History
Comics
Golden Age
- Aquaman was presented as the son of a human scientist who gave him the ability to survive and breathe underwater, and super strength, but had no other powers whatsoever.[1] In fact Aquaman is KO'd by a having a sandbag dropped on his head in that 1st ish!
- This version of Aquaman was, in later years (after the establishment of DC Comics' Multiverse) described as being the Aquaman of Earth-Two, an alternate Earth. The only appearances of the Golden Age/Earth-Two version of Aquaman after the Golden Age were in All-Star Squadron #59 and #60, just before he was retroactively eliminated from existence due to the changes wrought to DC's history by 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- In 1946, Aquaman's adventures moved from More Fun Comics to Adventure Comics, where he remained through the rest of the 1940s, the 1950s and early 1960s as a backup feature to the book's star, Superboy.
- Most of Aquaman's adventures in the 1940s and 1950s consisted of Aquaman dealing with various criminals, pirates, and so forth, as well as threats to aquatic life and sailors. The first recurring supporting character Aquaman gained was Topo, his pet octopus, in Adventure Comics #229 in October 1956.
- Starting in 1959, Aquaman saw his first major revisions to his mythos since the Golden Age, with various new supporting characters and adjustments made to the character.
Silver Age
- Aquaman gained his own comic for the first time in 1962, which saw further additions to Aquaman's mythos, including the introduction of Mera (in Aquaman #11, September–October 1963), the queen of an aquatic world in another dimension; eventually, Mera and Aquaman became wed (in Aquaman #18, November–December 1964), with the two having a child together (named Arthur Jr. or "Aquababy").
- The 1960s also saw the introduction of enemies such as Ocean Master and Black Manta, would-be conquerors of the sea.
Bronze Age
- After Aquaman (volume 1)'s cancellation in 1971, Aquaman appeared primarily in Justice League of America or The Brave and the Bold, until returning to Adventure Comics with issue #435 in 1974. His adventures continued on and off in that series until Adventure Comics #478 in 1980, with a break in 1977-78 when his series was revived for seven issues. From 1980 to 1983, Aquaman appeared on and off as a backup in Action Comics, usually sharing billing with a guest star.
Modern Age
- In 1986, following Crisis on Infinite Earths, a four-issue Aquaman miniseries was published, featuring Aquaman in a new costume. The series failed to stir much interest, however, and was soon forgotten. In 1989, Aquaman received notice again with that year's The Legend of Aquaman special, which was soon followed by a five-issue miniseries. The following year saw the publication of The Atlantis Chronicles, which revived interest in the character. In 1991, a 13-issue Aquaman comic was published.
- In 1993, Aquaman received another miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide (Volume 1); the four-issue miniseries delved into further details about Aquaman's origins.
- In August 1994, Aquaman finally received his own comic again, initially scripted by Peter David, who also penned Time and Tide. This series ran for 75 issues; David left the series after nearly four years as Aquaman writer, and was replaced by Erik Larsen (with a brief stint by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning bridging the two). Larsen's work did not prove popular, though, and he was soon replaced by Dan Jurgens as scripter, who saw the series through to its cancellation with #75.
- In 2003, a new Aquaman series began publication, and was discontinued in 2007. Writers who have contributed to the series include Rick Veitch, John Ostrander, Will Pfeifer and John Arcudi.
Television
- Aquaman's first media appearance was as the star of his own cartoon series from 1967 until 1968; the series failed to find a large audience. The series featured Mera, Aqualad, a pet walrus named Tusky, and Aquaman and Aqualad's large sea horses, Storm and Imp.
- Aquaman was also a major character in the long-running animated series Super Friends (1972-1985).
- During the Super Friends tenure, he was often paired with Wonder Woman, leading some fans to speculate on a possible romance between the Atlantean King and the Amazon Princess.
- Aquaman made an appearance in one episode of the 1990s cartoon Superman: The Animated Series; he was voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He was drawn in the "classic" Aquaman appearance as having an orange shirt, green gloves, green pants with green boots, a gold belt with gold "A" insignia belt buckle, short hair and a clean shaven face, but had a fairly intense personality.
