Issue Description

Aquaman and Aqualad pay a visit to Ocean Colony Alpha, to see what progress Dr. Larcher has made, in establishing the settlement. Meanwhile, an alien satellite crosses into Earth's orbit once more. The satellite is the last surviving relic of an alien world, long since vanished from the cosmos. Within it's structure lies a device that can open a dimensional rift in space and time. That device is triggered by Earth's magnetic field. The rift opens at the deepest point, in the cleft of an underwater canyon. Through the rift, Necrus, the so-called "Black City" emerges. Raiders from Necrus descend on Ocean Colony Alpha, slaughtering all the colonists and razing their structures. The lone survivor of the massacre makes his way to Atlantis, to inform Aquaman of the horrific attack. Aquaman and Aqualad immediately set off on their mounts, Storm and Imp, for Ocean Colony Alpha. Enraged at the brutality of the slaughter, Aquaman vows to bring Necrus down in ruins. Using his telepathy, Aquaman searches the seas for any marine life that knows the location of Necrus. At last, an aged sea tortoise appears, and leads the way to the "Black City".

As Aquaman and Aqualad approach the great dome, surrounding the underwater city of Necrus, they are met by the Cruel One. The two heroes retreat in the face of the awesome automaton. A tiger shark rushes in to protect the two heroes. The Cruel One fixes the shark in it's paralytic eye beams, then grasps it and begins violently shaking it. Aquaman and Aqualad engage the Cruel One to rescue the shark. Aqualad, too, falls victim to the Cruel One's paralysis beam. Aquaman shatters the Cruel One's ocular stalks with a broken piece of coral. Though blinded, the android still manages to grab Aquaman, in it's enormous pincers, and return with him to Necrus. Aquaman is brought before the tyrant king of Necrus, Mongo. Mongo is unrepentant regarding the destruction of the human colony. Mongo holds fast to the notion that surface dwellers have no place beneath the waves, and that the seas belong to those that already dwell there. Mongo proposes an alliance with Aquaman, and Atlantis, believing that if the two cities were united, they could easily wipe out all surface life. Aquaman refuses. Mongo entombs Aquaman within a crystal sphere, and casts him down a deep ocean trench, declaring that Necrus will now war with Atlantis. Aquaman witnesses the satellite's dimensional rift energy altering the shape of the coral, growing in the trench. In the hopes that it will somehow free him, he awkwardly maneuvers the crystal sphere into the very heart of the energy bleed. In Atlantis, Queen Mera is alerted to Mongo's armies closing in on the city. In Aquaman's absence, Aqualad marshals the city's defenses, and prepares to lead the Atlanteans into battle. Suddenly, Aquaman appears and takes command. Kissing his wife for luck, the monarch of Atlantis joins his forces, outside the dome, to repel the invasion force from Necrus. Mongo charges. Aquaman orders his forces to hold the line. When Mongo is seconds away from reaching Atlantis, Aquaman orders his troops to break formation, opening up a clear path for Mongo to lay siege to the city.

Before Mongo's forces can strike the shimmering dome of Atlantis, a squadron of swordfish raise up an immense net, that had lain hidden in the sea grass surrounding Atlantis. With Mongo's army entangled in the net, Aquaman orders the Atlanteans to close formation and begin beating Mongo's soldiers senseless. Mongo, however, is able to steal, unnoticed, into Atlantis, with his personal guard. They take Mera and her son hostage. Aquaman races in to confront Mongo, who orders the king's surrender, lest any harm befall his wife and son. Mera tosses Arthur, Jr. into Aquaman's arms, the better to bring her power to manipulate and control water to bear. Her hard water constructs take out Mongo's guards. Mongo flees, with Aquaman in hot pursuit. Aquaman grapples with Mongo. The Sea KIng is about to gain the upper hand when he suddenly, inexplicably, dies. All of Atlantis mourns the loss of their king. The royal funeral is attended by the Justice League of America, with Superman, Batman, Hawkman and the Flash serving as pall bearers. Mongo, in the meantime, has swam the long journey to Necrus, and has finally arrived home. He is stunned to discover Aquaman, still entombed within the crystal sphere. Releasing the monarch of Atlantis, Mongo demands an explanation as to how Aquaman could lead the Atlantean forces, while still a prisoner of Necrus. Aquaman offers no answers. A hard water fist relieves Mongo of his weapon, heralding the arrival of Mera, who is overjoyed to find her husband still alive. Aquaman explains that exposure to the dimensional rift energies had drawn a duplicate of the Sea King out of him, and outside the crystal sphere. Linked telepathically to his duplicate, Aquaman was able to direct it's actions, and even see and feel all that it experienced, including it's demise. Mera had suspected something was amiss when she had kissed "Aquaman", only to have the kiss feel strange and cold. The satellite breaks from Earth's orbit, and continues on its elliptical journey through the solar system. Outside of the influence of Earth's magnetic field, the satellite's dimensional rift projector shuts down, dispersing the dimensional rift, taking Necrus with it. Mongo is just able to make it back behind the walls of Necrus, before the "Black City" fades away. Aquaman is left to ponder the mystery of the ever shifting city, and to cope with "his" death, as life in Atlantis slowly returns to normal.

