History ComicBook / Aquaman

* AlasPoorVillain: The Dead King is given a sympathetic backstory, in which his descent into madness is revealed to be a result of [[spoiler:his [[TheEvilPrince xenophobic brother Orin]] simultaneously stealing his throne and ordering the murder of his family.]].

* DiplomaticImpunity: Since Rebirth titles focus on the political side of Aquaman comics. The title character strives to improve relations between his kingdom and the surface world. To say [[DiabolicalMastermind that it]] [[TheIlluminati was an]] [[WorldWarIII incredibly rocky effort]] is an oversimplification that doesn't do it justice.

[[HalfHumanHybrid The Son of the Land.]] [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething The King of the Seas.]] [[Film/Aquaman2018 The Protector of the Deep.]] [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking The Ruler of Atlantis.]]

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' [[NatureHero Nature]] {{Superhero}}.

* InASingleBound: Being fully adapted to live in the pressure of the deepest sea trenches, Aquaman and Mera, while on the surface, are both able to leap miles at times through the air, with ComicBook/IncredibleHulk-like jumps.

* AtlantisIsBoring: In the Sub Diego arc, the once surface-dwelling inhabitants are stuck under the ocean without any of the things they enjoyed on the surface.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The GoldenAge Aquaman had a sidekick called Phineas Pike (aka 'the Sea Sleuth'.) Pike was a brilliant but eccentric detective with a Franchise/SherlockHolmes style [[NiceHat deerstalker]] who knew almost everything about the ocean and ocean life except how to swim. After several appearances in 1949 where he was the [[BrainsAndBrawn brains to Aquaman's brawn]] he abruptly vanished from the storyline and has not been mentioned since.

He got a new reboot headed by Creator/GeoffJohns (who helmed Blackest Night and Brightest Day) ongoing as part of DC's Comicbook/{{New 52}} relaunch. It really doesn't require knowing any of the above to jump on, and actually tackles the idea of Aquaman being a joke character in its first story arc. It did however, make a few notable changes, including not having yet married Mera, and his rivalry with Black Manta having long ago started over [[AccidentalMurder accidentally]] [[YouKilledMyFather killing the latter's father]]. Later on, he got his first ever additional title, the short-lived team book ''Aquaman and the Others''.

* ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'': His first appearance in a non-comic medium, Creator/{{Filmation}} paired his episodes alongside their pre-existing ''[[WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman New Adventures of Superman]]''; additional segments featured ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', ''ComicBook/TheAtom'', ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'', ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'', plus team adventures with both the Justice League of America and the original ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (the latter featuring Aqualad from the ''Aquaman'' segments); the ''Superboy'' segments from ''Superman'' were also carried over. After the ''Superman'' cartoon was paired up with a ''Batman''-based cartoon the next season, Aquaman gained his own show (still with the guest star segments).

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Voiced by Creator/PhilLaMarr. His sidekick Aqualad, Kaldur'ahm, is a main character.

* FunnyAnimal: "Aquaduck," a FunnyAnimal duck counterpart who lives on the parallel world of "Earth-C-Minus" (a FunnyAnimal version of the mainstream DCU), and is part of his world's "JLA" (the "[[Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew Just'a Lotta Animals]]").

* DudeWheresMyRespect: In the first few issues of the Comicbook/{{New 52}} run, it's stated outright that the population of the DC Universe consider him a joke just as much as comic book fandom does. Meaning he's had to build up his reputation pretty much from scratch.

** Atlan, the Dead King in the Comicbook/{{New 52}} run. [[spoiler:He wanted to unite various races and welcome them into Atlantis, prompting his treacherous, xenophobic brother to kill his family and attempt to murder him. He sank Atlantis in response.]]

** The Comicbook/{{New 52}}'s ''Aquaman #10'' features Black Manta's collection of nautical memorabilia, including Arthur's HookHand and the original Black Manta helmet. What makes it this is that as far as can be seen, Arthur never lost his hand in current continuity, and never met Manta before he wore his current helmet.

* ProngsOfPoseidon: Takes much more prominence in this comic run than it did in the last. Usually those who hold a trident, scepter or some form of polearm carry an entitlement to superintendency, for possession of which regularly stands as a [[StaffOfAuthority symbol of leadership]] in these instances. In rarer cases, [[RequisiteRoyalRegalia they're the prerequisite of royal blood]] largely within Atlantean based cultures.

* OneHeroHoldTheWeaksauce: Not early on. He was certainly a tough fighter who could live indefinitely underwater and swim incredibly fast, but his [[WhatKindLameOfPowerIsHeartAnyway ability to communicate with sealife]] and [[WeaksauceWeakness inability to spend extended amounts of time on the surface]] made him a laughingstock. Enter Creator/GeoffJohns, who [[ThrowingOffTheDisability did away with the latter limitation]] and also established that Arthur and other Atlanteans also had super durability and strength on land as well due to [[{{Heavyworlder}} deep ocean pressure adaptation]].

* OneHeroHoldTheWeaksauce: Not early on. He was certainly a tough fighter who could live indefinitely underwater and swim incredibly fast, but his [[WhatLameKindOfPowerIsHeartAnyway ability to communicate with sealife]] and [[WeaksauceWeakness inability to spend extended amounts of time on the surface]] made him a laughingstock. Enter Creator/GeoffJohns, who [[ThrowingOffTheDisability did away with the latter limitation]] and also established that Arthur and other Atlanteans also had super durability and strength on land as well due to [[{{Heavyworlder}} deep ocean pressure adaptation]].

After ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' rolled around, Aquaman, like many [[Franchise/TheDCU DCU]] denizens, got a new origin. Now, he was the son of an immortal Atlantean wizard, abandoned to die for his blond hair and [[RaisedByWolves raised by dolphins]] before being found by the lighthouse-keeper. After this, Creator/PeterDavid became his main writer, and revamped him; his hand was eaten by piranhas and replaced with a hook, he grew out his beard, and moved toward epic, BarbarianHero-style adventures. This led to a successful ongoing series for a time, but it slipped in popularity after David was removed, and was eventually canceled.

* ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'': His first appearance in a non-comic medium, Creator/{{Filmation}} paired his episodes alongside their pre-existing ''[[Western animation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman New Adventures of Superman]]''; additional segments featured ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', ''ComicBook/TheAtom'', ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'', ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'', plus team adventures with both the Justice League of America and the original ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (the latter featuring Aqualad from the ''Aquaman'' segments); the ''Superboy'' segments from ''Superman'' were also carried over. After the ''Superman'' cartoon was paired up with a ''Batman''-based cartoon the next season, Aquaman gained his own show (still with the guest star segments).

* ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'': His first appearance in a non-comic medium, Creator/{{Filmation}} paired his episodes alongside their pre-existing ''The New Adventures of Superman''; additional segments featured ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', ''ComicBook/TheAtom'', ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'', ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'', plus team adventures with both the Justice League of America and the original ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (the latter featuring Aqualad from the ''Aquaman'' segments); the ''Superboy'' segments from ''Superman'' were also carried over. After the ''Superman'' cartoon was paired up with a ''Batman''-based cartoon the next season, Aquaman gained his own show (still with the guest star segments).

* SeriesContinuityError:

* AbortedArc: Has quite a few of these in truth.

* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: Atlantis.
* AlreadyMetEveryone: Superboy, anyway, in the Silver Age as "Aquaboy," Earth-One's sole other superpowered [=superhero=] during Superboy's time-era. Yes, the Silver Age Aquaman was an active hero longer than nearly everyone else, even Franchise/{{Batman}}.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Villains Black Manta and King Shark are examples of this trope, as is Dolphin, an occasional supporting character. Oddly enough, Aquaman himself does not fit despite his AnimalMotifs.
* ApparentlyHumanMerfolk: All of the Atlanteans, with the exception of small minorities of FishPeople and actual Merfolk.

* AtlantisIsBoring: The series has been struggling against this since Aquaman's debut.
** Averted in ''Sword of Atlantis'', as most of the series took place outside Atlantis, despite the title. In this series, Aquaman travels the undersea world having adventures that feel like they're out of a fantasy novel, and Atlantis is mostly ignored.
*** Averted in 'Chronicles of Atlantis', which boots Aquaman almost entirely in favor of telling the history of Atlantis from its beginnings up until Aquaman's birth. It is anything ''but'' boring.
** Played straight in-universe in the Sub Diego arc for the once surface dwelling inhabitants, now stuck under the ocean without any of the things they enjoyed on the surface.
** His series in the ''New 52'' begins with Aquaman in exile.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Forget everything Super Friends ever taught you about Orin and face the facts, Aquaman is the King of the Seas,(that's 70% of the planet, folks), and he is a huge ''badass''.

* CainAndAbel: Aquaman's enemy Orm, the Ocean Master.
** A recurring theme in the story of Atlantis, according to the ''Atlantis Chronicles''.
* CanonWelding: Before DC started emphasizing SharedUniverse elements, both ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' and ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' introduced their own contradictory versions of Atlantis; later writers on all three titles had to tie it all together. See OurMermaidsAreDifferent below.

* CerebusSyndrome: The death of Aquababy marked a permanent shift in tone from the lighthearted early years. See TheChewToy for more.
* TheChewToy[=/=]CosmicPlaything: In more than one way.
** Aquaman's life, after the ''Superfriends'' screwed his reputation, spiraled into a long series of blunders and humiliations. In order: he lost his beloved son, was left by his wife (who, by the way, started to openly loathe and hate him, berating him for A.J.'s death with every breath), was exiled again from Atlantis with no apparent reason, got his left hand eaten by piranhas, pursued a relationship with a CuteMute aquatic girl who later became noticeably less mute and somewhat less cute (trying to kill him because of a major MindScrew, leaving him for Tempest), became king again and got back Mera just to be later exiled, cursed and left to die by Atlantean Wizards, became the Champion of the Lady of the Lake and protector of a SunkenCity of modern water breathers just to be forced to trade his humanoid looks and sanity to save them when they revert to air breathers, died while grooming his successor, was called back as a soulless corpse, was resurrected to have his hand lopped off (again) and was unwillingly turned into the new Water Elemental. He got better every time, but that's not the point.

