1990s GRIM HARPOON WARRIOR
Aquaman still wasn’t quite getting the fan response people wanted and so his origin was tweaked again, now saying he had been an abandoned child of Atlantis who was raised by dolphins for a while before finding the lighthouse keeper Curry who then raised him for a few more years. Writer Peter David expanded on this in the mini-series The Atlantis Chronicles and the four-part series Aquaman: Time and Tide. Atlanna was now said to be a princess, which made Arthur legit royalty and not just an elected king. Arthur’s father was a long-lived Atlantean sorcerer named Atlan. His birth name was Orin, the same as the first underwater rule of Poseidonis, the scientist-king who designed the city’s protective dome and discovered the means by which his people could breathe underwater. We were also told that his orange and green outfit was actually a prison uniform he’d been forced to wear for a time and then had adopted as his costume.
As Aquaman got his own series again in the 1990s, it was decided the one thing that could make readers take notice was if the character looked more intimidating. He grew a beard, started looking surlier after learning some secrets of his origin, then lost his hand during a battle with the villain Charybdis, who stuck the hero’s arm into a pool of piranha. Aquaman can communicate with marine life, but he can’t hypnotize them into going against their natural instincts just because, so he was unable to tell the fish to stop eating his hand. Arthur then armed himself with a harpoon which had killed a dolphin he’d considered family. It was his way of symbolically reminding people of the land that their weapons could be turned against them.
It was just a few issues later that Aquaman took his new look a step further. He replaced the simple harpoon with a technologically advanced model developed by S.T.A.R. Labs. It could spin like a drill and fire like a harpoon gun, with a strong cord attached. Arthur added some dark gray to his trousers, which does give them a sharp look. He ditched the scale mail shirt and used plated armor on his right side, the same way that some soldiers and warriors would armor the side of their body that didn’t carry a sword. Later on, Arthur’s robotic harpoon was upgraded so it could shift into a robotic hand.
A few times, Aquaman wore more armor for special circumstances. And a few times, he ditched the armor entirely and just went shirtless. I actually think this is a great look for Arthur. I think it gives a stronger visual impression of him being a man of the sea and it also makes him look more impressive to wade into battle without armor than with it. Plus, Aquaman’s skin is nearly bulletproof, so he’s not going to need armor for most situations.
Writer/artist Erik Larsen took over the book for a while and gave Aquaman a new costume, as well as a seashell crown. The Larsen costume looks to me more like a 1980s jazzercise outfit. It didn’t last long and Arthur went back to his Peter David era outfit. He did keep the seashell crown for a while, though.
Then Aquaman died. Except it turned out his spirit survived and he’d become a literal water being. Then he came back and went into a new direction.
THE WATERBEARER
Rick Veitch and Yvel Guichet relaunched Aquaman’s series in 2003 and went deep into the mystical atmosphere established in several earlier stories. The hero met the Lady of the Lake, famous from Arthurian legend, and she chose him to be the Waterbearer, a champion who protects Earth and the barriers which separate it from other dimensions. This gave Arthur access to the power of the Secret Sea, giving him a mystical water-like hand as a result. He had new abilities and a new look. Around this time, a couple of DC comic books also brought back elements of Arthur’s Silver Age origin, such as his father being Tom Curry.
I’m now sure about the trousers. All those hard edges on the side actually make me think it would be difficult for Arthur to walk, much less swim. But I like the new design of the belt and once again, I think Arthur works better as a shirtless hero. The water hand is also a cool idea and a nice symbol for Aquaman’s connection to magical, fairy tale forces.
A couple of years later, Arthur grabbed his classic costume again, this time with a nice gold collar and a sleeker belt. Not a bad merging of the new and classic styles. It didn’t last too long though since Aquaman died again. He’d come back later, but in the meantime we had a new version of the hero.
JUST CALL HIM JOSEPH
In 2006, a new Aquaman was introduced named Arthur Joseph Curry (and who later just went by “Joseph”). He was related to the lighthouse keeper we all knew and love. He also had the Golden Age Aquaman’s origin, being a kid who had been experimented on by his father, gaining aquatic abilities in the process. He took on the mantle of Aquaman, dressed in a suit of armor, and hung out with an octopus-boy named Topo.
The idea was to give the Aquaman series (temporarily retitled Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis) more of a sword and sorcery feel. I can understand that, but wish they’d done more to differentiate Arthur Joseph Curry from Arthur Curry. His armor isn’t that creative on the new design, it’s just Arthur’s classic suit with shoulder pads and bracers. That diminishes it to me. It makes it look more like armor that a surface dweller might design rather than a suit made by underwater people who use a mixture of magic and technology we don’t fully understand. Joseph looked like an echo rather than his own character with a bold new direction.
Eventually, Joseph went away and Arthur came back, resurrected with a mint-condition body that had both hands. Then he lost one of his hands again. Then DC rebooted its universe again and presented a revised continuity that was called the New 52.
THE NEW 52
So in the rebooted reality which started in 2011, we went back to basics in several respects. Arthur Curry was once again the son of Atlanna and Tom Curry. He wore a new version of his classic outfit, now with gloves that split in the middle to give the impression of loose fins. He’s also once again changed up his belt (this is a nice, shiny one) and added a collar.
I dig this collar on Aquaman. I don’t like it on just any superhero, but Aquaman does have a regal role to fulfill and I think it works very nicely with him. It’s also nice that modern day inking and coloring techniques can ensure Arthur’s shirt looks gold rather than simply orange. Once again, this is a regal figure.
In some flashback stories of the New 52 universe, we’ve seen Aquaman once again sport a shirtless look along with some stylish trousers. I dig those trousers, man. And the shirtless look with that necklace works for Arthur. It brings back the idea that he’s a Tarzan or Conan figure who lives underwater, a man both wild and noble. I could see Momoa rocking this look. Just my opinion.
That wraps up this Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Stay geeky!
Alan Sizzler Kistler (@SizzlerKistler) is an actor, writer, comic book historian and geek consultant. He is the author of the New York Times Best Seller Doctor Who: A History. He has a deep fondness for Aquaman and can be seen in the DVD special features of The Adventures of Aquaman.
