Aquagirl
Aquagirl is the name of several fictional characters featured as superheroines in the comic books and other media produced by DC Comics.
| Aquagirl | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aquagirl (Tula) on the cover of Aquaman vol. 1 #33 (May–June 1967) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Morel) Adventure Comics #266 (November 1959) (Selena) World's Finest Comics #133 (May 1963) (Tula) Aquaman vol. 1 #33 (May–June 1967) |
| Created by | (Morel) Robert Bernstein Ramona Fradon (Selena) Jack Miller Ramona Fradon (Tula) Bob Haney Nick Cardy |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lisa Morel Selena Tula Lorena Marquez Mareena |
| Species | Atlantean |
| Place of origin | Atlantis |
| Team affiliations | (Tula) Teen Titans Black Lantern Corps |
| Abilities | Adapted for breathing underwater and resisting deep-sea-level pressure. Possesses super strength and toughness. |
Early incarnations
Lisa Morel
Lisa Morel is introduced in Adventure Comics #266 (November 1959) as one of several violet-eyed Atlantean children born unable to adapt to the watery world. They had been sent to the surface in waterproof lifeboats so they might survive among land-dwellers, and Lisa had been adopted by the scientist Dr. Hugo Morel and his wife. With Aquaman in danger, Lisa's water-breathing and telepathic powers awaken; she makes herself a costume identical to Aquaman's, takes on the name "Aquagirl" and fights alongside him. However, her new-found powers are short-lived, and she loses them permanently. This is the first and last appearance of the character.[1]
Selena
Selena is a young Poseidonis teenager who temporarily teams up with Aquaman under the name "Aqua-Girl" in World's Finest Comics #133 (May 1963) to make her former boyfriend jealous. She succeeds, making Aqualad jealous of her temporary status as Aquaman's sidekick as well. This is the first and last appearance of the character.[2]
Tula
Tula is introduced in Aquaman vol. 1 #33 (May–June 1967).[3][4] After losing her parents soon after her birth, she had been found and adopted by one of the royal families of Atlantis. Given the title Princess of Poseidonis, Tula is schooled in Atlantean traditions, and never leaves the royal palace until she meets Aqualad (Garth) at age 15 in this issue.[5]
Tula sometimes helps Aqualad with missions during his time with the original Teen Titans, using the name Aquagirl.[6] When Aquaman leaves his throne to search for his then-missing wife Mera, Narkran takes over Atlantis as a dictator. His reign falls only when Tula leads a rebellion against him. Tula and Garth resume their romance when he returns to Atlantis and they later appear in the 1980s revival series New Teen Titans to aid the Titans in bringing down the H.I.V.E..
Death
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series (1985–1986), Aquagirl is killed by the villain Chemo when she drowns in water that he has poisoned.
Years later, in the Tempest miniseries, a woman claiming to be Tula enters Garth's life. In truth, it is a doppelgänger created by the villainous Slizzath as part of an elaborate plan to siphon Garth's mystical energies for his own dark purposes. Garth sees through the ruse, is able to defeat Slizzath and finally gain a sense of closure about Tula's death. It is also at this time that Garth adopted a new identity as "Tempest".
Most recently, Tula reappears in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30-31. Aquagirl is brought back to life by Brother Blood—along with Hawk and Dove, Phantasm, and Kole—to fight against the Titans. After being freed by Beast Boy and Raven, Kid Eternity is able to lay the deceased Titans back to rest.
Tula has a statue in the "Hall of Fallen Titans" at Titans Tower, alongside the original Hawk and Dove, Kole and others. A year later, Tula is channeled by Kid Eternity when the Titans face Blood again. She angrily beats the villain, claiming to be enraged about being resurrected as his puppet. She later is then returned to the afterlife after her time limit in Eternity's body is reached.
