Aquaman Special #1 [Newsstand]

([May] 1989)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

DC Publishorial / in-house column / 0.67 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 2) (Expand) /

DC Check List This Week / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.33 page (report information)

The Legend of Aquaman (Table of Contents: 3)

Aquaman / comic story / 44 pages (report information)

Script

Keith Giffen (credited) (plot); Robert Loren Fleming (credited) (script)

Pencils

Curt Swan (credited); Keith Giffen (credited) (breakdowns)

Inks

Eric Shanower (credited)

Colors

Tom McCraw (credited)

Letters

Agustin Más (credited)

Job Number

G-3585

First Line of Dialogue or Text

He wasn't supposed to live.

Feature Logo

The Legend of Aquaman

Genre

superhero

Characters

Aquaman [Arthur Curry]; Arthur Curry Sr. (Aquaman's adoptive father, death); Vulko; Justice League of America [Black Canary [Dinah Lance]; Green Lantern [Hal Jordan]; The Flash [Barry Allen]; Martian Manhunter [J'onn J'onzz]]; King Thesily (unnamed here); Atlanna (Aquaman's mother, death); Aqualad [Garth]; Mera; Arthur Curry Jr. (Aquaman's son, death)

Synopsis

An Atlantean baby born with the deformity of golden hair, the young Aquaman was left to die on Mercy Reef, but survived due to his ability to breathe air. Surviving as a boy in the ocean on his own, he befriends lighthouse keeper Arthur Curry, who takes him in and gives him the name Arthur. Upon his father's death, young Arthur seeks out and finds Atlantis where he is taken prisoner. He is befriended by Vulko, and upon learning of his mother's death, he escapes from Atlantis and becomes a hero in the surface world. Years later he returns to Atlantis and becomes king.

Reprints

• in Aquaman: The Legend of Aquaman (DC, 2018 series) ([May] 2018)
• in Aquaman: 80 Years of the King of the Seven Seas The Deluxe Edition (DC, 2023 series) ([April] 2023)

Keywords

Aquarium Prison; Atlantean Royal Palace; Atlantic Ocean; Atlantis; Curry Lighthouse; Maine; Manhattan; Mercy Reef; New York City; Poseidonis

Indexer Notes

This tells a very different (post-Crisis) version of Aquaman's origin and early life. Here Aquaman is the adoptive son of lighthouse keeper Arthur Curry. His pre-Crisis biological father's name was Tom Curry. His post-crisis biological father is not revealed here.