Aquaman

Arthur Curry

Aquaman, King of Atlantis, Dweller of the Depths

## Biography

Princess Atlanna's first husband, Lord Trevis died in battle shortly after the two were wed. As is customary among grieving Atlanteans, Atlanna undertook a journey intended to help her regain her composure. Still young and foolhardy, Atlanna dared to undertake her sojourn among the surface-dwelling humans. It was when she was found unconscious on a rock near Amnesty Bay in Maine that Queen Atlanna met Tom Curry, a former famous Deep Sea Explorer now residing as a lighthouse keeper, and fell madly in love. Curry had actually been to Atlantis on an expedition and was aware of it but had agreed to keep it secret, so Atlanna had some idea of where he was to seek him out. Atlanna had a child with Tom, a child they named Arthur (after Tom had read to Atlanna and the young boy, the story of King Arthur) and for years, Atlanna was happy to live among the humans, neglecting her heritage and responsibilities… until the passing of her father required her to return home, at which time Atlantean soldiers came to force her to comply. She at first fought off the men sent to return her but, realizing they would keep coming, she decided to leave with her son. Atlanna had a sister, Fen, who had been exiled, and now raised a half human son, Namor Mckenzie. This left the responsibility of leading to Atlanna.

While sailing with Arthur, Atlanna's ship was scuttled by Atlantean scouts sent to retrieve Atlanna so she could be crowned. In the process, mother and son were both knocked unconscious and while Atlanna was claimed by the Atlanteans, Arthur was mistaken for a human casualty and left floating in the sea by the scouts that had taken his mother. Arthur was later rescued by Dolphins, with which he formed a bond with and even got to know a descendant of the Dolphins, Porm, as a good friend. The Dolphins brought the boy back to his father, washed up on the shore, injured but alive. Unable to find Atlanna, Tom and Arthur held a funeral and mourned their loss.
Tom took to drinking and though he was never an abusive father, he was never quite the same. Arthur was a troubled kid with a juvenile record to prove it. He was prone to violence and trouble never seemed to be far from him, but Arthur claimed he never went looking for it... He just had a knack for letting it find him.

One night, Tom had a few too many beers. In his drunken stupor, he saw Atlanna checking on her family from the sea, only to disappear when she realized she had been seen. Drunk, Tom jumped in after his believed to be dead wife. Arthur jumped in after him. Arthur saved his father from drowning that day. He would eventually be confronted by Nuidis Vulko, his mother’s advisor, who she had told about Arthur and had agreed to train the boy. Vulko spent time training Arthur, until Vulko revealed that his mother ruled as Queen of Atlantis, but after she was discovered to have a child(both surface and Atlantean hybrids and blonde haired children were superstitious to the Atlanteans), She was executed(this was a lie on Vulko’s part, she actually fled to look for the Trident of Atlantis’s founder Atlan and didn’t want Arthur or Tom to risk their live looking for her since they would surely die). Arthur fled from Vulko in anger.

Arthur travelled the world and began an early life of Superheroics, inspired by Superboy, whom he heard about from the Mermaid Lori Lemaris. Arthur took to calling himself Aquaboy, he never remained in one place for fear his mother’s people would catch up to him. Eventually he arrived in Alaska, where he met and fell in love with the beautiful Inuit girl Kako. They conceived a child(Koryak) together, but the demonic god Nuliakuk attacked Arthur, who believed she had been sent by his people. This forced Arthur to leave before he could learn of Kako’s pregnancy. His next fight against a God would be Poseidon’s son Triton when he rescued Princess Diana from his sexual advances after he had abducted her. Arthur was eventually captured and returned to Atlantis, he was arrested and sentenced to hard labor in the Aquarium prison, since it was considered taboo to slay a member of the royal bloodline. 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 gone missing and not killed, something he picked up on when they spared him. Upon his next return.

### **1941**

Arthur transitioned from Aquaboy to Aquaman simply by aging into it, but he made his first directly public appearance in November 1941. There are several reasons he stopped hiding, such as Superheroes much like himself being public figures now, like Superman once more, but it was also because Namor, the Sub-Mariner had grown more hostile and attacked Metropolis with a Tidal wave. This resulted in a crackdown on Atlanteans and Arthur was inexplicably a target until he proved that he was not a friend of Atlantis. Ironically it would be Namor again who changed Arthur’s life. Namor was pardoned in exchange for helping fight the Axis as part of the Invaders. He was reinstated as King of Atlantis and pardoned Arthur, as they were both hybrids.
When interviewed he gave this statement concerning his origins:

“The story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer—if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see—a human being who lives and thrives under the water.”

This statement concealed Arthur’s own identity as the Atlantean royalty, his mother’s survival and even his father’s name, though Thomas Curry’s popularity at this time rivaled that of the later Jacque Cousteau for his findings.

The media had a habit of falsely describing Aquaman’s abilities, claiming he talked to Fish when most were not intelligent enough to hold conversations and he mostly commanded them telepathically. While Aquaman continued to travel all over the world, he made his base in a sunken fishing boat. His main foe were Nazi U Boats and various Axis Villains.

The rest of his adventures in the 1940s and 1950s had him dealing with several sea-based criminals, including modern-day pirates such as his longtime archenemy Black Jack, as well as various threats to aquatic life, shipping lanes, and sailors. Namor allowed this as he admitted he would have been doing the same, but now had the responsibility to rule Atlantis.

### **1942**

In the Spring of 1942, he briefly joined the All Star Squadron but preferred to work alone during the War.
After the war Aquaman chose to complete his College education.

### **1947**

He adopted a temporary secret identity as "Mr. Waterman" in 1947, in order to enroll in college in the U.S. However, a new opportunity would present itself for Arthur. Namor had vanished( a battle with the psychic Paul Destine had led him to suffer amnesia), and with the fear that Communism would rise, the US took a chance and supported a Revolt in Atlantis led by advisor Nuidis Vulko, which was successful. At around this time Arthur rescued the infant Garth, a child of the underwater city of Shayeris who was left to die due to possessing purple eyes, which were part of a prophecy that a child born with People eyes would bring about the destruction of Shayeris. Arthur adopted the boy.

Because of his international nature, both as a traveller and as a member of the Atlantean royal family, he remained active throughout the 1950's wile most heroes did not.

### **1956**

In 1956, he adopted an Octopus named Topo as a pet.

### **1959**

In 1959, Aquaman first visited New Venice, a small coastal town in South Florida which he would become quite fond of, and the town of him as well, it was around this time that he learned from Vulko himself, that he his claim to the throne had been legitimized by Vulko and he returned to rule Atlantis. He was given the Atlantean name Orin.​

### **1960**

While residing in Atlantis, Aquaman felt the Centre’s attack on the Surface and vowed to help. Aquaman rescued the life of Superman after he was wounded in battle with the Centre. Aquaman would go on to become a founding member of the Justice League alongside Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman. That same year, he introduced Garth as his sidekick Aqualad.

