Aquaman 2 Updates: In the post-crisis period, Aquaman’s origin story got a reboot and now it includes some shocking twists and turns, topped with a secret affair and a curse.
The Crisis on Infinite Earths series rebooted the internal DC universe. The post-crisis period of the 90s saw many comic book heroes like Aquaman, getting their origin story reshaped. Aquaman’s origin story became more twisted and came with a curse.
Originally, Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, is known as the product of two worlds. His mother is Atlanna, the Queen of Atlantis, who falls in love with a lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry and conceives Arthur. It becomes obvious from the start that Arthur is not like the other children as he is a natural swimmer and flaunts the ability to talk to fish.
Eventually, Atlanna reveals her true identity to him and tells Arthur that he is the true heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
Aquaman 2 Forgotten Curse
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However, post-crisis, DC created a different origin story for Aquaman. They scraped off his definition of being a product of two worlds and gave a more supernatural source for Aquaman’s powers. In 1990’s Atlantis Chronicles #7, Peter David offers a very different origin story of Aquaman’s powers. Instead of Tom Curry, a mortal, being Arthur’s father, the comic introduces Atlan as his father.
Atlan is a magical Atlantean prince who uses his magical powers to seduce Atlanna and conceive a child with her. This means that neither Atlanna’s husband nor Tom the lighthouse keeper is Arthur’s father. Arthur’s parentage causes problems because Atlan has distinctive blonde hair which he passes on to his son.
Arthur’s blonde hair, which is a rarity in Atlantis, picks at Atlantis’ long-held superstition. The superstition arises from Kordax, a tyrant who had bright blonde hair that is a rarity in Atlantis. It led to the belief that any child born with blonde hair carries the Curse of Kordax. Seeing Arthur’s blonde hair, Atlanna’s husband, King Trevis, believes that his son carries the curse. He then abandons the child on Mercy Reef to die.
On his way home, he finds out the truth about Arthur’s parentage and commits suicide, taking the secret of the baby’s location to the grave. The baby however is Aquaman with a natural ability to swim and talk to fish. He gets adopted by a pod of dolphins and when he is old enough, he finds his way to land and the lighthouse where he would grow up.
The reboot of the DC comics gave a very dramatic turn to Aquaman’s origin story introducing the concept of kings and legitimate heirs. However, Kordax’s curse in truth turns out to be Aquaman’s biggest blessing as it leads his way to become the great hero that he is.
