Hey guys, I’m Kya and for this episode of Yellow Spandex,
We’re starting a new life under the sea.
Aquaman! Swift and powerful monarch of the ocean!
Of all the characters in ‘Justice League,’
Jason Momoa’s Aquaman might look the most different from his comic book counterpart.
But there’s definitely a precedent for his wild vibe.
The barbarian armor is just one of many superhero swimsuits worn by the King of the Seas.
So let’s take a dip into The Evolution of Aquaman’s Costume
Starting with the comics.
When Aquaman debuted in 1941,
he wore a scaly orange tunic with an open crew neck,
Green leggings and a bright yellow 'A' on his belt.
During the Silver Age, he got a brand new origin and a proper name:
Arthur Curry...
Or Orin to his Atlantean friends.
I hear you can talk to fish.
But his costume stayed more-or-less the same.
This became Aquaman’s iconic look for decades,
And it served as a jumping-off point for nearly every adaptation of the character.
Even if he always ends up back in orange and green,
Aquaman has experimented with plenty of alternate costumes.
The first big change was the blue and white Underwater Camouflage Costume from 1986.
It’s one of the rare cases where a superhero uniform becomes more practical within the story,
But less practical outside of it.
Of course Aquaman would want to blend in with the ocean,
But the random wavy design was impossible for artists to draw consistently.
Also, the camo did its job a little too well.
His classic colors popped out from the mostly blue backdrop,
But it was tough for readers to make out the camo suit against the underwater backgrounds.
It's just blue on blue. That don't work.
The costume didn’t last long, but writer Peter David introduced a more drastic makeover in 1994.
After learning that the evil Ocean Master was actually his half-brother,
Aquaman sank into a deep depression and grew out his hair and beard.
'Cause nothing says emo like growing out your long hair.
Then, a school of piranha chewed off his left hand, so he replaced it with a harpoon. As you do.
Aquaman was in full not give a shit mode by that point.
After his outfit got wrecked by Lobo, Arthur ran around shirtless for a while
until he found a dope gladiator armguard to complete the look.
He later replaced the harpoon lodged in his stump with a gold cybernetic version.
Pretty much the only leftover from his old costume were the pants,
which added a grey inseam and a scaley texture.
This is probably Orin’s second most recognizable look.
It’s the basis for his ‘Injustice 2’ costume,
after the first game used a more regal, armored version of the classic orange.
And it was featured in the infamously bad Gamecube game ‘Aquaman: Battle For Atlantis.’
That just sounds bad.
By 1998, Orin was feeling a lot better about himself.
And he started wearing a more cohesive uniform to reflect his Kingly status.
He added black as a secondary color to his pants,
And extended them upward into a little tank top thing.
He also rocked a lot more royal jewelry,
Including a teeny tiny little seashell tiara.
'I'm a badass, big beard, I'mma ride a shark... But also have my tiny tiara.'
It's so cute.
Later, as the Waterbearer,
Aquaman got a magic hand made of water to replace the edgy metal harpoon.
He also lost his beard and long hair,
and got a new pair of pants with an elaborate gold design in place of a belt.
The next year, Aquaman would finally wear a shirt again.
He returned to his classic orange tunic,
minus the gloves to show off his cool liquid hand.
After a few years, the original Aquaman was replaced by a new character called Arthur Joseph Curry.
He wore a more dashing, sword-and-sworcery version of the traditional costume.
It had shoulder pads, a flowing golden mane and a sword made out of a conch shell.
Like staying on theme, I guess. I dunno.
Meanwhile, the real Orin had been transformed into a tentacle monster called the Dweller of the Depths.
Then he died, came back as a Black Lantern and was fully resurrected after Brightest Day,
Complete with the orange and green costume and a perfectly intact left hand.
Of course, that was all rendered moot by The New 52 relaunch in 2011.
The only thing worse than one Aquaman is two.
But the all new incarnation of Arthur Curry stuck close to the traditional look,
Just with a high-necked collar to match Jim Lee’s other re-designs.
After Convergence in 2015, Arthur briefly switched to a sleeveless tunic made of grey metal,
But as things stand, today Aquaman is rocking a v-neck variant of his standard costume,
along with a slightly shaggy hairstyle.
