10 Awful DC Superheroes Who Were Successfully Reinvented

9. Aqualad

Why He Was Awful

Aquaman himself sees no end to the ridicule thrown his way. If anyone expected his teenage sidekick to fare any better, they were wrong.

He is born with purple eyes, which is evidently a huge deal on Atlantis, causing him to be banished as a baby to live outside the city, by himself, in the ocean. Consequently, he develops "an intense fear of schools of fish," according to his Wikipedia. That's right, reader €“- the character whose primary superpowers are to swim well, and control marine life, is afraid of groups of fish. He can presumably handle them in small numbers, mind you, it's just when there's a lot of them Garth tends to freak out.

Oh, yeah, did we forget to mention that the original Aqualad's name was Garth? I'm pretty sure that conclusively proves that nobody will ever take him seriously as a hero.

How He Was Fixed

Luckily, his place has been taken by a far edgier, not to mention more popular character for the 2010 Young Justice television series. Surprisingly for a newcomer hero, he was elected as the leader of the group.

Son of Aquaman's villain Black Manta' henchman, his Atlantean name is Kaldur'ahm, which, while being very difficult to remember or write, it sure beets Garth. In a later storyline in the show, the Atlantean goes undercover with Black Manta. He's portrayed as the most mature member of the Team consistently throughout the show.

The character made the transition into comics during the Brightest Day storyline the same year he was first introduced, replacing Garth (who, unfortunately, dies in the story).

The King of Atlantis orders baby Garth to be returned to his mother unharmed, and not to be banished, despite him being a purple-eyed freak. This means, of course, no tragic backstory, no fear of fish, no being replaced by a superior Aqualad... All told, never venturing into superheroics was probably the best thing that could have happened for Garth.