Topo is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

that has appeared in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, notable as a loyal

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

and often aids him and his allies in combat.

Publication history

Topo first appears in ''Adventure Comics'' vol 1 #229 and was created by

Ramona Fradon Ramona Fradon (born October 2, 1926) is an American comics artist known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950. Early life Ramona Fradon was born in Chicago and mo ...

. As of current continuity there have been three different versions of the character which bear the name Topo. The first version is an intelligent octopus who is usually seen babysitting Aquababy to the best of his ability in the Pre-''Crisis'' continuity. There is a second Topo who becomes an ally to the second Aquaman. He is an anthropomorphic squid-boy from Dyss, who helps Aquaman open portals throughout the ocean. All versions of the character has assisted Aquaman in his adventures and also appeared assisting other heroes as well.

Fictional character history

The original Topo was born in or near the undersea continent of Atlantis where he became a favored pet of Aquaman. The creature appears to be gifted with an exceptional intelligence compared to that of an average octopus, and possesses superior dexterity and problem solving skills as well. Topo once demonstrated his skill with a bow and arrow, and was even known to have developed a keen ear for music; supposedly he was able to play several musical instruments simultaneously. The second version of Topo appears in ''Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis''. This version is more humanoid in form, but still has many octopus-like abilities. His skin is grey with spots, and he has three fingers on each hand. His lower facial features, including mouth, are hidden behind six short tentacles. When Mera, Tempest and Cal Durham need to return to Sub Diego, he leads the group to hidden hatches that act as portals. Aquaman soon joins the group and Topo offers to lead them on a trip, but they are surprised by Baron Gargos who was at the behest of the Deep Church to kill them. After the fight with Gargos, they finally reach Sub Diego and notice that the city was dominated by Black Manta, who killed the local police and took Alonzo Malrey hostage to lure Orin. Realizing that it is not the original Aquaman, Black Manta orders his goons to shoot them all, Topo takes position and squirts ink as a distraction so they have a chance to escape. In ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

'', Topo is reintroduced as a fearsome sea monster, a gigantic creature that is part octopus and part crab that only Aquaman can summon with a special conch. Aquaman summoned it to deal with the Scavenger, and uses his full telepathic power to unleash the creature on the Scavenger's fleet. However, this version of Topo is found to be too intelligent to be controlled by Aquaman's telepathy; while the creature managed to destroy the enemy submarines, the strain of mentally commanding Topo causes Aquaman to suffer from

nosebleed A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low bloo ...

ing before passing out of consciousness.

Other versions

Topo appears in ''

DC Super Friends The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, as part of their Fisher-Price brand. History At the time of its introduction at the 2002 Toy Fair,

'', '' Tiny Titans'' and ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...

'' team up comics.

In other media

* Topo appears in the ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'' episode "Downtime", voiced by

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the ''Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final Fa ...

. He appears in semi-humanoid form as an Atlantean sorcery student. He returns in ''Young Justice: Phantoms''. * Topo appears in the film ''

'', providing drum accompaniment during Arthur and Orm's Ring of Fire combat.

References

External links

Alan Kistler's Profile On Aquaman
{{Aquaman Comics characters introduced in 1956 Animal superheroes Fictional octopuses DC Comics sidekicks DC Comics Atlanteans DC Comics animals