Highlights
- Aquaman's portrayal has often been misunderstood and ridiculed, but there are great versions of him across all media.
- Jason Momoa's charismatic performance in the live-action DCEU movies helped the character gain popularity among fans.
- Geoff Johns' Aquaman run in The New 52 reboot was highly praised, showing an Aquaman who is strong, capable, and dealing with both superheroic and personal challenges.
Aquaman has always been a difficult character to portray. He first appeared in 1941 and was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger. Aquaman was a success for DC Comics, but he didn't shine until the first issue of Justice League in 1960. The idea was to bring together Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to help bolster the sales of characters in other lesser-known comics. Luckily, Aquaman was one such hero, and he is often seen as a part of DC's flagship team.
However, much of the public has often viewed the character as a goofy joke thanks to his time on the Superfriends show. This is where he became the seahorse-riding guy who spoke to fish. For years since, Aquaman has not seen much representation among fans, and the jokes on Family Guy didn't help. However, there are several great versions of Aquaman across all media.
6 Harley Quinn
The animated Harley Quinn TV show was a surprise hit for a lot of DC fans. Since this show takes place in the DC Universe, it only makes sense that Aquaman shows up at some point, as a complete satire of the comics for this DC-female-villain-led show.
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Longtime fans of Aquaman are eagerly anticipating the release of Arthur Curry's DCEU sequel. Until then, these recommended comics should suffice.
This comedy show is too clever to make easy jokes about Aquaman talking to fish or being useless on land. Instead, this version of the sea-faring hero is a jovial soul, perhaps a bit too jovial to notice some of the water-based innuendos slipping out of his mouth. Voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos, this version of Aquaman has a booming voice and a royal presence.
5 Live Action DCEU
Jason Momoa was announced as the first live-action version of Arthur Curry to appear in a movie back in 2014. In that time, he had a small cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, appeared in both versions of the Justice League movie, and had his own solo movie. The Aquaman movie was also the first DC movie in the shared universe to reach $1 billion at the box office.
Perhaps it was Jason Momoa's natural charisma that brought fans out in droves to see his solo movie. Or perhaps it is the way he portrays Aquaman as a fun guy looking to have fun in every situation. Either way, it is clear that Aquaman fans love seeing this version of the character.
4 Justice League Animated Series
The Justice League animated series ran on Cartoon Network between 2001 and 2004. It featured a look at all the prominent members of the team including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. Although Aquaman wasn't in the show full-time, he did appear in a couple of spotlight episodes in the series, with one in particular called The Enemy Below.
As with all the characters in this show, this version of Aquaman was loosely based on the one appearing in the comics at the time. This means he was just coming out of his brooding, angst-ridden era and focusing on being a strong and competent leader in Atlantis.
3 Peter David's 90s Comic Book Run
In the 1990s, comic books were trying to prove that they were more than just a bunch of silly children's stories. This meant that almost every character received an extreme makeover. As the poster child for silly comic book heroes, Aquaman was one of the first to receive this type of reimagining.
Peter David was the writer of the series at this time. In his duty at the helm, he decided that it was time for Aquaman to be taken seriously. To do this, the writer came up with a story where Aquaman had to lose his hand and replace it with a large hook after trying to save his son from a trap laid by Black Manta. This transition turned Aquaman into the darkest and most cynical he had ever been.
2 Injustice: Gods Among Us
The main version of Aquaman that players get to see in this game is one from an alternate Earth. Superman's rise to power has caused the relationship to fracture between Atlantis and the surface world. This reality makes this version of Aquaman a stoic fighter and leader, one who retains all of his royal elegance and power.
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As fans wait for the announcement of Injustice 3, there are several options for which characters can join the roster.
As a playable character, Aquaman strikes a nice balance between some of the more agile fighters and heavy hitters. He isn't as sluggish as characters like Bane and Solomon Grundy, plus his trident gives Aquaman a bit more extra reach. His serious walk and special moves are also great examples of this no-nonsense version of Aquaman.
1 The New 52
The New 52 was an entire reboot of the DC Comics universe that occurred as a result of the Flashpoint event. While fans liked some of these reboot arcs more than others, it seems that Aquaman by Geoff Johns was a clear favorite.
This run of the character took a lot of what worked with Aquaman over the years and placed him in a world that still views the hero as an irrelevant joke. Arthur Curry shakes off a lot of the brooding nature of previous runs and remains an incredibly strong superhero in his own right. Such a re-imagining has Aquaman battling threatening sea monsters and dealing with the political strife that comes from ruling a nation one minute, and then dealing with the consequences of ordering fish and chips in a restaurant and attending his high school reunion the next. In short, this run has everything an Aquaman fan needs to see from the character.