Blackest Night
In the Blackest Night miniseries, Tula, Aquaman and Dolphin appear as a group of reanimated Black Lanterns who attack Tempest and Mera. Tula and Dolphin argue over Tempest, at the same time mocking him for not saving them. Sensing Garth's hope that she could fight what had been done to her, Tula tore out his heart, killing him and bringing about his reanimation as a Black Lantern.[7] Tula later appears to battle the Titans. However, her body is soon destroyed by a burst of white light emanating from Dawn Granger.[8]
The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Tula is first seen as a shadowing female Atlantean reporting to the current King of Atlantis, Orm, a.k.a. the Ocean Master, about the attacks made to the boy born with purple eyes, who is believed by some to bring the end of Atlantis. The Ocean Master ordered Garth to be returned to his mother unharmed.[9] She later battles Cyborg during Atlantis' invasion of the United States,[10] and later, when Aquaman becomes the king of Atlantis, she is seen reporting to him and according to the conversation she had with him, it is revealed that she and Orm share the same father, meaning that Orm is her half-brother.[11]
Lorena Marquez
| Aquagirl | |
|---|---|
 Lorena, Koryak and Vulko from Aquaman vol. 6 #32 (September 2005), art by Patrick Gleason | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Aquaman vol. 6 #16 (May 2004) |
| Created by | Will Pfeifer (writer) Patrick Gleason (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lorena Marquez |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Sub Diego |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans |
| Partnerships | Aquaman |
| Abilities | Adapted for breathing underwater and resisting deep-sea-level pressure |
Lorena Marquez is another fictional character to use the codename Aquagirl. She is a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. Lorena debuted in Aquaman vol. 6 #16 (May 2004), and was created by Will Pfeifer and Patrick Gleason.
Fictional character biography
Lorena Marquez is on a date at the San Diego Zoo when an earthquake shakes San Diego and causes it to sink deep into the sea, killing thousands—including Lorena's entire family. She comes into contact with Aquaman, who nurses her back to health as she discovers that she has developed the ability to breathe underwater like an Atlantean. The two manage to locate the other survivors of the quake, as well as Anton Geist, the scientist responsible for the catastrophe. Lorena and Aquaman have no choice but to begin rebuilding the city as "Sub Diego." When Ocean Master switches lives with Aquaman, Lorena assumes the identity of Aquagirl, adopting an aquatic costume. After Aquaman exposes Ocean Master's scheme, Lorena keeps her Aquagirl costume and identity, and the two carry on protecting Sub Diego.[12] When a string of homicides begin to emerge in Sub Diego, Lorena was one of the first to discover that it was former police officer Chandra Abbot who was guilty. The two fight and Chandra admits she did not understand why Aquaman would allow Lorena to help him but she at that moment she understood, she is a good detective.
"One Year Later"
In Teen Titans Volume 3 #34 (May 2006), Lorena is shown at Titans Tower arguing with Holly Granger during a flashback. Lorena is also a member of the Teen Titans during the events of 52. She assists Steel in launching an attack on LexCorp when Natasha Irons is captured by Lex Luthor.[13] She later resurfaces as supporting character of the new Aquaman, Arthur Joseph Curry, in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis. Apparently, as one of the last Sub Diegoans able to breathe water, she is left in the seas, mourning Koryak's death in the rubble of Poseidonis. She then joins Curry, Cal Durham, Tempest, and the new Topo in their voyage to Sub Diego. Aquagirl appears up in Terror Titans #1 and is kidnapped (along with a group of other teen superheroes) by the Terror Titans. While her teammate Molecule is slain by the new Persuader, Lorena is taken alive, to be mindwiped and forced to fight in the Dark Side Club at the behest of the Apokoliptan Gods on Earth. She is defeated twice, once by Rose Wilson after being stabbed, and again by a brainwashed Terra, who crushes Lorena with a pair of boulders. Aquagirl and the others are eventually freed by Miss Martian, and Lorena joins the survivors in a trek to Titans Tower in order to recover.
