Aquaman (DC Extended Universe)

Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman in Aquaman and the Lost Kindom

James Wan

Will Beall

Geoff Johns

Otis Dhanji (13-year-old)

Kaan Guldur (9-year-old)

Fisherman

Vigilante

Orm Marius (half-brother)

Mera (wife)

Arthur Curry, Jr (son)

### Abilities

Superhuman strength, speed, sight, hearing, and healing, swordcraft, hydrokinesis, marine telepathy, amphibious adaptation, gifted intelligence

Arthur Curry also known as Aquaman is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. He is portrayed by American actor Jason Momoa. Originally appearing as a cameo in *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice*, the character has a prominent role in the film *Justice League* and its director's cut, and is later the subject of his own film *Aquaman*. Momoa also appeared in the finale of the HBO Max series *Peacemaker*. The DCEU marks Aquaman's first portrayal in cinema, with his character having been re-imagined as compared to his comics counterpart.

## Role in the Films

### Early life and training

Arthur Curry was born in 1985 to Thomas Curry, a lighthouse keeper in Maine, and Atlanna, queen of Atlantis. Atlanna entrusts her son Arthur to her trusted advisor Nuidis Vulko for training, leaving him her trident, and voluntarily goes back to Atlantis, where she is sentenced to certain death by banishment to The Trench for Curry's illegitimate birth. While growing up, Curry is unable to control his abilities, such as communicating with sea creatures and breathing underwater, and later discovers them while fending off bullies. He is later trained by Vulko, though he rejects Atlantis upon learning of his mother's supposed execution.

### Security footage

In 2015, through files Bruce Wayne takes from Lex Luthor, footage of Curry attacking an NSA drone that was following him in the Pacific Ocean is shown. Curry is one of several metahumans that Luthor had been researching in an attempt to blackmail them. Wayne sends this information to fellow metahuman Diana Prince.

### Stopping Steppenwolf

#### Theatrical cut

In 2017, Wayne and Prince follow up on their plans to recruit the metahumans named in Luthor's files to form a team of superheroes in Superman's absence, especially after a global threat emerges when Steppenwolf arrives in an attempt to destroy all life on Earth. Wayne attempts to recruit Curry, whom he encounters in a remote Icelandic village. Despite Wayne revealing his secret identity as Batman, Curry angrily declines Bruce's offer until he notices Steppenwolf's parademons invade Atlantis. He helps Princess Mera against the demon, though both are subdued as Steppenwolf takes a Mother Box under the Atlanteans' protection. Mera convinces Curry to go after Steppenwolf after mentioning his mother, whom he believed had abandoned him.

Curry, who initially resents the Atlanteans, has a change of heart and comes to the aid of Wayne's team, which now includes Prince, Barry Allen, and Victor Stone, saving the team from a wall of water after they prevent Steppenwolf from taking a Mother Box guarded by humans under the bay between Metropolis and Gotham City.

Joining the team for good, Curry expresses skepticism as Batman decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman. Though the team successfully revives him, Superman, having lost his memories, is provoked to briefly attack the group. In the skirmish, Steppenwolf takes the last Mother Box, as it was left unattended. As Superman leaves with Lois Lane to regain his memories, the five other heroes recuperate at the Batcave. As the team resolves to confront Steppenwolf once more without Superman, Curry gives an impassioned speech, expressing gratitude for meeting the other metahumans and being part of something bigger than himself in the event they die.

Curry takes a part in the battle, protecting Cyborg as he attempts to pull apart the Mother Boxes, though the team's plan is foiled by Steppenwolf. Superman arrives, however, allowing the team to defeat the demon, who, overcome with fear, retreats back to Apokolips when his own minions attack him.

#### Director's cut

Curry explains he wants to be "left alone" when Wayne invites him to join his team. Nuidis Vulko pleads for Curry's help in defending the Atlantean Mother Box when Arthur's half brother Orm Marius refuses to send help, giving Curry the armor and his mother's trident. After rescuing the team under Gotham Harbor, Curry joins in the unanimous vote amongst the team members to resurrect Superman. He and Prince join Stone and Allen in digging up Clark Kent's body in Smallville, with Curry and Prince conversing about the historical rivalry between the Atlanteans and Amazons, which they both disagree with. Curry also expresses concern for Stone carrying out the final attack on the Mother Boxes mere hours after the death of his father, Silas.

After Stone and Superman separate the Mother Boxes in Russia, Aquaman impales Steppenwolf with his trident before Superman punches him into a boom tube and Wonder Woman decapitates him. Following the battle, Curry says goodbye to Vulko and Mera to see his father, Thomas.

### King of Atlantis

Following Steppenwolf's defeat, Curry begins to engage in more vigilantism, officially gaining the moniker Aquaman from the media much to his chagrin. He confronts pirates hijacking a Russian Akula-class submarine. Their leader, Jesse Kane, is killed in a failed attempt to kill Curry, and his son David vows revenge. Orm Marius, King of Atlantis and Curry's half-brother, convinces King Nereus of Xebel to help unite Atlantis and attack the surface world for polluting the oceans. Nereus notes that if Orm unites all four kingdoms, he will receive the title of Ocean Master, commander of the most powerful force on the planet.