So far, the comic Aquaman hasn’t adopted the wild look of Jason Momoa’s DCEU incarnation,
But it’s just a matter of time before the books catch up to the movie.
Outside of the comics, Aquaman has appeared in several TV cartoons,
usually in his standard orange and green costume.
I've got friends coming over tonight!
These lobsters just walked up to the door! Anyone hungry?
The Johnsons! Oh no!
He wore it in his animated debut on Filmation’s
'Superman / Aquaman Hour of Adventure' in 1968,
Superman, Aquaman, all the super, super, heroes!
Only an hour?
And he sported a streamlined Alex Toth designed variant in 'Super Friends,'
Which also provided the look for his classic Cartoon Network bumpers.
Hi! I'm a superhero! That means I have abilities that are a bit... Unique!
Aquaman’s first appearance in the DCAU was in an episode of ‘Superman: The Animated Series,’
where he shows up clean-shaven in his classic costume.
Later, he reappears in the ‘Justice League’ cartoon with a new look and attitude based on the harpoon hand era.
Sit tight, your highness. We'll tell you when it's safe to go.
You presume too much!
Aquaman also had some great guest shots on 'The Brave and the Bold,'
where he wore his classic costume and short hair,
along with a rugged but well maintained beard.
You can read more about that adventure in my new memoir!
'Young Justice' has a pretty cool take on the traditional suit.
Instead of boots, Arthur’s pants end in a stirrup,
which leaves his heels and webbed toes exposed for faster swimming.
Finally, Aquaman has a brief cameo in 'Teen Titans Go!' where he starts dating Starfire, much to Robin’s dismay.
Aquaman!
Die, computer scum! Die die die!
Now when it comes to live action,
It’s pretty wild that a character as old as Aquaman didn't show up until 'Entourage...' Kind of.
For you, Vinny, anything. All I ask in return is that you say yes to 'Aquaman.'
He's here, Ari. One step at a time.
Don't you mean... One stroke at a time?
A long-running storyline in the show involved the production of a fictional ‘Aquaman’ movie directed by James Cameron.
The film is a big hit, but we never get to see Vinny Chase in costume as Arthur.
We do get a glimpse of the proposed suit, though.
It’s got blue pants, goggles and cheap-looking black fins.
Also the bedazzled orange shirt is not the best option for Aquaman in my opinion.
No way am I going on screen looking like an underwater Elton John!
For the first actual live-action Aquaman, we’ve gotta take a trip to 'Smallville.'
That’s where we meet Arthur “A.C.” Curry.
In this incarnation, he’s a star swimmer at the University of Miami,
Which is actually a pretty decent explanation for his color scheme.
Orange and green... Totally hideous together.
When he first shows up, he’s basically just wearing an orange tank top with a green bathing suit.
Eventually, he joins up with the quasi-Justice League wearing a wetsuit in his traditional colors.
A.C. was going to be spun out into his own show,
which made it as far as a pilot codenamed 'Mercy Reef.'
Alas, there was only one episode, and Aquaman never wears a costume.
You wanna know the real reason why I freed those dolphins? I felt like they were calling to me.
Justin Hartley basically just dresses like he’s on ‘The O.C.’
Which brings us to the DCEU.
Jason Momoa’s costume looks a cross between the ‘90s barbarian king Aquaman and Roman Reigns.
He’s got a long scraggly beard and dark, flowing hair,
Because you don’t cast Khal Drogo to give him a blonde crew cut.
No.
In the first images released by DC,
he’s wearing scaly gladiator armor that exposes his abs and sick tribal tattoos,
But in 'Justice League,' he’s upgraded to a bodysuit that weighs 40 pounds.
I’m not seeing a whole lot of orange,
but there are plenty of gold accents to break up the dark green scales.
I dig it.
Against all odds, Aquaman could be the breakout star of ‘Justice League.’
I mean it's him or the Flash.
The beer-swilling, rowdy seaman makes a great contrast to the gods and stuffy billionaires that make up the team.
I’m still not 100% sold on the new look, but I’ll have to see it in action to make my final judgement.
Luckily, we don’t have too long to wait.