Aquaman

Kaldur'ahm (Atlantean Kαλδυρ'αμ ) is the former protégé of Aquaman, operating as Aqualad by his king's side and as former leader of the Team. He has been working under deep cover for Nightwing, as the loyal lieutenant of his father, Black Manta, to learn more about the Light and their new Partner.

Personality
Aqualad is a very calm person, a trait unshared by the rest of his teammates. Soft spoken and clear headed, he had a tendency to think things through and formulate plans before taking any sort of action. He tried to see the good in all people, and often acted as the voice of reason amongst his teammates, who were rarely - if ever - as cool-headed as he was. Aqualad always speaks in a formal manner, formerly with an air of respect to all people, both young and old, and he demonstrated the utmost respect to all of the adult heroes of the Justice League, even when he disagreed with them. He held Aquaman in highest regard because he is his king. Despite his calm behavior, Aqualad was still a teenager, and could at times behave rashly and impulsively. This was, of course, what led to the Team's first mission together.

Aqualad was (eventually) considered by all his teammates to be the natural choice for team leader. He considered the position to be temporary, and believed Robin would take command once he was ready. Although he had proven to be a natural leader, Aqualad seemed reluctant to take the job, calling it a heavy burden. Still, he accepted the role, and had done rather well for the most part.

After leaving the team under the guise of becoming a traitor who blamed the Team for the death of Aquagirl, he took on an image of being ruthless and brutal to his enemies, even his "former" allies and friends. The harshness he displayed to his friends was merely to keep his cover as his father's protégé, while in reality, he was working undercover for Nightwing.

Physical appearance
Aqualad is an Atlantean with light blond hair cut at the bottom, brown skin, pale green eyes, high cheek bones, and a lean build. He possesses black, eel-like tattoos that run across his back and along his arms and glow a bright blue when using his powers. Aqualad also has webbed hands and feet and possesses a set of gills that allow him to breathe underwater.

His original superhero costume was a skin-tight, full-body, red-and-blue swimsuit that exposed his arms and feet. His uniform was outfitted with stealth-tech. Pressing the "A" symbol on his buckle changed his shirt to dark gray and his pants to dark blue. Aqualad also carried a waterpack that held twin Water-Bearers and water.

Off-duty, he usually wore a blue and black jacket with a high collar to hide his gills and tattoos, black pants and black sandals.

After leaving the Team and joining Black Manta, he wears an armor similar to that of his father. It has a disc-shaped helmet with two large, daunting red eyes that also allow him to shoot lasers; there are small tubes that connect from the back of the head to his shoulders. The hands of his suit are webbed; the suit also sports fins on each of his legs. Hidden in his suit are compartments that allow him to shoot missiles. He has also shaven the bottom half of his head.

Early life


Aqualad came from the Atlantean city of Shayeris, where he was raised by Sha'lain'a, a native of that city, and Calvin Durham, a henchman of Black Manta who was genetically altered to infiltrate Atlantis. However, his actual father was Black Manta himself. He completed his education and began mandatory military service at age 12. At 14, he was transferred to the Conservatory of Sorcery in Poseidonis.

One day, the villain Ocean-Master attacked Atlantis, causing Aquaman to battle with him. During the fight, Aquaman was defeated, but was suddenly helped by the combined forces of Kaldur'ahm and Garth. Using a combination of Garth's magic and Kaldur's fighting abilities, the two attacked Ocean-Master. Though they were easily defeated, this allowed Aquaman precious time to recover and defeat Ocean-Master. After the victory, Aquaman offered the boys the opportunity to become his protégés. Although Garth declined the offer and returned to his studies, Kaldur jumped at the chance to serve his king as his sidekick. He became a superhero two years before his tour of the Hall of Justice.

He has an impressive knowledge of the people or factions he encounters and has identified many such as Guardian, Sportsmaster, the Cult of the Kobra and Professor Ivo.

July 2010
Aqualad eagerly expected to become a member of the Justice League, alongside Speedy, Robin, and Kid Flash. However, when it became clear that that wasn't happening, he decided to accompany Robin and Kid Flash to investigate Cadmus Labs. There, they discovered the Genomorph project and Superboy, whom they liberated. The four youths stood up to their mentors and declared they were ready to prove themselves as heroes. They formed a covert ops team and were given their own headquarters in Mount Justice by Batman, and were introduced to Miss Martian.