### **1963**

In 1963, Mera was found fleeing the criminal Leron, who seized control of her underwater kingdom of Xebel, which resided in another dimension. She had fled to Earth and met Aquaman and Aqualad, who vowed to help her. Leron captured them, imprisoning Aquaman and Mera in Dimension Aqua. Aided by the water spirit known as Quisp, Aquaman managed to free Mera and defeated Leron.

### **1964**

Mera abdicated the throne of Xebel to Queen V'lana, her mother and returned to Atlantis to marry Aquaman in 1964.

### **1965**

Aquaman and Mera had a son named Arthur Curry, Jr., also known as Aquababy, who was born in 1965.

1965 also saw Aquaman battle the Fisherman for the first time. The Fisherman was a minor villain. He had battled the War time Blackhawks, and when they had retired at the end of the war, he had moved to antagonizing Dr.Midnite. Evidently he had moved onto Aquaman and evidently decided to continue to antagonize him throughout both of their lives. Evidently the Guild of Calamitous Intent had difficulty choosing the right hero for him.

### **1966**

1966 would see the rise of Aquaman’s two greatest enemies. Aquaman first fought Black Manta in 1966. Black Manta was David Hyde. As a young boy, David was confined to Arkham Asylum. He felt comfortable in freezing cold water, but found cotton sheets excruciatingly painful. Because the attendants at Arkham did not know how to deal with autism, they would end up restraining him to the bed as he struggled and screamed whenever they tried putting him to bed. Eventually he was sent off to find better care, only to end up being abused. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and loved to play by the Chesapeake Bay. Throughout his youth he was kidnapped and forced to work on a ship for an unspecified amount of time, where he was physically abused by his captors. At one point, he saw Aquaman with his dolphin friends and tried to signal him for help but was not seen. Finally, he was forced to defend himself, killing one of his tormentors on the ship with a knife. Hating the emotionless sea and Aquaman, whom he saw as its representative, he was determined to become its master. He would later convince himself, possibly as a way to convince others to join him, that his actions were to benefit African Americans by providing his people with an underwater kingdom where they could live without persecution, though he did not have the material to build such a thing. However, Hyde had another reason to go after Aquaman, when a group of pirates, including Hyde’s own adopted father,Jesse Hyde, an avid treasure hunter, who had tried and failed to find the resting place of the famous ship, the Black Pearl, took a Russian Submarine hostage, which threatened to escalate Cold War tensions into World War III. Jesse Hyde had another mission, obtaining a blood sample from Aquaman to prove if he was really Atlantean. To lure him out. His intent was to provoke Aquaman and capture him. If captured or killed he could at least turn the fury of Atlantis on the Soviet Union.

In Atlantism Orm Marius, then acting King of Atlantis and Arthur's half-brother, attempted to convince the newly crowned and Mera’s former betrothed, King Nereus of Xebel to help unite Atlantis and attack the surface world for polluting the oceans. Nereus noted that if Orm united all four kingdoms, he would receive the title of Ocean Master, commander of the most powerful force on the planet.
Using the hijacked Soviet Submarine, Jesse Hyde unleashed an attack on the meeting.. Aquaman gave chase to the Submarine responsible and attacked, leaving both Jesse and David Hyde to die in the sinking Sub. The attack convinced Nereus to join forces to defend the oceans.
Arthur and Mera met with Vulko in secret, who urged Arthur to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact of Atlantis' first ruler, to reclaim his rightful place as king. They were ambushed by Orm's men, and Arthur was captured.
Arthur was chained and presented to Orm, who blamed him and the surface for Atlanna's death. He offered Arthur an opportunity to leave forever, but Arthur challenged him to a duel in a ring of underwater lava. Orm gained the upper hand and nearly killed Arthur before Mera rescued him. Arthur and Mera journeyed to the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters hidden under the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlocked a holographic message that lead them to Sicily, Italy, where they retrieved the trident's coordinates.

To go after Arthur, Orm gave David a prototype Atlantean battle suit, imprisoned Vulko, and coerced the Atlantean Kingdom of the Fishermen to pledge their allegiance to him by killing their king after he declined and forcing the queen and princess, who was next in line for the throne, to assemble their forces out of fear. Black Manta ambushed Arthur and Mera in Sicily, grievously injuring Arthur before he was thrown off a cliff. Mera nursed Arthur's wounds as they seeked the trident and encouraged him to embrace his destiny as king. At their destination, Arthur and Mera fended off the amphibious monsters of the Trench and a wormhole transported them to an uncharted sea at the center of the Earth. There they found Atlanna, who, was sacrificed to the Trench for having Arthur but had survived and escaped to the uncharted sea, alive and well. She also knew where the trident was, though it was guarded by the Karathen, a mythical Leviathan and keeper of the trident, and voiced his determination to protect both Atlantis and the surface, proving his worth and reclaiming the trident, which granted him control over the seven seas. Orm and his allies lead an army against the crustacean forces of the Kingdom of the Brine, the Shark Kingdom and the Jellyfish kingdom among others to complete Orm's preparations. As Orm declared himself Ocean Master, Arthur, and Mera, with the assistance of Karathen and the Trench, lead an army of marine creatures against him. Orm's followers embraced Arthur as the true king upon learning he wielded Atlan's trident. Arthur defeated Orm in combat but spared his life, and Orm accepted his fate after discovering that Arthur had rescued their mother. Atlanna reunited with Thomas, while Arthur returned to the throne with Mera by his side and with the blessing of Namor, who had now had his memories restored.​

Arthur and Mera feared that something was wrong with their child. Arthur Jr seemed to age slower. He’d been born in 1965, now it was 1978 and he was only a toddler, resembling the age of five, still an infant by Atlantean standards. Many feared his hybrid nature had stunted his growth. There were whispers that the King, himself a hybrid, was cursed.

