Rankings have long been the spine of Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! Based on the cumulative record of win/loss results: relevant rankings are updated at the bottom of every new featured fight -- but only for characters involved! Rank & File is a chance to compare and contrast the 900+ characters currently ranked by highlighting the ten best heroes & villains of different topical categories!
With a tidal wave of enthusiasm flooding the planet for DC and Warner Brother's Aquaman movie - it only makes sense we take a closer look at the Top 10 Deep Sea Dwellers in comics! Remember: this list is based on current win/loss results and is subject to change. Be sure to hit the comments section below to share your Top 10 favourite heroes & villains who come from the deep!
#1 Aquaman (DC)Real Name: [Arthur Curry]
First Appearance: [More Fun Comics #73 (November, 1941)]
Recent Opponents: [Black Manta, Mera & Tempest, Ocean Master]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman versus Mercury Monster]
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has traditionally been a Sub-Mariner strong-hold, but mounting excitement for this month's Aquaman movie has invariably floated the DC hero back to the top of the ranks! It's the first time in over a decade he's outpaced the competition -- even though he infamously claimed victory when the rivals met in Marvel versus DC #2!
As the second iconic underwater superhero to emerge from comics' Golden Age; Aquaman has had many different phases and moments - not all of them favourable. Despite a history of ups and downs, he achieved rankings superiority with last month's feature fight from Adventure Comics #446! The issue is part of the rip-roaring action-adventure era of the mid-seventies, which features his iconic extended family and deadliest enemies! Some of that spirit lies within his most recent incarnations, and it will be particularly exciting to see Jason Mamoa don the iconic gold & green when he shares the screen with a few of the other characters featured further down on this list!
As the second iconic underwater superhero to emerge from comics' Golden Age; Aquaman has had many different phases and moments - not all of them favourable. Despite a history of ups and downs, he achieved rankings superiority with last month's feature fight from Adventure Comics #446! The issue is part of the rip-roaring action-adventure era of the mid-seventies, which features his iconic extended family and deadliest enemies! Some of that spirit lies within his most recent incarnations, and it will be particularly exciting to see Jason Mamoa don the iconic gold & green when he shares the screen with a few of the other characters featured further down on this list!
#2 Sub-Mariner (Marvel)Real Name: [Namor McKenzie]
First Appearance: [Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April, 1939)]
Recent Opponents: [Thanos, Thanos, Iron Man, Red Skull & Nazis]
Fight Spotlight: [Mister Fantastic versus Sub-Mariner]
Namor is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel pantheon, but that's never worked against him! He featured prominently as a guest when Stan Lee and his collaborators began the Marvel Age of the 1960s [eg; X-Men #6], before rejoining the modern world as a frequent "frenemy" of the Fantastic Four. After touring the various new series, he was re-established as a lead in Tales to Astonish, which he shared with eventual sparring partner and teammate - the Hulk!
Namor, The Sub-Mariner differed in many ways from DC's later creation. The unusual characteristic of ankle wings and the ability to fly earned him the eventual moniker of "Marvel's First Mutant". He was also a far less agreeable personality, walking the line of a dangerous anti-hero. He'd eventually be seen sporadically leading the armies of Atlantis against the surface world, and collaborating with the likes of Doctor Doom! He was even a star of the short-lived Super Villain Team-Up in the seventies, even though his role often favoured that of the heroic protagonist.
Namor, The Sub-Mariner differed in many ways from DC's later creation. The unusual characteristic of ankle wings and the ability to fly earned him the eventual moniker of "Marvel's First Mutant". He was also a far less agreeable personality, walking the line of a dangerous anti-hero. He'd eventually be seen sporadically leading the armies of Atlantis against the surface world, and collaborating with the likes of Doctor Doom! He was even a star of the short-lived Super Villain Team-Up in the seventies, even though his role often favoured that of the heroic protagonist.
#3 Aquagirl (DC)Real Name: [Tula]
First Appearance: [Aquaman #33 (May-June, 1967)]
Recent Opponents: [Black Manta, Mera & Tempest]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman, Dolphin & Tula versus Mera & Tempest]
The third heroine to use the "Aquagirl" moniker is also our #3 deep sea dweller! Tula was orphaned as an infant and adopted by Atlantean nobility. Raised as the Princess of Poseidonis, she remained within royal palace walls until her teens, when she first encountered the original Aqualad! She became romantically linked with Garth and a regular ally to the Teen Titans.
We indirectly saw Tula's irrepressible influence via Adventure Comics #446, where she helped turn the tides of battle with Black Manta by freeing Garth from an elaborate death-trap. She would face death herself a decade later - one of the casualties of Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was in death she made her biggest impact on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, returning during Blackest Night #2 as an undead Black Lantern who tore her former boyfriend apart! She's since been restored as part of the New 52 reboot, becoming the half-sister of Ocean Master, and regent of Atlantis.
