Aquaman: the king of Atlantis beside Superman in the Justice League
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Everything about Aquaman when he stands beside Superman, not when he reigns alone underwater. He appears in More Fun Comics #73, on sale September 19, 1941, though he is not yet called Arthur Curry. He joins the Justice League as early as The Brave and the Bold #28, cover-dated February–March 1960. You will understand what he does on the team, what his powers are worth against the yellow sun, and how Jason Momoa plays him on screen alongside Clark.
📋 Contents
- More Fun Comics #73: no king yet
- Aquaman in Brave and the Bold #28, with Superman
- Powers: the ocean against the yellow sun
- Atlantis is not Metropolis
- Super Friends and the animated League
- Aquaman on screen with Superman: 2017 and 2021
- This is not the 2025 Justice Gang
- Four dates to place Aquaman alongside Superman
- FAQ — Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
More Fun Comics #73: no king yet
Mort Weisinger writes, Paul Norris draws. More Fun Comics #73, story The Submarine Strikes, eight pages. Cover-dated November 1941, on sale in the U.S. on September 19, 1941, according to the Grand Comics Database. In this first version, the father is an explorer who finds an undersea city and teaches his son to live underwater, to breathe there, and to draw his strength and speed from the sea. He is not yet the son of a queen of Atlantis and a lighthouse keeper. Superman, for his part, has a three-year lead: Action Comics #1 dates from 1938.
Arthur Curry's name and his dual origin take shape later. Adventure Comics #260, story How Aquaman Got His Powers!, Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon: cover-dated May 1959, on sale March 31, 1959 (DCU Guide). The father is Tom Curry, a lighthouse keeper; the mother, Atlanna. Geoff Johns, ahead of the 2017 Justice League, still describes the lighthouse and the queen for the film. Remember the key point: Aquaman is not Kal-El and does not live in Metropolis. The rest of his biography is not the subject of this page.
Key Facts
- First appearance: More Fun Comics #73, on sale Sept. 19, 1941
- Creators: Mort Weisinger (writer), Paul Norris (artist)
- League: The Brave and the Bold #28, cover-dated Feb.–Mar. 1960
- Facing Superman: Strength in the water, not a second yellow sun
Aquaman in Brave and the Bold #28, with Superman
The Justice League of America appears in The Brave and the Bold #28, Starro the Conqueror. Cover-dated February–March 1960 (GCD). On-sale date: the Grand Comics Database gives December 29, 1959 (ad in Mystery in Space #57 and copyright registration). DC Fandom gives the same date. Gardner Fox writes, Mike Sekowsky draws. On the team: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Martian Manhunter, Aquaman. DC.com recalls this in 2019 and again in 2021. Aquaman alerts the team: Starro is in the Atlantic. He is not a guest. He is there on day one.
The Superman Justice League article tells the team's story. Here, just remember that Arthur is a founding member, alongside J'onn J'onzz and Hal Jordan. The origin story told later, in 1962, in Justice League of America #9 (DC.com), comes after the first issue. For the 1960 reader, Aquaman is already in the room. Clark, also a founding member, stays out in space smashing meteors that threaten Earth: he makes only a brief appearance in this first issue.
Powers: the ocean against the yellow sun
Aquaman breathes underwater, swims faster than a human and talks to sea creatures — later by telepathy. He is very strong, especially in his element. That is not Kal-El's super-strength under the yellow sun. Geoff Johns, quoted by Fandom in 2017 ahead of the release of Justice League, puts it without a number: Arthur is “very strong” and has to protect two worlds. Nothing in what he says makes him a second Superman.
On land, Superman has the edge. Underwater, Arthur holds his ground, and Kal-El is not at home there. Rather than pitting them against each other, the League brings them together against Darkseid and against whatever is too big for a single hero. Against Starro, in 1960, Arthur fights without Clark, who is held up in space. Lex Luthor is first and foremost Clark's enemy, even though he also goes after Arthur in Superman: The Animated Series (“A Fish Story,” 1999) and in Smallville (“Aqua,” 2005). Aquaman has enemies of his own, such as Black Manta and Ocean Master.
Atlantis is not Metropolis
Superman defends a city of skyscrapers and a newspaper. Aquaman defends a kingdom beneath the surface. When the League meets, the two scales intersect: a problem in Atlantis can flood the coastlines, while a Daily Planet problem means nothing to the thrones under the sea. Arthur only becomes king of Atlantis in 1964, in Aquaman #18: he wears the crown neither in 1941 nor when he joins the League.
Poseidonis, the capital of Atlantis, is not Superman's turf: he has no office there, and Arthur has no locker at the Planet. What they share is the League, not the neighborhood. Wonder Woman forms the third corner of many lineups: land, sea, sky. The article on the League covers the details.