That same year, Black Manta returned with a series of more vicious personal attacks, beginning with an assault on Atlantis’s agricultural system. Struggling under the political responsibilities of his position, Aquaman commissioned the brilliant inventor Weisbogg to create a robotic duplicate of him for his ceremonial duties, although the scientist had actually been working for Manta and created a mechanized version of a sea serpent called a Bugala that almost destroyed the city instead. Manta would next battle and bury Aquaman under several tons of rubble, although he escaped through a cavernous passage with the guidance of cave-dwelling fish. The next great threat would be an invasion by Manfred Mors, who following the death of Janni Dakkar and the Nemo successor Jack not yet being of age, was among the successors of the Captain Nemo bloodline and actually managed to subjugate the city with terrorist threats until Aquaman managed to disable the explosives and defeat the Nautilus. NATO came into conflict with Atlantis when the dangerous New Order terrorist group(a group believed to have been founded following the opening of a dimensional link to Earth X, a Universe in which the Axis won World War II), swam through their waters carrying the stolen potential to make a nuclear warhead. General Horgan launched a missile believing that the hundreds of Atlanteans lost in the cross-fire would be nothing compared to the potential thousands of dead. The missile was barely averted in time for Aquaman to take down the terrorists single-handedly and defuse their hostage situation. Passing through France, he encountered an aquatic drug-smuggling operation organized by the Fisherman using Dolphins to traffic heroin, and helped Interpol shut it down. Believing him to be spending too much time away from the city, the Atlantean Royal Council held a democratic election and had him dethroned, instating a villain in disguise named Karshon in his place as King. Discovering his impeachment upon returning to Atlantis, Aquaman was framed for stealing a vial of Serum X from the royal armory during a battle against the escaped Orm Marius to save Genovia. Karshon made him an enemy of the state, and he was forced into exile while his former subjects hunted him down across the ocean.

Running from the law, Aquaman and his family established a new Aquacave as their hideout. Arthur and Mera were kidnapped by the men of a nearby small town ruled by its high priest Toxxin who believed they were part of a prophecy to destroy the Krakor monster, although they defeated him and escaped after slaying it. Aqualad(Garth) and Aquagirl(Tula) returned to help solve the conspiracy when they broke up one of Manta's smuggling operations in Mississippi. Aqualad had gone off to join the Teen Titans in 1964 and had met and fallen for the Atlantean Tula in 1967. Investigating Manta's gun-running laser rifles to Atlantis, Aquaman was caught in one of the Fisherman's death traps to distract him while Karshon sent telepathic sharks to kidnap Mera and Arthur Jr. Aquaman was defeated by Black Manta in his rage, and imprisoned alongside Vulko as a traitor. He broke out and returned to his throne room to challenge Karshon, who was revealed to be a telepathic enemy of Green Lantern known as the Shark, of the Shark Kingdom. They fought for their lives while Arthur Jr and Mera faced a death-trap, until Aquaman tricked the Shark into overdosing on radiation poisoning. Once the city was restored to sanity and order, having decided that it was too much of a challenge trying to handle both responsibilities, he ceded the crown to Vulko in his absence and decided to become a superhero full-time. The crown would then be passed back to Namor.

His next adventure was to help Horgan save a boat-load of swine flu vaccines from the telepathic Marine Marauder. He helped NATO again when Weather Wizard stole an experimental medical device being transported across the Atlantic.

Aquaman continued to serve as a member of the Justice League, now residing in the Hall of Justice, a former UWO building. The League found themselves faces with the Legion of Doom, an alliance of villains which included Aquaman’s own foe Black Manta. The Legion had been brought together due to a shared nightmare of the world ending and the Justice League failing to save it.

Aquaman would investigate a strange black sphere near Atlantis. He was then attacked by Black Manta and defeated. He was captured and experimented on by Brainiac. Efforts to find Aquaman by Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado were defeated due to ambushes by the villains. Brainiac lobotomized Aquaman. The Legion of Doom began helping the world, making permanent changes. They then revealed the existence of large cities to house and protect humanity. The Martian Manhunter recovered from his attack and helped Zatanna save Red Tornado. The two then found Aquaman’s body and brought it to Niles Caulder of the Doom Patrol, who was able to repair some of the damage and implanted cybernetics into Aquaman’s brain to allow him to function once more. The League learned that Luthor, Brainiac and Gorilla Grodd had fabricated the dream to create the Legion of Doom and destroy the League. However, it was inevitable that the three would turn on each other and they each knew this. Brainiac had kidnapped Aquaman to see if his mental telepathy could be strong enough to control Grodd. It wasn’t, but Aquaman’s infant son’s telepathy was. The Heroes rushed in to stop the Legion, who used mind control worms(modeled on Dr.Sivana’s design and based on Mister Mind) to control the sidekicks of the League’s heroes while kidnapping those not capable of fighting to use as hostages. While the Legion would be defeated in battle. Black Manta escaped with Arthur Jr, Aquaman pursued.

Aquaman pursued Manta to a lost tribe called the Idylists when he saved Sett and Thoran from an under-sea Starro mutated by pollution. In the City of the Lost Tribes he discovered that Black Manta had easily conquered the pacifistic Idylists and was attempting to set up an under-water colony for black people to escape persecution on the surface. Aquaman and the mind controlled Aqualad were put in a shielded arena together and forced to fight to the death for Arthur Jr's life. While Aquaman won, freeing Aqualad of mind control in the process, Black Manta demanded to his men that they kill the Child anyway. The men, led primarily by Carl Durham, who was holding the infant at the time, refused to kill the child. Black Manta was forced to abduct the child but was able to flee, Aquaman still in pursuit. Aqualad decided to remain behind with the Idylists and finally discovered his parentage, as the son of their King Thar and Queen Berra, who had been assassinated years earlier.

Seeking revenge against Black Manta, he pursued him to a sunken mine field and almost died fighting the villain; he was assisted by Cal Durham. Aquaman, however was ambushed by Orm and knocked out. Orm, realizing the Justice League would not be far behind, had Arthur chained to the side of a rock outcropping, above a lava fissure. As he struggled to get free, Orm taunted him and pinned the infant son to the rock beside Aquaman. With a mocking goodbye, he used a blast from the trident to send the outcropping on a slide down the cliff face toward the lava.

Aquaman wrenched desperately at his chains, managing to free one arm, but the other was held fast. He grabbed the sharp metal buckle from his belt and hacked at the chain, but without effect. As they drew nearer to the lava, and his son cried, Aquaman raised the buckle, and brought it down with a roar…

At the Royal Palace, the League reported to Mera that Aquaman is nowhere to be found. Then he returned, carrying their son. Mera embraced him, then gasped in horror: his left hand was gone, the stump of his wrist wrapped tightly with the baby's blanket as a tourniquet. Aquaman then tensely asked where his brother was.

While Aquaman was being fitted with a prosthetic, Batman called from the surface and told them that the temperature at the Arctic Circle was rising dramatically; if it continued, the ice cap could melt, causing catastrophic flooding all over the globe. Aquaman resurfaced from his operation and revealed the source of the trouble: the Doomsday Thermal Reactor. A stolen Atlantean weapon created but never armed in case of war with the surface. Orm had done that, using the nuclear material from the submarine, and activated it. Aquaman and the League set off to stop him.

In a glacier cavern, Aquaman reached the reactor, and confronted Orm, who had the advantage, with two good hands and the royal trident. Orm destroyed the controls with a blast from the trident. While Aquaman engaged him in a brutal fight, Lantern and Batman tried to shut down the reactor. Batman quickly determined that he would have to shut it down manually from the inside. Lantern created a body shield with his ring, and Batman climbed inside the reactor.