Mera, who is betrothed to Orm, refuses to help them and tries to recruit Curry to stop the war. She gains his trust by saving Curry's father Thomas from a tsunami summoned by Orm. Curry reluctantly accompanies Mera to a rendezvous with Vulko, who urges Curry to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact of Atlantis' first ruler, to reclaim his rightful place as king. They are ambushed by Orm's men, and Curry is captured. He is chained and presented to Orm, who blames him and the surface for Atlanna's death. Orm offers Curry an opportunity to leave forever, but Cury challenges him to a duel in a ring of underwater lava. Orm gains the upper hand and nearly kills Curry before Mera rescues him.

Curry and Mera journey to the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters hidden under the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, Italy, where they retrieve the trident's coordinates. The two are then attacked by David, who is now armed with Atlantean weapons and armor by Orm and calls himself Black Manta. Curry is caught off-guard and injured but manages to defeat David, and Mera destroys a tracking device from Orm disguised as a bracelet gifted to her. At their destination, Curry and Mera fend off amphibious monsters of the Trench, and a wormhole transports them to an uncharted sea at the center of the Earth. They are reunited with Atlanna, who, 20 years earlier, survived her banishment to the Trench and escaped to the uncharted sea, alive and well.

Curry faces the Karathen, a mythical leviathan and keeper of the trident, and voices his determination to protect both Atlantis and the surface, proving his worth and reclaiming the trident, which grants him control over the seven seas. Curry and Mera, with the assistance of Karathen and the Trench, lead an army of marine creatures against Orm. Orm's followers embrace Curry as the true king upon learning he wields Atlan's trident. Curry defeats Orm in combat but spares his life, and Orm accepts his punishment after discovering that Curry has rescued their mother. Atlanna reunites with Thomas, while Curry ascends to the throne with Mera by his side.

### Project Butterfly

Sometime later, Curry was summoned by Amanda Waller to assist the 11th Street Kids in their fight against the Butterflies, alongside fellow Justice League members Diana Prince, Clark Kent, and Barry Allen. However, they arrived too late to help, as the 11th Street Kids had already murdered nearly all of the Butterflies and their "cow". There, Christopher Smith confronted Curry regarding rumors about him engaging in sexual intercourse with fish, leading Allen to mock him about it, much to his irritation.

### Erased and Restored

After Barry Allen changes history by preventing his mother Nora's death, he finds himself in an alternate 2013 about to be invaded by General Zod's forces. He and his 2013 self attempt to assemble the Justice League and contact Thomas Curry to learn Arthur's whereabouts. However, in this timeline, Thomas never met Atlanna and so Arthur never existed. Later, when Barry restores the timeline, he meets a drunk Arthur and tells him about his adventures.

## Alternate Versions

### Steppenwolf Victorious

*Zack Snyder's Justice League* depicts a moment when the Mother Boxes converge, killing Curry and the Justice League. This version of events is erased when Barry Allen enters the speed force and reverses time.

### Knightmare Reality

In visions of the future that Stone and Wayne receive, Darkseid personally murdered Arthur at some point while enslaving the Earth and corrupting Superman into his minion, prompting Mera to join Batman's resistance force to seek revenge

## Other Appearances

### The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Jason Momoa reprises his role as Aquaman in *The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part*. Despite the other DC Comics figurines maintaining their classic comics appearances in the film, Aquaman's figurine has taken on his DCEU appearance and characterization, with the "Classic Aquaman" figurine serving as a surfboard for Momoa's rendition of the character.

### Aquaman: King of Atlantis

Though the HBO Max animated mini-series *Aquaman: King of Atlantis* is non-canon to the main DCEU, it references several events from the films and takes place shortly after Arthur becomes king in *Aquaman*. He is voiced by Cooper Andrews in the series.

### Video Games

The DC Extended Universe version of Aquaman was included in the 2018 video game *Lego DC Super-Villains*. Alongside appearing as a playable character, two levels were included based on the 2018 film.  The character was also featured as an outfit in the online video game *Fortnite*. Two outfits were released, one being his King of Atlantis outfit and the other being his alter-ego Arthur Curry.

## Appearances

* Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Jason Momoa
* Justice League - Jason Momoa
* Aquaman - Jason Momoa, Kaan Guldur, Otis Dhanji and Kekoa Kekumano
* Zack Snyder's Justice League - Jason Momoa
* Aquaman: King of Atlantis - Cooper Andrews
* Peacemaker - Jason Momoa
* The Flash - Jason Momoa
* Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - Jason Momoa

## Reception

Aquaman's reinvention in the DCEU has received general praise throughout the character's appearances in the DCEU, resulting in renewed interest in the character. Miles Surrey described Jason Momoa's take on the character as "refreshing". In a three-star review of the character's eponymous film, Geoffrey Macnab writes that Momoa's "self-deprecating" performance helped balance the film's portentousness, and that the film was an overall improvement over previous installments in the film series such as *Batman v Superman* and *Justice League*. Matt Zoller Seitz of *RobertEbert.com* likewise notes that Aquaman, as portrayed in the film, is able to balance absurdness with serious matters. In addition, some analysts have noted similarities between Momoa's Aquaman and Chris Hemsworth's Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.