Rejoining the Titans
While resting in the tower, Lorena meets and befriends Static, telling him that she enjoyed her past experience as a member of the Teen Titans. After realizing that she has nowhere to go and no family, Lorena accepts Wonder Girl's offer to rejoin the team, taking up permanent residence in Titans Tower.[14]
Remaining close friends with Static, Lorena also begins flirting in Spanish with her teammate Blue Beetle, despite him already dating teen superheroine and Titan reserve member, Traci 13.[15] She also quickly gains an enemy in Bombshell, finding her to be rude. Despite her apparent concern for both Static and Blue Beetle, Aquagirl begins flirting with Superboy after she witnesses a fight between him and Wonder Girl.[16]
During a mission to rescue Raven from an extradimensional being called Wyld, Aquagirl and Bombshell are swallowed by massive sea monster mutated from Wyld's energy.[17] After Static destroys Wyld, Aquagirl and Bombshell are left missing at sea with their fates uncertain.[18] In the following issue, it is mentioned that both Bombshell and Aquagirl had been rescued by their teammates, but were sidelined from the Titans due to Wonder Girl no longer wishing to endanger "inexperienced" teen heroes by allowing them membership.[19]
Brightest Day
In the Brightest Day crossover, Lorena is approached by Mera who had come searching for help against her sister and her Death Squad.[20] She and Mera subsequently reappear when Siren and her army attack Miami, Florida as the opening salvo of an invasion. During the battle, Lorena rescues the new Aqualad by kicking Black Manta in the face just as he is about to stab the youth to death. After Mera and Aqualad successfully trap the invaders inside the Bermuda Triangle, Lorena tells Aqualad not to "get any ideas" as the two teens watch Aquaman and Mera passionately kiss.[21]
She is one of the former Titans that came to aid them in the battle between Superboy-Prime.
Other versions
In the 1996 limited series Kingdom Come, Aquagirl is Tula II, the estranged teenage daughter of Garth (formerly Aqualad, now Aquaman).[22] She is named Tula after her father's late girlfriend and is part of a team consisting of the other original Titans' children who end up taking Batman's side in the story's key conflict. In her appearances, Tula seemingly demonstrates a partial shapeshifting ability, changing parts of her body to resemble those of sea creatures. She is last seen battling Donna Troy during the climatic battle at the superhuman Gulag and is possibly killed by the nuclear explosion that ends the conflict.
This Tula's mother is possibly Deep Blue, described in annotations for the series as "Mizuko Perkins", daughter of Tsunami and Neptune Perkins. In standard DC Comics continuity, Deep Blue is Aquaman's half-sister Debbie, the daughter of Tsunami and Atlan, raised by Tsunami and Neptune Perkins.
In the Titans Tomorrow timeline, Lorena is Aquawoman, a member of the Titans. It is revealed that she has developed telepathic powers which she had used to kill (or paralyze) former Titan member Garth.
In other media
Television
Animated
In Batman Beyond, Aquagirl is Mareena, a member of the future Justice League and the daughter of Aquaman. The character was created specifically for the Batman Beyond episodes "The Call: Part 1" (November 11, 2000) and "The Call: Part 2" (November 18, 2000), in which Batman meets the "Justice League Unlimited", a future version of the Justice League. Aquagirl was voiced by Jodi Benson. When Batman is going over her file on the computer, it is shown that she is the daughter of Aquaman, with powers including control over water. She later reappears in the Justice League Unlimited series (which showcases the present-day lineup of the JLU) in "Epilogue". She has very distinctive platinum blonde hair; it is always wet and slicked evenly back. Her costume varies; she is usually portrayed wearing a one-piece swimsuit of various colors with bare arms and legs and fingerless gloves.
