8 DC Characters Shamelessly Ripped-Off From Marvel

3. Aquaman Arrived After Namor, But Is Still More Popular

Aquaman Brightest Day DC Comics
DC Comics

Although people might like to think that Aquaman was the first aquatic superhero out there, he's not all that original, really. In actual fact, it was Marvel's speedo-wearing Atlantean, Namor, who first kicked off the water-based super heroics in 1939.

A wartime compatriot of Captain America and the original Human Torch, Namor first appeared in the pages of Motion Picture Funnies, going on to command a presence in Marvel's wartime books and then as a key figure within the mutants when the X-Men began to peak in popularity. He's a pivotal character in the Marvel Universe, but one that was somewhat beaten to the punch when it came to reaching the public by his DC counterpart, who arrived with a green and gold hue in 1941.

King Arthur Curry has subsequently gone on to become one of the most famous (and infamous) comic book characters of all time, relentlessly mocked for his powers as much as he is for his ever changing design. That's a little unfair, especially since the character has benefitted from renewed attention from writers these last few decades, but there's no denying that he's emerged for the better because of his cult status.

Namor, on the other hand, is yet to get any sort of mainstream recognition, while Aquaman is gearing up for a second live action appearance with his own solo film. Tough luck, Sub-Mariner.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.