As they fought, Orm lost the trident, but lightly wounded his brother with a knife. Suddenly, the ice beneath them crumbled, and Orm was left dangling off a ledge, with Aquaman standing over him. Orm begged for his brother's help, but Aquaman simply picked up his trident, coldly stating, "I believe this is mine." Orm lost his grip and fell with a scream into the abyss.

Batman closed the manual shutoff valve, and the reactor shut down. The world was safe.

Aquaman tracked down Black Manta and nearly murdered him. Fisherman struck again by attempting to fry him while he was tying him to the Curry Lighthouse, although Arthur escaped by remembering his mother Atlanna's words to summon strength and went after him. Defeating him in the Marianas Trench, they were both taken by surprise when the villain Scavenger took the cargo Fisherman had been trying to steal. The trail led back to the supervillain organization Kobra, who had been manipulating the other super-villains and stole several tons of explosives for themselves. Aquaman teamed up with Batman and Green Lantern to stop the Kobra Cult from destroying Portugal and moving on to the rest of the world.

### **1979**

In 1979, Returning to active duty, he took down a big game hunter named Collin Landau who specialized in whales. Vulko made a business deal with the sinister Universal Food Products to share farming secrets, unaware of their ulterior motives. Aquaman discovered that their leader Mr. Amos intended to make Atlantis a desolate wasteland. He was able to prove this, taking the corporation down. Atlantis was threatened again by the Greek tycoon Stavros Markos, who sent them into a blackout while his goons attempted a coup.They also fought off a Nazi contingent who attempted to steal their secrets by replacing the government with obedient holograms.

In the Bermuda Triangle, he stumbled upon the literal Graveyard of Ships, which he discovered was a dimension accidentally created by the scientist Atlena. Returning to the city of New Venice, he learned that they have developed an Aquaman Museum and decided to make his new base there. Doctor Light was the first to discover this new home, and attempted to assassinate him.

The Scavenger attempted to steal the machinery that they needed to rescue Atlena and her people. In his next adventure, The Atom helped him investigate a new undersea life-form.

His next team-up is with Air Wave, when a Zeta-Beam put them into contact with extra-terrestrial marine biology. This transported him to the planet Vortuma where he met the Hexapuses, an aquatic race attempting to resist control by the tyrannical Land-Masters. He defeated them when he realized that they were evil Hexapuses masquerading as surface-dwellers. Exposing the traitor inside the resistance, he finally found a way back home with the help of Professor Hexapus.

### **1984**

The Justice League Satellite was destroyed during the Earth/Mars War of 1984. Aquaman formally disbanded the League as acting chairman at the UWO, announcing that they could not protect the Earth without complete commitment from all of their members. A new Justice League rose including Aquaman, Elongated Man, Gypsy, Martian Manhunter, Steel(Henry Haywood III), Vibe, Vixen, and Zatanna. To remain closer to those they'd sworn to protect, they established new headquarters in a Detroit Compound operated by Dale Gunn.

### **1986**

In 1986, Aquaman was one of the many heroes brought together by Harbringer during the great Crisis, when realities were merging and disappearing. Atlantis disappeared in their reality, Black Manta took this opportunity to plot against him while he was weak and he was among the villains too launch a massive invasion of the Multiple Endangered Earths. Aquagirl(Tula) was mortally wounded at the hands of Chemo’s toxic pollution. Arthur and Mera were frozen together in battle by Captain Cold while fighting to liberate Earth S, This ceded Earth S as territory to the super-villains. The war was interrupted by the Spectre, who allied both sides to fight the Anti-Monitor. Aquaman went with the group to fight. Tula died of her injuries sustained from Chemo. In the Anti-Monitor's last strike before he was completely destroyed, Aquaman stood alongside his allies to protect Atlantis from the Shadow Demons, Lori Lemaris fought bravely but was killed during the battle.

New Venice was destroyed during the Crisis. Tensions surrounding Atlantean hostility towards surface dwellers led to a declaration of war after one of their Zodiac Crystals was stolen. Aquaman was forced to adopt a new blue costume to hide his identity while the people cried for his blood, and he investigated the disappearance in the former Atlantean ruins of Thierna Na Oge. Their society of the Tuatha de Danann believed him to be a malevolent spy, and their King, Bres, had him put to death by the Sreng in their arena. His escape was assisted by the mage Nuada Silverhand, who had also been accused of stealing a crystal. Nuada explained that the magics were fueled by emotion. When he tried using the crystal he was brought to the astral plane, where he was attacked by the spirit of Orm. Aquaman struggled eternally, finally destroying the crystals when he reached an epiphany and told Orm that he loved him. This enlightenment was short-lived however, as the battle was revealed to have torn his soul-self into two parts. Aquaman was able to make himself whole by fighting inside to reunite his emotion and reason.

### **1989**

During the 1989 Dominator Invasion, Aquaman rode the giant seahorse Storm to lead his armies against the alien alliance, fighting Gil’Dispahn at the Arctic Circle. He teamed up with the Doom Patrol and the Sea Devils to destroy their command ship, delivering a devastating blow to the enemy military. Arthur's throne was turned over to the incompetent Pletus in his absence. Atlantis was conquered and enslaved by a race of Giant Jellyfish race under this reign, and Aquaman returned to be imprisoned inside the Aquarium again. Aquaman became a member of the resistance movement using violent terrorist attacks to strike back at their oppressors. The rebellion succeeded with a massive assault on the Royal Palace slaughtering every Jellyfish in the city limits. Atlantis made their last stand against the invaders during a massive siege, and Aquaman wiped out the enemy fleet by telepathically commanding an army of killer whales until he passed out. In the aftermath there was public cry for him to retake his throne, but he insisted that he must be a protector of the world.

### **1991**

In 1991, Atlantis entered into a disastrous war with the surface nation of Oumland, requiring Aquaman to bail them out of trouble once again. They resolved the matter diplomatically with some difficulty, after he personally stormed their borders. Distracting him once again from his people, he helped Superman fight prehistoric monsters.

### **1992**

The city's dome was destroyed in the battle and Shark attacks beset by a feeding frenzy, resulted in the Tritonians led by Iqula to invade Poseidonis in 1992. Aquaman defeated Iqula in single combat, proving his honor. In Metropolis, he was attacked by the fanatic Queequeg, but dispatched him with a single punch. Richard Mission approached him as a liaison to become an ambassador to the United World Organization. Black Manta attacked during the press conference just to piss him off. Manta incapacitated his nemesis, then used Scarecrow’s fear gas to watch Poseidonis tear itself to shreds. Aquaman nearly beat Manta to death in revenge, but still couldn't bring himself to deliver the killing blow. Delivering a speech in front of the U.W.O. on behalf of Poseidonis, Jordan Wylie hired the hitman NKVDemon to murder him. They fought across the Metropolis rooftops in the rain, allowing Aquaman to stay on land longer than usual, and he finally defeated the assassin.