#4 Dolphin (DC)Real Name: [Unknown]
First Appearance: [Showcase #79 (December, 1968)]
Recent Opponents: [Mera & Tempest]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman, Dolphin & Tula versus Mera & Tempest]
Our fourth deep sea dweller was a presumed military brat during the Second World War until the American battleship carrying her was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The unknown child was rescued from the ocean by mysterious aliens, who then used her in a series of experiments to splice human genetics with those of aquatic creatures. She survived the harrowing ordeal to live under the sea, discovered by American divers exploring wreckage in 1968.
The mysterious young woman couldn't communicate and didn't know her name anyway, so the divers christened her Dolphin. Years later in Secret Origins #50, aged diver Chris Landau rediscovered Dolphin living as an attraction at Oceanworld water park. She later met Aquaman and became embroiled in Atlantean society, marrying Garth and siring a child, until she was killed during The Spectre's attack on Atlantis. She joined Garth's other love interest as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night #2.
The mysterious young woman couldn't communicate and didn't know her name anyway, so the divers christened her Dolphin. Years later in Secret Origins #50, aged diver Chris Landau rediscovered Dolphin living as an attraction at Oceanworld water park. She later met Aquaman and became embroiled in Atlantean society, marrying Garth and siring a child, until she was killed during The Spectre's attack on Atlantis. She joined Garth's other love interest as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night #2.
#5 Sulumor (Marvel)Real Name: [Sulumor]
First Appearance: [New Invaders #0 (August, 2004)]
Recent Opponents: [Wolverine, Avengers]
Featured Fight: [Invaders versus Avengers]
Sulumor didn't live long in comics, but he's burned brightly here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! In his first appearance Sulumor served as Atlantean Counselor to Namor during a joint invasion of Mazikhandar with a new team of Invaders. The attack brought he and Sub-Mariner into conflict with The Avengers, but ended with his installation as an Atlantean Diplomat after the surrender of political assassin and short-lived Mazikhandar leader, General Rafiq.
A strong-headed, if aggressive member of the Atleantean military ranks; Sulumor was strong enough to challenge even the bold will of Namor, earning his respect in the process. The Counselor was involved in directing a joint national strike on conspiring Axis Mundi Pterrorists, but lost his life shortly after when a Hydra controlled Wolverine took him out in New Invaders #6.
A strong-headed, if aggressive member of the Atleantean military ranks; Sulumor was strong enough to challenge even the bold will of Namor, earning his respect in the process. The Counselor was involved in directing a joint national strike on conspiring Axis Mundi Pterrorists, but lost his life shortly after when a Hydra controlled Wolverine took him out in New Invaders #6.
#6 Shiny Happy Aquazon (DC)Real Name: [Kim Kimura]
First Appearance: [Final Crisis #2 (August, 2008)]
Recent Opponent: [Razzle]
Featured Fight: [Razzle versus Super Young Team]
Shiny Happy Aquazon might sound like a glib tribute to REM, but as introduced in Final Crisis #2, she's actually a second-generation amphibian Japanese heroine, the daughter of Junior Waveman Kimura. That legacy doesn't really mean much to the star-chasing celebrity superhero though. She's best known as the 'giggly, shy, and annoyingly cute' member of idle idols: Super Young Team.
SYT are spoiled, vacuous poseurs wearing referential American superhero style as fashion couture, but their total ineffectiveness hasn't stopped them attracting a legion of adoring fans. They accidentally stumbled into legitimacy during Final Crisis when they linked up with Sonny Sumo and Mister Miracle, and helped save humanity in the process. A brilliant post-modern concept tossed off by Grant Morrison, the team were spun-out into their own series, where we saw them face the evils of Tokyo nightlife.
SYT are spoiled, vacuous poseurs wearing referential American superhero style as fashion couture, but their total ineffectiveness hasn't stopped them attracting a legion of adoring fans. They accidentally stumbled into legitimacy during Final Crisis when they linked up with Sonny Sumo and Mister Miracle, and helped save humanity in the process. A brilliant post-modern concept tossed off by Grant Morrison, the team were spun-out into their own series, where we saw them face the evils of Tokyo nightlife.
#7 Mera (DC)Real Name: [Mera]
First Appearance: [Aquaman #11 (October, 1963)]
Recent Opponents: [Black Lantern Corps, Ocean Master]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman, Dolphin & Tula versus Mera & Tempest]
Queen Mera originally came from Dimension Aqua: an almost exclusively submerged reality where she ruled as Queen of the kingdom Xebel. After fleeing her realm from a criminal threat, Mera abdicated the throne to remain on Earth, where she married Aquaman to become Queen of Earth's Atlantis.