* CityOfAdventure: Atlantis.
** Later Aquaman's city is changed to Sub Diego, which is just what the name implies: it's San Diego, but ''underwater''.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The Peter David series.
* DeadpanSnarker: Out of necessity during his Peter David run, or he'd go nuts with grief.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Whether he outright ''controls'' fish, or if they just do as he says because he's the king of the ocean. For example, Creator/GeoffJohns explicitly states the former in the first issue of the New 52 series.
** Also, whether said control extends to seagulls as well as aquatic life.
*** Also how effective (if at all) his powers are on non-aquatic life.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Constantly. Aquaman throws down with Gods and Lovecraftian Horrors on the reg. Starting in his teenage years, when he messed up Triton's attempts to, um, "claim" Wonder Woman, through Peter David's run where he threw down with Poseidon, Hades, [[EldritchAbomination Tiamat]] and others, all the way up to the more modern stories where he's "only" picking fights with Lovecraftian Horrors at the bottom of the Ocean, or the [[ComicBook/TheSpectre living embodiment]] of God's wrath.
** He gets a really great moment like this in "JLA: Midsummer's Nightmare". Arbitrarily powerful villain Knowman has just punched Superman into orbit. He makes a crack along the lines of "You people have no idea the kind of pressure I've been under. Allow me to demonstrate," and increases gravity enough to knock the entire team, including Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman, to the floor, where they stay as he strides around monologuing. Until he makes the mistake of walking by Aquaman, who mutters "Pressure? Obviously, you've never been to the bottom of the sea!" before snagging him with his hook hand and yanking him to the floor.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Partly Averted, in the pre-post crisis conflagration Aquaman is still largely acknowledged if albeit still somewhat neglected as a hero and king by people of the surface world.
** Averted entirely by the time of ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} where he is a hitleresque sea conqueror who leveled half of Europe in his battle against the militarized Franchise/WonderWoman, sinking most of its major continental cities beneath the waves threatening to plunge the world into unavertable catastrophe. A real farcry from AC's superfriends projection as the whole world [[WhosLaughingNow can no doubt attest]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His original [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] status quo would seem quite jarring to modern readers. Instead of being half-Atlantean, he was a normal human who owed his powers to experiments performed by his scientist father. Atlantis was a dead, sunken kingdom instead of a place where people actually lived. He actually ''did'' talk to fish instead of communicating with them telepathically, and even then, these powers had time and range limits. He also had NoNameGiven, and wouldn't go by "Arthur Curry" until the late '50s. And of course, his iconic supporting characters and villains like Mera, Aqualad and Black Manta wouldn't exist until UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Villainous example with Black Manta, who originally depended on his equipment to fight Aquaman, but [[DealWithTheDevil Neron transformed him into a manta-man]] in ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed''. This would be undone some time later.
** The same can be said for Ocean Master both Pre and Post crisis. Much like Manta, Orm was also a simple Pirate who relied upon tools and gadgets to stand on equal footing with Orin in his early career. In Both continuities he'd acquire magical abilities through either an AncientArtifact or by making a [[DealWithTheDevil Devil's Deal]] for power.
* EnemyWithout[=/=]TheHeartless: This is the role which "The Thirst" plays to the Waterbearer. If a bearer uses their power to harm rather then heal then he will revive to [[OmnicidalManiac drink life itself]]. His strength is based on the bearer's negative emotions [[spoiler: and if they should wield their power against him as well, then the two will merge, leading to a particularly unusual BattleInTheCenterOFTheMind. Giving in is the only way to truly defeat him.]]
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: In the early 2000s Aquaman underwent yet another retooling, which involved him being named 'The Waterbearer' by The Lady of the Lake herself. Rather than a magic sword, he was given a magic hand made of water. It was SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds.

* [[ThreateningShark Everything's Even Worse With Sharks]]: One of Aquaman's enemies is King Shark, who's basically a humanoid shark.
** Even earlier, an extended storyline used Franchise/GreenLantern villain the Shark -- a hyper-evolved tiger shark -- as a nemesis.
* [[FadSuper Fad Villain]]: The reasons behind Black Manta's villainy have changed with the times. First he was [[MalcolmXerox "Doing this to help black people!"]] then it was [[OnlyInItForTheMoney "Nah, I'm doing this for the money."]] then his motivation was [[ForTheEvulz "Screw you, Aquaman!"]]. Post-New 52 it's "YouKilledMyFather!"

* FishOutOfWater: Possibly the most literal example in history. Played for laughs in JLA: Year One.

* HalfHumanHybrid

* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: He can summon sea life. ALL sea life. Do you know how many living things exist within a cubic mile of ocean? That's not even taking into account the strength, durability and sheer force of will he possesses.
** He ''[[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking commands]]'' all sea life, furthermore he's one of the most powerful telepaths in the entire DCU due to the fact that ''all'' life on earth (and several other planets) evolved from the sea and he can use his powers to tap into that part of the brain to control whatever the hell he wants (though only one writer has allowed Aquaman to control humans with the same finesse as fish).
*** Even if he only talks to current aquatic life, think of all the water-based horrors we fall victim to. Stinging jellyfish, killer whales, '''[[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks sharks]].''' [[AndAnotherThing Oh yeah,]] and the page image for this trope has him '''riding Cthulhu!'''
*** Which brings us to the fact that there are any number of amphibious sea monsters, who are more than capable of coming on land. Would you wanna piss off the guy who has an ''army'' of Cthulhus and Godzillas on speed dial? Yeah, neither would we.
*** And that doesn't account for his RequiredSecondaryPowers. He can swim really fast and get into fistfights under ''[[WaterIsAir 500+ atmospheres of pressure]]''. Yet he doesn't explode when he comes up to sea level. The deepest parts of the ocean are over ''twice'' that, and the strongest submarines we can make would be crushed like tin cans by the sheer force of the water pressing in around it - and he moves through it like you do air. Anyone who knows the physics behind this will realize that this makes him [[SuperStrength almost in the same league of strength]] and [[NighInvulnerable durability]] as '''Franchise/{{Superman}}'''.
*** And these are just the abilities he ''consistently'' has. He's got a variety of magical abilities, though what their nature is ''today'' depends on the era or the writer. Will he drop the ocean on your head, or suck every molecule of water out of your body today, or hit you with a Storm or Thor level of weather control? What kind of energy blasts will his trident fire this time, or will he simply have to use it to slice you to ribbons using superhuman strength combined with a weapon as indestructible as adamantium or vibranium over at Marvel? Either way, his lesser known powers ''will'' seriously ruin your day - in part ''because'' they're constantly changing and a surprise to his enemies.
** Not to mention that, as has been pointed out elsewhere on [[Wiki/TVTropes this wiki]], his skillset makes Aquaman effectively the ruler of over ''three quarters'' of our planet's surface. He's also not above pointing it out himself when people start giving him lip.
*** On occasion, his ''political'' powers as head of state of Atlantis also qualify - he not only commands an army, but it's also usually portrayed as being both magically and technologically superior to that of any surface nation: head to head, he could probably defeat the Green Lantern Corps if they decided to invade Earth. If all the armies of the surface went up against the military might at Aquaman's command, it would be a ''very'' short CurbStompBattle in the sea kingdoms' favor.
*** [[BadassBoast "Don't even think about picking a fight with the King of Atlantis."]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity: the ''ComicBook/New52'' series established Arthur as this: the superhero everyone laughed at. That all changed after Atlantis invaded and flooded the east coast, but now the bad publicity exists because many fear Aquaman.

