Aquaman, Why?

[Vic Vega]

Ironically, it was also SUPERFRIENDS that gave Aquaman a pop culture profile beyond the realm of DC Comics readers. Imagine if Aquaman had never appeared on that show; his status today in overall pop culture would probably be at the level of the Martian Manhunter or the Red Tornado.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

THis is what I always thought.

More people remember the Superfriends Cartoon than the 60's Filmation cartoon which had Aqualad and Mera.

Almost nobody remembers that cartoon (or the Flash, Hawkman and GL toons that were also features then for that matter) but Filmation fans
and DC heads of a (cough) certain age.

My...um older brother told me about them. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Superfriends may have helped make Aquaman a joke, but that is better than the pop cultural non entity that was Hawkman
(who didn't show up on Superfriends until later).

[Vanguard-01]

Yes, Superfriends made the public aware of Aquaman. And then they spent the last 30-odd years ripping him to bits.

Now this isn't necessarily Superfriend's fault. It's DC's fault. Superfriends was the last time Aquaman was in the public eye. All they had to work with was that one (very bad) portrayal. If they had kept Aquaman in the public eye in different incarnations the way they did with Batman? Then things may have been different for him.

[Lightning Rider]

Aquaman is a King with his own army who controls life in 96.5 percent of the world. His ability to impact world events is constantly understated but his capacity is always acknowledged. His power set away from water may not seem as specialized, but strength and mild telepathy aren't all he has to offer. He's a natural leader and a skilled warrior. He has the perfect qualities to be a League member. Diplomatic when possible, but unafraid to fight hard when necessary. A reliable powerhouse with good judgement rounds out the team well. Not to mention the fact Atlantis being a civilization deserves a sort of representative to the surface world. The League is an amalgamation of survivors form other civilizations, it's only right he be there too.

This is of course on top of the fact that he's a founding member and he's always been important to the team. DC can't just "find" a member with the same connections.

[Flash Gordon]

I'm saying in the reboot he shouldn't be that way. You're starting from scratch here. The name "Aquaman" shouldn't mean anything except with regard to his origin.

And lose that dumb-assed orange shirt that makes him look like a goldfish. He should never be seen with a trident either. He should never even jump into a swimming pool.

It's the connections to water that make him a joke.

Sooooo, he'd just be some random guy then?

[Flash Gordon]

Aquaman is the strongest man born on Earth, he's a king, he rules a vast majority of the Earth- need I say more?

[Trey Strain]

Yes, in 2018. They will start shooting it in Australia next year. Prior to that we'll get to see elements of Aquaman and Atlantis in next years 'Justice League' movie. They are safeguarding one of the three Infin...erm....Mother Boxes on Earth.



Thank God you'll never, EVER have any bearing/input on DC's development of Aquaman (or Atlantis).

Yes, he's a smashing success the way they depict him, isn't he? God forbid that anyone would take him out of the punchlines of The Big Bang Theory.

[Trey Strain]

Sooooo, he'd just be some random guy then?

No, his powers would be traceable to his place of origin. Just as Superman's powers are traceable to his place of origin.

What can sea creatures do? They're strong, they can withstand enormous pressures, they can go for extended periods without breathing, they can regenerate lost body parts, they have heightened senses, they have sonar, they have homing instincts so that they never get lost, etc.

Nobody would laugh at a character like that.

[The Darknight Detective]

THis is what I always thought.

More people remember the Superfriends Cartoon than the 60's Filmation cartoon which had Aqualad and Mera.

Almost nobody remembers that cartoon (or the Flash, Hawkman and GL toons that were also features then for that matter) but Filmation fans
and DC heads of a (cough) certain age.

My...um older brother told me about them. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Superfriends may have helped make Aquaman a joke, but that is better than the pop cultural non entity that was Hawkman
(who didn't show up on Superfriends until later).

I remember the Filmation shows very well when I was a preschooler (I was my own older brother ). Aquaman was at his best at that time. As for Super Friends, nobody thought he was a joke until years later in retrospect. The constraints placed on Saturday morning of that time shows hurt him more than the other characters.

