The Silver Age Aquaman made his first appearance in "Adventure" Comics (May 1959). In it and subsequent Silver Age comics, it was revealed that Aquaman was Arthur Curry, the son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and Atlanna, a water-breathing outcast from the lost underwater city of Atlantis.

Due to his heritage, Aquaman discovered as a youth that he possessed various superhuman abilities, including the powers of surviving underwater, communication with sea life and tremendous swimming prowess. Eventually, Arthur decided to use his talents to become the defender of the Earth's oceans. It was later revealed that in his youth Arthur had adventured as Aquaboy and, one occasion, met Superboy, Earth's only other publicly active superpowered hero at the time. When Arthur grew up, he called himself "Aquaman".

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