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Arthur Joseph "A.J." Curry was the son of Mera, the wife of Aquaman. He eventually became an Aquaman himself as the protector of the dimensional realm Netherspace, his childhood home.

Birth

Shortly after the death of her infant son, Mera was taken by Thanatos, in the guise of her love Orin. Approximately nine months afterwards, Mera gave birth to A.J.. While his true father is unknown, it was often assumed to be the real Orin. Raised in Netherspace, the evil purgatory water-world realm Thanatos belonged to, his body was not accustomed to the passage of time in the New Earth universe.

Meeting Aquaman

In search of Mera, Aquaman came to the realm and found her with Thanatos and A.J., and felt nothing for the boy who could be his son. He fought Thanatos before a corrupt judgment tribunal and was condemned to remain in the realm when he refused to kill his opponent, leaving the latter free to be Aquaman. Aquaman prayed to his father, who responded by opening a portal through which the family can escape. Upon escaping A.J.'s, body begins to rapidly age; knowing he cannot live outside of the realm he was born in, Mera grabbed her son and leapt back through the closing portal, separating her once again from her love.

Becoming Aquaman

Mera became the queen of Netherspace, and A.J. grew up to be a hero and defender of the realms as Aquaman. When aliens arrived to steal the water from their world, A.J. sought Orin for help. However, the magical protection to keep him from rapidly aging made it challenging to keep his mind clear. While remembering the name "Aquaman," his mind clouded up to the point where he actually believed himself to be the Aquaman of this realm. When arrived at Poseidonis, he found the real Aquaman and challenged the "pretender". When he was inevitably defeated, the magic protection wore off and he began to rapidly age again. When it became apparent who he was, Orin returned with him to Netherspace and together, they defeated the invading aliens.

With victory in hand, Orin was once again reunited with his estranged wife and he begged her to return home with him but, being Queen of the realm and having a son unable to leave, she insisted on staying. A.J. wanted to see his parents happily together again and pushed her through the closing portal, giving his mother with no choice but to leave him and return to Atlantis.

Having voluntarily been left alone, A.J. remained in the Netherspace as King and hero Aquaman.

Powers

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Dimensional Limitation: The difference of time passage in Netherspace and other realms is difficult for his body to handle. Leaving his home dimension thus causes him to rapidly age, a painful (and likely fatal) process.


  • He is named after Orin's human name, with the surname originating from Tom Curry.

Related

Footnotes



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Aquaman Family member
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This character is or was an ally of Aquaman, and a member of the Aqua-Family and/or its supporting cast. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Aquaman Supporting Cast" category. See also: Aquaman Villains.

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