** However, the original Aquaman was revived as part of ComicBook/BrightestDay and no mention has been made of Artie Joe since.
* HumansAreMorons: Or Atlanteans are Morons -- it's a given that the people of Atlantis are putzing, xenophobic, bigoted, fascist, paranoiac and massively [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritically]] {{Jerkass}}. But time and time again many of them have proven to be as stupid as they are misanthropic fundamentalists.
** Every time the people of Atlantis have an opportunity to choose their own leader, [[DemocracyIsBad they usually choose some complete bastard who enslaves them]]. Usually the second Aquaman's back is turned, some evil maniac takes the reigns of power, leaving it up to him to risk life and limb to save them from their own cack-handed attempts at democracy. Brings up the horrible yet oh so true notion in ''Aquaman'' comics that "People can't be trusted with freedom."
** More often than not, a great many would-be dictators or [[ApatheticCitizens jerkass subjects]] who rally behind them fail to understand or are too stupid to get that going to war with the surface world over lame reasons, be it racism or another dumb excuse more often then not fabricated by Atlantis and its people, giving justification for pointless conflict, is the threat of MutuallyAssuredDestruction. Unleashing Atlantis's power on the world would destroy both races and the planet they're fighting over, given that Earth is a shared ecosystem where everything plays its part and the removal of one or more of which from it throws it all catastrophically out of balance, well... [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/NIBpg29RZl-SURCe6v9M2eJORH7iR5sM8-8CL90Y3BM3Aglh-r6ZxT4QyS6ixNQVYzhBCYxifDOq=s0 The rest is history]].
** As above, even Mera isn't immune to the idiocy that sometimes overtakes her subjects. When MadScientist Dr. Starbuck betrays Aquaman and Aqualad, the former's wife goes off searching for her husband. She leaves her infant son, Aquababy, in charge of Atlantis with the same Dr. Starbuck who sent them up the river as regent. That's right. Mera leaves a baby with a creepy old man she's just met in charge of a whole nation, who subsequently leads the people of Atlantis in an attack on the US Navy. Was it mentioned that the people themselves were totally fine with [[SurroundedByIdiots her incredibly poor decision]] on her part?

* InSeriesNickname: While Mera found that amusing during the '60s run, and a slight annoyance in the '90s, she's now shown as completely fed up at the amount of people calling her ''Aquawife'' or ''Aquawoman'', and ready to snap towards them whenever they use the unwanted fan nickname in her presence.
* InsistentTerminology: His fans are quick to point out that he ''doesn't'' "talk to fish." He ''[[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking commands.]]''
* InterplanetaryVoyage: A couple of times, mostly with the JLA but rarely by himself.

* [[ItsAllAboutMe It's All About us]]: Atlantis and much of its culture in a nutshell. At its best with every opportunity that Orin is no longer on the throne, the new regime quickly establishes an isolationist state of self-union severing all ties to the surface world. Delving right back into [[HatesEveryoneEqually hardheaded xenophobia]] in accordence with the old ways of their self-important way of life. At its worst on the other hand, they usually scheme to TakeOverTheWorld and KillAllHumans out of fear, stupidity, bigotry and ignorance given way by a superior/inferior species entitlement motif.
* KrakenAndLeviathan: He's been called on to fight these things a few times. For obvious reasons, Aquaman can deal with them on a much more level playing field.

* LegacyCharacter: Arthur Joseph Curry.
* LighthousePoint: Arthur Curry's father was a lighthouse keeper.
* LordOfTheOcean: Monarch of a race of SuperiorSpecies in {{Atlantis}}? Check. Telepathic control over all aquatic-life? Check. ProngsOfPoseidon? Check-a-doodle-doo.

* MakingASplash: The 1960s ''Aquaman'' cartoons showed him hurling "hard water balls" at his enemies under water. Mera, Garth and Kaldur also have this ability.

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Parodies of Aquaman use this frequently due to his powers, as the above quote explains.
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: You may not have heard about this, [[SarcasmMode but he talks to fish!]] Lampshaded perfectly in the first Justice League team-up episode on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', in which ComicBook/GreenArrow and ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} relate to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] how Green Arrow first met Aquaman when GA rescued him from a whaling vessel. GA snarks "I saved him from being canned," and Cyborg chimes in "At ''least'' he would have been dolphin safe!" An irritated Arthur rolls his eyes and says to Clark:

* NinetiesAntiHero: The Creator/PeterDavid revamp was a version of this, but probably the most well-received implementation of the trope on a pre-existing character. The changes actually seemed to make sense to many readers, and was intended to undo some of the damage that ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' had done to the character's reputation.

** [[MemeticMutation PLATE]][[LargeHam LET!]]
** And no one can forget Tusky the Walrus in the Creator/{{Filmation}} series (who even made a brief appearance in the [[Comicbook/TeenTitans New Titans]] comic) — though God knows we've tried.
* OneHeroHoldTheWeaksauce: Not early on. He was certainly a tough fighter who could live indefinitely underwater and swim incredibly fast, but his [[WhatLameKindOfPowerIsHeartAnyway ability to communicate with sealife]] and [[WeaksauceWeakness inability to spend extended amounts of time on the surface]] made him a laughingstock. Enter Creator/GeoffJohns, who [[ThrowingOffTheDisability did away with the latter limitation]] and also established that Arthur and other Atlanteans also had super durability and strength on land as well compared to surface dwellers due to [[{{Heavyworlder}} deep ocean pressure adaptation]].
* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: There are pretty much three different distinct varieties of Atlantean in Aquaman's oceans. Poseidonians -- the ApparentlyHumanMerfolk like Aquaman and most of the other Atlanteans. Tritonaians -- your mermaids and mermen like Lori Lemaris. And an unnamed race of FishPeople like Lagoon Boy, the animated version of Triton, or the revamped Topo. In ''Franchise/{{Superman}} #129'', [[http://superman.nu/tales2/lori/?page=9 it was established]] that when scientists learned that Atlantis was sinking, they built a giant dome over the city, then later found a way to convert the populace into merfolk. As to why this has anything to do with Aquaman, ''ComicBook/AdventureComics #280'' [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rLV-ZuNPwJ4/S4OS6tRoq7I/AAAAAAAAGwc/t8U5w2aqgac/s1600-h/Adventure280_06.jpg tells]] that not everyone became merfolk successfully, thus a domed city remained necessary. This origin was later retconned in ''The Atlantis Chronicles'', where is clearly stated that the aquatic serum was never meant to convert Atlanteans into merfolks, but rather to merely give them the ability to breathe water and thrive in the ocean. The merfolk came to be much later as an accident, when Shalako, a villainous wizard-prince of Atlantis, just to spite his scientist brother, [[AWizardDidIt tampered with the special serum used to achieve the transformation]], turning his denizens into frog-legged humans, who later gave birth to the current merfolk. So, while every Atlantean city was originally domed, some of them got the domes dismantled for the benefit of the merfolks. Curiously, the FishPeople of Atlantis have yet to be given either an official name or origin story in the entirety of the franchise's history.

