Arthur Curry a.k.a. Orin a.k.a. Aquaman—whatever you want to call him!—is the undisputed king of the seven seas. He swims faster than anything with fins, he wields a killer trident that doesn’t always have three points, and he can even communicate with sea life. But Aquaman’s amazing abilities aren’t the most impressive thing about him, because if a humanoid really wanted to survive beneath the waves, he’d have to change almost entirely.
All incarnations of Aquaman, including the latest featuring the sentient throwing axe that is Jason Momoa, portray the character as perfectly adapted to life underwater. Atlanteans like Curry can swim and breathe and fight anywhere in the ocean just fine. The incredible thing about Aquaman, though, at least according to current canon, is that he is half-human. This means that he must have some human physiology. And if he’s at all human, that means his Atlantean genetics have bestowed a tidal wave of traits that makes life submerged possible.
In my latest episode of Because Science, I’m suggesting a few underwater upgrades.
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