Garth (comics)

Garth is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon, He first appears in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 (February 1960). The character is commonly associated with both Aquaman and the Teen Titans alongside the team's various incarnations.

Garth began as the teenaged sidekick and protégé of Aquaman, who is his adoptive father. The first character to use the Aqualad codename, Garth was a full-blooded Atlantean prince from the Idyllist tribe, consisting of pacifists. Atlantean superstitious nature made them believe infant Garth was connected to an evil lineage due to having purple eyes and was cast out, but found by Aquaman. He eventually came to befriend several other sidekicks and was a founding member of the Teen Titans. Once considered among the weaker members, his magical powers awakened, as did his potential of becoming a powerful sorcerer. As a young adult, Garth instead used the codename Tempest and became a formidable Atlantean sorcerer, standing on equal footing with his former mentor. politically served Atlantis in several capacities, and eventually fathered Cerdian with fellow Aquaman ally, Dolphin.

After the New 52 reboot, the character was reinvented and depicted as an elite soldier and a dropout of a prestigious Atlantean school of sorcery whose Idyllist heritage instead granted him an encyclopedia knowledge of Atlantis but experienced Atlantean xenophobia against them. Gradually, many aspects of his prior history was restored and merged with the newer history, including his relation with Aquaman, the Teen Titans, and his fatherhood. Once more serving his mentor and Atlantis in several capacities, he eventually meets his successor Jackson Hyde, whom he passes the Aqualad codename to.

Garth has made several appearances as both Aqualad and Tempest in various media. As Aqualad, he appears in the animated series ''Teen Titans'' and '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. He made his live-action debut in the second season of the DC Universe series ''Titans'', portrayed by Drew Van Acker. As Tempest, Garth appears in the ''Young Justice'' animated series.

Publication history

Aqualad first appeared in 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon. In 1996, Aqualad appeared in his own four-issue limited series under a new alias: ''Tempest''. In the 2009–2010 miniseries, ''Blackest Night'', Tempest is murdered in battle.

Fictional character biography

Garth is the prince of Shayeris, the capital of the Hidden Valley of colonies. He is born with purple eyes, a trait possessed by Idyllist radicals who have the potential to free his evil necromancer uncle Slizzath. Eventually, Aquaman rescues Garth, adopts him, and recruits him as his sidekick, Aqualad.

After Aquaman marries Mera, he pays less attention to Garth, leading him to embark on a solo career and become a founding member of the Teen Titans. He travels to the Hidden Valley, where he learns of his past.

Garth later falls in love with Aquagirl (Tula), the ward of Aquaman's predecessor Juvor. They date for years until Chemo kills Tula in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. Grief-stricken, Garth leaves Atlantis, rejoins the Teen Titans, and cuts ties with Aquaman.

Some time later, Garth encounters shark-like merpeople who attack him with mystic water. He is transported to another dimension, where Atlan trains him to manipulate water and create purple energy blasts. When Garth returns to Earth, he renames himself Tempest. However, an imposter of Tula steals Garth's power to free Slizzath before he stops him.

Tempest returns to Atlantis, becomes its ambassador to the United Nations, and marries Dolphin. He is later presumed dead when the Spectre attacks Atlantis.

In ''One Year Later'', Garth returns, but is rendered amnesiac and powerless. He eventually recovers and returns to heroism. In ''Blackest Night'', he is killed by Black Lanterns Aquaman, Tula, and Dolphin, and resurrected as one of them before Dove kills him again.

In ''The New 52'' continuity reboot, Garth is resurrected and joins an elite force that Siren assembles to hunt Aquaman. ''World's Finest: Teen Titans'' (2023) reveals Garth to be sexually fluid.

Character overview

Family lineage

A reoccurring theme in Garth's character is his familial connections and its impact on his life, mirroring Aquaman in some aspects. The biological son of Idyllist monarchs Thar and Berra, his relationship with both are strained due to their choice in abandoning him and reserves a low opinion of them. With Slizzarth as his uncle, Garth witnesses his uncle and father battle, fulfilling a reoccurring theme within the DC Universe's Atlantean history where brothers battle for political power, not unlike his adoptive family members, Aquaman and Ocean Master.

The character is also believed to be a descendant of Garn Daanuth, making him distantly related to Arion and Zatanna.

Powers and abilities

As an Atlantean, he possess their shared attributes of powers granted by their physiology: he is able to breathe underwater indefinitely, possesses superhuman physical abilities that allows him to freely move underwater and withstand the pressures of the deep ocean. He can survive at depths of up to 3,400 feet below surface level. His body contains fluids that adjust to give him buoyancy at varying depths. His body also produces gases that push out against the ocean pressures as heavily as they push in, preventing him from being crushed at great depths. His body is also highly impervious to physical injury. His bloodstream is filled with an amino acid that keeps his body from freezing in the ocean depths, although his own temperature is naturally quite high, allowing his muscles the heat they need to swim at such high speeds. Tempest can swim at speeds of 73.86 knots (or 85 mph). Tempest has excellent close range vision and he can see particularly well in low light. His sense of hearing is particularly acute, although, because the rate sound travels on dry land is different than beneath the water, his hearing is directly linked to his vision. He also has a powerful sense of smell. Tempest is amphibious and is able to breathe under water by extracting oxygen from the water through tiny pores in his skin.

