Ed Ranks Aquaman's Powers

Aquaman talks to fish. Yeah, we get it. It's a bit of a joke.  Everyone knows it, including DC comics. Which is why for many, many years DC Comics has been doing everything it can to make Aquaman less of a joke and more of a "badass."  That's why in the comics (and in the excellent Bruce Timm animated Justice League), Aquaman was given an awesome FISHHOOK ARM like the Candyman in order to be menacing. And it's why they decided that he should now be played by Khal Drogo rather than some pretty blonde boy in orange and green tights.

Still. Does DC Comics really need to do that much to make Aquaman more "badass?"  Let's discuss his superpowers to see if he was really badass all along!

12. Fish Necromancer - Okay. We're off to a bad start on this one.  Recently in the comics, Aquaman was shown to be able to summon some dead fish back to life to help him fight.  Let's not speak of this one again because it's just weird.  I don't need Arthur Curry to be some sort of maritime Lazarus. Or, more accurately, Maritime Herbert West.

11. Night Vision - He can see in the dark really, really well. Which makes sense, considering that under the ocean it gets pretty dark, pretty fast. This was displayed in the movie with his glowing cat eyes.  Although, speaking of that... yes... cats can see in the dark too. So does this make my cats superheroes too?  Because their only other superpower seems to be the ability to take dumps that seem to be much, much more than what they eat.

10. Healing - Super healing would be an awesome and top notch power like what Wolverine has. If it were more associated with Aquaman, I'd rank it higher. But this is a relatively newer ad-on to the Aquaman mythos, supposedly given to him by the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian (ha?) mythology. So I'll put it down here.

9. Heat / Pressure Resistance - In film, cartoons and comics, Aquaman has clearly been shown to be able to resist intense heat (e.g. laser beams shot at him by Black Manta and the like). Also, by mere fact that he lives deep under the sea, he can obviosly survive intense pressure. So that must be pretty cool, huh?

8. Superhuman Senses - This dude can hear really well (he probably has sonar, right?), can smell really well (the old sharks can smell blood a mile away story, which is totally an urban myth).  Heightened senses must be a pretty big plus for that whole crime-fighting thing.

Gritty Reboot Time!!!

7. Magical Trident - Okay, owning a magical trident is sort of a cheat. Because it's not really a power he has, but a power the trident has. Still. He owns a magical trident that he can do magic stuff with. That's got to count for something. At the very least his superpower is "he wields magic," even if he himself isn't magic. His trident is shown to be able to manipulate water, shoot out bolts of power, focus his existing energy and powers, etc.

6. Control Over Water - Speaking of the Trident, while sometimes they show Aquaman using it to do stuff like control the water, he's also been shown to be able to command the waves and do stuff like make tidal waves on his own, without the Trident. So while he can't control the weather like Thor or Storm, controlling the water is worth something. I'm pretty sure that makes him a Water Bender, right? That's a thing, I think. I didn't watch that Air Bender show, but I assume there were also Water Benders.

5. Flying (Or at the Very Least, Jumping Really Far) - Recently in the comics, Aquaman has been given the power to fly by Poseidon.  That's sort of obscure and not commonly associated with him, but even if you want to disregard the "flying" thing, you have to admit that he can at least jump super far. Remember him jumping out of the airplace in the Aquaman movie? That's worth something.

4. Breathing Under Water - Aquaman can't drown, which is a convenient plus. All he's got to do is lure land-based enemies to the water, and he's pretty much totally in advantage. A subset of the ability to breath under water is also the ability to talk under water. That's also pretty cool.

3. Super Speed - Once source in the comics says that Aquaman can travel about 3,000 meters per second, which is very fast.  So the next time you think of giving shit to Aquaman for talking to fish, remember that he has the exact same super power that The Flash does, only he also has eleven more superpowers that the Flash doesn't have. Seriously, forget the Flash. Twelve superpowers also means that he has twelve more superpowers than Batman. FWIW.

Coming to kill you, because Aquaman told him to.

2. "Talking to Fish" (AKA Telepathy and Compelling) - So let's break down that "talking to fish" joke. Yeah. It's actually pretty sweet if, instead of saying "talking to fish," you call it what it is - telepathy. He is telepathic. He can converse with fish (also, it's not just fish... it's all marine life) with the power of his mind. That doesn't just including speaking with them about mundane stuff. When Arthur Curry talks to fish, he doesn't ask how the coral is doing this week. Aquaman tells the fish what to do, and they obey.  The fish really never say "no."  Which means it's less "talking" and more "compelling." Aquaman doesn't "talk to fish," so much as he "can tell a shark to eat someone he is pissed off with, whenever he wants." When you put it like that, this is SUPER AWESOME.


1. Superhuman Strength - I mean yeah, he's super strong and tough. He can beat the hell out of other people and when people beat him up, he's barely hurt.  This is the LAZIEST super power of all time for a comic writer to create, but it's honestly still the best. Maybe he's not as super strong as Superman or Wonder Woman.