* PapaWolf: If you threaten his kid or any other member of his family, you're pretty much screwed.

** One particularly silly Silver Age story had him defeat a villain who used land-based animals... because the enemy had brought along a ''water'' buffalo, which Aquaman could control.
** When he gave [[http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg91/scaled.php?server=91&filename=jla00410gk1.jpg&res=landing an enemy a seizure]] though [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/53838/1210972-jla_004_11_super.jpg tapping into their basal ganglia]], Aquaman does it fairly casually, and he even says for ''starters'' he can give a seizure to incapacitate, implying that's not even all he's got. And what's more, he did it to a Martian, who are naturally strong telepaths in the first place.
* RelationshipRevolvingDoor: With Mera, at least in the pre-Flashpoint continuity.

* RunningGag: Aquaman's love of hot dogs. This led to a hilarious moment when he was forced to see a doctor for an unrelated issue, and told he should be eating more fish.
* RuthlessModernPirates: Aquaman often clashes with pirates.
** Black Manta himself is a submarine pirate.
** Blackjack, Aquaman's GoldenAge archenemy, was one of these.
** Ocean Master, before he gained magic powers. Fits too.
* ScaryBlackMan: Black Manta again; emphasis on the "scary". He might ''look'' like a fairly average comic book villain, but he has a serious LackOfEmpathy for other people, [[OffingTheOffspring including his own son.]]
* SeahorseSteed: Aquaman sometimes rides a giant seahorse, named Storm (in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, anyway).
* {{Sidekick}}: The Aqualads and Aquagirls.

* SpeaksFluentAnimal

* SuperSpeed[=/=]SuperSwimmingSkills: Aquaman can swim at 150 knots - that's an incredible ''175 mph''. He exploited that ability against the slow-swimming [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] (til he got too gabby and got upper-cutted out of the water.) And he's reached 10,000 feet per second, which is nearly ''mach 10!''

** His super-strength is often underestimated. The new Geoff Johns run even draws this visual parallel with his massive InASingleBound jumps. Just as a warming up, Aquaman lifts with ease an armored truck over his head after impaling it on his snazzy trident.
** Mera grabs a would-to-be abuser's arm and gives him just a light squeeze. That's enough [[spoiler:to cripple him for life]].
* TameHisAnger: Aquaman tries to get Black Manta to do this. It doesn't work.

* TorchesAndPitchforks: After The Spectre razed Atlantis, robbing it of all its magic. The survivors of said cataclysm, blaming any and all former conjurers who also lost their powers as a result, would vindictively assail them in lynch mobs at the mere sight of one. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis With Extreme Prejudice]]. Of course while many of them were guiltless in the cities destruction, it most likely didn't help that a majority of whom headed by an [[SorcerousOverlord evil cabal of wizards]] took the reins of power for themselves, imposing all manor of inexorable taxation and idiot laws in their name.
* UnderCity: There were originally seven lost cities that were once apart of the original continent of Atlantis. The five fragmented environments eventually expanded and became cultures of their own, having remained secret from the rest of the world for many many centuries. Even Atlantis was in the dark about this sordid history, either believing it to be myth & legend or just plain not knowing they existed.

* UpbringingMakesTheHero: In some continuities.
** Subverted with Mera, a clear case of LoveRedeems.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In Dan Jurgens' underappreciated run on the book, the tyrannical surface nation of Cerdia went to war with Atlantis. Arthur appealed to the U.N. for help, to no avail. So Arthur and his people fought back and won, ''conquering Cerdia--''all nice and legal because it was a defensive war, and Arthur had gone to the United Nations first. Arthur swears to the Cerdians that he will be a better ruler than the tyrants he has deposed, and is optimistic that having territory on dry land will make Atlantis more of a "real country" in the eyes of the world. A FlashForward story even confirms that that will happen. Then the book was canceled, and we never heard anything about Cerdia ever again.

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Aquaman is traditionally the poster-child for this trope, mainly thanks to ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''. However, due to overcompensation by modern writers it no longer really applies to him, see HeartIsAnAwesomePower above. As stated above, Geoff Johns has pushed this trope into a dichotomy: while the reader knows now how useful Aquaman's powers really are, the DC Universe internal public, accustomed to people like Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, sees Aquaman as the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' equivalent.

* AbortedArc: Geff Johns' run ended with setting up another crossover between ''Justice League'' and ''Aquaman'' about Nereus trying to unite the Seven Seas. The crossover never came during Johns' tenure as writer of ''Justice League''. Averted once ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' was announced, wherein Johns has said it's one of his planned projects.
* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: Atlantis, as well as its mysterious seven other kingdoms.
* AlasPoorVillain: Happens more times than one would think, the Dead King being the biggest case as his [[TheEvilPrince dirtbag brother Orin]] who simultaneously steals his sibling King's throne and kingdom also orders the murder of his family for ownership of Atlantis. [[spoiler: The real kicker being? He and his wife are the people whom our story's protagonist and AllLovingHero descends from]].