Aquaman

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

Aquaman (Volume 1)

Starring: Arthur Curry as Aquaman and Aqualad.

Aquaman, the King of the Seven Seas, takes the plunge into his very own series. As the King of Atlantis, Aquaman protects not only his people but also all of Earth's oceans from any threat! This volume was important for a number of reasons. Mera was introduced as a character and a Superhero wedding (Aquaman and Mera) occurred in issue 18. Aquababy (Arthur Jr) was born in issue 22. Aquagirl (Tula) was a new character (33) and she became a love interest for Garth. Ocean Master was introduced as Aquaman's Half-brother in issue 29 and Black Manta became one of Aquaman's greates villains starting with issue 35 which included the Manta Men. Issue 40 began a multi-issue stor arc entitled the Quest for Mera and it concluded with issue 48. Aquaman had journey's to the land of the Maarzon's and to the surface world during his quest. Aquaman put Narkron in charge and he became a dictator which led to a Revolution in issue 47. The Bugala was introduced in issue 43 as was Aqualad dealing with the creature without Aquaman. Issue 46 was unique becaus it presented the same story as issue 45 but from Mera's perspective. Issue 49 reintroduced Phil Dawson, whom Aquaman met in issue 49 and very shrewdly had a picture of Deadman carved into the rocks under the ocean as a shadowing of his back-up role in issues 50-52. Those issues offered us the artwork of Neal Adams and the Deadman stories crossed over with the Aquaman lead story. Issue 54 brought Aquaman against the Crime Organization he battled in issues 44-46 and a new villain was unleashed, Thanatos. Issue 56 ended Aquaman's Title but when he was given it back in 1977, it started with issue 57. This storyline picked up where Adventure 452 left off. Aquaman went after Black Manta, thinking his son was dead. Cal Durham has a change of heart and starts turning for the good. Issues 58-60 had a Mera back-up story as she went to her own dimension of Xebel to find a device to safe Arthur Jr. Vulko told Mera in issue 58 that he was still alive. When Mera returned in Issue 60, Vulko told her that Arthur died. Issues 58-60 included such villains as Fisherman, Scavenger, and Kobra. It also included the origin of Aquaman in issue 58. Issue 61 had Batman and Green Lantern guest star as they battled Kobra. The issue ended with Batman yelling at Aquaman because Kobra got away and Aquaman swimming away from him. They later came to blows in Brave and the Bold 142. The funeral happened in issue 62 and Aqualad (after uncovering issues from his past in Adv. 453-455)

decided that he needed to meet with Aquaman face to face. Mera blames Aquaman for the death of their son but the reconcile at the end of the story and after the robot villain was defeated. The last panel left the cliffhanger that Ocean Master was behind the robot. Issue 63 ended this solo run which included a reunion with Aqualad, a journey to the ancient city of Atlantis and a battle with Ocean Master. When DC expanded the pages of their books, the Martian Manhunter was going to back-up Aquaman, but with the cancellation of half of DC's line of books, the Sea King lost out.

Collected EditionsShowcase Presents: Aquaman Vol. 1 (Adventure Comics #260-280, 282, 284; Aquaman #1-6; Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #12; Showcase #30-33;Detective Comics #293-300; Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #55; World's Finest Comics #125-129)Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol. 2 (Aquaman#7-23, World's Finest #130-133, #135, #137 and #139 and The Brave and the Bold #51)Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol. 3 (AQUAMAN #24-39, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #73 and a story from SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #115)Aquaman: Death of a Prince (Adventure Comics #435-437, 441-455 and Aquaman #57-63)

Note: Although canceled in the early 1970s, the series was subsequently revived as a part of the DC Explosion. It was canceled once again approximately one year later.

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