Mera has been a mercurial presence in Aquaman's world ever since, coming in and out of fashion as the Atlantean monarch's wife, and mother of their ill-fated child. She firmly returned to the fold in the last decade, even starring in her own series, and is well on track to become a DC icon when Amber Heard returns to the live-action role in Aquaman.
Mera has been a mercurial presence in Aquaman's world ever since, coming in and out of fashion as the Atlantean monarch's wife, and mother of their ill-fated child. She firmly returned to the fold in the last decade, even starring in her own series, and is well on track to become a DC icon when Amber Heard returns to the live-action role in Aquaman.
#8 Ocean Master (DC)Real Name: [Orm Marius]
First Appearance: [Aquaman #29 (September, 1966)]
Recent Opponents: [Aquaman, Martian Manhunter]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman versus Ocean Master]
Almost all of our best ranked deep sea dwellers have been friends & allies to DC and Marvel's highest ranking icons -- but some of comics' most famous underwater patrons are super-villains! Case in point: Aquaman's jealous half-brother Orm, whose pursuit of the Atlantean throne and bitter jealousy against his half-sibling have led him to take the moniker of Ocean Master!
Although their relationship wasn't immediately apparent in his maiden comic book voyage, their natural opposition led Ocean Master to immediately become one of Aquaman's leading nemeses! He appears as the arch-adversary threatening Atlantis in this month's Aquaman feature film played by Patrick Wilson.
Although their relationship wasn't immediately apparent in his maiden comic book voyage, their natural opposition led Ocean Master to immediately become one of Aquaman's leading nemeses! He appears as the arch-adversary threatening Atlantis in this month's Aquaman feature film played by Patrick Wilson.
#9 Tempest (DC)Real Name: [Garth]
First Appearance: [Adventure Comics #269 (February, 1960)]
Recent Opponents: [Black Manta, Black Lantern Corps]
Featured Fight: [Aquaman, Dolphin & Tula versus Mera & Tempest]
The original Aqualad missed out on our Top 10 Teen Titans but his assist battling the dastardly Black Manta in Adventure Comics #446 means he swims against the tide into our best oceanic heroes & villains -- and why not? The Silver Age sidekick of Aquaman was once one of the most recognizable deep sea dwellers in comics!
Debuting as another half-man/half-Atlantean, he formed a heroic partnership after meeting Aquaman, and later joined Robin & Kid Flash to form the original all-star sidekick squadron: The Teen Titans! As he matured, Garth forged a legacy of his own, learning to control the current and temperature of water using ancient magicks wielded by his forefathers. As Tempest he found a family of his own with top three ranked Tula, but his lovelife came back to bite him in Blackest Night #2!
Debuting as another half-man/half-Atlantean, he formed a heroic partnership after meeting Aquaman, and later joined Robin & Kid Flash to form the original all-star sidekick squadron: The Teen Titans! As he matured, Garth forged a legacy of his own, learning to control the current and temperature of water using ancient magicks wielded by his forefathers. As Tempest he found a family of his own with top three ranked Tula, but his lovelife came back to bite him in Blackest Night #2!
#10 Tigershark (Marvel)Real Name: [Todd Arlis]
First Appearance: [Sub-Mariner #5 (September, 1968)]
Recent Opponents: [Sub-Mariner & Spider-Man]
Featured Fight: [Sub-Mariner & Spider-Man versus Dorcas & Tiger Shark]
Olympic swimmer Todd Arlis thought he'd receive public adoration and glory when he attempted to save a drowning man, but instead suffered a career-ending injury to his spinal chord. Not content with his lot in life, he volunteered for Dr. Dorcas' gene therapy, which spliced him with the hybrid mutant DNA of Prince Namor, and a tiger shark -- transforming him into a super-human predator!
Tiger Shark quickly left his sporting career behind in favour of delusions of grandeur that saw him pursuing the Atlantean throne. This established a classic arch-rivalry with the Sub-Mariner that continues to this very day! Namor has known many Atlantean enemies over the years, but Tiger Shark is the rare exception of a surface dweller who can match him on land and sea!
Bringing Up The Rear:
Doctor Dorcas, Aquanoids, Lord Krang, Tri-Gorr, Rommbu, Giganto, Mercury Monster, Black Manta & Attuma
Remember: The Rank & File Top 10 is determined by win/loss rankings at the time of publication. There are many more fish in the sea who could rank among the best. Who would make your cut? Don't forget you can share your Top 10 deep sea dwellers in the comments!
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