A
super-hero who first appeared in More Fun Comic
#75 published by DC Comics. The exact creator of the
character is unknown but believed to be
Mort Weisinger.
The origin of Aquaman is a bit more complex than most
super-heroes. No fewer than three origins have appeared
for this character over the years. The earliest
appearance of Aquaman made him the son of a scientist
who discovered Atlantis. Wanting his son to have
the ability to visit this wonderful place and his unnatural obsession with sea monkies, he used his
scientific ability to make the child an amphibian
allowing him to breathe in both the air and water.
The second origin made him the half-breed son of Tom
Curry, a really lonely lighthouse keeper, and Atlanna,
a mermaid. The child was named Arthur Curry and became
the hero Aquaman. This origin was later changed to make
Atlanna the queen of Atlantis, and the father Atlan,
an wizard. With this origin, we find that Aquaman's real
name is Orin and that he was abandoned by his parents on
a reef due to his blond hair, which was in Atlantis is
a sign of bad luck. The baby was then found by Tom
Curry, the aforementioned lighthouse keeper, and raised as
his son Arthur.
When Aquaman eventually learned his origin, he lived for a time
as the leader of Atlantis, being a super-hero part-time. He joined and lead for a time the super-hero group the Justice League. He
married Mera, an extra-dimensional queen, with the
ability to create solid water objects. The two later had
a son, who was killed by Aquaman's foe Manta. The
death of their son drove the two apart, eventually driving
Mera mad with grief. The two were eventually divorced.
Aquaman's one limitation has always been that he cannot
spend extended periods of time out of the water. Originally,
it was an hour period. Of late, the time period has been less
well defined. In Aquaman's early adventures, being "out of the
water" was a pretty loose term, as the hero was able to recover
by splashing himself from a water fountain or dousing himself
with a Coke.