The next day, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin set off on an unsanctioned mission to protect CEO Selena Gonzalez from the League of Shadows, but despite their best efforts, Gonzalez still vanished.

November 2010
Klarion cast a spell to make all adults disappear, causing widespread pandemonium. In response to this, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin relayed a message to the world imploring the older children to come together to take care of the younger kids. Within the Cave, Aqualad and Kid Flash discussed the severity of the situation and entertained the idea of using the Helmet of Fate. They ultimately decided not to as the situation was not severe enough to call for its employment.

Later on, Billy Batson entered the cave, surprising the Team, who were cautious of the stranger. After Billy convinced the Team he was Captain Marvel and explaining to them the situation they were in, Aqualad formulated a plan to take advantage of Billy's abilities in order to rejoin the two separate worlds.

Aqualad and the Team attacked Klarion at Roanoke. With his superior magic, Klarion was able to easily handle the Team. Zatanna was forced to don the Helmet of Fate, much to the disapproval of Aqualad. With the combined efforts of the Team, Doctor Fate, and the adults of the parallel dimension, Klarion momentarily submitted to the attacks, allowing Kid Flash to snatch the gem that acted as the catalyst for the spell. He threw it at Doctor Fate, who merged the two separate worlds simultaneously with Zatara. With his plans foiled, Klarion escaped.

Aqualad was present to celebrate Wally's sixteenth birthday. The celebration was cut short when Batman called the team for a mission to destroy a number of ice fortresses that were causing extreme winter weather.

Aqualad, Aquaman, Robin, Batman, and Flash successfully destroyed the first ice fortress.

January 2011
The Team reconvened in the hall, just too late to prevent Vandal Savage and Klarion from getting away. As the clock struck midnight, and New Year, Kid Flash and Artemis, Superboy and Miss Martian, and Zatanna and Robin kissed. In response, Rocket gave Aqualad a peck on the cheek.

2011-2015
At some point, after the death of Aquagirl on a mission, Aqualad and Nightwing devised a plot in which Kaldur would "betray" the Team and work for his father Black Manta, to learn more about the Light and their new Partner. This deep cover was done in absolute secrecy; only a handful of people knew of it, but not Aquaman.

January 2016
With a group of manta-men and Kroloteans, Kaldur welcomed an escaped Krolotean to his Manta-flyer. He then ordered for the ship to dive.

Kaldur arrived at the island base, and informed his father that the last of the Kroloteans had been evacuated. He then proceeded to phase two.

While performing a security check, Kaldur noticed the lack of response from Sector 3 guards (who had been Knocked out by Batman). Announcing to the Manta-men that the base had been infiltrated, he blasted the water with his helmet laser to eliminate the undersea infiltrators, narrowly missing Aquaman and Lagoon Boy. The fight was on, with the heroes facing against the manta men and Kroloteans.

During the melee, a mysterious figure calling himself "Partner" planted an alien bomb underneath the base, and informed Kaldur that he had five minutes to evacuate his men. Kaldur called for a strategic retreat, but failed to stop Aquaman from knocking off his Black Manta mask. Kaldur revealed himself to his former mentor and friends, who were all in shock. Aquaman in particular hadn't wanted to believe Nightwing when he informed them of Kaldur's defection.

Kaldur spat hateful words at them, blaming them for the death of Tula, and Aquaman for not informing him about his true parentage. Claiming that he now answered to Black Manta, Kaldur launched a shoulder-mounted missile at the assembled group. Superman absorbed the explosion, but Kaldur escaped.

Nightwing and Superboy caught up with Kaldur, who gave them a choice—either they take him prisoner, or they defuse the alien bomb. Superboy attacked him to prevent his escape, but Kaldur subdued him and fled by swimming underwater. He grabbed on to the departing Manta Sub, and left the island before the bomb detonated.

The Manta-flyer docked with Black Manta's bigger sub, and Kaldur reported the mission results to his father. Black Manta was pleased with his performance, but was disappointed when Kaldur opined that Aquaman was unlikely to have died in the explosion.

March 2016
In the sea, the Manta-flyer towed a missile platform into position. Kaldur'ahm and several Manta-men left the craft to man the platform and prepared it to target the rocket carrying the Earth-Mars communication satellite.

