The Many Faces Of… Aquaman

Superman protects Metropolis. So what? Batman watches over Gotham City. Big deal! 75% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, which means that one superhero in the DC universe has way more territory under his jurisdiction than any other. That man is none other than Arthur Curry, the King of Atlantis, better known to the super-powered crowd as Aquaman.

Aquaman first appeared in “More Fun Comics” # 73 in November of 1941. Dressed in orange and green, Aquaman had the power to live underwater and communicate with sea creatures. Though comparison to Marvel’s own undersea character, Namor The Sub-Mariner, was inevitable (Namor debuted in 1939), there was a stark difference between Subby and Aquaman. The Sub-Mariner was violent and edgy, and could almost be considered a super-villain rather than a hero in his early appearances. Aquaman, on the other hand, was unquestionably one of the good guys. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as popular. Most of his appearances were in back-up stories in titles like “Adventure Comics,” “Detective Comics,” “World’s Finest Comics,” and “Showcase.” It wasn’t until 1960, in “TheBrave and The Bold” #28 that Aquaman even graced the cover of a comic book (this issue was the first appearance of the original Justice League), and he didn’t land his own comic book series until 1962, more than 20 years after his debut.

Aquaman swam his way onto the small screen in animated form in 1967, teamed with none other than the Man of Steel himself. “The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure” featured Marvin Miller as Aquaman and Jerry Dexter as his sidekick, Aqualad. Each episode contained two stories, a Superman tale and an Aquaman tale. The Aquaman half was later repackaged with a different hero such as the Flash, Green Lantern or The Atom starring in the second story. Marvin Miller, who passed away in 1985, had many voice acting roles over the course of his career, including many characters on cartoons like “Mister Magoo,” “Gerald McBoing Boing” and “The Pink Panther and Friends.” Jerry Dexter lent his voice to “Scooby Doo,” “Challenge of the Go-Bots,” and “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” and also made some appearances of the live-action variety on “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”

Norman Alden would be the first of two actors to voice Aquaman for the various “SuperFriends” cartoons of the 70’s. The series was infamous among fans for its humorous attempts to shoehorn some type of water element into the plot in order to give Aquaman something to do. Mr. Alden had many minor roles guest starring on TV shows of the 70’s and 80’s, encompassing “The A-Team,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Gunsmoke,” “Eight is Enough,” “The Love Boat” and many others. Some of his more recent appearances in movies include “K-PAX” and “Patch Adams.”

For “The Challenge of the SuperFriends” in 1978, Bill Callaway assumed the role of Aquaman. Callaway, who voiced Bizarro on the show as well (it was not uncommon for the voice actors to portray two or more characters each), could also be heard as the voice of Clumsy Smurf on “The Smurfs,” and later had voice roles on shows like “Darkwing Duck” and “Tom and Jerry Kids.” He also appeared on several of the same live-action TV shows as some of the other actors listed here, including “Gomer Pyle,” “Gunsmoke” and “Eight is Enough.”

Next came probably one of the stranger and most mysterious projects to involve the Aquaman character. There exists a live-action “Aquaman” movie which came out in 1984, that can currently be found pretty much exclusively in bootleg form at various comic book conventions. The film, which is alternately described as a made for TV movie or an unaired pilot, was in fact a UCLA student project which won several film festival awards. It was written and directed by Thomas Farr and Jeff Klein, and starred Gordon Goodman as Aquaman. It had a campy, “1960’s Batman” type of feel to it, and had Aquaman going up against a villain called The Angler. Despite not being officially licensed by DC, this film makes the list because of its infamy among comic fans, and because it is one of the only live action interpretations of the character.

In the 1990’s, the Aquaman of the comic books took a significant turn. In an era where DC seemed determine to “shake up” its main characters (think “The Death of Superman”), Arthur Curry seemed due for an overhaul. He ditched his bright orange and green outfit, grew a beard and long hair, and found himself with a hook after losing his hand in a fight with one of his enemies. This new look came complete with a darker, edgier attitude as well.

Aquaman would get another animated turn in 1999 in an episode of “Superman The Animated Series.” Though he kept his traditional orange and green costume and short hair, this version of the character did have the darker attitude of his comic book counterpart. The episode involved Aquaman declaring war on surface-dwellers after Lex Luthor tested a series of bombs in the ocean, threatening Aquaman’s home. Miguel Ferrer lent his voice to the character this time around. It is interesting to note that Aquaman was not the first character that Ferrer voiced for the series… he previously played the villainous “Weather Wizard” in a 1997 episode. That same year, Ferrer had played the villainous “Weather Man” in the live-action “Justice League” pilot (another project which has sadly been relegated to the bootleg tables at most comic conventions). Ferrer’s casting as the Weather Wizard on the animated series was likely a nod to the live action role.

In 2001, the animated Aquaman would get a bit of an update on Cartoon Network’s “Justice League.” Though “JL” shares a continuity with “Superman The Animated Series,” the producers decided that Aquaman should by now have developed his beard-and-long-hair look that he had in the comics. The show even created their own interpretation of how he wound up with that hook… with his hand trapped under a rock after a landslide and his infant son in mortal danger, Aquaman cuts off his own hand in order to save his child’s life. For the new series, Scott Rummell replaced Ferrer in the voice role. Rummell’s voice may sound familiar to movie goers, as he provides voice overs for many film trailers.

Aquaman has made another unofficial foray into live action recently on the Mark Wahlberg HBO series “Entourage.” On the show, the Vincent Chase character, played by Adrian Grenier, is set to play Aquaman in a fictitious live-action movie to be helmed by “Titanic” director James Cameron.

Given the recent boom in superhero movies, it should be no surprise that the idea of a big screen Aquaman adventure really has been tossed around in Hollywood. At one point, Kiefer Sutherland of “24” fame was said to be up for the title role. Though no stars are currently attached to the project, Alan Riche, producer of the “Mod Squad” and “Starsky and Hutch” films, is supposedly interested. Whether this film will actually materialize or not remains to be seen.

On the October 20th episode of “Smallville,” Aquaman will follow in the footsteps of the Flash and make an appearance of the WB teen heart-throb variety. In an episode appropriately titled “Aqua,” Alan Ritchson will guest star as Arthur “A.C.” Curry, a marine biology student with special powers and a grudge against Lex Luthor. Ritchson is a former “American Idol” contestant from the show’s third season (though “Smallville” fans won’t be likely to recognize him, since “Idol” and “Smallville” were competitors for the same time-slot that year!). This episode is quite monumental, as it will hold the distinction of being the first official live-action appearance of Aquaman!

Aquaman has proven to be a surprisingly enduring superhero, considering the fact that he survived only in back-up stories for the first 20 years or so of his existence. For some reason, he seems to have done particularly well in animation. With the “SuperFriends” version being the one that most casual fans are familiar with, Aquaman tends to have a reputation for being a lame, one-note character. However, he has proven that he can evolve. Recently, the comics have given him back his traditional costume, and he now has an elemental hand rather than the hook, but still retains his more serious attitude. Though he still may not command the respect that Superman and Batman do, maybe what has kept Aquaman around all these years is his ability to adapt. He has proven that he is able to change, like the tides themselves.

Looking for more on Aquaman? Visit AquamanTV.com!

Note: The views of Russ Dimino don’t necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.