It's also really, really crucial to point out that EVERY version of Aqualad that we've seen, both Kaldur and the comics Jackson Hyde, has been depicted as queer. If any member of the Titans can handle that responsibility, it's Kaldur. We even used Kaldur in the Sub Diego storyline, giving him a heroic arc and a sidekick of his own in Lorena Marquez's Aquagirl.
This connection that makes Kaldur stand out among Atlantean warriors and makes him hungry to become a hero in his own right.
Aqua boy teen titan series#
In the animated series he discovered who his father is after he'd already become Aqualad, but we chose to establish this much earlier, going so far as to have Black Manta kidnap him when he is very young and train him as a successor. He's very young while this is happening, but it still made sense thanks to Kaldur's connection to Aquaman's nemesis Black Manta. We deliberately tried to find places where Kaldur could play a role in Aquaman's campaign for Atlantis. Perhaps the most important element in getting him right is making sure that he has lots of experience alongside Aquaman, tying his story into his mentors way, way back in the timeline, and keeping him active throughout. We attempted to adapt some of the comic book continuity for Jackson Hyde into our backstory for Kaldur, but ultimately the animated version of the character is just superior in almost every way. Still, for what they are, both takes on Jackson have a lot going for them and are worth reading on their own, but neither of them will ever be as awesome as the OG animated Aqualad. Both times their version struggled because Kaldur was a character that clearly had vast experience as a hero, and their versions were always brand new heroes still discovering their powers. The comics have made two separate attempts to adapt Kaldur into mainstream continuity, once during the New 52, and again during Rebirth. He could shape water like Mera, but used that talent to shape weapons he could use in combat. He had powers that were clearly influenced by his predecessors but implemented in innovative new ways he could breathe and thrive underwater like Aquaman, but had visible gills and webbed hands and feet. He was calm, mature, rational and experienced, clearly a contrast against the more impetuous members on a team of teenagers.
While the lead character designer is Phil Bourassa, there is likely a whole team of people responsible for developing an absolutely phenomenal new character who landed in the animated series in a way that felt like he was always meant to exist. Kaldur'ahm, the modern version of Aqualad, was invented entirely for the Young Justice animated series.
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