AQUAMAN (Arthur Curry)
Created By: Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris
Role: The Joke of Pop Culture, Bad-Ass King, The Anti-Hero, The Grouch
Voice Actor: Scott Rummell
Finest Moment: Cut off his own F***ING HAND to save his son (or) "King of the Seas, Remember?"
PL 11 (214)
STRENGTH 10 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 2 (+12)
Deception 4 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+12)
Expertise (King of Atlantis) 12 (+13)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 10 (+13)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 8 (+11)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Hook-Hand) 4 (+12)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 2 (+3)
Vehicles 4 (+4)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Benefit 6 (League Member, King of Atlantis), Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Fast Grab, Favoured Environment (Underwater), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Hook-Hand), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Leadership, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 8, Rallying Cry
Powers:
"Atlantean Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Drowning, Pressure, Cold) [3]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Swimming 9 (250 mph) [9]
Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
Immunity 10 (Water Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]
"Hook Hand"
Blast 8 (16) -- [18]
- AE: Snare 8 (Feats: Tether, Reversible) (Flaws: Limited to One Target -2) (10)
- AE: Strength-Damage +1 (1)
Communication (Mental) 2 (Extras: Area) (Flaws: Limited to Marine Life) [8]
Comprehend (Animals) 2 (Flaws: Limited to Marine Life) [2]
Mind-Reading 8 (Flaws: Limited to Marine Life) [8]
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Hook Hand +11 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Hook Shot +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Snare +12 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +10, Fortitude +11, Will +8
Complications:
Responsibility (King of Atlantis)
Relationship (Mera & Son)
Reputation (Hard-Ass)- Few people like Aquaman overly-much. He's kind of an ass, and very imperious.
Total: Abilities: 84 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 56 / Defenses: 15 (214)
-LOL, my prior Aquaman JLU build is so old that I go into a two-paragraph rant about how dumb Aquaman is and how he'll never be made cool or interesting, and so DC should stop trying because even Peter David couldn't remove him as a pop culture joke. And then Hollywood figures out that you can stick some attractive man in the costume and then make 70% of what a Marvel movie does, and now Aquaman is cool. In that one movie. I mean, the comics are probably still just scraping by, but whatever.
-When Aquaman made his mandatory appearance in Justice League, the showrunners had some decisions to make- they didn't want him on the team, they wanted an Atlantis story (even though "Atlantis Is Boring"), and they had to make up for the fact that Aquaman was one of pop culture's biggest recurring jokes, as "The Guy Who Talks To Fish". As this was on the heels of the Peter David "I got my hand eaten so have a hook and a beard now" Aquaman, they were left with a more badass-looking, grumpy version, so at least they could have him be a gruff asshole most of the time, giving them more to work with in terms of conflict.
-JLU's Aquaman ended up being in some pretty good stuff, and came off way better than the comics version- they played up the "overly-serious ass" part of his personality, and gave him a MUCH more bad-ass reason to lose his hand (he willingly cut off his own hand to save his son's life... versus the guy who had it eaten by piranhas in the comics). Portrayed as the grumpy xenophobe that Peter David re-wrote him as (and Grant Morrison furthered in his own JLA run), he was hard to deal with, but unquestionably bad-ass. He even beat Wonder Woman once, and it wasn't supposed to be funny (he was overpowered, but cleverly got her into the water, where she couldn't breathe). And then he called off Icthultu's legions of alien monsters by getting his whale & shark allies to kill them all as they came through the portal- pretty much the most incredible version of "He Talks to Fish" possible to make it NOT look like a joke (and in a later episode, he summoned an actual Sea Monster).
-Aquaman showed up with the League in a handful of JLU adventures, teaming up with Dr. Fate & Solomon Grundy as a riff on Marvel's Defenders, and helping the main team defeat the Ultimen, giving him ANOTHER bad-ass feat (Downpour turns into a tidal wave and blasts him- Aquaman just stands there and is like "King of the SEAS, remember?"). However, a similar circumstance to the "Bat-Embargo" that removed all Bat-related characters from the franchise also befell the creators when a studio gained the rights to the TV version of Aquaman (a Pilot episode was made, but it didn't take), and so the DCAU was no longer allowed to use him or any of his characters- this led to Aquaman disappearing from the show for good, and Black Manta being turned into "Devil Ray" instead.
-A PL 11 powerhouse, Aquaman has all kinds of advantages. He's a physical demon who's quite accurate, has a lethal hook hand with a few other properties, and he can communicate with all forms of sea life. It's not really Animal Control, but he's never really shown as having TROUBLE getting any sea monsters to obey his commands. They just kinda do it without a fuss because of his job, which I guess is part of his Benefit (King of the Seas) package- I really dislike the "Official" DCA build making it a Summon effect- that means Aquaman could summon whatever he wanted right next to him in a pool or a tub. And it's kind of an ugly way to showcase the "stuff just shows up when he calls" effect. And like Devil Ray, he's much more dangerous in the water, easily equaling the Big Seven of the Justice League in that manner. As as Downpour of the Ultimen found out, hitting him with a Water Cannon just isn't going to work.
About the Performer: Scott Rummell is a vocal performer who actually mostly does movie trailers and voiceovers for network TV. On "JLU", he played Aquaman, but it's among his only acting credits.