Aqualad Redux

The new Aqualad, Jackson Hyde, is one of the first Character Spotlights I did on this blog. You can view the original post here.

He got the short end of the stick because he debuted, both in comics and on tv (Young Justice, in case you didn't know), right before The New 52 happened, and then he disappeared. He didn't appear again until DC Universe Rebirth #1 (May 2016), and not as Aqualad.

To be honest, I haven't really known how to handle Rebirth, which is why it's taken me so long to post him. New 52 was easy; it was a new universe, so everything that showed up was new. But Rebirth is kind of a continuation of the previous universe and kind of a continuation of New 52 (of course, New 52 was also kind of a continuation of the previous universe, but that's a different topic), so I didn't know whether I should post him again or leave him alone because he's already represented on the site.

Thankfully, DC did me a solid. See, Jackson recently became Aqualad for real. And unlike his previous, dreadlocked self, Rebirth Aqualad has hair to match his animated counterpart. So even if I can't count this as a character spotlight, it still works as an appearance spotlight.

Of course, his costume and tattoos LESS like the animated version than it used to be, but I can't win them all.

Appearance Spotlight: Tempest (post-Rebirth)

DC's Rebirth initiative has two goals, which at first seem at odds with each other, but seem to be working so far. The first is to shake up the majority of their line, taking their books in new directions that feel fresh. The other is to make it feel more like the pre-New 52 DC Universe by bringing back fan favorite characters, iconic outfits, and popular backstories. I guess there's also a third category that falls in between these two, which is adjusting their books to better match popular adaptations. This falls under that third category.

When Aquaman's sidekick, Aqualad, first appeared in the 60s, he looked like this:

As the Teen Titans grew up, they took on new superhero identities and changed their appearances. Aqualad became Tempest in a miniseries of the same name (1996), and he adopted a costume that was similar to a blue one Aquaman had started wearing, but keeping the red color scheme that was associated with him.

In 2003, the Teen Titans got their own animated series. Although Aqualad was not a member of the team, he did appear in the first season and made several appearances after that. However, his look was much different from anything seen in the comics at that time.

Tempest did not appear in the New 52 for several years, not until Aquaman #42 (July 2015). This version wears a blue version of his classic Tempest outfit, which makes sense as it contrasts Aquaman's warmly colored outfit, just like Tempest's red contrasted Aquaman's blue.

But then Rebirth happened. Tempest is still wearing blue, but as you can see, his new outfit his clearly inspired by his animated one. It debuted in Titans: Rebirth #1 (June 2016).

Character/Team Spotlight: The Awesome Threesome

This is one of those tricky ones, and I never would've known about it without the tip from user shadzane. Thanks!

The Awesome Threesome is a trio of supervillains that first appeared in Aquaman #36 (September 1967). The team is comprised of Torpedoman, Claw, and Magneto.

Torpedoman also appeared in the Aquaman cartoon episode "Treacherous is the Torpedoman", which debuted in October 1967. He returned in the November 1967 episode "The Torp, The Magneto, and The Claw", which featured the debuts of Claw and Magneto (obviously).

So why are these on this site? They clearly showed up in comics before animation. Well, not so fast. First, both of these episodes and the issue were written by Bob Haney. Furthermore, we've seen several times before that the lead time for animation can cause characters created for animation to jump over to comics before the animation airs. And beyond that, check out the cover to Aquaman #36.

It's the only issue to feature that banner at the top, so I'm pretty sure this issue was meant to promote the cartoon by featuring characters created for the cartoon. I think that also holds true for Tusky the Walrus, as seen last week.

Update - 11/7/25:

The Awesome Threesome are back! They somehow missed Post-Crisis Earth, New Earth, Earth-0, Prime Earth, and any minor continuity refreshes along the way, but in the anything-goes present-day "Dawn of DC" DC Universe, they're back. From Batman/Superman: World's Finest #15 (June 2023).

Character Spotlight: Tusky the Walrus

This is one of those tricky ones, and I never would've known about it without the tip from user shadzane. Thanks!

Tusky is a very intelligent walrus who is sort of Aquaman's equivalent of Krypto. He debuted in the first episode of the Aquaman cartoon, "Menace of the Black Manta" (September 1967).

He first appeared in comics in Aquaman #36, which was also in September 1967.

And both the episode and the issue were written by Bob Haney. So which came first? Well, we've seen several times before that the lead time for animation can cause characters created for animation to jump over to comics before the animation airs. And beyond that, check out the cover to Aquaman #36.

It's the only issue to feature that banner at the top, so I'm pretty sure this issue was meant to promote the cartoon by featuring characters created for the cartoon. You'll see more of those next week.

Character Spotlight: Aqualad

Aqualad

Aqualad is another of those characters that was created for a tv show but appeared in comics first (which, as I mentioned in the Aya character spotlight, is becoming increasingly common).  He debuted in Brightest Day #4 (June 2010) and first appeared on the tv series Young Justice in the pilot movie (November 2010).  He's a great character that was pretty much forced to be the leader of the team in Young Justice but has really grown into the role (although he might be a mole working for his father, Black Manta).