[LifeIsILL]

What can sea creatures do? They're strong, they can withstand enormous pressures, they can go for extended periods without breathing, they can regenerate lost body parts, they have heightened senses, they have sonar, they have homing instincts so that they never get lost, etc.

Sounds like Namor.....or a bunch of Marvel characters put together to form random Superhero X

[Vic Vega]

Aquaman is a King with his own army who controls life in 96.5 percent of the world. His ability to impact world events is constantly understated but his capacity is always acknowledged. His power set away from water may not seem as specialized, but strength and mild telepathy aren't all he has to offer. He's a natural leader and a skilled warrior. He has the perfect qualities to be a League member. Diplomatic when possible, but unafraid to fight hard when necessary. A reliable powerhouse with good judgement rounds out the team well. Not to mention the fact Atlantis being a civilization deserves a sort of representative to the surface world. The League is an amalgamation of survivors form other civilizations, it's only right he be there too.

This is of course on top of the fact that he's a founding member and he's always been important to the team. DC can't just "find" a member with the same connections.

Authur's place in Justice League was supplanted by J'onn Jonnz The Retroactive Heart of The Justice League in the 80's and onwards.

The DCAU Cartoon replaced him with Hawkwoman and kept Martian Manhunter.

Manhuter added a pathos to the JLA that even Batman didn't (J'onn got to watch not only his planet die but his wife and kid) where it was explict that the League was all the poor sucker had left.

Aquaman was never mined for pathos quite as much as Manhunter was despite having his kid killed off in the 70's (!).

Aquaman's omision from the Justice League cartoon saved Wonder Woman from being the Smurfette of the Justice League.

Not saying that the character doesn't deserve to be in the League, its that there are benefits to leaving him in particular out.

[Trey Strain]

Sounds like Namor.....or a bunch of Marvel characters put together to form random Superhero X

Namor can do all that? I don't even keep up with him. And what's random about this? Aquaman has more powers but he still comes from Atlantis. It's just that nobody has to swallow the nonsense that it still exists in the modern world.

If you think Aquaman is fine the way he is, you're entitled to. The sales of the comic don't reflect a lot of support for that depiction.

[Vic Vega]

I remember the Filmation shows very well when I was a preschooler (I was my own older brother ). Aquaman was at his best at that time. As for Super Friends, nobody thought he was a joke until years later in retrospect. The constraints placed on Saturday morning of that time shows hurt him more than the other characters.

I personally blame the writing.

The Filmation shows also had a Justice League segment. Those were interesting in that while Superman, Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern Aquaman and Atom show up in the intros, Aquaman never shows up in the 2 JLA cartoons done. Maybe because they both involved space aliens.

At least Aqualad got to participate in the Filmation Teen Titans segements. He never did anything useful that I remember... but at least he was THERE.

In retrospect, the Superfriends depiction of Aquaman as the designated sea rescue dude wasn't all that bad.

Be thankful we didn't get "constantly pissed off about pollution" Aquaman.

[AcesX1X]

Namor can do all that? I don't even keep up with him. And what's random about this? Aquaman has more powers but he still comes from Atlantis. It's just that nobody has to swallow the nonsense that it still exists in the modern world.

If you think Aquaman is fine the way he is, you're entitled to. The sales of the comic don't reflect a lot of support for that depiction.

namor can also fly, blow up his body like a puffer fish, spit water like a sprinkler, and discharge electrical shocks on command.

[RobinFan4880]

1. King of Atlantis
2. Super Strength
3. Super Durability
4. "Marine Animal Suggestion"
5. Access to powerful relics/artifacts
6. Access to the magical world

That's more than most heroes bring to the JLA.

[Trey Strain]

namor can also fly, blow up his body like a puffer fish, spit water like a sprinkler, and discharge electrical shocks on command.

I don't think Aquaman should do that stuff. Anyway Namor still pretty much stays in the water, right? Aquaman shouldn't because there's no place for him to go back to.

This is still the same character but with more powers. He still comes from Atlantis but nobody has to swallow the idea that Atlantis. still exists.

There's nothing random about it.