able to use his marine telepathy to alter the fabric of reality on a microcosmic level. I.e. controlling and manipulating the evolutionary phases and/or physical transformation of other's through the power of his mind alone. Having done so against an ancient primordial entity as old as the Earth itself sitting at the bottom of one of the planets deepest trenches, and again when the villain known as the The Shark whom he mentally willed back to being a simple sea predator instead of the hyper-evolved entity he initially was. This has the debilitating side effect of kickstarting an atavistic transformation which causes him to grow sharpened teeth, green scales, webbing along his hands & fingers accompanied by burning red eyes similar to his ancestor Kordax; it also disrupts his psionic rapport with sea creatures as they become frightened by his appearance and harsher mindset when using his power to their fullest.
	+ **Access to the Clear:** Aquaman has the ability to sense the primal emotions of aquatic creatures through "The Clear". The Clear seems to function as a universal consciousness of all sea life. Via it he can communicate or command sea life on the other side of the planet. He can see what they see and much more what he is only beginning to realize. He can also push his telepathic powers to reach out to the higher land creatures to find that element of their brains that was once an aquatic dwelling creature. This may account for Aquaman's facility with language.
	+ **Undead Calling:** Due to having been a Black Lantern when he was first reanimated, Aquaman later retained his ability to call forth undead sea life to do his bidding.
* **Magic:** His mutation into the Dweller of the Deep through a bargain with ancient sea gods gave him untold amounts of powerful ancient magics.
* **Water Emulation:** Due to either a spell cast by powerful dark wizards and sorcerers, a union between him and a malignant vampiric entity, or further alteration by an outside force. Arthur has had his entire being transformed into that of an elemental affiliated with the clear, the quantum phenomena connected to waters and all life living within it. In this state of being Aquaman was an oceanic embodiment of tremendous power capable of assimilating with and manipulating all of the worlds oceans at once.
	+ **Ocean Embodiment:** Has the all composing ability to control water as a whole within his vicinity and beyond.
	+ **Metamorphosis:** Being composed entirely of water Orin no longer has the physical constraints his limited physical body.
	+ **Life Force Draining:** After his union with the thirst, effectively becoming the waterbearer itself, the amalgamated entity could drain all the life giving water from the world at will.

### Abilities

* **Master Swimmer:** Aquaman is a master swimmer. Perhaps the greatest there is.
* **Expert Combatant:** Aquaman excels at hand-to-hand combat and overall martial ability.
* **Genius Level Intellect:** Aquaman is adept enough at complex cybernetic and mechanical engineering that he can reorganize the lost informational databases of the JLA Watchtower files and databases single handed.
	+ **Computer Operation**
* **Expert Tactician:** He has an advanced strategic sense, and has natural leadership qualities.
* **Accomplished Diplomat:** His natural autocratic nature does not suit him well in environments where democracy is an issue but Orin is a natural commander and his ability has served him well in the protection of Poseidonis.

### Weaknesses

* **Water Deprivation:** Aquaman must return to water after a period of time or he will weaken and eventually die. He will first start feeling this effect after an hour (approximately).
	+ When Aquaman had the Waterbearer Hand, he always has water nearby, so this weakness did not apply.
* **Monstrous Appearance:** Whenever Orin pushed his mental abilities to the limit, causing subtle changes in the fabric of reality. It causes him to physically regress into a more predatory appearance similar to that of Kordax.[241]
	+ **Increased Aggression:** In his transformed state, Orin is colder and angrier. Becoming much more aggressive and demanding of those around him.[242]
* **Waterbearer Abuse:** Overuse of the Waterbearer Hand for violent means will cause the Thirst to attack the Secret Sea.

## Paraphernalia

### Weapons

* **Trident of Neptune**
* **Trident of Poseidon**
* **Black Lantern Ring**
* **Harpoon Replacement:** Aquaman's left hand was eaten by piranha and was replaced with a harpoon. Initially affixing his missing hand with the tip of a whaling spear he owned, Orin made use of it as a melee weapon both in and out of the water. He donned it as a symbol of his own title and authority as a hero and ex-monarch of Atlantis after his decisive battle with Charybdis, feeling he needed a new look to match his new mindset. The spear head was lost in a battle between the two elemental's Corona and Naiad when the later, his former flame and mother of his son Koryak, flash melted it to little more than a stump of molten steel.
* **Cybernetic Hook/Bionic Prosthetic:** Replacing the harpoon that was later destroyed by Corona, S.T.A.R. Labs engineered a multi-functional hook replacement. Its primary weapon, a retractable lancet, could be drawn into its casing to be temporarily replaced with a prosthetic hand. The harpoon line was made of a tungsten steel cable that was capable of supporting 2 tons without breaking. It also was equipped with the ability to carry a powerful electrical charge. The harpoon, made of a high-grade hardened vanadium-titanium alloy, could be made to spin at high speeds and act as a drill, launched at an opponent to entangle them, or to wrap around an object to prevent a fall. Later, Orin had found a new bionic hand made by Atlantean technologies that functioned as his normal hand does, it was comprised of liquid memory shape alloy able to change its form in a limited capacity; mainly used to create shielding, armor or various bladed weapons with a direct application of his will.
	+ **Harpoon:** normally had a harpoon attached to a retractable line that he could use to fire at ranged targets.
	+ **Drilling:** The harpoon had a turn gear within its base which enables Arthur to perforate solid rock and steel with it.
	+ **Cybernetic Form Alteration:** Could be altered to form armaments and protective wear. Or simply act as a replacement limb.
	+ **Electrostatic Discharge:** Both his S.T.A.R. Labs spear and his Tritonis extremity could emit electrical energy to increase its effective weapon potential.
* **Waterbearer Hand:** given to him by the Lady of the Lake. The hand was magical in nature and possessed various abilities.
	+ **Hydrokinesis:** The waterbearer hand like its namesake suggests, can manipulate vast if not astronomical amounts of water for various means and ends, be it shooting scalding water jets at varying pressures or erecting and splitting massive tidal waves clean in half.
	+ **Molecular Manipulation:** Aquaman can alter the shape and density of the hand, for example Orin can make his hand into a sword or harder than steel.
	+ **Healing:** It possesses healing properties.
	+ **Death Touch:** By dehydrating anyone he touches with it.
	+ **Farsight:** Can be used as a scrying pool.
	+ **Magic:** Could utilize unique mysticism to keep a humanized mera from drowning and undo a reality warp by Orm using the remains of his severed hand.
	+ **Negate Magic:** Can negate any other magics.
	+ **Prolonged Adaptation:** Significantly increases the time Aquaman can spend out of water.
	+ **Independent Life:** The hand can be separated from Aquaman and continue to work.
	+ **Portal Creation:** It has the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions for working as instantaneous travel.
	+ **Retrocognition:** Aquaman has placed his Waterbearer hand onto a sea organism and was thereafter able to see visions of that creature's past.