Aquagirl

Aquagirl is the name of several fictional characters featured as superheroines in the comic books and other media produced by DC Comics.

Tula

Aquagirl
Aquagirl (Tula); Aquaman #33 (1967)
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Aquaman Vol. 1 #33 (May-June 1967)
Created by	Bob Haney (writer) Nick Cardy (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Tula
Species	Atlantean
Place of origin	Atlantis
Team affiliations	Teen Titans Black Lantern Corps
Notable aliases	Aquachick
Abilities	Adapted for breathing underwater and resisting deep-sea-level pressure. Can swim 100 m.p.h underwater, and possesses super strength and toughness.

Tula is introduced in Aquaman Vol. 1 #33 (May-June 1967).^[1] After losing her parents soon after her birth, she had been found and adopted by one of the royal families of Atlantis. Given the title Princess of Poseidonis, Tula is schooled in Atlantean traditions, and never leaves the royal palace until she meets Aqualad (Garth) at age 15 in this issue.^[2]

Tula sometimes helps Aqualad with missions during his time with the original Teen Titans, using the name Aquagirl.^[3] When Aquaman leaves his throne to search for his then-missing wife Mera, Narkran takes over Atlantis as a dictator. His reign falls only when Tula leads a rebellion against him. Tula and Garth resume their romance when he returns to Atlantis, and they later appear in the 1980s revival series New Teen Titans to aid the Titans in bringing down the H.I.V.E..

Death

During the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series (1985-1986), Aquagirl is killed by the villain Chemo when she drowns in water that he has poisoned.

Years later, in the Tempest mini-series, a woman claiming to be Tula enters Garth's life. In truth, it is a doppelganger created by the villainous Slizzath as part of an elaborate plan to siphon Garth's mystical energies for his own dark purposes. Garth sees through the ruse and is able to defeat Slizzath, and finally gain a sense of closure about Tula's death. It is also at this time that Garth adopted a new identity as "Tempest."

Most recently, Tula reappears in Teen Titans (vol. 3) issues 30 and 31. Aquagirl is brought back to life by Brother Blood — along with Hawk and Dove, Phantasm, and Kole — to fight against the Titans. After being freed by Beast Boy and Raven, Kid Eternity is able to lay the deceased Titans back to rest.

Tula has a statue in the "Hall of Fallen Titans" at Titans Tower, alongside the original Hawk and Dove, Kole, and others.

Blackest Night

In the Blackest Night miniseries, Tula, Aquaman, and Dolphin appear as a group of reanimated Black Lanterns who attack Tempest and Mera. Tula and Dolphin argue over Tempest, at the same time mocking him for not saving them. Sensing Garth's hope that she could fight what had been done to her to, Tula tore out his heart, killing him and bringing about his reanimation as a Black Lantern.^[4] Tula later appears to battle the Titans. However, her body is soon destroyed by a burst of white light emanating from Dawn Granger.^[5]

Lorena Marquez

Aquagirl
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Aquaman (vol. 6) # 16 (May 2004)
Created by	Will Pfeifer (writer) Patrick Gleason (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Lorena Marquez
Species	Human
Place of origin	Atlantis
Team affiliations	Teen Titans
Abilities	Adapted for breathing underwater and resisting deep-sea-level pressure.

Lorena Marquez is on a date at the San Diego Zoo when an earthquake shakes San Diego and causes it to sink deep into the sea, killing thousands — including Lorena's entire family. She comes into contact with Aquaman, who nurses her back to health as she discovers that she has developed the ability to breathe underwater like an Atlantean. The two manage to locate the other survivors of the quake, as well as Anton Geist, the scientist responsible for the catastrophe. Lorena and Aquaman have no choice but to begin rebuilding the city as "Sub Diego." When Ocean Master switches lives with Aquaman, Lorena assumes the identity of Aquagirl, adopting an aquatic costume. After Aquaman exposes Ocean Master's scheme, Lorena keeps her Aquagirl costume and identity, and the two carry on protecting Sub Diego.

In the Titans Tomorrow timeline, Lorena is Aquawoman, a member of the Titans. It is revealed that she has developed telepathic powers which she had used to kill (or paralyze) former Titan member Garth.

Aquagirl is also a member of the Teen Titans during the events of 52. She assists Steel in launching an attack on Lexcorp when Natasha Irons is captured by Lex Luthor.

