Aqualad Garth: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Garth

First Appearance: Adventure Comics #269 (February, 1960)

Powers: Superhuman Strength, Can breathe underwater, Quick recovery, Can manipulate water current, Water temperature change, Telepathy with sea life, Dimensional travel

Affiliation: Teen Titans, Justice League, Sentinels of Magic, Titans

Did You Know? Garth is not the only DC character to take on the name Aqualad

A Little History

To understand where Garth came from we must first delve into the history of his parents. 

Before his birth, his parents, Thar and Berra became the ruling monarchy of Shayeris, the Capital City of the Hidden Valley of Colonies. Thar had inherited his right to rule and along with it, access to ancient magics. Slizzath, his brother believed that the right to rule and the magics belonged to him. However, because he dabbled in dark magic, often found practicing necromancy, he was deemed unfit to rule. As a consequence of what he chose to practice, Slizzath was banished from the kingdom and transformed into a disfigured being.

Invasion

Fast forward 20 years and Slizzath along with an army of the undead found a way to return to the Hidden Valley. Thar knew of his intent and sought to stop the invasion before it began. 

At the conclusion of the battle, Berra had been banned to Atlantis, Thar killed, and Slizzath defeated. But that wasn’t all. Before his final breath Thar cast a spell that saw Slizzath trapped inside an other dimensional prison. 

What nobody foresaw was that the spell that trapped Slizzath was linked to a spell designed to give the heirs to Thar access to the magics he possessed. That meant that at the onset of the ritual to anoint rule, Slizzath would be set free. Word was immediately sent that all babies born with purple eyes, the mark of power, were to be slain.

In Atlantis, the cast from the Hidden Valley, Berra gave birth to her son, the purple-eyed Garth. At this moment, Berra knew that her son would one day perform the ritual that would free Slizzath. 

Garth, believed by the Atlanteans to be genetically inferior was sentenced to death. This, of course, never happened. With the help of Aquaman’s father, Atlan, Garth was taught language and how to survive. 

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