* {{Ambadassador}}: New Aquaman comics are certainly shaping Arthur and Mera up to be, as well as the whole of the Aquaman Family. Arthur being TheGoodKing that he is, after having stopped the criminal organization who sparked it, went the extra mile of stopping all fighting by unanimously surrendering to America. [[LivingLegend Even Superman]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Was Impressed With This!]]
** Surprisingly so was [[HundredPercentHeroismRating the rest of the world]], with many across the globe who'd given such props to the sea king have even christened themselves his [[AffectionateNickname AquaFans]].
* AnotherDimension: Just as popular in the reboot as it was in previous run. The new take on Aquaman's story is rife with AlternateUniverse's, EldritchLocation's and LostWorld's adjacent to Atlantis and the mainstream DC Comics Continuum.

** [[LostWorld The Maelstrom]]: An [[IslandOfMystery island danger zone]] filled with all manor of AlienAnimals which exhibits a GeniusLoci all its own. Home to a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever dangerous volcanic entity]] whom inhabitants must constantly sacrifice too for maintaining the peace.

* [[HumansAreBastards Atlanteans Are Bastards]]: While Arthur does and acts on what's best for his people, he knows full well that there are those within Atlantis who would gleefully take any excuse at face value to engage in war with and brutalize him and the surface world.
** Naturally the reverse applies to surface dwellers, most Atlanteans feel this way about humans. Especially Murk who confirms it in ''Aquaman'' Vol. 7 #18 after absconding Atlantean weaponry sold over the Black Market from thieves and slavers using them to [[WhatYouAreInTheDark steal from or sell off their own kind for profit]].
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Arthur has his moments, his best however was when he deposed his half-brother Orm in order to retake his title as King of Atlantis. Beating him in the middle of a war no less, singlehandedly halting the advance of Atlantean forces with a word, [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/uisWeye8L-iljM7r5AAm3k6n68rMwJep6umYqCtD8W1ZzxoOd7zKo_tpbNhP7XRaB3X0ATa1d7dn=s0 four simple words]] to be precise.
** [[TookALevelInBadass Black Manta]] also fits the bill as he singlehandedly took the reigns of a NebulousEvilOrganization from its previous C.E.O. for his own, all for the sake of escalating his war on Aquaman and any dreams of peaceful coexistence with the surface world he had.

* BreakThemByTalking: One of the rare heroic examples in the new Rebirth titles, Aquaman actually managed to debase his greatest enemy [[UnstoppableRage Black]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Manta]] by stating how he wastes his life on pointless anger while Arthur is constantly reinventing himself.
** Of course this comes back to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero bite him in the ass]] later on, while far from thinking of moving on from his hatred of Arthur. Manta has now expanded his horizons on how to achieve the goal of destroying him, thanks to an invitation from a NebulousEvilOrganisation which he then claimed leadership of for his own ends.
* CainAndAbel: Averted so far in the Comicbook/{{New 52}} -- Orm and Aquaman genuinely care for each other, but have radically opposing philosophies. While they've fought one another, neither wanted to kill the other and still don't.
* TheChewToy: Downplayed compared to previous eras but it is more present than ever before.
** Remember all the ''Superfriends'' jokes? During Geoff Johns' run, it's revealed that they exist even in-universe. And '''everyone''' in the DC Universe feels entitled to openly berate the "guy who speaks with fishes", married to "Aquawoman/Aquawife" ([[Film/{{Splash}} who may be a mermaid who turns into a woman when dry]]), broke because of a lack of employment, wearing a ridiculous shirt and useless if compared with the rest of the League. This despite, as mentioned elsewhere, the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' portrayal being the exception to the rule and the character actually being quite badass.

* CulturedBadass: Comes with the territory when one is both king and adventurer seeking answers to his own home's past.

** [[spoiler:The upcoming ''Crown of Atlantis'' Arc will cement this as the people are putting a known terrorist on the throne.]]

** Subverted in later issues after the Aquaman/Justice League crossover Comicbook/{{Throne Of Atlantis}}. The whole world's aware and afraid of the oceanic kingdom and its current monarch, [[JerkassHasAPoint kinda understandable]] considering [[WorldWreckingWave they attempted drowning the eastern seaboard]] starting with Metropolis and Gotham City.
*** Double subverted in DCRebirth where he's still grappling with the lame superhero stigma while contending with the fear of the surface world towards Atlantis on top of keeping Atlantean xenophobia at bay. After managing to avert conflict set by [[NebulousEvilOrganization N.E.M.O.]] during '''The Drowning''' arc, he's finally being recognized as a hero to the masses [[LateToTheRealization yet still finds]] that he's largely [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/cbDg6nnkF1JMxj-I8s6rxZ1CY5WH_jUNfjmoq5UEVYCk3WvUuu6H_TMLy8Jd4whHhOYTfnFtsTiz_GEQSmy0GLo7i-P9GR99o304hPSUbiZ-Bb39kgYUWWesHMPrFlZJh1FRbA=s0 more feared than respected]] by the more skeptical or weary {{Muggles}}.

** NobleFugitive: Again when [[EvilBrunetteTwin a lookalike]] posing as Mera usurped Arthur's throne and cast him out as a traitor and enemy of the state during an invasion from [[EldritchLocation another world]] [[TimeAbyss by ancient evil sorcerers]]. Again in DCRebirth after [[ApatheticCitizens the rotten people of Atlantis]] oust Arthur Curry to elect a misanthropic terrorist [[PresidentEvil as its new king]].
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Atlanna faked her own death.]]

** Atlan, the Dead King in the Comicbook/{{New 52}} run. [[spoiler:He wanted to unite various races and welcome them into Atlantis, but his brother decided it was better to kill him and his family. He sank Atlantis in response.]]