As the alleged descendant of the evil ancient Atlantean demigod Garn Daanuth, he possess magical powers that are the result of mystic energies of his magical ancestors mixing with their genetic line. His magical powers allow him to perform a myriad of abilities such as his psionic ability to generate extreme temperatures of cold or heat in bodies of water, project optic blasts powerful enough to stun or knock a gray whale unconscious and kill a normal human being although he can alter its lethal intent. Other magical abilities include mystical senses, telepathy, telekinesis, dimensional traveling, demonic summoning, and ability to commune with entities connected to the elemental force known as the Blue (or Clear). After the New 52 reboot, Garth's purple eyes denote a line of Atlanteans whose powers include having an encyclopedic memory of his kingdom's history.

In addition to his super-powers, Garth is considered a skilled warrior adept with various weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. He is also considered intelligent and a competent ambassador. At a young age, Garth exceeded in academics. Garth also possesses a vast amount of wealth due to his royal connections, once having served as the Titan's chief financer. As an ambassador, he also enjoys a level of diplomatic immunity.

Weaknesses

As with all other Atlanteans, Garth dehydrates at a faster rate than humans. Originally, the character was expressed to be able to survive for one hour although later versions of this character lacked a specified time limit before the character could dehydrate while on dry air. Despite having enhanced senses, Garth is partially color blind, unable to distinguish between black, green, and blue.

Other versions

*On Earth-15, a world where sidekicks have taken on their mentors' identities, an older version of Garth has been shown to have taken up the mantle of Aquaman. He is subsequently killed by Superman-Prime.
*In the Elseworlds series ''Kingdom Come'', Garth is depicted as the future protector of Atlantis, "Aquaman". He marries Debbie Perkins (aka Deep Blue), and they have a daughter, Tula (Aquagirl).
*In '' Flashpoint'', Artemis frames Garth for the death of Hippolyta on the wedding day of Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Garth is killed by Philippus before he can tell Aquaman that Artemis was collaborating with Orm.
*An alternate universe variant of Garth as Tempest appears in '' Teen Titans: Earth One''. This version is a human who gained fish-like abilities from experimentation by S.T.A.R. Labs.

In other media

Television

* Garth as Aqualad appears in '' The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'', voiced by Jerry Dexter.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in ''Teen Titans'' (2003), voiced by Wil Wheaton. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is an honorary member of the Teen Titans and a founding member of Titans East.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in the ''Robot Chicken'' episode "They Took My Thumbs", voiced by Clare Grant.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Sidekicks Assemble!", voiced by Zack Shada as a teenager and by Zachary Gordon as a child. This version is resentful of the praise that Aquaman receives.
* Garth appears in ''Young Justice'', voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is Kaldur'ahm's best friend who was offered to join Aquaman as his pupil, but declined to become a student of the Atlantean Conservatory of Sorcery. Additionally, Garth joined the Team in between the first and second seasons, but left following Tula's death. In the third season, '' Young Justice: Outsiders'', Garth becomes an ambassador for Atlantis at the United Nations.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in ''Teen Titans Go!'' (2013), voiced again by Wil Wheaton.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in ''Titans'', portrayed by Drew Van Acker. This version is a founding member of the original iteration of the Titans who possesses hydrokinesis and is attracted to Donna Troy, with whom he has a one-night stand before she returns to Themyscira without telling him. Furious, he confronts her at the airport, where they profess their love for each other. Garth later sacrifices himself to save Troy's Amazon handler Jillian from Deathstroke.
* Garth as Aqualad appears in ''DC Super Hero Girls'', voiced by Jessica McKenna. This version is a student at Metropolis High School, a member of the "Invincibros" whose last name is "Bernstein", and a late bloomer with a preteen voice and appearance at the age of 15.

Film

* The ''Teen Titans'' (2003) incarnation of Garth / Aqualad makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo''.
* The '' Flashpoint'' incarnation of Garth makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' as a member of Aquaman's army.
* Garth as Aqualad makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies''.
* Garth as Tempest makes a cameo appearance in '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths''.

Video games

* Garth as Tempest appears as an unlockable character in '' Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis''.
* Garth as Aqualad appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.
* The ''Young Justice'' incarnation of Garth as Tempest appears as a playable character in '' Young Justice: Legacy'', voiced again by Yuri Lowenthal.
* Garth appears as an unlockable character in ''DC Legends''.

Miscellaneous

* Parodies of Aquaman and Aqualad named Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy appear in ''SpongeBob SquarePants''.
* The ''Teen Titans'' (2003) incarnation of Garth / Aqualad appears in ''Teen Titans Go!'' (2004). Additionally, a villainous, alternate universe variant of Aqualad, Tempest, appears in issue #48 as a member of the Teen Tyrants.

References

External links

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{{Teen Titans

Aquatic superheroes
Comics characters introduced in 1960
Characters created by Ramona Fradon
Characters created by Robert Bernstein
DC Comics Atlanteans
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics characters who can teleport
DC Comics characters who use magic
DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
DC Comics characters with superhuman senses
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics child superheroes
DC Comics LGBTQ superheroes
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics psychics
DC Comics sidekicks
DC Comics telekinetics
DC Comics telepaths
Fictional activists
Fictional bisexual men
Fictional characters with water abilities
Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities
Fictional merfolk
Superheroes who are adopted
Teenage characters in comics