Young Justice Turns Aquaman Into A Legacy Superhero Name

Warning: SPOILERS for Young Justice season 4, episode 17, “Leviathan Wakes.”

The title of Aquaman, long a name of great honor in the Atlantis of Young Justice, has become a true legacy, with three heroes now sharing the name and duties with the second Aquaman, Kaldur. Young Justice stands unique among animated superhero series in that its cast of characters has aged as the series has progressed, with sidekicks growing up to become adult superheroes with their own sidekicks. The fourth season, titled Young Justice: Phantoms, is set 10 years after the events of Young Justice season 1, and each of its story arcs has focused on one of the teenage heroes who were part of the original covert team of the Justice League’s junior partners.

The series has seen these young heroes grow and change in unexpected ways, but no character exemplifies Young Justice‘s central theme of legacy quite so strongly as the Atlantean hero Kaldur. Starting the series as Aqualad and protégé to the first Aquaman, Orin of Atlantis, Kaldur served as the team’s first leader. When Orin stepped down from the Justice League to focus on his duties as High King of Atlantis, Kaldur assumed the Aquaman name and was given full membership in the Justice League, where he also served as the leader of the Justice League members stationed on Earth. The events of the first major story arc of Young Justice season 4, part 2, focused on Kaldur as he sought to defuse a civil war in Atlantis.

War was avoided when Orin stepped down as High King, offering the crown to his wife, the sorceress Queen Mera, as a compromise that satisfied all the rulers of Atlantis. When Kaldur asked his mentor what he intended to do now that he was no longer burdened by the responsibilities of ruling, Orin said that he was thinking of rejoining the Justice League. Kaldur accepted this with his characteristic calm, saying that he would gladly resign so that Orin could be Aquaman again. Orin dismissed this idea, however, saying that “If the League can include four Green Lanterns and two Flashes, I believe it can embrace two Aquamen. Or three.”

This addition was aimed at La’gaan, another hero of Atlantis and member of the team once known as Lagoon Boy, who had also been mentored by Orin. Kaldur agreed, noting that having three Aquamen in the Justice League would be a good thing given his need to take a leave of absence so he might grieve for his fallen friend Superboy and Orin and La’gaan’s responsibilities as the fathers of young children. La’gaan was astonished but accepted the appointment after Orin said it was time for La’gaan to be recognized as being as much a hero as Kaldur and himself.

This momentous occasion was the capstone of a lengthy story arc that introduced many new characters from the Aquaman comics into the world of Earth-16. While this was undoubtedly a treat for the Aquaman faithful, it also showcased how deeply Young Justice delves into the lore of DC Comics and its rich history. It was also notable for its final chapter being written by Aquaman’s voice actor Khary Patton, in his first professional television writing credit.

New episodes of Young Justice release Thursdays on HBO Max.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1836 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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