This winter, Aquaman will be embarking on one of life’s biggest adventures—fatherhood. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is swimming into theaters, and if you’ve seen the trailers, then you might have caught a glimpse of Aquaman’s infant son. Some of you may have heard about “Aquababy” and the role he plays in the comics. Wasn’t he part of a tragic storyline? Does he have powers like his father? Wasn’t he in a few of the cartoons? To help prepare you for Arthur Curry, Jr.’s cinematic introduction, let’s recap everything you need to know about this surprising—and at times, downright shocking—piece of Aquaman lore.

Arthur Curry, Jr. was born in 1965’s Aquaman #23. At the time, Arthur and Mera had only been married for five issues, so this was a surprising development. The comic begins with a doctor informing Arthur that Mera is pregnant and before the final page, Aquababy is born! (Doesn’t seem like that would leave much time to hold a baby shower and get a nursery ready, but at least they save money on maternity clothes!)

When the king and queen of Atlantis present the new prince to the kingdom, they introduce him as Aquababy. Seriously.

Aquaman’s son didn’t get a real name during his first appearance. In fact, he wouldn’t be called Arthur Curry, Jr. until Adventure Comics #446, eleven years after he was born! For the first decade of publication, everyone just called him Aquababy. To be fair, Aquaman rarely used his given name of Arthur during this period either and Aqualad wouldn’t be called Garth until 1985’s Tales of the Teen Titans #45 (twenty-four years after his first appearance). Arthur Jr. was just following the family tradition.

The birth of Aquababy was not only a significant development in Aquaman’s life, but for the DC Universe as a whole. In 1965, most of Aquaman’s superhero contemporaries were single. Not only was Aquaman married, but he had also just become a dad. This was somewhat revolutionary for a superhero comic. Aquaman was breaking the norms by showing the progression of his life as he started a family.

How did Atlantis react to the birth of their prince? By exiling him hours after his birth. I know what you’re thinking, exiling a newborn baby is kind of harsh—and it is!

What would drive a kingdom to banish a baby? Well, shortly after his birth, Arthur Jr. started displaying some weird powers. By pointing his fingers, the infant was able to conjure giant sea predators or shoot bolts of energy that leveled Atlantis’ architecture. Arthur deduced that Aquababy had these powers because a sorcerer had drugged Mera’s prenatal vitamins “as a prank.” (If you think I’m making any of this up, for the love of Neptune, read Aquaman #23.)

Aquababy’s powers eventually wore off and the royal family returned to the kingdom, forgiving the populace that had been eager to banish a newborn child hours earlier.

Two issues later, Arthur Curry, Jr. was preparing for his wedding day. No, Atlantean childhoods aren’t as fast as Atlantean pregnancies—this was the work of science gone wrong. In 1966’s Aquaman #25, Arthur Jr. wandered into an evil warlord’s lab and knocked over chemicals that turned him into a teenager. Like any teenage boy, Arthur Jr. immediately fell in love with the first girl that spoke to him. When he returned home, he informed his parents that he was now grown-up and would be getting married later that day.

To their credit, Aquaman and Mera were surprisingly chill about this.

“Relax, folks…I’m now Aquaboy!” exclaimed Arthur Jr. “I crawled into Liat’s father’s ship—had an accident with some lab serums and presto—I’m all grown up.”

“Fantastic,” Aquaman enthusiastically replied and three panels later, the royal couple threw an engagement feast for their son, unconcerned about missing his entire childhood.

This whole thing turned out to be an elaborate plot by an evil warlord to steal the Atlantean throne by having his daughter marry Aquaba—er, Aquaboy.  The aging serum wore off during the wedding ceremony, turning Arthur Jr. back into an infant. Aquaman and Mera defeated the warlord, and the entire kingdom of Atlantis all agreed to just pretend this incident never happened.

Then there was 1966’s Aquaman #28, which exposed some glaring weaknesses in Atlantis’ line of succession. Aquaman went missing during an adventure, forcing Mera to go out in search of her husband. Since this would leave Atlantis without a king and queen, Mera told the royal court that Aquababy was now in charge.

The court—who, lets be real, had probably gotten used to hearing whacked out things from their two monarchs by now—wisely reminded her that Aquababy was just an infant, and maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leave the kingdom in the hands of someone who can’t use a toilet or speak in complete sentences. Mera shrugged and appointed a royal regent to carry out Aquababy’s commands.

Needless to say, this went wrong very quickly.

The regent turned out to be a villain who had designs on the throne, and he ordered Atlantis to go to war with the surface world. Whenever anybody would question his villainous orders, he would simply tell them that the baby wanted them to do it. Aquaman and Mera were able to regain control and hopefully change Atlantean law so that going forward, there would be an age requirement for the throne.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all fun and games. Arthur Jr.’s life was tragically cut short after he was captured by Black Manta in 1977’s Adventures Comics #452. The villain put the child in a tank and slowly replaced the water with air. Aquaman was able to break the tank, but it was too late. His son had lost all life signs. Unaware that Arthur Jr. still had an ounce of life left, Aquaman went on a quest for vengeance against Black Manta. Meanwhile, Mera struggled to find healing technology to save her son. Her quest was unsuccessful, and Arthur Curry, Jr. was pronounced dead in 1978’s Aquaman #60.

The loss of Arthur Curry, Jr. was a shocking plot development. In 1978, children of superheroes were considered off-limits. They would be kidnapped, but they were always returned home safely at the end of the story. The death of Aquababy reminded readers that DC wasn’t afraid to take storytelling risks and shatter the conventions of superhero comics.

Aquman’s life was never the same. His rivalry with Black Manta became more personal, and his marriage to Mera hit some hard times. Ultimately, it took a lot of hard work and a few separations, but Arthur and Mera were able to heal their relationship.

Don’t worry, though. Arthur Curry, Jr. gets a happy ending in various other realities across the DC multiverse. Arthur Jr. was seen in the 2001 Justice League episode “The Enemy Below.” The baby was kidnapped by his uncle, the Ocean Master, but Aquaman was able to save the day. Arthur Jr. also had a reoccurring role in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This version of Arthur Jr. was a preteen, who wore a costume similar to the blue camouflage uniform Aquaman wore in the 1980s. He even gets to help Batman and his papa defeat the Penguin in the episode “Aquaman’s Outrageous Adventure!” Finally, Arthur Jr. has also been seen in the Young Justice animated series, where his name is spelled Artur. As of season four, Artur is a preteen.

What kind of journey will Aquababy have on the big screen? I’ll admit, I’m a bit nervous to see him in the same film as Black Manta. But who knows? Maybe James Wan will surprise us and adapt the story where Arthur Jr. becomes a king for a day or conjures sea monsters. Either way, that baby is absolutely adorable in the trailer, and I can’t wait to say “Awwww!” every time he shows up on the big screen.
 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan and featuring Jason Momoa as Aquaman, hits theaters December 22nd. For news, trailers and other features on the King of Atlantis, visit our official Aquaman hub page.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.