Arthur Curry, born with the Atlantean name Orin, is the King of Atlantis, as well as the superhero known as Aquaman.
While initially unwilling and hostile, Aquaman would eventually be recruited by Batman and Wonder Woman to be a member of the Justice League, in order to help defend Earth against the imminent alien invasion of Steppenwolf and his Parademon army.
Arthur Curry was born on January 29, 1979[citation needed], in Amnesty Bay, Maine, to Thomas Curry, a lighthouse operator, and Atlanna, the Atlantean queen. This heritage caused Arthur to grow up with incredible strength, as well as the ability to breathe underwater. Arthur's ignorance regarding how to handle these Atlantean powers, however, induced him to become very conflicted, and somewhat gloomy, with internal struggles.
Lex Luthor kept an eye on Aquaman, as he did with other recorded metahumans. Lex did this by hacking into several high-clearance government UUV drones, which recorded a video of Aquaman while the Atlantean hid inside a wrecked ship in a Pacific Ocean trench near Tonga. One drone showed Aquaman emerging from the shadows, displaying blue eye-shine, and then aiming his Trident of Poseidon and angrily stabbing it. Another UUV drone showed Aquaman swimming away from the site, fast enough to cause an underwater sonic boom.[1]
Amanda Waller's Files
After her Suicide Squad successfully defeats the mystical duo of Enchantress and Incubus in Midway City and saves her, Amanda Waller meets up with billionaire Bruce Wayne, asking him to take care of the rumors following the aftermath of the calamitous events, and in exchange, she gives Bruce her files on multiple notable metahumans, including that of the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.[2]
Arthur was visited by Bruce Wayne in Newfoundland,[3]Canada, who had learnt of his location from files given to him by Amanda Waller.[4] Bruce arrived during the winter, during which time Arthur brought fish to feed the hungry, always coming on the King tide. On the day right after the King tide, Bruce arrived at the village and asked to speak with Arthur, whom he deduced was still around. When Arthur revealed himself to be there, he demanded Bruce to talk, during which he informed Arthur of an impending enormous threat was coming to the world, asking Arthur to join the newly founded Justice League under his leadership. Arthur, however, was hostile, proceeding to angrily lift and pin Bruce against the wall, ultimately refusing to join at first.[5]
Initially, Arthur Curry is a very conflicted individual, struggling with the fact that he has superhuman powers which he didn't know how to handle, due to him having not been trained in his childhood. Hence, Arthur grew up feeling alienated from both the human and Atlantean worlds, feeling trapped between them, yet having the responsibility of protecting both.[6] Arthur is thus somewhat gruff and reserved, blatantly unwilling to accept Batman's offer to join the Justice League at first, and gets annoyed with the young and humorous Flash[7]. Despite his somewhat gloomy exterior, however, Arthur is ultimately a selfless and compassionate person, indicated by him frequenting a certain Canadian village during the winter, in order to feed its hungry inhabitants with fish. This is later shown when he saves an unconscious fisherman found along the shore, bringing him into the shelter of a local pub in the village. However, he then casually shrugs it off by stating that his drinks would be on the fisherman.
Aquaman, while usually very serious, somewhat reserved, and even gloomy, occasionally demonstrates a dry sense of humor, notably complimenting Batman on the latter's vigilante suit.[8]. He is also a realist, recognizing that he and the other Justice Leaguers could very well die in a battle against the New God Steppenwolf.
Hybrid Physiology: Being half-Atlantean (as the son of Queen Atlanna), Aquaman is an extremely powerful being, especially when exposed to water. Thanks to his half-human physiology, Arthur can also survive on the surface longer than any Atlantean could.
Super Strength: Aquaman has incredible superhuman strength, on par with Ocean Master, King Nereus and Black Manta, though not quite on the same level as that of Superman or Wonder Woman, making him the third strongest member of the Justice League.[9] His strength allows Aquaman to easily lift and pin Batman against a wall (hard enough to make the latter grunt), to easily destroy an underwater LexCorp Industries drone with a single trident stab[1], to impale multiple Parademons at once with a hurled trident[8], to firmly stay on top of the speeding Batmobile[8], and to even stand without being moved by huge ocean waves.
Aquaman is able to use his incredible strength to jump immense vertical and horizontal distances, with him leaping from the speeding Batmobile's roof, up at a group of airborne Parademons[8].
Super Durability: Aquaman is incredibly durable, as he is able to withstand immense underwater pressures at over 21,000 feet below sea level[1], as well as to survive unscathed and unwinded after falling from an immense height through several floors of a building.[1]
Super Speed: While underwater, Aquaman can swim at supersonic speeds, managing to thus successfully escape from an underwater LexCorp Industries drone and cause a sonic boom in the water.[1]
Aquaman has a superhuman level of agility and coordination, allowing him to dodge Steppenwolf's hurled Electro Axe while underwater, to balance himself while standing on a falling Parademon corpse (which subsequently fell right through several stories of a building), and to even balance himself on the speeding Batmobile's roof.
Super Senses: As an Atlantean, Aquaman possesses enhanced senses to help him better navigate underwater.
Enhanced Vision: Aquaman's vision is better enhanced to help him see in the darker environment of the sea, with Aquaman's eyes notably glowing as he stood within the dark hull of a sunken ship.[1]
Marine Communication: Aquaman is able to telepathically communicate with sea life.[9]
Underwater Breathing: Aquaman, due to his Atlantean heritage, can naturally breathe underwater, thereby earning his superhero nickname.[9]
Skilled Combatant: Aquaman, though not on par with Batman or Wonder Woman (due to having far less combat experience), has proven himself a very capable armed combatant (with his Trident of Poseidon), notably single-handedly taking down many Parademons in rapid succession.
Skilled Leader: Aquaman, as the King of Atlantis, is a skilled and capable leader, though not on par with Batman, hence he follows the latter's lead when finally joining the Justice League.
Expert Swimmer: Aquaman, like all Atlanteans, is an extremely skilled swimmer.
Stealth: Aquaman, while not on par with Batman, is exceptionally stealthy, as he, along with Batman and Wonder Woman, were able to swiftly slip away when Commissioner Gordon turned away for a moment, and even Flash was left incredulous at how he didn't notice his teammates leave, despite having superhuman reflexes and standing right beside them.
Dehydration: Aquaman's greatest weakness is spending an extended period of time away from water, since that will considerably weaken his Atlantean powers.
Beings of Greater Power: Aquaman, when fighting beings of equal or greater incredible might, like fellow Atlanteans Ocean Master or King Nereus, the enhanced Black Manta, his stronger teammates Wonder Woman and Superman, or the New God Steppenwolf, is more vulnerable, as they can generate enough force to knock out, injure and even kill Aquaman, bypassing his immense durability. Indeed, Aquaman himself recognized that he could perish in a battle with Steppenwolf.
Aquaman's primary weapon (initially belonging to the Olympian God Poseidon prior to the War of the Gods), which, due to its nature, is one of the extreme few weapons that can actually injure the otherwise invulnerable Kryptonian Superman,[10] in addition to also being able to help Aquaman summon and control massive waves, with him notably holding off the torrental force of a wave by repelling it with the trident[5].