* FantasticRacism: Mostly from fear cultivated over the centuries, Atlanteans fear the surface which turned to hate. Note that most people didn't even know there was an Atlantis until it went to war. Orm himself actually pities them and only has a mild dislike until then. [[spoiler:Though he reconsiders his prejudices somewhat after escaping Belle Reve and taking residence with a human woman and her son during Forever Evil, protecting them.]]
** Many Atlanteans weren't too happy with the fact that their newest king was a half-born who descends from surface world heritage. A lot of them still aren't by Arthur's own words, [[spoiler:Orm on the other hand while still somewhat fearful of the surface and yet tolerant of them nonetheless was elated to have a brother despite his mixed background. Openly admitting to have wept out of fear and sorrow over having found out he was trapped on the surface world and opting to save him from it.]]
** It's telling that in ComicBook/{{New 52}} continuity, Ocean Master's distaste for humans still makes him more tolerant than some of his followers. [[spoiler:Though Ocean Master would grow to reconsider his prejudices after escaping a surface-world prison and taking residence with a human woman and her son.]]
* GeniusLoci: The spirits and memories of the dead become part of Atlantis, so when they don't accept him as a ruler the land itself quakes.
** [[spoiler:Played again in Rebirth when Aquaman and Mera find a crevice leading to an AlienSea planet dominated by sapient water. The same waterworld is also the MonsterProgenitor turning those consumed by fear or rage into the rampaging sea beast [[TheDreaded Dead Water]].]]

* TheGoodKing: Aquaman is pretty good at this despite his HeroWithBadPublicity status, both to the surface public and his subjects in Atlantis. [[spoiler:Though it does and kinda doesn't help that the public of both are kinda {{Jerkass}}es in their own right]].
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Manta in spades.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: A sentiment shared by most if not all Atlantean people. In particular, Murk of The Drift who bears much more than simple [[MisanthropeSupreme racism]] towards the surface dwellers. Something that [[NoodleIncident happened to him]] in the deeply rooted past which he'd rather not disclose as of late.

* InterplanetaryVoyage: Happens more often than not, two times Arthur has ventured to aliens worlds after the reboot. One was a planet afflicted by the Thule's incursion, while another was brought about by accidentally stumbling upon the mystery of Dead Water.
* IronicEcho: Manta in the beginning of the Aquaman Rebirth, stating his wife Mera was the linchpin in Arthur's dark world, that if he ever lost her the weight of being sea king would crush him indefinitely. Let's not forget how ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} Aquaman turned out because of this.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Noted by Mera about Atlanna that the good looks and superpowers pass from generation to generation, for Atlantean royalty. In Xebel's case one marries into the power as well as the crown. Whenever the last king of the colony passes [[KingmakerScenario both their title as monarch and the hydromancy of the royal bloodline]] passes over to their next marital successor.

* MisanthropeSupreme: Most Atlanteans vehemently fear and hate the surface world as a whole. The few who truly detest humanity are part of a terrorist sect called '''The Deluge''', a fiercely xenophobic movement which thinks war with the surface world [[WhatAnIdiot is for the good of Atlantis]].
* MissingMom: Atlanna, Orm and Arthur's mother died before Arthur got to meet her. [[spoiler:And then he finds out her body was removed from its grave later on.]]

* MythologyGag: The Comicbook/{{New 52}}'s ''Aquaman #10'' features Black Manta's collection of nautical memorabilia, including Arthur's HookHand and the original Black Manta helmet. What makes it this is that as far as can be seen, Arthur never lost his hand in current continuity, and never met Manta before he wore his current helmet.

* OfThePeople: A clear and glaring problem about the people of Atlantis and possibly other undersea nations is the strict isolationist surface hating cultural ways of the Atlanteans. Many of them chose mainly to steer clear of the humans and the world above, other less enlightened minds have a tendency to think cleansing the surface is the only way to protect themselves.
** Unfortunately a great many surface dwellers share the same sentiments towards Atlantis deeming them a threat to national security. As though [[{{Hypocrite}} human kind]] isn't enough of its own [[HumansAreBastards pursuit predator]] as it stands.
* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Arthur contends with one or two at least twice a week, both in New 52 and DC Rebirth publishing.
* PyrrhicVictory: On the one hand Aquaman stopped being viewed as a joke to the world. On the other hand he's now looked at with as much fear and mistrust by it as he is in his own kingdom.

* RefusalOfTheCall[=/=]RefusedByTheCall: This was the case with Mr. Curry's ascendance to the throne, many of his [[UngratefulTownsfolk so called subjects]] weren't too happy about him being their leader much less being among them due to his human heritage given their world view of [[HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster surface dwellers]]. He eventually dumped the throne altogether leaving his brother [[HumansAreBastards Orm]] in charge because he couldn't stand the bigotry he faced trying to claim his birthright, a claim that [[HumbleHero he never even wanted]] in the first place. Arthur is '''Still''' met with loads and loads of resistance to his monarchy from start to finish even after taking the reigns of state into his hands. Once the very topography of the nation initially rejected his rightful rule at first. [[spoiler:It turns out Atlanna had not died after all, and thus the hereditary monarchy had not been passed down as a result.]]
** ResignedToTheCall[=/=]TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Had to reclaim the reigns of sovereignty after his former mentor, Vulko; instigated a war between the surface and Atlantis in order to get Arthur to take back his seat on the throne. Though it didn't help that Arthur's brother was a human hating semi-fascist in the first place. It may have been a pretty risky XanatosGambit on his end given that risking war between the surface and the sea usually results in [[ApocalypseHow horrendous genocide for all]], plus using a clan of veracious cannibals; The Trench as a makeshift EnemyMine for both sides plus the Justice League to fight against when it all could've just as easily gone sideways from there.
* RescueRomance: This was the case for Tom Curry when he first met Atlanna of Atlantis. She did save him from drowning when his lifeboat capsized while out on patrol, they fell in love, begetting Arthur Curry as a result.

