Aquaman's Sidekicks
Superhero sidekicks might make us think about Batman, but it turns out, Aquaman has just as many (if not more) sidekicks than Batman.
Aquaman 2 (the movie also known as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), gave us a buddy film team-up of Aquaman with his brother, Ocean Master.
In the eight decades of Aquaman comics, you are more likely to see Aquaman with a sidekick than in a team-up.
If you’re talking about superhero sidekick, you would be forgiven for saying, “Aquaman and….who exactly?”
Aquaman goes a little unnoticed when it comes to sidekicks which is slightly surprising. Aquaman is open to all kinds of sidekicks: male, female and octopus. Yes, that was octopus.
Unlike Batman who only has a female sidekick for a very short amount of time (when Stephanie Brown briefly becomes Robin) or in a different universe (see Frank Miller’s groundbreaking The Dark Knight Returns for Carrie Kelley’s appearance as Robin), Aquaman’s first sidekick was female and he’s had two others.
Here’s a rundown of some of the Aquaman sidekicks you might not know about:
Aquagirl
Aquaman is probably a little older than you might think. Created in 1941, Aquaman is as old as Captain America and Wonder Woman. In 1959, Lisa Morel became the first Aquaman sidekick, Aquagirl. She only lasted one issue, as did the second Aquagirl, Selena in 1963.
Fear not. In 1967, Tula Marius appeared in Aquaman #33. For the next couple of decades, Tula fights at Aquaman’s side, has a relationship with Aqualad and is a member of the Teen Titans. Unfortunately, Tula is killed during the 1985 storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths, but is rebooted in 2011 with the New 52.
When Aquagirl is returned to continuity, she comes back with vengeance. Tula’s backstory makes her the half-sister of Ocean Master, Aquaman’s half brother. And Tula doesn’t really go by Aquagirl. As a high-ranking officer in Atlantis’ black-ops division, she is a little more serious than Aquagirl might have her sound.
Before Tula makes it back as Aqugirl, the submerging of San Diego in the 2004 Aquaman event, Sub Diego (see what they did there?), leads to Lorena Marquez becoming Aquagirl. It is a familiar story: an entire city is submerged in water, a teenager is exposed to an experimental chemical based on Aquaman’s DNA and gets underwater abilities.
Lorena supports Aquaman and joins the Teen Titans (a bit of trend forming here), but Lorena fades away with the return of Tula in the New 52.
Aqualad (Garth)
If you know any Aquaman sidekicks, you might know Aqualad. At least the first Aqualad, Garth. And yes, it’s just Garth. No second name for Grath despite the fact his parents are King Thar and Queen Berra.
Garth’s powers and backstory are similar to Aquaman’s, except Garth is all Atlantean. The problem with Garth is his father was a little crazy. During the Death of a Prince storyline in 1960, Garth goes on a quest of personal discovery and finds out that his father was the ruler of a peaceful kingdom who actively looked for war and conflict. He saw enemies wherever he looked so his people hid weapons from him and took Aqualad’s mother away for her own safety.
Garth is rejected by underwater people, partly because he is initially afraid of fish (a bit of a drawback for an Atlantean). Aquaman adopts Garth and makes him his sidekick. Aqualad eventually becomes a member of the Teen Titans (it’s starting to feel like nepotism) and just like Dick Grayson, the first Robin, changes his name.
While Robin becomes known as Nightwing, Garth changes his superhero name to Tempest. Both changes sound like improvements.
Aquababy
It’s all right there in the name. Aquababy was the tragic diminutive sidekick of Aquaman (his dad) and Mera (his mother) and he was a baby.
Otherwise known as Arthur Curry Jr., Aquababy first appeared in 1965 as the son of Aquaman and Mera.
If you caught the new Aquaman movie, you might have seen a slightly different version of Aquababy. In the comics, Aquababy was unable to breathe air and could only breathe underwater.
He wasn’t exactly the most helpful sidekick. Aquaman and Mera would occasionally take him on missions or leave him with Topo the octopus sidekick. Most of the time, Aquaman and Mera would get in trouble when Aquababy was around and would need to take care of the threat and their kid. They certainly were hard working parents.
Unfortunately, in the comics, Aquababy’s story is tragic. He becomes the victim of Black Manta’s anger and causes a rift between Aquaman and Mera. Aquaman: Death of a Prince is a good story, if you get the chance.
Aqualad (Jackson Hyde)
After Grath became Tempest, Jackon Hyde took his place as the second Aqualad. A little bit of different origin story, Jackson is the son of Black Manta (you know, Aquaman’s arch-enemy) and Xebelian rebel Lucia.
When Jackson’s mother discovers the truth nature of Black Manta, she takes her son and flees to the surface where she calls herself Lucia Hyde. Jackson exhibits Atlantean powers including the ability to control water.
To keep Jackson safe, Lucia lives as far away from the water as possible. So it is a little bit of a shock when he discovers the truth about his mother and father.
Jackson also joins the Teen Titans (I know, I’m shocked too). He is openly gay and continues to struggle with his father.
Having spent time as Aquaman’s sidekick, Jackson decides to change his superhero name to Aquama. Yep, slightly confusing, but we manage.
Salty the Aquadog
A final mention goes to Salty the Aquadog.
During The Trench storyline, Aquaman and Mera protect people from creatures from the Trench who have risen to feed off of land dwellers. Aquaman and Mera travel down to the Trench and break open the creature’s cocoons used to hold their food.
Salty helps Aquaman and Mera figure out how the people manages to survive, helping them save the kidnapped people and defeating the creatures of the Trench.
After the battle has been fought, Salty’s owner cannot be found and is adopted by Aquaman and Mera. But Salty isn’t exactly the greatest Aquaman sidekick as he cannot swim.
And if you are saying to yourself, “What about Mera? Why isn’t she on the list?”
Aquaman and Mera are married in 1964 making her less of a sidekick and just a partner.
The story of Aquababy (and a good deal more) can be found in the graphic novel Aquaman: The Death of a Prince, Aquaman: The Becoming and Aquaman:The Trench features Salty (these are paid affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I will earn a small income from qualifying purchases, but won’t cost you any more).
You forgot his Topo Ark The Seal (his first animal sidekick) Phineas Pike The Sea Sleuth his first human sidekick I say first because all the other ones only ever lasted one appearance however Phineas lasted two or three appearances which isn't much but it counts for something and Steve Sender a prototype Aqualad who appeared once in Adventure Comics #162 but had a costume which was just Aquaman's with a helmet and a different color scheme funnily enough however this costume has the same colors associated with Garth blue and red (well okay the red is only on the buckle but still) as for Phineas just look him up on Comic Vine I can't remember when he first appeared