There was another diplomatic incident when the Sea Devils were involved in an oil well explosion in South America. Aquaman investigated and attempted to clean up the spill after he determined that they'd been framed. He exposed the oil company's corruption to the media after the Sea Devils proved their innocence by battling a private army. Poseidonis was officially recognized by the United World Organization through democratic vote.

Aquaman fought another dinosaur that got into the Metropolis harbor. King Thesily of Atlantis became outraged that Aquaman kept overshadowing his public image, and recalled him to Atlantis. In a heated argument with the King, he quit his position as ambassador. Tritonis entered civil war between Iqula and their treacherous King Firtf. Aquaman allied with his former rival to restore the city to peace and order in a massive battle. He later met a young boy with cancer who idolized him, through the reformed Scavenger.

Aquaman received the Atlantis Chronicles from Vulko, who found them in ruins in Poseidonis. Deciding to take up his mother's legacy as a chronicler, he began recording his own adventures.

### **1994**

In 1994, Aqualad and Aquaman investigated an undersea radiation leak, but it turned out to be a trap and they were kidnapped alongside their ally Dolphin by the terrorist Charybdis. The three fought their way to escape together. Charybdis was hurled by Aquaman into a piranha pool. Discovering that Admiral Strom of the United States Navy was responsible for betraying him, Aquaman attacked a military base for answers and fought Superboy. Strom distracted him by revealing that Porm had been captured, and Aquaman was forced to team up with Lobo to rescue Dolphins from a hunter named Tanaka in a testing facility. He was helped by the fact that Lobo loved Dolphins. Returning to Alaska with the superheroine Dolphin and seeing the aged Kako again, she introduced him to their fully grown illegitimate son Koryak. Their village was attacked by the Deep Six from Apokolips and their member Jaffar killed Kako during the raid. She was reborn through Gaia as the fire elemental Corona, but not before the Six could blight her transformation. Corona unleashed Kako's anger at Arthur for abandoning her, and the water elemental Naiad intervened to destroy her. Corona relented when Arthur agreed to let her kill him, and Koryak returned with them to Atlantis after she disappeared with Naiad. His harpoon destroyed by Corona, Aquaman had a new one designed using top-line technology at S.T.A.R. Labs. King Thesily began to view Aquaman as a threat and hired Deadline to murder him, although the assassin was defeated and escaped. Aquaman met Kyle Rayner for the first time when he was forced to defend the Shark Man Cron One-Eye for attacking a swimmer in self-defense. Thesily attempted to murder Koryak, but was killed by falling rubble during an earthquake.

Koryak took leadership of the kingdom with Vulko, and they led the Atlanteans on a pilgrimage to Tritonis. Aquaman and Dolphin stayed behind in Poseidonis. Aquaman then battled his occasional enemy, the interdimensional Thanatos. The two men battled to the death as they were tested by the Others, and Thanatos was ruled more worthy to escape their imprisonment.

### **1995**

In 1995, The villain Major Disaster was empowered by Neron and commissioned to kill Aquaman, instead mistakenly murdering Thanatos. The spirit Atlan freed Orin and Dolphin from the prison dimension. They returned to find a sentient star ship named Ramona underneath Atlantis had reawakened the dragon-like Tiamat of the alien Annunake from stasis, and they defeated the monster as Atlantis rose above sea-level again. Koryak and Vulko's pilgrimage accidentally freed Kordax from his centuries of imprisonment. Thanatos had sent a declaration of war to the surface world before his death, and the Justice League was sent to investigate. Orin and Dolphin fought Fire, Guy Gardner, Ice, Martian Manhunter,Obsidian, and Wonder Woman, proving their innocence as he asserted his authority.

### **1996**

In 1996, Aquaman turned down a role in Superman’s newly reformed Justice League due to his responsibilities to Atlantis. Garth and his daughter Tula(named after the late Aquagirl) however, did join Superman’s Justice League. When the world was invaded by a race known as the Hunters/Gatherers, Aquaman recruited the city of Hy-Brasil without too much trouble. Unfortunately, During the battle, Garth returned--Aqualad no longer, he was now Tempest, having been trained by the spirit of Atlan and Prospero in another dimension. Aquaman then recruited the floating city of Bazilia. They also recruited spirit of Atlan to their cause and headed for Tritonis--all while the Hunter/Gatherers) turned up in Washington D.C. under the guise of seeking peaceful relations. Aquaman found Tritonis in ruins--Koryak and Vulko had led the people of Poseidonis into the forbidden tunnels beneath the city and awakened Kordax from antiquity. Kordax, using his mind control power, forced Koryak and the Poseidonis citizens to attack their relatives in Tritonis, maiming or killing much of the population. Aquaman helped the Tritonis people out before rallying all of his allies for the final confrontation: Atlan, The Guardian of Hy-Brasil, Arion, Tempest, Tsunami, Nuada, Dolphin, the Sea Devils, Power Girl, Sought (the Guardian of Basilia)and Deep Blue. Aquaman lead the others to Washington D.C. by flying the skull ship (with Poseidonis on top) straight to the capital. A major battle ensued inside the White House with Aquaman's allies battling against Kordax, Tiamat, and Koryak (still under Kordax's control). Kordax killed himself in the battle when he could not defeat Aquaman. Basilia was destroyed in the fighting that happened there. The Hunter/Gatherers left the Earth without any further destruction.

Aquaman would rejoin the Justice League on a part time basis,following the dissolution of the Justice League international. He would nearly be assassinated by Deadshot, and would finally kill his half brother Ocean Master in battle. He was also part of a smaller team assembled in an effort to prevent the return of Cthulhu, while this was successfully prevented, the undead Solomon Grundy perished in the conflict. Aquaman would battle the Hyperclan with the Justice League, stopping an invasion by White Martians. One of his less than proud moments was the theft of his family jewels by a group of villains led by Harley Quinn.

During the Final Night, the sentient starship Ramona ejected Aquaman, Dolphin, and Koryak, after having a disagreement with Aquaman (regarding the amount of control the ship was exerting over Arthur). Aquaman's adoptive dolphin, Porm, was murdered during the darkness, crushing Aquaman. Following a clue, Aquaman ventured to Japan and discovered that the murderer of Porm was a cyborg called Demon Gate, a man who had been maimed by Lobo and who blamed Aquaman for the incident as it had occurred during Aquaman’s brief team up with Lobo. Aquaman threatened to ban Japan from the oceans unless Demon Gate was handed over. Japan refused. Aquaman recruited Martian Manhunter to retake Poseidonis, forcing the sentient ship to obey him, and then took the city to Japan. Demon Gate was turned over and Arthur sentenced him to life imprisonment on a deserted island, surviving only on what the local sea life brought to him.