Lagoon Boy discovered the missile platform and attacked, prompting the Manta-men to begin invading the beach. Kaldur'ahm disabled Lagoon Boy, but decided to take him prisoner for the Light's Partner rather than kill him. He then ordered the platform to open fire. When the initial missiles were destroyed by Superboy on the bioship before they could damage the rocket, and Nightwing and Artemis were able to turn the tide against the Manta-men, Kaldur'ahm ordered the platform to go to maximum rate of fire and left to take command of the surface forces.

Kaldur'ahm emerged from the water near Nightwing and Artemis and, despite Artemis trying to convince him otherwise, attacked them with a hard-water serpent. The rocket then launched. Kaldur'ahm told his troopers the mission could still succeed and shot a small suit-mounted missile at the rocket. Artemis destroyed the missile with one of her own. Kaldur then charged at Artemis, knocking Nightwing aside. He disarmed Artemis and apparently stabbed her in the chest with a water sword, but actually made the blade curve around her body. As Artemis pretended to fall dead, Kaldur'ahm ordered his men to move out, calling the mission a failure. The rocket then exploded, to Kaldur'ahm's surprise, and he and his men withdrew into the water.

In the Manta sub's docking bay, Kaldur'ahm disembarked the Manta-flyer and was greeted by Black Manta, who congratulated him for capturing Lagoon Boy, killing Artemis, and destroying the satellite. Kaldur'ahm admitted that his team was not responsible for the satellite's destruction, and his father explained that the mission was a test to see if he would take credit for a victory that was not his, having arranged for a bomb to be smuggled aboard days earlier. Kaldur'ahm had passed and was deemed ready for the next level.

Kaldur'ahm arrived at a warehouse to find Nightwing waiting for him, and was soon followed by Wally and Artemis. They discussed the success of their plan to fake Artemis' death, and Nightwing confirmed no-one else knew about it or the fact Kaldur was working undercover for them. Nightwing gave Artemis a Glamour Charm to change her appearance to everyone except the four present. She and Kaldur then went out to a pier and boarded the Manta-flyer.

Powers

 * Magic: Before becoming Aquaman's sidekick, Aqualad was trained in the mystical arts by Queen Mera. While he was in the top class along with Tula, his skills have fallen somewhat behind those of Tula and Garth due to focusing his studies as a hero, but his water-bearers compensate somewhat.
 * Electricity generation: He has the power to generate electricity from the eel tattoos on his arms, which he can channel through water or use as a direct offense against opponents.
 * Hydrokinesis: Aqualad is able to manipulate water to serve any number of uses, e.g. water blasts, whips, waves, shields, or water spouts to lift him into the air. He can manipulate water from a nearby source, like fire hydrants, lakes, etc. or his waterpack. His water blasts are capable of slicing through metal and other materials.
 * Hard-Water Constructs: Aqualad has the unique ability to solidify water into a myriad of different weapons for physical attacks. So far he has created swords, maces, sledgehammers, a small shield, and a large eel. This ability, like his hydrokinesis and electricity generation, is powered by his eel tattoos.

Powers and abilities

 * Physical
 * Superhuman Strength: As an Atlantean, he possesses superhuman strength, as he was able to punch through solid concrete.
 * Enhanced Durability: Most likely due to his Atlantean blood, he is able to sustain multiple blows from both Superboy and Blockbuster without tiring. This also allows him to withstand high water pressure.
 * Toxin resistance: Aqualad has a partial immunity to poisons of sea creatures, such as jellyfish toxin.
 * Superspeed Swimming: Aqualad's strength plus webbed hands and feet give him above average swimming speeds.
 * Underwater Breathing: Aqualad has the ability to breathe in water through the gill slits found on either side of his neck.
 * Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Aqualad is extremly skilled in combat able to fight with Cheshire alone. In 2016, his skills seem to have improved incredibly as he could take down Superboy with no effort.


 * Mental
 * Multilingual: Aqualad can speak Atlantean and English.

Weaknesses

 * Dehydration: because his natural habitat is underwater, Aqualad is weakened when exposed to high temperatures and dry conditions.

