More Fun Comics #73 (1941)
by Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris
Mort Weisinger is far better known as an editor than as a writer, but he created three Golden Age superheroes: Johnny Quick, Green Arrow and Aquaman.
Who honesty I keep forgetting is a Golden Age character!
We are getting closer to the war: this has a cover date of November 1941, and it begins with a civilian ship that is carrying refugees is attacked by a submarine.
That’s when Aquaman shows up, moving the refugees out of the line of fire…
…and kicking Nazis.
It’s fairly common for Golden Age superheroes to need a few stories to develop their signature gimmick, but Aquaman can talk to fish right from the start.
Well, technically to cetaceans, but the point stands.
That’s when the story stops to tell the origin story of Aquaman, and get ready because it’s something.
First and foremost, unlike basically every other incarnation of the character, BOTH of his parents were humans! Although we don’t know anything about his mother.
His father is “a famous undersea explorer”, so famous that we would recognize his name if Aquaman said it. Then why not just say it!?
Even if this Aquaman is not from Atlantis, it still shows up in the story… kind of.
Because his father found the ruins of Atlantis, built an undersea home there (!!!) and decided it was the best place to raise a child.
This is the best part of Golden Age Aquaman: he trained to breathe water!
Yes.
This is a thing that happened.
And if you think it’s just a weird way to say his father run some experiments on him… no, in the Golden Age, breathing water is explicitly something you can learn!!!
From More Fun Comics #81:
That’s all we learn about his father, by the way: he never receives a name.
Also Aquaman is literally called Aquaman as a first name in this.
You’d expect a Golden Age story to be already over at this point, but Aquaman is not done fighting Nazis.
Things you can train yourself to do in the Golden Age include breathing underwater, talking to fish and super-strength.
Oddly enough the last one WOULD be consistent in the Golden Age, because the Amazons in Wonder Woman are super-strong because they have the right mindset.
But apparently you can’t teach yourself to be invulnerable, so Aquaman is taken out by someone throwing a hammer.
When Aquaman refuses to give them his origins, they just throw him back into the ocean.
Kind of weird that he’s strong enough to withstand the pressure of the bottom of the ocean but not to withstand a hammer. It’s a different kind of force, granted, but still unusual from how these things are typically treated.
I might have jumped the gun in stating that he can talk to fish, because he doesn’t just call for help with his powers: he hast to send an emergency signal through some underwater plants that release green liquid.
Good thing that dolphins famously have great vision at the bottom of the ocean.
Also, he can punch holes in a submarine but couldn’t break those chains? Even back when he was on the surface?
So he’s back to punching Nazis…
…and BLOW THEM UP.
Historical significance: 4/10
Seriously, everyone keeps forgetting he’s a Golden Age character. Even the writers and editors, as you’ll see below.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
You can teach. Yourself. To breathe water.
Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
Very standard for the times, with solid artwork better than most. It’s extremely straightforward in the typical Golden Age fashion, but it stumbles a little to find interesting ways to utilize Aquaman’s abilities.
How close is this to the modern character? 3/10
He’s missing a lot of his classic traits: he’s not from Atlantis, he’s not half-human, and while he can TALK to fish they don’t HAVE to obey.
The look is already there, with one exception: the gloves. They’re typically yellow and a useful way to visually distinguish him from the Silver Age version with green gloves.
I’m reviewing from a recolored reprint that changes them to green, but in the original version they’re yellow like in the rest of the Golden Age.
I have to mention that while Aquaman didn’t have a secret identity at the time, he DID brieafly adopt one from Adventure Comics #120 from 1947… when he went to college.
As “Mr. Waterman”. It’s probably a pseudonym, but… remember that Aquaman is canonically his first name AND that we never learn his last name?
In my headcanon, his actual legal full name is Aquaman Waterman.
In terms of publishing history, Aquaman is arguably more successful than Namor during the Golden Age… but paradoxically, that’s because he kept a low profile.
He remained on More Fun Comics until #107 in 1946: unlike Green Arrow, without ever being on the cover.
Also like Green Arrow and other heroes, he then moves to Adventure Comics starting from #103 and remaining there for an incredible 15 YEARS, all the way until #284 in 1961!
So we can add Aquaman to the list of DC heroes that continued to be published without interruptions between the Golden and Silver age… and like Green Arrow, without his own series.
I’m sure the fact that both of them survived on the pages of Adventure Comics as backup features when Mort Weisinger was editor had nothing to do with it.
The transition between Golden and Silver Age Aquaman is not very clear. It’s generally considered to be either Adventure Comics #211 from 1955, basted on the fact that it’s when he begins wearing green gloves…
…or Adventure Comics #229 from 1956, where he gains his octopus sidekick Topo.
Don’t think too much about his boner, that word meant something else in 1956… or it would make this scene VERY different!!!
By 1959 he’s DEFINITELY the Silver Age version, because Adventure Comics #260 introduces a new origin for him.
Notice he has yellow gloves in this though, it’s not a consistent change for a while.
His new origin, written by Robert Bernstein with pencils by Ramona Fradon (who is probably THE Aquaman penciler if we’re talking Silver Age) is just a blatant copy of Namor’s origin!!!
The story of Aquaman in the Silver Age and past it is way too complex to get into the details, so let’s stick to the fate of the Golden Age version.
Who, as previously mentioned, writers and editors kept forgetting was a thing: here is Paul Levitz in 1979’s Adventure Comics #461 include Aquaman among the heroes who only exist in one Earth.
But they eventually remembered there WAS an Aquaman from Earth-Two: All-Star Squadron #59 hilariously begins with Aquaman tripping the team’s alarm because everyone forgot he was a member!!!
Unfortunately for him this is 1986, so the following issue is technically speaking his very last appearance.