Tula (though she is never referred to as Aquagirl in season one) first appears in Young Justice in the episode "Downtime", voiced by Cree Summer. She is portrayed as the childhood friend of Kaldur'ahm who ultimately entered into a relationship with his friend Garth after Kaldur left Atlantis to become Aquaman's sidekick. Unlike the comics, the Tula in Young Justice possesses mystical abilities that can help her create, control and manipulate water into any shape she wishes, abilities that many Atlanteans, including Kaldur, have. When Kaldur returns to Poseidonis for a dinner with the royal family, he invites Tula as his guest, unaware that she has already left him for his best friend. She eventually tells him about this, and the two reconcile during an attack on the city led by Black Manta, with Kaldur departing on friendly terms when he eventually returns to the surface world. Tula and Garth make a cameo appearance in the episode "Failsafe", working alongside Red Arrow, Rocket and Zatanna in a training simulation. In the episode "Alienated" (set five years later, in Season Two: Invasion), it is mentioned that Tula's death (during the events of the video game Young Justice: Legacy) is one of the reasons Aqualad has apparently turned on his former team (while actually going undercover to investigate the Light's partner). This is the first instance of Tula being referenced as Aquagirl in the series. In the episode "Satisfaction", her statue is among the other yellow statues of fallen heroes located in the grotto of Mount Justice. In the episode "The Fix", Tula appears as a psychic projection when Miss Martian and Artemis Crock psionically enter Aqualad's subconscious mind.
Live-action
In season two of Entourage, Mandy Moore portrays Aquagirl in the Aquaman movie that exists in the Entourage fictional universe. The storyline has Moore, playing herself as the ex-girlfriend of character Vince, about to be dropped from the project due to the turmoil of their personal relationship. Mandy is not removed from the movie however, and Vince and Mandy re-kindle their former romance. Following this, Mandy breaks Vince's heart again, stating that she still loves her former fiancé, Chris. Vince decides to continue working on the movie with Mandy still attached. It then becomes the highest-grossing movie opening of all time.
Film
Tula makes a cameo appearance in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox as a member of Aquaman's army in the altered timeline. She is killed in the final battle with the Amazons.
Video games
Tula, as Aquagirl, appears in Young Justice: Legacy, with Cree Summer reprising the role. She serves as the coordinator of the Team, providing information on The Light's attempts to steal the pieces of an ancient statue, and keeping the pieces safe. Near the end of the game, Klarion disguised as Tempest tricks her into giving him the pieces of the statue, and kidnaps her, intending to use her magic to revive Tiamat in Bialya. The Team arrives to free Tula and defeat Klarion and Blockbuster, but is too late to stop Tiamat's revival. When Tiamat proves too powerful to kill, a weakened Tula offers to use her remaining magic to defeat and imprison Tiamat again, sacrificing herself just like Marduk did in ancient times. Tula succeeds, but is killed by falling debris. Tempest grieves her death, and Aqualad quits the Team, leading up to the events in the second season of the show.
References
- "Aquaman Meets Aquagirl!" Adventure Comics #266 (November 1959). The Grand Comics Database. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- "Aquaman's New Partner, Aquagirl." World's Finest Comics #133 (May 1963). The Grand Comics Database. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- "Aqualad's Deep-Six Chick!" Aquaman #33 (May–June 1967). The Grand Comics Database. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1960s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Aqualad found romance under the sea when scripter Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy introduced him to fellow young Atlantean Tula, also known as Aquagirl.
CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link) - Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Anthro", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 17, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5
- "Some Call It Noise." Teen Titans (vol. 1) #30 (November–December 1970). The Grand Comics Database. Retrieved on March 14, 2009.
- Blackest Night #2 (August 2009)
- Blackest Night: Titans #3 (October 2009)
- Aquaman (vol. 5) #14 (November 2012)
- Justice League (vol. 2) #16 (January 2013)
- Aquaman (vol. 5) #18 (March 2013)
- Aquaman vol. 6 #16 (May 2004)
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #17–19 (December 2004 – February 2005)
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #69 (May 2009)
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #72–74 (August–October 2009)
- Teen Titans vol.3 #83 (July 2010)
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #85
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #87
- Teen Titans vol. 3 #88
- Brightest Day #18 (January 2011)
- Brightest Day #20 (February 2011)
- from: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)