Issue Description

Traveling from deep space to the deep sea, Aliena arrives on Earth. The target of her mission... Aquaman! The Sea King is located, traveling outside of Atlantis, with Aqualad and Mera. When Mera playfully upends Aquaman from his mount, Aliena sees an opportunity to sow dissent between the Atlantean KIng and Queen. As Aquaman pulls himself up off the sea floor, Aliena encases him in a hard water bubble, and hurls him into the mountain side. Aquaman, believing Mera responsible for his plight, cries out to his wife to end her prank before he's killed. Seconds before the bubble crashes into the mountain, Aliena physically pulls Aquaman from the bubble. In doing so, she herself is rendered unconscious. In actuality, she's merely feigning injury. Aquaman furiously confronts his wife over her shenanigans. Mera's protestations of innocence fall on deaf ears. Through tears, she departs the King's presence. Aqualad leaves to comfort her. Aliena "recovers", and tells Aquaman her tale. Like Mera, she, too, is from an extra-dimensional water world. An explosion of a substance called "Uritrium" catapulted Aliena into Aquaman's world. A large amount of the Uritrium came through with her, and it's radiation is, even now, beginning to kill her. She enlists Aquaman's aid in burying the Uritrium deep enough underground that she will be shielded from it's effects. To that end, Aquaman summons swordfish, sea turtles and whales to excavate the sea floor, then bury the Uritrium, 200 feet below the sea floor. In gratitude, Aliena kisses Aquaman, then returns to the underwater cave that serves as her base of operations on Earth. There she reports the success of her mission, and receives new orders.... kill Aquaman!

Aliena spies Aquaman swimming past an underwater volcano. Dropping strange pellets into the mouth of the volcano causes it to prematurely erupt. Aliena, however, gets tangled up in a mass of underwater flora before she can swim to safety. Aquaman is just about to swim clear of the exploding volcano, when he hears Aliena's cries for help. Doubling back, he frees Aliena from her floral entanglement, but the pair have no time to swim to safety before the volcano erupts. Aquaman summons sea tortoises to protect them from the burning debris and magma raining down upon them. Her life saved, Aliena has serious reservations about fulfilling her mission. The truth about Aliena's origin is a lie. In truth, she is an alien raider, in the service of Ka'Arl. Venusian authorities had placed the Uritirum on Earth, to thwart any designs Ka'Arl's raiders may have had on the planet. Aliena, at Ka'Arl's behest, duped Aquaman into removing the deadly Uritrium, thus allowing for Ka'Arl's incursion force to raid Earth. Aliena opts to lie to Ka'Arl about slaying Aquaman, when she meets him at the rendezvous point. However, the truth is quickly revealed when Aquaman descends on the alien landing site. Aliena confesses to Ka'Arl that she didn't have the heart to follow through with her orders. Ka'Arl sets about to killing Aquaman himself. Aquaman evades the alien's weapon's fire, maneuvering about in such a way that Ka'Arl's raiders take themselves out. Said action, though, leaves Aquaman in a position for Ka"Arl to draw a bead on him. Before Ka'Arl can get the shot off, Aliena shoots Aquaman herself, leaving the Sea King for dead.

Aqualad arrives in time to witness Aquaman's murder, but too late to prevent it. With vengeance in his heart, Aqualad takes off in pursuit of Ka'Arl and Aliena. Aquaman, surprisingly, recovers. Aquaman realizes that Aliena merely stunned him, an act which saved him from Ka'Arl's more lethal shot. He, too, takes off in pursuit of the raiders. Aqualad reaches them first, and hurls a coral spear at Ka'Arl. The spear is deflected by a passing fish, alerting Ka'Arl to Aqualad's presence. Ka'Arl levels his weapon on Aqualad, when an octopus swims between them, fouling the waters with it's ink. Aquaman has arrived. A pitched battle ensues between the Aquatic Aces and Ka'Arl. The alien raider fends off assaults from swordfish, before scoring a glancing shot on Aquaman. The Sea King is too stunned to evade Ka'Arl's kill shot. Just then, Aliena appears, holding the unearthed Uritrium. Exposure to the xenomineral's lethal radiation kills both Ka'Arl and Aliena. Aliena, having fallen in love with the Sea King, has sacrificed herself to save his life. The two heroes return to Atlantis.

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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