Aquaman was called by Deep Blue and the Sea Devils to investigate a seemingly bottomless trench. Deep Blue was dragged into the trench by a bizarre sea creature. Aquaman went into the pit, but Dolphin could not follow all the way because of the pressure. Aquaman encountered Black Manta, now a horrible manta-like monster thanks to a deal with Neron. The two arch-enemies battled at the bottom of the trench until the fight was interrupted by ana track by a leviathan Aquaman finally killed Black Manta in this fight(This is possibly a twist of his wish to kill Aquaman as rather than simply wish to kill his enemy, he wished for the power to fight his enemy evenly, since he wanted to kill him personally. This did not prevent Aquaman from killing him, and thus Neron taking his soul.

The creature consumed Black Manta and tried to do the same with Aquaman, but Arthur used the full brunt of his psychic abilities to drive it off. Fleeing back up the trench, he retrieved Deep Blue and they returned to Sea Devil's sub. Arthur began to realize he was starting to change. He had started to grow scales on his skin.
Getting called back to Poseidonis, Aquaman found the Shark Man Karshon had taken up residence. A mental battle ensued and Aquaman forced Shark to revert back into the mind of a normal shark. Arthur had now mutated further--hard green scales and a webbed hand, looking just like Kordax. The sea life began to fear him. Aquaman went on a quest of soul searching, reflecting on the fact that his inner fears were that he was a failure as a king and as a man.​

Seeking to regain the trust of the sea life, Aquaman appealed to Poseidon who forced Aquaman to battle his son, Triton. Aquaman won the fight, and Poseidon restored his title as "King of the Seas” but at a cost. A spiteful Poseidon blinded Aquaman in his bitterness. Aquaman still had one short adventure with Animal Man(one that involved Animal Man teaching Aquaman to expand his powers some more to allow him to use his telepathy as an extended form of sight). The people of Poseidonis, who were forced by Aquaman to serve the people of Tritonis whom they maimed, were finally released of their service and returned to their city. Aquaman greeted them and they accepted him as their king once more (while marveling at the state of their city, now resting on the ocean's surface. Vulko encouraged thoughts of Koryak that drift towards a coup d'etat. Dolphin, having lost all interest in Arthur, now entered into a relationship with Tempest. Dr.Polaris invaded the city, using his vast power to turn it on its side. The battle was only won with the help of Maxima, who had come to make Arthur her new king. Aquaman wasn't interested, even if she was found appealing by the citizens of Poseidonis.

### **2000**

When the Millennium Giants emerged in 2000, Aquaman was unable to stop one from destroying Thiena Na Oge before their defeat. Meanwhile, Triton--angered over his loss to Aquaman and the contempt his father had for him--killed Poseidon and seized most of his power. He approached the Mother of Monsters for aid against Aquaman. Triton attacked Poseidonis, destroying it completely and returning the city to the ocean floor. Aquaman was stabbed in the battle, and his soul traveled to the Greek Underworld. He managed to fight his way into seeing Hades and convinced Hades to allow him and Poseidon back to the land of living. Poseidon took back his power from Triton before killing his son and casting his trident at Aquaman's feet.

Mera traveled to the dimension of Oceanid where she led a resistance against alien invaders called the Maritorn. Aquaman used his ability to communicate with the oceans and united the entire planet's fighting forces. Their coordinated attack quickly brought the Maritorn to their knees, and he personally defeated their leader Lord Nemo(the current member of the Nemo family, Jack Dakkar). Orin and Mera returned to their home dimension, while their son A.J. stayed behind and became the Aquaman of Oceanid for a few years.

Koryak attempted to kill his father and seize control of Atlantis, but he was easily stopped and Arthur had him banished. Aquaman declared Poseidonis would be permanently annexed by Atlantis. They were attacked by the Lurkers for encroaching on their territory, and their leader Boble destroyed Orin's hook hand during a fight. He began using his cybernetic replacement hand. Using superior tactics to defeat the more powerful invaders, the Lurkers were subjugated and Noble was appointed as an Atlantean dignitary. Noble began to romantically pursue Mera during a tour of the Hidden City, assisting in her rescue from Lava Lord of the Fire Trolls, though she rejected him. Garth got Dolphin pregnant and subsequently married her. Arthur reconciled with Mera.
There was a war between Atlantis and the island nation of Cerdia. This war would result in the utter devastation of both Poseidonis and Tritonis as well as ravaging Cerdia as well. The war was eventually won, and Cerdia was annexed by Atlantis. As a token of peace, Tempest and Dolphin name their son Cerdian (nicknamed "Ian") as he was born on the island.

### **2001**

In 2001, Atlantis had not fully recovered from the war with Cerdia when it was drawn into another conflict. This one involved the coming of Imperiex, a force of nature that was coming to destroy the planet. An intergalactic alliance of aliens came together to make their stand on Earth. The JLA big guns were quickly swept aside by Imperiex's advance force. Aquaman gave his all against one of the probes, battling it over Poseidonis. An explosion resulted and when the water cleared, Atlantis was gone and a great rift in the ocean remained. The Nation had been destroyed. There were survivors who were not present, being elsewhere in the world such as Cerdia. A man claiming to be half Atlantean named the Deep made an appearance as part of the JLA based team the Seven.

### **2002**

In 2002, it is believed that Aquaman was spotted alive as what appeared to be a Wraith, or water spirit. However, Marine Biologist Ramon Raymond had recently found a way to transform himself into living water and had taken the name Aquaman in honor of the believed dead hero. It was likely this Aquaman that was spotted instead.

### **2004**

In 2004, San Diego was submerged underwater in a massive tragedy that wiped out the entire city along the coast. The first person rescued was a girl with gills named Lorena Marquez, who led them to believe that there might be more survivors.

The investigation of the disaster finally led to the culprit, scientist Anton Geist. Geist revealed that he introduced a genetic mutation into the water supply causing San Diego's populace to develop gills when submerged in salt-water; he believed that climate change would eventually lead to a global apocalypse, and that he was saving humanity. Lorena beat him for murdering her parents, but realized that he must've been working for someone else. Geist was forced by the Government to help the people he condemned, or else face retribution from the company he worked for on the surface. Aquaman was discovered alive, if heavily mutated and became the self-declared leader of Sub Diego. He also began training Lorena.

