{"id":3275,"date":"2018-11-19T23:02:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T23:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=3275"},"modified":"2018-12-04T19:29:18","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T19:29:18","slug":"the-weird-wild-origins-of-aquaman-are-more-fun-than-you-realize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/aquaman-origins-backstory","title":{"rendered":"The Weird, Wild Origins Of Aquaman Are More Fun Than You Realize"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few DC\u00a0characters\u00a0as misunderstood as Arthur Curry. Sure, folks sometimes hate on Batman’s lack of superpowers, but that’s nothing compared to how often someone throws shade at Aquaman<\/a>. That misunderstanding stems from a couple of things. The first is that somewhere along the line (Super Friends<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>It was definitely\u00a0Super Friends<\/i>)<\/i>,\u00a0Aquaman\u00a0got labeled as the silly superhero, the one to never take seriously. For some reason, that has evolved into a stereotype never that\u2019s never really died. The second is the fact that the hero\u2019s been around for so long and has so many different origins that no one\u2019s really sure what\u2019s canon in any given story arc. The guy\u2019s name isn\u2019t even Arthur Curry all the time. Hell, sometimes it\u2019s not even Arthur!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aquaman’s Past Has Been A Little Goofy<\/h2>\n

Before we dive into the multiple origin stories issue, let\u2019s talk about\u00a0Aquaman\u00a0being viewed as that goofy or\u00a0otherwise\u00a0lame character. As I mentioned above, back in the ’70s there was a little Saturday morning cartoon called\u00a0Super Friends<\/i>. That show featured members of the Justice League doing what they do. Saving people, high fiving and just generally being depicted as happy-go-lucky superheroes. Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you\u2019ll have noticed that all the other characters have evolved out of the lighter, cheesy tone that came with their\u00a0past depictions.\u00a0Aquaman? Not so much.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Aquaman:

Aquaman: definitely doesn’t talk to fish<\/p><\/div>\n

Other characters have had the benefit of film and television that have helped the average viewer see them mature past their older\u00a0portrayals, but\u00a0not Aquaman. Yet, he has as rich a\u00a0comic book history\u00a0as\u00a0his other DC counterparts, if not richer. The silly stereotypes surrounding the hero are so prevalent in the fandom that DC went so far as to poke fun at them in The New 52\u2019s\u00a0Aquaman<\/em>\u00a0#1, putting Arthur in a caf\u00e9 with a couple of bros who think they know a thing or two about being the King of Atlantis.\u00a0Aquaman\u00a0calmly points out that he doesn\u2019t speak to fish (their brains are too small), eating them isn\u2019t cannibalism (because he is not a fish), and proceeds to tip his waitress with a piece of\u00a0Atlantian\u00a0gold. That\u2019s enough to put her kid through college, for those who don\u2019t know the current exchange rate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, yeah, jokes about\u00a0Aquaman\u00a0are fun and all, but let\u2019s not forget that the guy\u2019s practically a god. He might have had a couple of goofy runs in the past, but what superhero hasn’t had an incredibly cheesy story in their past? That was then and this is now. And the \u201cnow\u201d Arthur Curry can literally throw the ocean at someone who rubs him the wrong way. Which takes us to the King of the Ocean\u2019s other problem: so many origins, so little time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Seriously, What IS Aquaman’s Origin Story?<\/h2>\n
\"The

The ‘Superfriends’ era, not a great time for Aquaman (Credit: Warner Bros.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Let\u2019s start at the beginning. The origin of origins. The age was golden, the comics were cheap, and basically, every superhero around was punching Hitler (or at least a bunch of Nazis). Introduced in 1941, the original\u00a0Aquaman\u00a0wasn\u2019t born of the ocean at all. His father was an ocean explorer, and his mother died in childbirth. Good\u00a0ol\u2019 dad found what he believed was Atlantis and built a house for him and his boy. Obsessed with\u00a0Atlantian\u00a0culture,\u00a0Aquaman\u2019s\u00a0father spent much of his time poring over their texts. Those texts would be what helped him teach his son how to survive underwater, and to use the ocean to give himself magnificent powers. He would then use those powers to battle Nazis, other members of the Axis, and anyone else who put his world at risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with his deeply different origin, Golden Age\u00a0Aquaman\u2019s\u00a0powers were also quite different.\u00a0He could still control the water and communicate with his oceanic friends, but only for about\u00a0sixty seconds at a time and in close range. Like a lot of stories back in the forties,\u00a0Aquaman\u2019s\u00a0original origin story doesn\u2019t make a whole lot of sense. Then again, we\u2019re willing to accept him as King of Atlantis. Guess everything\u2019s a little silly when you strip it down to its bare bones.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aquaman’s Best-Known Origin Story Came In The Silver Age<\/h2>\n

The Silver Age came next, and with it, Aquaman\u2019s\u00a0more popular origin story.\u00a0In it, his name became Arthur Curry, and his parentage changed considerably. His mother didn\u2019t die in childbirth but was\u00a0Atlanna, daughter of the city of Atlantis and an outcast. In a similar change, his father wasn\u2019t a scientist, but a lighthouse keeper who found\u00a0Atlanna\u00a0on the shore after a hurricane nearly killed her.\u00a0Though she loved her husband,\u00a0Atlanna\u00a0kept\u00a0her aquatic life a secret until she was\u00a0on her deathbed. Arthur was only a child at the time of her death, but he quickly started discovering the powers that came with his lineage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Aquaman

Aquaman is definitely cooler now.<\/p><\/div>\n

These powers vary slightly from Golden Age\u00a0Aquaman, but not by much. Really, it\u2019s the same power set with fewer limitations. As Arthur grew, he took the responsibility of protecting the ocean into his own hands, much to the chagrin of his bitter half-brother. That’s right, Aquaman has a brother. After\u00a0Atlanna\u2019s\u00a0death, Tom Curry remarried and had a second son, Orm. Arthur loved his brother, but\u00a0Orm always felt neglected and in Arthur’s shadow, convinced their father would never love him the way he loved his firstborn. A very Thor-Loki situation, if you will. Eventually,\u00a0Orm\u00a0lost his memory and became one of\u00a0Aquaman\u2019s\u00a0greatest foes: Ocean Master. He\u2019s basically a high-tech pirate…but we\u2019re here to talk about Arthur.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Modern Age Updated His Story Once Again<\/h2>\n

Aquaman\u00a0would get a couple additional retellings in what was known as the Modern Age.\u00a0Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>would broaden both Arthur’s story as well as Orm’s, deepening his power set and making\u00a0Orm\u00a0a sorcerer for…reasons? Seriously, we really must get him and Loki together to work through their sibling issues. Later would come The<\/em>\u00a0Legend of\u00a0<\/i>Aquaman<\/i>, which would change Arthur\u2019s name to Orin, make\u00a0Atlanna\u00a0a queen rather than an outcast, and change his father to a wizard named\u00a0Atlan.\u00a0See how people might have difficulty following just what the heck is going on with this guy\u2019s backstory? We might have had to watch Martha Wayne\u2019s pearls bounce off the concrete ten too many times in just as many\u00a0Batman stories, but at least they\u2019re consistent!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n