Arthur Curry: Our Ambassador of Hybrid

Who is DC's Arthur Curry?

Arthur Curry, also known as Orin, is a half-human and half-Atlantean who we probably know better as Aquaman. If he were a student of Metropolis University, he would definitely be in the Hybrid league as Human/Atlantean. Due to this interesting mix, Arthur got various interesting powers from his human side and also his Atlantean side. The Arthur Curry that we will talk about is the one from the Prime Earth Universe of DC!

The Story of Arthur Curry

Arthur Curry’s Life Before Atlantis

Arthur Curry was not just born to some common Atlantean. He was actually the son of Atlanna, the Atlantean Queen at the time, and a lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry. One would ask how they met, but it was probably pretty obvious: at the beach. However, their relationship did not end happily because of course, due to her duties, Atlanna had to return to Atlantis. Tom had to raise Arthur alone, and poor Tom who did not understand the Atlantean abilities that Arthur showed when he started to grow up. He had to ask Doctor Stephen Shin to help him understand Arthur’s abilities better. We’re glad that he at least got some help.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly a help because Shin was planning to release his research on Arthur to the public. Tom couldn’t accept this, so he decided to destroy everything related to Shin’s research except for Arthur's phial of blood. He took it, but Shin wanted it back. Shin hired Black Manta to retrieve this phial back from Tom, and this fight caused Tom a heart attack which later on, led to his death. Arthur tracked Black Manta down to avenge his father’s death. He managed to kill someone who he believed to be Black Manta, and eventually, he was brought back to Atlantis by Atlanna’s royal advisor.

Arthur Curry’s Atlantis Era

Arthur became the ruler of Atlantis. However, it only lasted for a while before his brother, Orm, took the throne. At least, Arthur made some good decisions while being in Atlantis. He stopped a so-called “self-defense” project of Atlantis that would launch attacks should the humans on the surface ever harm Atlantis. Aside from that, he also formed a team called The Others who were tasked to look for the Trident of Neptune and keep it safe. During this time and before he left Atlantis, Arthur met Mera and fell in love with her.

Arthur Curry and DC's Justice League

After leaving Atlantis, Arthur came across a lot of demon-like beings. During this fight, he met other superheroes of the DC Universe: Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman, Superman, and Cyborg. They tried to kill these beings, but it failed when the ruler, Darkseid, came. He managed to make all of them unconscious and took Superman. The five of them eventually teamed up and saved Superman, in which they succeeded. They decided to team up forever and formed a superhero team named Justice League.

Powers, Abilities, and Others

Powers

Arthur had a lot of powers, and most came from his body’s Atlantean side. He had an Atlantean Hybridized Physiology that also granted him superhuman durability (including energy and heat resistance), superhuman stamina, superhuman senses (including hearing and vision), superhuman reflexes, superhuman speed, superhuman strength, and accelerated healing. He also had latent magic that came with magic resistance and life force connection that came with marine telepathy and transformation.

Arthur Curry and Trident of Neptune

As mentioned before, Arthur formed The Others to look for this particular weapon. This weapon actually symbolized the royal line, in which it means it belonged to Arthur. This trident had the ability of energy transference in the DC Universe, which includes force field, eldritch blast, and physical augmentation.

Arthur Curry and Trident of Poseidon

Arthur obtained this weapon from Poseidon, and this weapon granted Arthur a lot of powers to win various fights. This trident came with the ability of divine empowerment that included weather manipulation, electrokinesis (including electro-blast), hydrokinesis (including hydroportation), cryokinesis, Thule magic resilience, Bane field manipulation, and also flight.

Abilities

Aside from his superpowers, Arthur also had some abilities that he most likely got from his time as a full human while he was still living with Tom. He had occultism, advanced hand-to-hand combat, politics, master swimmer (this one probably came from being an Atlantean too), diplomacy, swordsmanship, weaponry, leadership, multilingualism (he could speak Polynesian), and even fishing and driving. A whole package, one might say.

Weakness

Being a half-Atlantean, however, made him vulnerable against dehydration. In other words, he got thirsty faster than normal human beings in the DC Universe. He required water often, and it was not a surprise, considering that you could also assume that his body works like a fish, kinda.