In DC Comics, Aquaman plays an integral role on the Justice League roster, with his uncanny ocean-based abilities and King of Atlantis status making Arthur Curry a unique addition to this heroic comic book team. But after losing his powers in a self-contained miniseries from the early 2000s, Aquaman becomes an honorary member of the Bat-Family when forced to rise again as a new kind of hero, one he’s ill-prepared to become.
Capable of breathing underwater, performing inhuman feats of strength, using telepathy to talk to fish, and, after a brush with the villain Charybdis saw him lose his hand, utilizing a harpoon attachment to poke any criminals he comes up against, Aquaman has always relied heavily on his superpowers to save the day, something Batman would love to have as a handicap.
After almost drowning in the element he lives and breaths thanks to an unexplained event that forcibly removed the superhero community’s powers, Aquaman turns to Batman for help and becomes an entirely new hero called The Hand.
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Aquaman Becomes “The Hand” After Losing His Powers For Good
JLA: Act of God (Doug Moench and Dave Ross)
Reinvented as this powerless land-based hero in 2000’s JLA: Act of God, by Doug Moench and Dave Ross, this limited series followed Aquaman and a handful of other de-powered DC heroes called the Phoenix Squad as they train with Batman, Robin, and Nightwing to hopefully continue their work of saving lives and getting to the bottom of this mysterious “black light event.” Upgrading his harpoon hand throughout his Batcave-based training regiment, Aquaman soon reveals a new weapon and tool that his non-powered persona can call his own.
Essentially turning Aquaman’s hand into a superhero Swiss army knife, “The Hand” ends up using his saw blade attachment to cut through some bars to covertly enter S.T.A.R. Labs, his lock pick to bust out some captive heroes, and a welding ball to melt Cyborg Superman’s face, showing a new kind of versatility Aquaman wouldn’t normally have. Dressed in a costume that looks like a cross between Kang the Conqueror’s outfit and a slim version of Lex Luthor’s power suit, The Hand turns Aquaman from a powerless hero into a promising Bat-Family member-in-training.
The Hand Was Trained By Batman And Given Multiple New Hand Attachments
Considering that Aquaman and Batman don’t usually cross paths outside official Justice League business, the potential for a Bat-Family version of Aquaman roaming the streets of Gotham is an interesting one, especially when given a utility belt-like hand attachment that can easily be tweaked further to incorporate more wild bat-gadgets, and potentially, some tech that could mimic Aquaman’s lost abilities. Aquaman is back to having a real hand in comics with no special modifications, so as it stands now, this out-of-continuity tale is the only appearance of the DC hero known as The Hand.
JLA: Act of God is available from DC Comics.
