Welcome back nerd squad, my name is Roya Destroyaa and this is Top 10 Nerd.
Aqualad is both a prominent member of Young Justice and the Teen Titans, so heÕs very
popular with younger audiences.
But he is a more complex character than we realize, and there is a lot to figure out
about him and his creation.
So letÕs take a look at the top 10 AQUALAD SURPRISING FACTS.
In the number 10 spot, THERE ARE TWO OF HIM.
We gotta establish this early on, because these facts are going to talk about both Aqualads.
The original Aqualad was 1960Õs Garth, who before he became Tempest served as the teenage
partner to Aqualad after he was left to die by the Atlanteans.
More on that later.
The second 2010 Aqualad that the younger gen is more familiar with is KaldurÕahm, who
in comics was raised by adoptive parents on land as Jackson Hyde, and in the show Young
Justice is yet again the immediate protŽgŽ of aquaman.
A little confusing, I know.
Coming in at number 9, HE WAS MADE SOLELY FOR YOUNG JUSTICE.
The KaldurÕahm version of Aqualad was created by Greg Weisman, Brandon vietti, and Phil
Bourassa solely to exist in the Young Justice TV show.
He was never meant to be in comics.
However, a member of the DC creative office, Geoff Johns, saw potential in him to be a
very popular character and a comic adaptation appeared in Brightest Day, a debut to coincide
with the TV premier; with of coruse a slightly different backstory for continuity.
Nice to know some comic writers still care about continuity.
Next, at number 8 IS HIS VOICE ACTOR.
The voice behind Aqualad on the show is Khary Payton.
You may recognize him as the voice behind another teen titan, Cyborg, in Teen titans
and multiple other films and shows, as well as voicing Black Manta, Brick, and Black Lightening
in addition to Aqualad on young Justice.
And fun fact, he is the same guy that plays King Ezekiel on the walking dead.
In the number 7 spot, HE WAS A FOUNDING TEEN TITAN.
The second may have been created for young justice and may have played a role in the
Teen titans, Garth as Aqualad wasnÕt just an ordinary member, but one of the founding
teen titans, along with Robin and Kid Flash.
This team debuted back in 1964, and the team formed firstly to defeat a weather-controlling
villain named Mister Twister.
This would be the first of many Teen Titan launches.
Coming in at number 6 HE WAS RETCONNED AS GAY.
If you didnÕt know already, now you do!
Aqualad now plays for the other team.
In DCÕs Rebirth reboot, many characters saw changes, a big one being AqualadÕs sexuality.
He is introduced as having a mother who is uncomfortable with the sexuality, as well
as a boyfriend Kenny who was scared of JacksonÕs powers.
Along with this, he was an avid soccer player who played center-midfield, and his favorite
subject was math, so we can also confirm that he is insane.
Next up, at number 5 IS HIS PARODY.
Okay, IÕve gone this far without making any swipes at Aquaman, but we all know that somewhere
along the line he did become a bit of a joke to some audiences.
Because of this Aqualad was also subject to be the butt of some jokes.
And to make matters worse, they actually were turned into a joke, namely in the form of
Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy on the TV show Spongebob Squarepants.
So if you were noticing a few similarities, especially costume wise, you werenÕt just
imagining it.
Up next at number 4, HIS PURPLE EYES CONDEMNED HIM TO DEATH.
I mean, who wouldnÕt love to have purple Elizabeth Taylor eyes?
But for the first Aqualad, these lovely features were what caused his own people to leave him
for dead.
Turns out that purple-eyed babies were believed to be the offspring of an evil magician named
Zarth, later known as Slizzath.
So all kids born with purple eyes were sentenced to banishment and death.
In the number 3 spot, we have HIS BETRAYAL.
It is revealed that KaldurÕs biological father is Black Manta, AquamanÕs enemy.
And at one point he joined the ranks of his father, turning his back on his own team.
And Black Manta wasnÕt a terrible dad; he even kidnapped Miss Martian at one point to
repair AqualadÕs mind.
How sweet.
However, turns out this was all a ruse to get privileged information from daddy.
And honestly, Black Manta was pretty heartbroken.
Coming in at number 2 ARE HIS TATTOOS.
Ever since he was born, Kaldur has had very noticeable black tattoos on his body.
When he uses his powers, they glow.
Oddly enough, these tattoos are not visible on other sorcerers such as himself.
The reasoning given behind this by Greg Weisman is that the more advanced a sorcerer, the
less visible the tats.
Kaldur didnÕt complete sorcery school, so his tattoos never fully disappeared.
Stay in school kids.
Unless I guess you want free ink.
StuffÕs expensive.
And finally, in the number 1 spot we got HIS FEAR OF FISH.
Yes, a scuba hero mortified by fish.
Going back to Garth here, traumatic experiences of fending for himself from when he was banished
to death left him with a paralyzing fear of schools of fish, a fear that carried well
into his teens.
The poor guy didnÕt stand a chance if it werenÕt for Aquaman intervening.
And weÕre not even talking sharks here.
This is one kid whoÕs not getting a goldfish for his first pet.
So those were the top 10 FACTS ABOUT AQUALAD.
Let me know in the comment section down below WHO YOU WANT FACTS ON NEXT.
My name is Roya Destroyaa, thanks for watching, and donÕt forget to subscribe so you never
miss another nerdy list!