Symbols are very important. Superman has his "S", Batman has his bats, Lantern has his ring, on and on. I need a symbol, too. So the sea creatures know I'm of the surface, and the surface men know that the sea can turn their weapons against them. 
- — Aquaman
Aquaman (Volume 5) #0 is an issue of the series Aquaman (Volume 5) with a cover date of October, 1994. It was published on September 4, 1994.
Synopsis for "A Crash of Symbols"
Dolphin is returning the wounded Aquaman and Aqualad to Atlantis by having two porpoises carry the wounded duo on their backs. The porpoises tell Dolphin they will not go to Atlantis. Dolphin takes Aqualad and Aquaman and swims with them toward Atlantis. She makes it to the outskirts of the city, where guards discover her and bring Aquaman and Aqualad into the city. Aquaman awakes in a bedroom, with Dolphin sitting on the edge of the bed. He kisses her and she rips out his heart.
It turns out that Aquaman is in a hospital bed and was dreaming the above sequence. Dolphin leaves Aquaman and swims next door to see how Aqualad is doing. Aqualad offers to give Dolphin a tour of the city.
Aquaman awakes to find Mera telling him he has been in a coma for months. In fact, he is dreaming again. Black Manta reveals himself and he and Aquaman fight. When Manta is done, Aquaman, Aqualad and Aquaman's son are all crucified to pieces of wood.
As Aquaman continues having nightmares, fish swarm around his bed until he is no longer visible. The fish swim away, with Aquaman inside the vortex created by their circular swimming. Dolphin and Aqualad follow the fish to the Aquacave, from which Aquaman emerges, with a hook in place of his left hand.
Appearing in "A Crash of Symbols"
Featured Characters:
- Aquaman (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Atlan (As an illusion only)
- Atlanna (As an illusion only)
- Black Manta (As an illusion only)
- Charybdis (Flashback only)
- Nuliajuk (As an illusion only)
Other Characters:
- Aquababy
- Atlanteans
- Chubb (Single appearance)
- Mero (Single appearance)
- Drin (As an illusion only)
- Mera (As an illusion only)
Locations:
Notes
- In October of 1994, all of the existing mainstream DC Comics titles released a special "0" issue to coincide with the Zero Hour crossover event. The purpose of the "0" issue was to reveal a previously unknown aspect of the title character's background. DC Titles under the Vertigo imprint were largely unaffected by Zero Hour and thus, no "0" issue specials were published for them.
- This issue is the first appearance of Aquaman's revised Modern Age costume.
Trivia
- As depicted in a thought bubble, Garth makes a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference regarding Dolphin's "large tracts of land."
