8 Scenes We Definitely Won't See In James Wan's Aquaman
These comics should remain at the bottom of the ocean.
Aquaman has a chequered history in pop culture, which is hardly surprising for a superhero whose main powers are talking to fish and strong swimming.
His tenure with the Super Friends and that Family Guy episode did nothing for his reputation, but anyone who thinks Arthur Curry is little more than a damp squib and a figure of ridicule simply hasn't read the right comics.
DC writers gave the Marine Marvel a badass makeover in the 1990s and he's been kicking ass across the seven seas ever since, establishing himself as the one true king of Atlantis and an integral member of the Justice League.
Warner Bros' DC movie series has taken its cues from this interpretation of the character, casting Jason Momoa as a hardcore aquatic hero. Along with talking to fish, his powers in Justice League include heightened sex appeal, riding Parademons like surfboards, and taking punches from Superman and Steppenwolf like a pro.
Next up for Momoa's Aquaman is a solo outing in December next year, directed by James Wan. There are a number of great comic arcs the movie could draw inspiration from, but others it shouldn't touch with a 20-foot trident...
8. Anything From The Super Friends
Aquaman's long-standing image problem can be traced back to his days on Saturday morning television as a member of the Super Friends, a show which saw Hanna-Barbera give DC superheroes the Scooby-Doo treatment.
The youngsters seemed to dig it, but few Justice Leaguers came away from these campy, family-friendly adventures unscathed and Arthur Curry got the rawest deal of them all, depicted as a liability to the team and the butt of a thousand jokes.
The show treated Aquaman as a character who brought nothing to the table beyond the ability to talk to fish and dodgy catchphrases like "Great Neptune" and "By the beard of Poseidon", and this was the character's only media exposure at the time.
Batman, Robin and Superman were handled in a similarly goofy way, but the audience knew them well from other mediums and it wasn't long until the latter was redefined on the big screen in 1978's Superman: The Movie.
Aquaman is still shaking the reputation the Super Friends gave him, so it's safe to assume no scenes or elements from the cartoon will creep into James Wan's movie.