Every Time Aquaman was the Leader of a Superhero Team, Ranked

Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, is often underestimated because people view him as merely a person who can breathe underwater and communicate with fish. However, the truth is that Aquaman is one of the strongest and most courageous superheroes in DC Comics. He is a founding member of the Justice League and rules over one of the most powerful nations on the planet: Atlantis. With a lengthy background in both team player and leadership roles, Aquaman has unsurprisingly founded and commanded several superhero teams. These teams were assembled to protect Atlantis, the surface world, or the entire universe. And they couldn’t ask for a better leader than the King of the Seven Seas.

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From Atlantis to Detroit, Aquaman has led superhero teams across the globe.

4) Justice League Detroit

This offshoot of the Justice League, centered in Detroit, Michigan, was assembled after Aquaman officially disbanded the original JLA in 1984. After most of the founding members of the Justice League either quit or were away on Multiversal missions, a Martian invasion attacked Earth and destroyed the Watchtower. The attack left the remaining Justice League members in disarray, and Aquaman concluded that it was time for a change. As one of the last founding members to remain an active member, Aquaman announced at a UN summit that the old Justice League was over and that a new team would replace it. Aquaman, along with Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and Elongated Man, assembled a team of young and lesser-known superheroes who were willing to make their membership in the Justice League their top priority. The newcomers included Hank Heywood II, aka Steel, who’s an indestructible cyborg; Cydny Reynolds, aka Gypsy, who has the powers of illusion casting; Paco Ramone, aka Vibe, who can shoot concentrated vibrations; and Mari McCabe, aka Vixen, who can mimic the powers of animals. Aquaman acted as the team leader for a year before quitting to prioritize his relationship with Mera. Martian Manhunter then took over his friend’s leadership role. The team operated for only a few years until, in 1987, they disbanded after several humiliating defeats at the hands of villains like Brimstone and Professor Ivo left most of their members either grievously injured or dead. Justice League Detroit suffered from a lot of backlash from fans due to the lack of A-List heroes and accusations that some of the new characters enforced racial stereotypes.

3) The Others

Aquaman formed the superhero team known as the Others long before he joined the Justice League. Each member possesses ancient and powerful Atlantean relics forged by the first king of Atlantis, King Atlan. The members include Ya’Wara, the Operative, Prisoner-of-War, Vostok-X, and Kahina the Seer. The team assembled to capture Black Manta, but the villain escaped, and they went their separate ways. However, six years after the team disbanded, Black Manta is hired to track down and kill all the former members and acquire their artifacts. When Ya’Wara alerted Aquaman of Black Manta’s evil scheme, the pair traveled across the globe to get the band back together. Despite their best efforts, however, Black Manta successfully acquired several of the relics. Black Manta used the relics he obtained to locate the most powerful Atlantean artifact of them all: Atlan’s Scepter. Black Manta gave the scepter to his employer, the Atlantean Nuidis Vulko. Obtaining the scepter was part of Nuidis’s long-term plan to instigate a war between Atlantis and the surface world so that Aquaman would be forced to return to his throne, a plan that ultimately succeeded. Aside from this adventure, the Others came together to stop the supervillain team Mayhem’s plan to hold the world hostage with commandeered nuclear missiles. Although the team succeeded, they disbanded once again because many of its members wanted to retire from superhero work.

2) Justice League Blue

The latest superhero team with Aquaman as its leader, this underwater group assembled to liberate The Blue from the extra-dimensional villain Dagon. The Blue is the mystical source of all water and life in the universe. Dagon used a magical artifact called the Ocean Orb to hoard The Blue’s power for himself. As an indirect result, Atlantis and all those within the city were transported into Dagon’s dimension. If Dagon’s hold over The Blue wasn’t stopped, all life in the universe would die. Aquaman is eventually captured by Dagon’s servants and brought into his domain, where Dagon reveals that, due to time dilation, the people of Atlantis had lived for decades under the mad villain’s rule. Aquaman manages to break free of his imprisonment and gathers various water-based heroes to help save Atlantis and the universe. The members of Justice League Blue include older versions of Tempest, Aqualad, and Aquaman’s daughter, Andy Curry; the Atlantean sorcerer Arion; the mystical blacksmith Lady of the Lake; one-half of the Wonder Twins, Zan; the humanoid shark Titanus; the submariner Captain Nemo; and the mermaid Lori Lemaris. With Aquaman leading the charge, the team killed Dagon, but not before the villain managed to murder Tempest and Aqualad. With Dagon dead, Aquaman and the surviving members of Justice League Blue are now ready to go back to Earth.

1) The Aquaman Family

Gotham has the Bat-Family, and Atlantis has the Aquaman Family. Made up of Atlantis’ strongest heroes, this superhero team act as the protectors of the underwater nation and the rest of the Seven Seas. With the titular hero as the group’s leader and founder, the Aquaman Family consists of the Atlantean Royal Family and their closest friends. They are the first line of defense Atlantis has against threats like Black Manta, Ocean Master, and the Trench. The family is not limited to blood, as aside from his wife, Mera, other members include Aquaman’s former sidekicks, Tempest and Aqualad. Aquaman took both young men under his wing as proteges, and they now view their king as a surrogate father. Additional members include Aquaman’s stepsister Tula, the superheroine Dolphin, and the green-skinned Atlantean Lagoon Boy. As the name implies, this group are more than just a superhero team; they are a closely bonded family that stays together through thick and thin. The family has only gotten bigger with the introduction of Aquaman and Mera’s daughter, Andy Curry. The bond the Aquaman family has with one another is one of the strongest of all the superhero families in DC Comics.

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