Aqualad

The Tadpole…

Aqualad had the unfortunate beginnings of being a purple eyed infant in the very racially constructed hatred of Atlantis.  Due to centuries of myth and legend the Atlanteans had standing rules against those who were blonde and those born with purple eyes.  Aquaman was abandoned to his light keeper father due to his blonde hair as an infant, and here is another child abandoned by insane racial prejudice.

Garth as he was known was found and rescued by Aquaman and together the two of them quested to put Arthur in his rightful place, on the throne of Atlantis.  Along the way Aqualad met and formed an alliance with the Teen Titans and worked with them on many occasions through the years even when he quit the team.

Garth would eventually find love in the form of Tula who became known as Aquagirl and the two swam off into the sunset together.

First Appearance

Created By:  Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon

Just a note on the cover up above, note the incorrect billing of Aqualad as Aqua-Boy

Powers

Communicate with Marine Life – Aqualad can use his mental powers to communicate with sea life unlike Aquaman, Aqualad cannot force marine life to do his bidding, so Aqualad has to persuade.

Freedom In Water – Aqualad can move through water with no impediment whatsoever which makes him quicker than most other characters.  While he does not have super-speed, his reflexes are extremely quick.

Hearing/Sonar - Aqualad can hear things from a far distance and has demonstrated some form of sonar while in the quiet ocean.

Immunity to Cold – Aqualad’s body is built to survive the cold depths of the ocean, as a result, the chill is not a problem for him.

Super-Strength – Aqualad is super-humanly strong thanks to the ocean conditioning his muscles

Swimming – It seems to go without saying, but Aqualad is a superb swimmer and can move through water faster than many other characters with super-speed.

Underwater Breathing – Aqualad can breathe in water just as easily as we can breathe air on land.

Vision Powers – Aqualad can see in the dark as can most fish at the lower depths.

Withstand Pressure – Aqualad’s body is very dense and built to withstand the pressures of the deep.  This makes his body very resilient to damage.

Vulnerabilities

Fish Out of Water – Aqualad can typically survive out of water for up to 1 hour at a time with no detriment.  He wears a costume that assists him in extending this limit to 1 day, after this Aqualad must have water or he will begin to die.

Equipment

Pet – Tusky the Walrus – Aqualad’s walrus pet Tusky is sometimes a companion to Garth on missions.