The first super-villain was a telekinetic man calling himself the Eel, who attempted to take over their local organized crime syndicate. Batman’s power dampeners broke in custody, and Aquaman had to fight him on his own terms by telepathically controlling microscopic organisms in the villain's lungs. Investigating a downed naval base with the Sea Devils, Aquaman met a new cybernetic Marauder attempting to steal military secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. The new Devils team led by Dane Dorrance, including David Davies,Gideon Rivers, Henry Kucharski, Melinda Spyros, and Sigourney Amundsen helped him take the malevolent robot down. They also began to experience an influx of designer drugs when a criminal named Ned Moriarty, possibly of the Moriarty crime family, began smuggling in cocaine and heroin, forcing Aquaman to take him down.

### **2005**

In 2005, Alonzo Malrey, a police officer, willingly subjected himself to Geist's genetic mutations, becoming the city's next resident protector. Reporter Esther Maris, became a new ally in the media. The evil corporation that sank Sub Diego, Progene Tech, announced publicly that they patented the water-breathing genetic mutation strand... effectively copyrighting Aquaman's DNA. Vulko returned as ambassador of Atlantis and asked Aquaman to become their King again, but he refused. A serial killer murdered eight people, forcing Aquaman to enlist the help of former homicide detective Chandra Abbott and the current Scarecrow as a profiler. Abbott was revealed to be the murderer, although her actions indirectly led to the restoration of the police department. Aquagirl allied with Koryak in Atlantis, where they were refusing to grant Sub Diego residents citizenship. Arthur learned from Koryak during their reunion that Mera was sick. He fought through Atlantean border defenses to see her again. Tempest and Aquaman had a knock-down drag-out brawl over whether or not Mera should have been able to leave, which Arthur won decisively. She was taken to Geist for treatment.
Arthur Jr, now on his own path, was spotted saving a woman at Crater Lake in Smallville, Kansas. He was actually present to take down the Lexcorp Leviathan Project, which was harming undersea life. He would destroy the project with the aid of Kalel Zod. Arthur also joined a team of younger heroes led by Oliver Queen Jr, though he was briefly captured and tortured by Slade Wilson before being rescued by Lorena Marquez.

During the 2005 OMAC Crisis, Geist was discovered to have been assimilated and transformed into an O.M.A.C. and he was activated. Koryak managed to destroy the OMAC during their battle, leading to Geist's death as the host body. In response to the Spectre going insane and destroying magic, Tempest gathered the most powerful Atlantean mages. This attracted the attention of The Spectre and a battle ensued.

Aquaman's allies defended Sub Diego against an attack by the Secret Society of Supervillains. Tempest and the wizard Hagen teamed up to fight the Spectre but failed and the Spectre destroyed what remained of Atlantis. Atlantean refugees were forced to move to Sub Diego in the crisis. Arthur grieved; Vulko and Koryak were found dead in the wreckage, with Tempest gone missing. Aquaman was fighting in the Battle of Metropolis, and was seen fighting Bane and Headhunter, when he heard the news. Aquaman then vanished. Ralph Dibny met him in the ruins of Atlantis, where he had gone insane with tragedy and became a delusional rambling hermit.Trying to restore Sub Diego and save its inhabitants at the behest of Aquagirl(Lorena Marquez), he made a pact with the Sea Gods for incredible power. In exchange, he became the vessel for something "strange, dark and terrible" as his mind and body were warped into a new form, complicated by his further mutation.

Arthur Jr and his mother investigated the Bermuda Triangle. As they got closer, Mera's necklace began to glow and a surge of light and energy erupted from the ocean, causing cyclones. Mera was kidnapped by a Siren, but not before giving Arthur Jr her necklace and telling him to find Orin. While investigating, Arthur was charged for releasing dolphins from the marine park Oceanworld(which ironically the Justice League had put on a show for Charity at the park in 1976).

While he was working, Arthur Jr was approached by a lighthouse keeper who identified himself as McCaffery. The Coast Guard picked up an unidentified man floating in the Bermuda Triangle, pleading to warn Arthur Jr. Lt. Torres was sent to investigate the area. Arthur Jr was also at the Triangle, and his necklace triggered another surge of light, which caused Torres to crash her Jet. Brigman transported the John Doe to another facility, and persuaded Torres to join his team. Brigman was looking for a connection between the disappearances of thousands of individuals, and their reappearance years later without ever aging a day. These people were known as the 4400.

That evening, Arthur met a seductive young woman named Nadia, who convinced him to go swim naked with her. In the water, Nadia revealed herself to not only be a Siren, but the one that took his mother. Arthur barely escaped with a little help from McCaffery. McCaffery revealed himself to be an Atlantean exile, though one still loyal. Arthur convinced Eva to leave Tempest Key for a few days, but it came too late as Nadia injured Eva and captured Arthur. When he woke up, Arthur found that Nadia had also captured McCaffery and she was bringing them both back to Atlantis to be executed, more of a ceremonial event as Atlantis had been destroyed and Mera was imprisoned there. Breaking free using a flask of water to enhance his strength, Arthur destroyed Nadia by putting a spear through her head. The next morning, McCaffery explained that there would be more creatures that would come looking for Arthur Jr. McCaffery left him with Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 to read. McCaffery informed Arthur, who would rather just skip to the ending, that "It isn't about the ending, it's about the journey." Arthur Jr was instructed to resume his training under his father, which he was told to search for. He did so.

Meanwhile, the public believed Aquaman to be dead and it was uncertain who would succeed him. An Aquaman film was greenlit, but rather than being a Biopic. The film instead focused on the son of Aquaman, a fictional portrayal of Arthur Curry Jr, accepting his role as the new Aquaman.

### **2006**

The American Superhero film was released in 2006 and directed by James Cameron and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film starred Vincent Chase as Arthur Curry Jr a.k.a. Aquaman, Mandy Moore as Aquagirl and James Woods as the movie's antagonist, Abaddon, a corrupt businessman. Ray Liotta and Sharon Stone also co-starr as Arthur Curry Jr's birth parents. It was written by Andrew Kevin Walker with the musical score composed by Steve Jablonsky. The film was originally planned to be part of a trilogy, but Vincent Chase got out of his contract.

### **2007**

Aquaman was still followed by a 2007 sequel starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role. This film was directed by Michael Bay and was written by Kevin Smith. Aquaman set an all time box office record with its opening weekend sales of $116,844,144. It was the highest grossing movie of all-time(until it was surpassed). Merchandise for the film included Aquaman: The Video Game for the Xbox 360 and action figures. The film also inspired an amusement park ride in the form of a roller coaster called Aquaman: The Ride.

In the sequel, many people remarked that Vince was better in the original Aquaman than Jake Gyllenhaal was in Aquaman 2. However, Alan Gray said he wished he could have cast Jake in the first Aquaman instead of Vince after he saw Jake's screen tests for Aquaman 2.The movie did decent.