- Aquaman has guest starred in several episodes of the 2000s cartoons Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, where he is voiced by Scott Rummell. This version was based very closely on his hot headed anti-hero persona, especially with the "Viking" appearance and hook. Though a founding member of the Justice League in the comic books, he was left out of the main line up for the animated series in favor of the tomboyish Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol so that the team could have another female character opposite Wonder Woman. While the Justice League series remains popular, a number of fans were genuinely disappointed that Aquaman was not included as a regular character.
- Arthur Curry made a guest appearance on an episode (entitled "Aqua") of the 2003 live-action series Smallville, which aired on October 20, 2005. The episode features Arthur investigating the marine life-devastating effects of a project Lex Luthor has been developing for the United States military. In this series, Arthur is revealed to have the power to gather water-based energy balls and shoot them underwater, along with the ability to swim faster than Clark Kent. It is also revealed that Arthur wears his orange and green costume because he attends the University of Miami. The role of Arthur is played by Alan Ritchson.
- The CW Network (formerly known as the WB) was slated to produce a live-action Aquaman television series. It was originally intended as a spin-off of Smallville, recasting Alan Ritchson in the role of Arthur Curry. Ritchson was eventually replaced by Passions star Justin Hartley. A pilot episode was filmed but the CW executives ultimately decided to cease production of the series. The pilot episode is available from iTunes.
Notes
- Aquaman also appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo video game.
Trivia
- See Namor for Aquaman's Marvel Counterpart.
- In MTV's sketch comedy show The State, Aquaman is belittled by the other members of the Super Friends for his comparably uninteresting powers. Superman assigns all of the other members difficult tasks, and then flippantly tells Aquaman to "go...talk to some fish."
- In HBO's series Entourage, the main character Vince Chase is given an offer to do a superhero movie about Aquaman, directed by James Cameron.
- Thomas Farr and Jeff Klein also made a fan film entitled "Aquaman - Cast Of The Angler" in 1984. Running for 21 minutes, it was never released commercially.
- The song Arthur Curry by the band Ookla the Mok on their album less than art talks about the grimmer and grittier portrayal of Aquaman in the comics.
- In the animated series Spongebob Squarepants, the characters of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are parodies of Aquaman and Aqualad.
- In the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld episode "The Deal", George and Jerry debate Aquaman over lunch. "What's the deal with Aquaman?" asks George. "Can he only in survive in water, or what?" Jerry replies, "No, I think I've seen him on land a couple times."
- In the animated series South Park, the episode "Super Best Friends" includes a character named "Sea-Man" (pronounced "semen" by the other Super Best Friends), who is a spoof of Aquaman.
- In an episode of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist called "Electric Bike" (summarized here), Dave Chappelle discusses Aquaman with Dr. Katz, asking why anyone would want to be Aquaman. "What the hell would you want to say to a fish?"
- Aquaman has been referenced on two occasions in the animated series The Simpsons. In one episode, when Homer is drowning at the beach, he shouts out to his infant daughter, "Maggie, help! Call Aquaman!" In a Treehouse of Horror Halloween special, the Comic Book Guy is shown reading an Aquaman comic.
- In the Family Guy episode "The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz", the opening scene shows the Griffin family watching Aquaman (on TV) abusing his powers to communicate with the fish.
- In the animated series The Fairly Odd Parents, Timmy Turner wishes for "the best friends ever," and receives spoofs of several superheroes, including an analog of Aquaman named "Wet Willy," who summons whales to crush things. He is continuously made fun of by the others for his useless powers.
- In the 2006 feature film Superman Returns, young Jason White is seen wearing a pair of Aquaman pajamas.
- In an episode of "That 70's Show called "Ramble On", there is a dream sequence in which the kids are dressed as the Super Friends. Wilmer Valerama's character Fez is dressed as Aquaman. He announces that he has to wait 45 minutes before patrolling the ocean because he had just eaten.