Often the target of jokes, Aquaman a.k.a Arthur Curry is one of the most iconic heroes in the DC Universe, even if it’s not always for the best reasons. The character first appeared in 1941, fighting Nazis and other waterborne threats. Due to constant mockery for being the wholesome superhero who talks to fishes, writers have consciously tried to make him darker and edgier over the years, presenting the character as serious and brooding, and struggling with the weight of being the ruler of the largest kingdom on the planet.
Having graced the small screen in cartoons and television shows, he recently made his scene-stealing theatrical debut in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and will be featured in his own solo film in 2018 starring Jason Momoa in the titular role.
Here are a few things you may not have known about Aquaman, The King of the Seven Seas.
1. Movin’ on Up
In his live-action theatrical debut, Aquaman was brought to life by Jason Momoa in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and had a solo film in 2018. Momoa was best known for playing Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. From warlord to king, Momoa’s career trajectory is certainly headed in the right direction.
2. League of Legends
Aquaman is one of the seven founding members of the original Justice League of America.
3. He’s Pretty Super
Although he is best known for his ability to communicate with fish, Aquaman has plenty of other abilities that make him more than just the Dr. Doolittle of the Sea. He is near invulnerable, has super strength, super speed, and enhanced reflexes almost like he’s a real superhero or something.
4. Get Wet or Die Tryin’
Aquaman retroactively developed a specific weakness akin to Superman’s vulnerability to kryptonite, where he must come into contact with water at least once per hour or he would die. Prior to this, he could exist both in and out of water indefinitely.
5. Wetsuit Up!
Batman invented a water suit for Aquaman so that he could walk on land for an indefinite amount of time was no longer vulnerable to a “dehumidifier". Nice to know that Aquaman can no longer be killed by an appliance any supervillain can purchase at Sears.
6. Mind Over Chatter
Although he originally was depicted as speaking to sea creatures in their own language, Aquaman doesn’t actually talk to fish anymore. Apparently, fish brains are too primitive to carry on a decent conversation so he uses his telepathy to order sea creatures to do whatever he wants. Eat your heart out Troy McClure.
7. Power Couple
Aquaman is pretty great, but swimming alongside him is his wife Mera who is not only the Queen of Atlantis, but also possesses superpowers of her own. Mera has the ability to control water powerful enough to carry an entire army out to sea and create “hard” objects out of water, y’know, for those nights when Aquaman is busy.
8. Abandonment Issues
Although the story has changed so that Aquaman was the son of the Queen of Atlantis and a human, in the original version, he was the son of the Queen of Atlantis and a wizard who abandoned him on a reef. He was then found by a group of dolphins and adopted by the Queen of the Dolphins.
9. Can't put Jason in a box
Jason Momoa, best known for playing Drogo in Game of Thrones, was set to star as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy but dropped out, reportedly because he didn’t want to be typecast as a giant warrior man. Instead, he accepted the starring role in DC’s Aquaman franchise, where he will be playing a giant warrior man.
10. Holy War
In addition to all the supervillains that Aquaman and the rest of the DC heroes have to fight, he also faces off against a plethora of sea monsters including enormous beasts that come through a subsea inter-dimensional hole to conquer earth. Where was he during Pacific Rim?
Justice League, Atlas Entertainment
11. Race Wars
Aquaman often faces off against an enemy known as the Trench, one of the kingdoms and races that lived underwater before the seven kingdoms of Atlantis were plunged into the sea. The Trench are big-eyed, sharp-teethed, incredibly vicious, and not, as their name suggests, an alt-Rock band from Minnesota.
12. Blood in the Water
While many heroes like Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man feel morally obligated not to kill, Aquaman has doled out his own brand of lethal justice on more than one occasion with his fists, his trident, and murderous sharks. Because when you’re Aquaman, you can weaponize sharks.
13. Daddy Issues
Black Manta and Aquaman have a long history which began when Black Manta tried to take a young Arthur Curry’s blood and, in the ensuing struggle, Aquaman’s father succumbed to a heart attack. In retaliation, Aquaman went after Black Manta and accidentally killed his father. Hugging it out is probably not an option.
14. Batman v Spongebob
Aquaman makes an appearance in the SpongeBob SquarePants universe… sort of. Aquaman and Mermaid-Man both have green spandex and yellow shirts. Also, Mermaid-Man’s greatest enemy, the Manray, is a man in a full aquatic suit, similar to Aquaman’s nemesis Black Manta.
SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon Animation Studio
15. Give the Man a Hand!
Depending on the storyline, Aquaman has lost his hand either to disobedient piranhas or to his nemesis Black Manta. Because he’s a badass, Aquaman replaced the missing limb with a harpoon.
16. Fish out of Water
Aquaman and Mera had a son, Arthur Curry Jr., but he was murdered by Black Manta who pulled Aquababy out of the water and suffocated him, dooming Aquaman to a child-free life full of sleep and disposable income.
Animated Series: Justice League, WBTV
17. Gone Baby Gone
Aquaman and Mera broke up for a short period of time, with Mera unwilling to forgive Aquaman for failing to keep their son alive. Woman - Always getting mad at their husbands just because they got their baby killed.
18. Go Fish
Aquaman almost started playing the card game “Magic: The Gathering". He later commented that he regretted not taking up the game because it would have been useful skill set for fighting monsters. Sure. A Black Lotus card would be plenty useful but, given the choice, we’d rather have the Trident of Neptune.
19. A Handy Utensil
While Aquaman has superhuman abilities of his own, his iconic weapon, The Trident of Neptune, is the source of many additional powers. Forged by cyclops out of enchanted adamantine and Neptune’s own essence (no word on what that exactly entails, but it’s probably gross), it can manipulate and conjure water, disperse energy in the form of bolts and force fields, and even control the weather. Pretty sweet for a giant fork.
20. A Bigger Better Fork
In a storyline where Aquaman had to fight an alternate world, Atlantis, he was given another trident by Poseidon himself. The aptly named Trident of Poseidon gave Aquaman a vast array of even more godlike powers including the ability to control the seas, rains, storms, thunder, and earthquakes. It also provided him with aquakinesis, flight, and teleportation and could be transformed into a dagger or sword on command. The downside, it was essentially a tracking device for other gods of Olympus to find him.
21. Deathblow
Aquaman once punched Death in the jaw. Now that’s confidence.
22. Forked
Aquaman has performed some of the most impressive feats of all the Justice League members. While Batman got credit for dodging Darkseid’s Omega Beams, Aquaman stabbed Darkseid in the face with his trident. For the record: Dodging < Face Stabbing.
23. Commander in Reef
As King of Atlantis and the Seven Seas, Aquaman has control over a massive army of ocean creatures to do his bidding. However, this army can be used for evil when it falls into the wrong hands. Ocean Master, Aquaman’s power-hungry evil brother, once used the army to attack “surface dwellers” when he seized the throne. Luckily, Aquaman beat the heck out of him and restored order, but not before turning some people off of sushi forever.
24. Heavy is the Crown
Over seven decades, Aquaman has lost the throne, been exiled, or abdicated the throne numerous times. In fact, he’s likely spent more time losing his power as King rather than holding it. In the most recent storyline, Aquaman has been renounced as a traitor to his people and is currently Atlantis’ number one enemy.
25. Trident of Nep-Toon
Aquaman first appeared in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then the related Super Friends program. He had a prominent role in the 2000s series Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Superman Aquaman Hour Of Adventure, DC Comics
26. James Cameron’s Aquaman
Aquaman was referenced in the TV show Entourage as a superhero franchise starring main character Vincent Chase. In the Entourage universe, the film set an all-time box office record, co-starred Mandy Moore, Sharon Stone, and James Woods, and was directed by James Cameron. After Chase dropped out of the sequel, he was replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal. The sequel was directed by Michael Bay and written by Kevin Smith.
27. Small Fry
Aquaman’s first live action appearance was on a highly-rated 2005 episode of the television series Smallville titled “Aqua". In the episode, Arthur Curry was a University of Miami (school colors of orange and green, of course) student investigating the devastating effects of a Lex Luthor military project on marine life. When asked which environmental group he worked for, Curry responded, “I don’t travel with an entourage".
Smallville Aqua, Tollin/Robbins Productions
28. Dolphin love
The dolphins that raised Aquaman sent him away to interact with actual humans because he was developing a romantic relationship with a young dolphin named Nera. Their relationship ended when Aquaman and his brother (an actual dolphin) started competing for Nera’s affections.
We hope you enjoyed these fun facts!