### **2009**

Vincent Chase returned for Aquaman 3 in 2009, subtitled in England as “Revenge of Qwisp” and even went as far to call it the Second film in advertisement, erasing the true second film.

Arthur Curry Jr continued her search for his father. Unknown to him, Aquaman had become the Dweller in the Depths, a monstrous figure with great magical power at the expense of his mind. He met his son Arthur Joseph Curry. Falsely remembering his own life story as a prophecy, he encouraged the young man to become Aquaman with King Shark and himself as companions. They met Mera attempting to reestablish Atlantean society on their travels, but the Dweller could not face her. Vulko’s ghost was discovered when Arthur Joseph met the Sea Devils at Windward Home, an international think-tank and safe haven run by James Lockhart and Elsa Magnusson. Lockhart informed him that his father was found dead, and Vulko insisted that his destiny was to reunite the seas and rebuild Atlantis. The Dweller started to question his "prophecy" when he met his wife and son. Mera showed him his true identity when she realized, but he refused to sway from his path. He was also shown to be half-water now, starting with his hand. Arthur Joseph Curry finally accepted his destiny and Orin officially knighted him the new Aquaman.

Tensions built between Orin and King Shark, due to broken memories of their first encounter.

The Dweller attempted to teach Arthur Jr about heroism, having them travel the Atlantic Ocean bringing order to chaos. Fisherman, in a more brutal form, captured them although the underestimated Aquaman defeated him and rescued the local people.

The Order of the Thorny Crown believed that Orin was the only one who could stop their God's rise to power, and the Sea Bishop ordered his death. His agent The Pardoner constructed an undead corpse assassin named Narwhal from the body of Orin's son, Koryak, and set him loose. The remaining Atlantean army tried to stop Narwhal from entering the gates of Atlantis, but they were unsuccessful and he murdered the Dweller after defeating Aquaman in combat. Koryak would avenger his father. The Justice League came to pay their respects during the funeral, but expressed concern over whether or not he could eventually revive in his new mystical form. His body decomposed into water.
In 2009, Orin was revived as one of the Black Lanterns and threatened Atlantis, nearly killing Tempest. Mera would survive and become a Red Lantern, fighting against and helping to defeat the Black Lanterns with Arthur Jr’s help.

Mera was attacked by her sister, who had taken control of Xebel and was now leading an assault. Arthur Curry Jr was commanded by a voice to find Jackson Hyde. Mera revealed that she already knew the child, and that he was Black Manta’s son. Arthur Jr discovered that there was a new Black Manta wearing the old armor. Arthur Jr stopped Manta and Siren from murdering the boy's adoptive father after he charged Mera with finding someone to help protect the surface world from her people.
They escaped together with Mr. Hyde and discovered that part of Jackson's birthright was a map. This led them to an ancient suit of battle armor with Waterbearers to control his powers; Aquaman compelled Jackson to follow his destiny and help imprison the armies of Xebel. They made their stand at the beginning of the Aquawar when Siren led hundreds of Xebel soldiers to march against surface-dwellers on the beaches. Black Manta appeared again. Mera pushed her hard-water powers past their limits to destroy the enemy force in a massive tidal wave. Underwater they were decimated and Jackson used his new powers to turn the barrier back on imprisoning Manta and the colony of Xebel in the Bermuda Triangle.

### **2010**

In 2010, Jackson Hyde joined a new Young Justice team.

### **2017**

In 2017, Arthur Jr, who had decided to take a vacation and had dyed his hair and grown a beard to conceal his identity, joined a newly assembled Justice League to combat Steppenwolf’s invasion.

### **2018**

In 2018, Ahn Kwang-Jo, the half human son of the Dragon King of the Northern Sea and related to the rulers of the ancient Kingdom of Silla in Korea became the Aquaman of China. While Born North Korean, he would be rescued and join the Chinese Justice League.

### **The Future**

In the 2020’s Garth became the new Aquaman. Due to a level of boredom, most heroes recreated their iconic battles. Garth often hosted what the other heroes referred to as an “Aqua Crisis”, a term which Garth considered offensive, along with such casual use of the “A” word.

In the 2040’s Lorena Marquez acted as Aqua Woman on the Titans, Her costume consisted of the familiar gold and green uniform worn by her predecessor, Aquaman. The titans took a more hard line and arguably Fascist approach to crime-fighting, encapsulating an attitude that is commonly attributed to super-villains rather than heroes.

The Nuclear War poisoned the oceans, destroyed cities, and mutated life. Aquaman spent three years on land, never entering the dead oceans, until a pair of scientists approached him with a proposal. A colony of bacteria in the bottom of the ocean supposedly had the ability to feed on radiation and remove it from the environment, which could be used to heal the world's radiation poisoning. While Arthur initially found this idea to be a hopeless dream, he discovered a totally normal, unmutated shark in the cave with the bacteria, and realized there might be hope after all. He then began to help rebuild the world.

By the 853rd Century, there was an Aquaman who was the protector of the Ocean world of Neptune. He was also a member of the Justice Legion, a futuristic version of the Justice League. He traveled back to the 21st Century to invite their predecessors to go to their time to celebrate the return of the original Superman, who had been hibernating in the sun for thousands of years. When the Justice League arrived in this century, however, one of its members was revealed to have a virus that infected both humans and androids with insanity, claimed to be created by Vandal Savage. Aquaman came to believe that the Legion had attacked them.
The team then tried to prove their innocence and rushed to build the Tyrant Sun, the only device capable of reversing the situation; for that they would have to salvage parts from the Batcave, Atlantis and the Watchtower, where the other members of the Justice League met in order to discuss how to handle the situation. The Legion surprised them with a sudden invasion of the lunar base, and began to fight the League. Zauriel battled Aquaman, and was trapped in a huge bubble of water, which he escaped using his flaming sword. Zauriel then read his teammates' minds and sensed that they were innocent.

Eventually, Superman and Steel were able to build the device and destroy the virus. The Legion then returned to the 853rd Century.

## **Alternate Universes**

### **Earth 3**

Aquaman's counterpart on Earth 3 was named Sea King and was a tyrant, clashing with the Crime Syndicate and others during frequent attempts to invade the Surface. When the Anti-Monitor threatened his world, he joined forced with the Crime Syndicate to travel to Earth One but did not survive the trip, likely being murdered by the Crime Syndicate during the transport.

### **Earth 6**

"Arthur" was captured by the English Commonwealth and was experimented on, being forced to mate with the mermaid Lori Lemurs and produced horrible offspring. He was eventually killed, which was seen as putting him out of his misery, this occurring in the 1940's, this world had no Aquaman equivalent until Marine Biologist Ramon Raymond discovered a way to control water, and became a hero using that name in 2002, opposing Reverend Darrk and his Church of Eternal Empowerment.