"One Year Later"

In Teen Titans Volume 3 #34 (May 2006), Lorena is shown at Titans Tower arguing with Holly Granger during a flashback. She later resurfaces as supporting character of the new Aquaman, Arthur Joseph Curry, in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis. Apparently, as one of the last Sub Diegoans able to breathe water, she is left in the seas, mourning Koryak's death in the rubble of Poseidonis. She then joins Curry, Cal Durham, Tempest, and the new Topo in their voyage to Sub Diego. Aquagirl appears up in Terror Titans #1 and is kidnapped (along with a group of other teen superheroes) by the Terror Titans. While her teammate Molecule is slain by the new Persuader, Lorena is taken alive, to be mindwiped and forced to fight in the Dark Side Club at the behest of the Apokoliptan Gods on Earth. She is defeated twice, once by Rose Wilson after being stabbed, and again by a brainwashed Terra, who crushes Lorena with a pair of boulders. Aquagirl and the others are eventually freed by Miss Martian, and Lorena joins the survivors in a trek to Titans Tower in order to recover.

While resting in the tower, Lorena meets and befriends Static, telling him that she enjoyed her past exprience as a member of the Teen Titans. After realizing that she has nowhere to go and no family, Lorena accepts Wonder Girl's offer to rejoin the team, taking up permanent residence in Titans Tower.^[6]

Remaining close friends with Static, Lorena also begins flirting in Spanish with her teammate Blue Beetle, despite him already dating teen superhroine and Titan reserve member, Traci 13.^[7] She also quickly gains an enemy in Bombshell, finding her to be rude.

Early incarnations

Lisa Morel

Lisa Morel is introduced in Adventure Comics Volume 1 #266 (November 1959) as one of several violet-eyed Atlantean children born unable to adapt to the watery world. They had been sent to the surface in waterproof lifeboats so they might survive among land-dwellers, and Lisa had been adopted by the scientist Dr. Hugo Morel and his wife. With Aquaman in danger, Lisa's water-breathing and telepathic powers awaken; she makes herself a costume identical to Aquaman's, takes on the name "Aquagirl" and fights alongside him. However, her newfound powers are short-lived, and she loses them permanently. This is the first and last appearance of the character.^[8]

Selena

Selena is a young Poseidonis teenager who temporarily teams up with Aquaman under the name "Aqua-Girl" in World's Finest Comics #133 (May 1963) to make her former boyfriend jealous; she succeeds, making Aqualad jealous of her temporary status as Aquaman's sidekick as well. This is the first and last appearance of the character.^[9]

Other versions

In the 1996 limited series Kingdom Come, Aquagirl is Tula II, the estranged teenage daughter of Garth (formerly Aqualad, now Aquaman).^[10] She is named Tula after her father's late girlfriend, and is part of a team consisting of the other original Titans' children who end up taking Batman's side in the story's key conflict. In her appearances, Tula seemingly demonstrates a partial shapeshifting ability, changing parts of her body to resemble those of sea creatures.

This Tula's mother is possibly Deep Blue, described in annotations for the series as "Mizuko Perkins," daughter of Tsunami and Neptune Perkins. In standard DC Comics continuity, Deep Blue is Aquaman's half-sister Debbie, the daughter of Tsunami and Atlan, raised by Tsunami and Neptune Perkins.

In other media

Television

• In Batman Beyond, Aquagirl is Marina, a member of the future Justice League and the daughter of Aquaman. The character was created specifically for the Batman Beyond episodes "The Call: Part 1" (November 11, 2000) and "The Call: Part 2" (November 18, 2000), in which Batman meets the "Justice League Unlimited," a future version of the Justice League. Aquagirl was voiced by Jodi Benson, the actress who provided the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. When Batman is going over her file on the computer, it is shown that she is the daughter of Aquaman, with powers including control over water. She later reappears in the Justice League Unlimited series (which showcases the present-day lineup of the JLU) in "Epilogue". She has very distinctive platinum blonde hair; it is always wet and slicked evenly back. Her costume varies; she is usually portrayed as wearing a one-piece swimsuit of various colors with bare arms and legs.

• In Season 2 of Entourage, Mandy Moore portrays Aquagirl in the Aquaman movie that exists in the Entourage fictional universe. The storyline has Moore, who was playing herself as the character Vince's ex-girlfriend, get ultimately dropped from the project due to the turmoil involved in their personal relationship. Mandy is not, however, removed from the movie and Vince and Mandy re-kindle their former romance. However, Mandy breaks Vince's heart again, stating that she still loves her former fiancé, Chris. Vince decides to continue working on the movie with Mandy still attached. The movie gains the highest-grossing movie opening of all time.

References

External links

• Aquagirl I (Tula) profile at Titans Tower
• Aquagirl II (Lorena Marquez) profile at Titans Tower