* SternNun: The Widowhood, who are basically the [[Literature/{{Dune}} Bene Gesserit]] without the false humility.
* StrawmanPolitical: Aquaman's ruling council becomes this during later stints in Rebirth. Growing increasingly tired of all the conflicts drawn upon Atlantis with Aquaman as king they elect to [[SketchySuccessor put a terrorist]] on the throne after having the old guard executed.
** When Mera takes over they’re shown to be open elitists who don’t care about the common people and seem surprised she would.
* TheFundamentalist: Atlantis and likely its seven cities, are built upon the notions of fear, bigotry and MisanthropeSupreme ideals since before its sinking by King Atlan. About three thousand years later it's people have reverted back to its surface hating ways with [[ElectiveMonarchy Corum Rath]] on the throne, a terrorist human hater who venomously detested Arthur for his land born background.

* TookALevelInBadass: The series as a whole under Creator/GeoffJohns's penmanship. What makes it stand out is how it tackles the whole Superfriends stigmatism that Aquaman suffered from for so long.
* UnderCity: The seven hidden cities of Atlantis fall into this as they were originally part of the once whole Atlantis. Under King Atlan's rule these continents thrived and mingled with Atlantean culture before when they were enemies of the state, Nowadays since Atlantis's shattering they've been relegated to myth and mystery never to be heard from again. Until Rise of The Seven Seas that is.

* UngratefulTownsfolk: Openly bashed on by the world at large for being a) surface born by the people of Atlantis and b) seen as useless outside the water by people on land. For a [[BlatantLies so-called lame hero]] he usually does a good job saving the ungrateful masses of both sides, both from world ending threats and more often then not, themselves.
* WeWouldHaveToldYouBut: Nereus the king of Xebel, was dispatched by the Dead King; Atlan, to discover the whereabouts of the other four out of seven kingdoms of Atlantis. Only to return stating he could not find any of them...
** ILied: Turns out he was purposefully withholding his findings when Nereus went searching for Orm Marius to seek out their locations together.

** [[spoiler:"In a fit of rage, seeking revenge, Aquaman killed [[BigBad Black Manta]]'s father."]]
** [[spoiler:Vulko to Arthur: Atlan was once a great hero of the world... and your ancestors were the villains.]]

* BadassBeard: Aquaman has one in nearly every incarnation in which he's an elderly King of Atlantis. Not only does he have a white beard to rival Poseidon's, but it makes him sufficiently DarkerAndEdgier to make the reader know that no one screws with him. Ever. Even Franchise/{{Superman}} in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' treats him with kid gloves.

His LoveInterest ComicBook/{{Mera}} also has her own page.

* MakingASplash: The 1960s ''Aquaman'' cartoons showed him hurling "hard water balls" at his enemies under water.

* EasyEvangelism: Shows up three times at the end of the Rebirth series as a consequence of the writers having to rush to complete the story after being cancelled at very short notice. First, Orm’s previously fanatically loyal followers are convinced to desert him entirely offscreen by a mute woman; meanwhile Vulko is able to show the ruling class the error of their ways in a single panel; finally the arch-conservative and authoritarian society of Atlantis accepts democracy after a single speech from Mera.

* EasyEvangelism: Shows up three times at the end of the Rebirth series as a consequence of the writers having to rush to complete the story after being cancelled at very short notice. First, Orm’s previously fanatically loyal followers are convinced to desert him entirely offscreen by a mute woman; meanwhile Vulko is able to show the ruling class the error of their ways in a single panel; finally the arch-conservative and authoritarian society of Atlantis accepts democracy after a single speech from Mera.

* ContinuitySnarl: In 2019, Aquaman died and came back to life. [[ComicBookDeath Nothing weird about that]], but DC told two parallel stories at the same time about how it happened. In the pages of ''Justice League'', during the ''Drowned Earth'' event, Arthur and Black Manta both die [[spoiler:when Aquaman makes a kamikaze attack on the [[EldritchAbomination Death Kraken]], and Aquaman is subsequently brought back to life by the Anti-Monitor to serve as his agent, reuniting with the rest of the League during a time travel mission to Pearl Harbor]]. Meanwhile, in his own comic, [[spoiler:Aquaman was killed by Mera in a fit of rage when he reacts badly to her telling him she’s pregnant, he wakes up amnesiac on a mystical island full of ancient sea gods and has to go on a quest to restore his memories and come back to life, and returns by boat to Amnesty Bay.]] Also, in ''Aquaman'' #50, Manta shows up with no explanation how he survived or even any mention that he was ever dead. Both comics showed Arthur reuniting with Mera under completely different circumstances and with neither referencing the other. And just when you think that maybe ''Drowned Earth'' is supposed to be [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]], Orm’s ''Year of the Villain'' special explicitly references it, which it has to, because if ''Drowned Earth'' didn’t happen, then Orm would still be in prison.\\\
''Justice League'' did try to reconcile the two plot lines by claiming that [[spoiler:when Anti-Monitor sent Aquaman back to Earth from his headquarters, he crashed on the island and lost his memories]], but that just raised further questions and didn’t change the fact that he still died in two completely different ways in two different books.
* CosmicDeadline: The Rebirth series was one of the many books hit by the infamous [[ScrewedByTheNetwork DC Bloodbath]] of November 2020, where DC cancelled swathes of series and fired dozens of staffers with very short notice. That gave Creator/KellySueDeConnick only a few issues to wrap up what was likely intended to be months worth of storylines, resulting in a happy ending that seemed very rushed and a more than a little forced.

* EasyEvangelism: Shows up three times at the end of the Rebirth series as a consequence of the writers having to rush to complete the story after being cancelled at very short notice. First, Orm’s previously fanatically loyal followers are convinced to desert him entirely offscreen by a mute woman; meanwhile Vulko is able to show the ruling class the error of their ways in a single panel; finally the arch-conservative and authoritarian society of Atlantis accepts democracy after a single speech from Mera.

* SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic: Aquaman writers basically have three modes. Typical superhero adventures, Series/GameOfThrones [[RecycledInSpace underwater]] or HeroicFantasy. Every time a new writer takes over there’s a roughly 50% chance that Arthur will meet a never before mentioned ancient magical being and either gain new powers or some supernatural mission.