The Programmed For Destruction

To destroy the Aqua-team, The Brain discovers the best method to defeat Aquaman: a positive buoyancy ray made from the chemical compound oxymite. The ray forces all free objects in the seas to float upward to the surface. Aqualad and Tusky are trapped by the ray, doomed to suffocate on the surface of the ocean. Aquaman uses high-frequency sound waves and reversed polarity to break up the molecules of the ray, thereby allowing the creatures of the sea and Aqualad to escape. He then coaxes a prehistoric Cyclops fish to use its mirrored eye to deflect the Brain's ray, causing his own ship to float to the surface.

Aquaman, Aqualad, Mera, Imp, Tusky, The Brain

DC Comics' Aquaman, as his name suggests, really, really liked the water. The green-and-orange suited superhero could breathe underwater, swim at superhuman speeds and communicate with any of the ocean's inhabitants via aqua-telepathy. Luckily, all of Aquaman's foes (Black Manta, The Fisherman, etc.) committed their crimes in or around the water, enabling him to ride to the rescue astride his giant seahorse, Storm.

Aquaman's junior companion Aqualad (a.k.a. Tadpole, Aquaman's ward in the comics) often assisted the blonde water-breather, while fellow Atlantean Mera, our hero's wife in the comic book series, rarely appeared in the animated series. The cartoon's Aqua clan also included a seahorse named Imp and a silly pet walrus named Tusky.

Originally just the second-billed player on The Superman/ Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Aquaman got his own series after one season, although no new episodes were produced. Despite the lack of fresh material, The Adventures of Aquaman benefited from the appearance of many guest superheroes, including Green Lantern, Hawkman and The Flash, all of whom were members of the "Justice League of America."

Aqualad was eventually spun off to his own segment, and along with Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and Speedy formed "The Teen Titans," a group of rising young superheroes.

Aquaman himself only lasted one season in his own show, but the amphibious wonder went on to co-star in the hanna-Barbera's long-running Super Friends series, ensuring that no water-based crimes would go unpunished.