Super Friends and the animated League
For many American viewers in the 1970s, Aquaman does not mean More Fun #73: he means Super Friends on ABC, the Saturday-morning League, orange scales, and his telepathy with fish played for laughs. CGMagazine points this out: the blond hero of that era is a cartoon supporting player. This is not a matter of taste; it is a matter of broadcast record. There, Superman is the face of the team, and Arthur is the sea specialist.
Later, Superman: The Animated Series and the League that grows out of it bring Aquaman back in a more serious register. The article devoted to the series covers it in detail, and the list of Superman series sorts out the rest for you. The takeaway: in animation, Arthur remains Clark's ally from the sea, not his double.
Aquaman on screen with Superman: 2017 and 2021
Jason Momoa is Arthur Curry in Justice League, released in the U.S. on November 17, 2017. He already makes a cameo in Batman v Superman. Bruce Wayne recruits Arthur after Superman's death. Henry Cavill returns in the same film. Before the release, CBR points out that the previous live-action Aquaman was Alan Ritchson in Smallville, starting in 2005: four episodes of a TV series through 2010, not a movie.
Zack Snyder's Justice League premieres on streaming on March 18, 2021. Momoa has more scenes in it than in the cut released in theaters in 2017. The battle between the two cuts has its own article, devoted to the Snyder Cut. Remember that on screen, Aquaman joins Superman in a League of six, not in a duo. The solo film Aquaman (James Wan, 2018) is not a Superman movie.
This is not the 2025 Justice Gang
James Gunn's film assembles a Justice Gang. It is not the Justice League, and Aquaman is not part of it. If you are looking for Arthur beside Clark in 2025, you will not find him on that team. The 1960 comics League and the 2017–2021 film League remain the scope of this page.
Mixing up the two names means pasting Momoa onto a film he is not in. The League's story has its own article; the 2025 counterexample is here only so that you do not walk away with the wrong team in mind. The Superman films run through Donner, Singer, Snyder and Gunn: in feature films, Aquaman appears as Clark's ally only in Justice League (2017) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021).
Four dates to place Aquaman alongside Superman
Arthur Curry's life extends far beyond the League: the wars for the throne of Atlantis, Mera, Ocean Master, James Wan's film or the full fight against Starro form a saga in their own right. Namor, often mentioned alongside him, belongs to Marvel. And if you're wondering who would win between Aquaman and Superman, none of the fights mentioned here settles it. The complete history of Superman traces Kal-El's path; Arthur, for his part, remains the ally from the sea who shares a team with him.
Four dates sum up this alliance: September 19, 1941 for More Fun #73, February–March 1960 for Brave and the Bold #28, then November 17, 2017 and March 18, 2021, when the League reaches theaters, then the Snyder Cut.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Is Aquaman a founding member of the Justice League?
Yes. He is part of the team in The Brave and the Bold #28, cover-dated February–March 1960, on sale December 29, 1959. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter stand alongside him.
When does Aquaman first appear?
More Fun Comics #73, the story The Submarine Strikes, by Weisinger and Norris. Cover-dated November 1941, on sale in the United States on September 19, 1941 (GCD). He is not yet called Arthur Curry: the name arrives in 1959.
Is Aquaman as strong as Superman?
No, not under the yellow sun. He is very strong in the water, breathes beneath the surface and talks to sea creatures. He is not a second Kal-El.
Does Jason Momoa play Aquaman alongside Superman?
In Justice League (November 17, 2017 in the United States) and in Zack Snyder's Justice League (March 18, 2021). Cavill is Superman in both. Arthur already makes a cameo in Batman v Superman.
Is Aquaman part of the Justice Gang in the film Superman (2025)?
No. The Justice Gang in James Gunn's film is not the Justice League, and Arthur is not part of it.
Should you confuse Aquaman with Namor?
No. Namor belongs to Marvel, Arthur Curry to DC: they are two separate characters from two rival publishers.
Did Smallville feature Aquaman?
Yes. Alan Ritchson plays Arthur there in four episodes, from 2005 to 2010, before Momoa. It is a TV series role, not the League film.
Conclusion
Aquaman joins the League in the very issue in which the team is born, dated 1960. He is not an ocean Superman. He is the future king of another world, seated at the same table. If you want the team, you have the Justice League article. If you want the Snyder Cut, there is an article devoted to it. Here, you have Arthur beside Clark, with dates.
1941, 1960, 2017, 2021. Four markers, one ally. Atlantis stays underwater. Superman stays at the Planet. The League is the bridge.