Equipment

 * Waterpack: A black metallic backpack that holds an unspecified amount of water that Aqualad can use. It also holds his Water-Bearers.
 * Water-Bearers: Twin hilts that can hold onto water which Aqualad then uses to create his hard-water weapons. They are also used as a type of water gun to shoot water from his waterpack and can be used to help manipulate sources of water.
 * Stealth-tech: Technology that is integrated into a piece of clothing and can shift the color of that clothing from the original color to a darker color. Aqualad can access it by pressing the "A" belt buckle on his waist, his "blend" color is dark gray/blue and green.
 * Black Manta armor: After defecting from the team, he joined his father and received an armor like Manta's. It has a laser blast in the helmet, and a rocket launcher.

Aquaman
Being the King of Atlantis' partner, Aqualad saw Aquaman as a ruler, a mentor and a father figure. Aquaman had known about his true parentage, but hadn't told him. Aqualad used this as a reason for "hatred" to improve his cover.

Robin/Nightwing
When the time came for the Team to choose a field leader, Robin initially saw himself as the most appropriate leader of the Team, citing his greater experience despite being the youngest member of the Team. However, Aqualad explained that Robin's experience and his strong working relationship with Batman meant that Robin assumed his teammates could follow his plans without much explanation, whereas the Team really needed a leader who would be clear. Robin instead suggested that Aqualad should be the Team's leader, and Aqualad accepted. Nevertheless, Aqualad claimed that Robin was a natural leader and believed he would one day be ready to take control of the Team.

Kaldur and Nightwing remained on strong terms, and forged, in secret, a plot to infiltrate the Light and to figure out who their new Partner is. They had trust in each other, though they both knew they endangered themselves and others like Artemis.

Miss Martian
Aqualad was Miss Martian's teammate and an earnest friend. He sometimes helped her with unfamiliar aspects of Earth culture. Miss Martian has mentioned that she looked at Aqualad like an older brother.

Garth
Aqualad was best friends with Garth back in Atlantis and they along with Tula trained together at the Conservatory of Sorcery under Queen Mera. When Kaldur'ahm became Aquaman's protégé he left his studies and carried out his responsibilities as Aqualad, and later joined the Team. During this time, Garth and Tula began dating, which hurt Aqualad who also had feelings for Tula. Their friendship was strained but they eventually reconciled.

Tula
Tula was Kaldur'ahm's crush, a classmate from the Conservatory of Sorcery. After Kaldur became Aqualad and left for the surface, Tula began seeing Garth. Unaware, Aqualad thought long of Tula, and considered leaving the Team for her. He eventually accepted their relationship. Tula's death on a mission for the Team hit him hard.

Black Manta
Black Manta is Aqualad's real father. He was originally unaware of his true parentage, believing himself to be the son of Manta's former henchman, Calvin Durham. As part of his cover, Aqualad pretends to be a loyal son to Manta, and with Nightwing's help, he hopes to cement his father's trust in him to reveal information about the Light and their new Partner.

Background in other media
Kaldur'ahm was developed specifically for Young Justice, rather than using the existing Aqualad, Garth. There were several reasons for this. In the comics, Garth had stopped using the name Aqualad and started going by the name Tempest. Furthermore, Garth had been killed off during the event Blackest Night, so the character was not current at the time of development. A new character also provided an opportunity to add more diversity to the cast. Kaldur'ahm was therefore created, inspired by characters such as Cal Durham, as well as the DC series ''Arion, in which it was revealed that not all Atlanteans are Caucasian.

During production of the series, Geoff Johns saw the designs for Kaldur'ahm and decided to transfer the character into the mainstream DC Universe as the new Aqualad (replacing Garth). Johns's Aqualad has a slightly different background to Kaldur'ahm: rather than being raised in Atlantis, he was raised as a human in New Mexico and he goes by the name Jackson Hyde rather than Kaldur'ahm. He lacks Kaldur's obvious Atlantean physical traits, but retains Kaldur's eel tattoos and powers (in the TV series, the tattoos were given to Kaldur by the Conservatory of Sorcery; in the comics, Jackson Hyde was born with them). Jackson Hyde first appeared in Brightest Day #4, which preceded the pilot movie of Young Justice by five months.

Aqualad's physicality is based on American Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps. His costume combined the aspects of the Aqualad in the comics, as well as the full-body suits used by Olympians in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.