Some characters are really good for a specific niche. Writers, however, like to venture outside that niche all the time. The X-Men go into outer space. Aquaman joins a land-based superteam. Dare Devil versus the Legions of Hell. The Silver Surfer fights street crime. Spider-Man and aliens!
Sometimes, these out-of-comfort-zone experiences become spectacular and beloved. Other times, you're just left with The Punisher, Angel of Death.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I could have sworn there was an episode were he controlled water worldwide using microbes but botched it a bit and flooded the coastlines of all the major coastlines on accident. Of course the horrifying implications of this screw up weren't thoroughly explored but it would make Aquaman the most successful terrorist in human history.
Or was that just an urban myth I got suckered into believing?
edited 1st Sep '13 4:44:15 PM by Canid117
"War without fire is like sausages without mustard." - Jean Juvénal des Ursins![]()
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You summed it up well. Even in the 60's, the guy writing Teen Titans cut Aqualad from the team because he got sick of having to include underwater set pieces in every issue just to justify the poor kid's membership. And when you read old JLA issues, you can see how contrived the This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman moments were.
I maintain that cutting him from the League in favor of Hawkgirl in the DCAU was actually a smart move. Since he was basically a reserve member of the League, that meant that whenever the writers did use him, they had a story in mind. Thus you don't end up with lame, contrived underwater scenes that make it clear they're only there to give Aquaman something to do.
I've been trying to find it with no luck. I can't even find the episode synopsis I read it in originally so I fear I may have accidentally been proliferating false information. Sorry about that.
Supposedly its the episode where he uses microbes to control the water itself in an attempt to create a tidal wave but I'm having trouble finding that episode shy of a few minor mentions.
EDIT: Okay so I think I found the source. The synopsis I read a while ago was probably and exaggerated version of the episode "Invasion of the Fearians" where Aquaman uses a tidal wave to put out a fire and floods whats described on wikipedia as "inlands." I would have to watch the actual episode to see if there is any Inferred Holocaust.
edited 1st Sep '13 5:11:36 PM by Canid117
"War without fire is like sausages without mustard." - Jean Juvénal des UrsinsThe red sunlight thing happens all the time though I guess its excusable. Image what it would be like if all of a sudden you became mostly colorblind and could barely see, you became half deaf and your muscles lost half their effectiveness. You would still be theoretically functional but you would be heavily disoriented.
"War without fire is like sausages without mustard." - Jean Juvénal des UrsinsYou know that he has a number of abilities that don't involve water in any way, right?
I mean seriously, this is like saying that you want to write Superman out because he's not at his best in sunlight. Hell, his current book (which is excellent, btw) was initially centered around how dumb this idea is.
I really do not know why Super Friends is so embedded in popular thought here, that show was terrible. Granted, as a little kid I did not have the intellect to recognize it, but given the choice I would watch my dad's tapes of Spiderman And His Amazing Friends or Transformers over Super Friends any time...I remember liking the Super Powers Team a little more but Centurions or Johnny Quest was still preferable, real adventures or otherwise.
Spider-man and his amazing friends, I loved how that show made Spider-man made so many jokes at Spider-man's expense when compared to his two side kicks. Iceman and Firestar have already stopped the bank robbers before Peter Parker is done getting into costume. Iceman and Firestar are immune to weather while Spider-man freezes and sweats like everyone else. His friends can fly while Spider-man can barely keep up on his limited, expensive web fluid.
Spider-man would eventually remind everyone why he was the leader, and his friends never gave him a hard time, but he had to prove it to the audience every other episode. I suppose that is how an Aquman team would have to go to get people to take him seriously again. Team his with two partners who are, in theory, superior to him in every way but do not have as much Super-Strength, do not have his connections as royalty as well as fish talking. Maybe give his magic hand some varied uses as well. Acknowledge that Aquaman, like Spider-man, is not the most impressive superhero in every situation, have the characters take note of it and not care because he is still good at what he does, and to that end do not make him a one trick pony.
Spider-man had his strength, his danger sense, his knowledge in chemistry and had a similar sense of humor to Iceman (he had more than one trick and a reason for people to like him even when he was not able to contribute much).
Buldogue's lawyerAs well-received as Bat B was, you're talking about supplanting mainstream pop culture here. The show needs DCAU levels of fame and time to even come in the ballpark.
Yes, but his name is AQUA man. His powers and iconography should involve the ocean in SOME manner. Being a brick is great; the problem is the JLA already has much more impressive bricks with additional abilities like flight and heat vision. So I can see why so many writers are at a loss as to what to do with him.
Sure he can smash shit but if that's all the plot requires of him, why do you need him anyway? It's the same problem someone else mentioned with Super Friends-era Hawkman. He didn't have his mace or guns so his powers were just "Look, I can fly!" Great! Except he's on a team with several other people who can not only fly, but also have things like super strength as well.
edited 2nd Sep '13 7:40:41 AM by comicwriter
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Probably because most of the impressive uses of water are also lethal — trapping someone in a globe of water and drowning them or cutting them in half with a high-pressure jet of water is scary, but also doesn't fit the impression most people have of superheroes.
edited 2nd Sep '13 8:46:13 AM by CorrTerek
Giving him the power to create water, give people spasms with his mind or to dance so beautifully that lions lay down with lambs won't effect the pop culture view of Aquaman because his comic incarnation matters sod all to the mainstream.
If you want Aquaman to change, you find a great writer to write a graphic novel or a run with him. Then another one. Once you have a few, DC can give them to a producer/director and say "THIS is Aquaman". Like they do with Arkham Asylum. Then they make TV shows, cinema and cartoons that change his image. Brave and The Bold has/will have more of an effect on the view point of Aquaman than anything the comic has done.
Giving him more powers isn't the answer. Power creep rarely makes anyone cooler.
And stop starting EVER conversation about Aquaman with "People think he's lame" even if it's followed by "but". That's just priming people to think Aquaman is lame. It's reinforcing that view. Basic psychology.
edited 2nd Sep '13 9:21:22 AM by Anteres

I think it boils down to: Aquaman was created in World War II (IE, a time when U-boats were viable enemies), and for most of his history his concept was only strong enough to merit backup story or supporting character status. Getting thrown into the spotlight as he was was not kind to such a character.