Ocean Master
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The Ocean Master is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain that is one of Aquaman's greatest enemies. He first appeared in Aquaman #29 (September-October 1966).
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[edit] Fictional character history
[edit] Pre-Crisis
Orm Curry was Aquaman's fully human half-brother, the son of Tom Curry (Aquaman's father) and a woman named Mary O'Sullivan. He grew up under the shadow of his heroic half-brother and resented the fact that he had none of Aquaman's powers, being fully human, and he was already a petty criminal when he was stricken with amnesia and forgot all about his former life, disappearing shortly afterwards.
Several years later, the self-named Orm Marius reappeared as the Ocean Master, a high-tech pirate who initially attacked ships but quickly moved on to causing natural disasters in order to hold the world at ransom. Aquaman and Aqualad were captured by Ocean Master but managed to escape. Aquaman was then unable to fight Ocean Master after having seen behind the Ocean Master's mask and realizing that he was his half-brother Orm, although he did stop his plan.
In his subsequent appearances Ocean Master, believing Aquaman was afraid of him, had decided to overthrow Aquaman and usurp his throne. Unable to survive underwater, he made a special costume and helmet to help him breathe while in the ocean and clashed with Aquaman many times. Ocean Master regained his memory when Deadman took possession of his body and unlocked Orm's memories in Aquaman #50 (March-April 1970), but he continued to plot against his half-brother.
[edit] Post-Crisis
The Ocean Master's origins changed following Peter David's reinvention of Aquaman. He was still Aquaman's half-brother, but since Aquaman was no longer the son of Thomas Curry, Orm was now the son of Atlan the wizard (Aquaman's true father) and an Inupiat woman.
He first appeared in #3 of the miniseries Aquaman: Time and Tide (February 1994), in which Aquaman recorded the story of his life. This told how one of his early encounters with humans was when he rescued a girl named Kako from a polar bear. Her family were all traditionalists, except her cousin Orm, who had no time for the old ways. When Kako and Arthur began a sexual relationship Orm attacked her in a jealous rage. Although she survived, she did not recall what had happened to her.
Orm appeared in his Ocean Master costume in the next issue, which is set early in Orin's career as Aquaman and his rule of Atlantis. As in pre-Crisis continuity, Ocean Master desires the throne of Atlantis, having learnt his father was an Atlantean wizard. At this time neither he nor Aquaman knew of their relationship, although Aquaman would make the connection while recording the events.
Ocean Master later started using mystical powers, and sold his soul to Neron for a powerful trident which gave him great power, but caused agony if released. With this he conquered the Dreaming City, a nation of Atlantean offshoots, before being found by Aquaman, who was seeking to unite all the tribes of Atlantis. Aquaman convinced Ocean Master that they were half-brothers, however the pressure of this caused Orm's mind to snap.
Following this he briefly joined Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang, an "all archenemies" counterpart to the "Big Seven" Justice League. He also attempted to aggravate the tensions between Atlantis and the surface country of Cerdia.
Ocean Master clashed with the JLA again when he attempted to claim the remains of Atlantis following Aquaman's apparent death in Our Worlds At War.
Orm was last seen having used his mystical talents to alter reality so that he was Aquaman and Orin was Ocean Master. As Aquaman, Orm held Sub Diego under his evil rule. However the heroic Ocean Master was able to defeat him.
The Atlantis Chronicles suggests that brothers battling for rulership is a recurring theme in Atlantean history.
In Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, Ocean Master has enslaved the Atlanteans who survived the Spectre's destruction of Atlantis, and is using them to mine industrial materials for the surface world.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
Ocean Master is a master of magical manipulation and can utilise it for many effects including magical bolts and telepathy. After making a deal with the demon Neron Ocean Master can now manipulate even larger amounts of magical energy. The price of this however is a horribly scarred face and he was given a trident as a focus for his power. If Ocean Master is separated from the trident he suffers excruciating pain. He also wears a helmet that lets him breathe underwater and also wears special body armour that lets him withstand the pressures of deep water and offers some resistance to physical attacks.
[edit] Other media
- Orm (not using the name of Ocean Master) appeared in an episode of Justice League also trying to usurp the throne of Atlantis. In this portrayal, he is a full Atlantean and a member of the royal court. When Orm went to the surface, he hired Deadshot to assassinate Aquaman so he could claim the throne as his own and took action against the surface dwellers by melting the polar ice caps. He was eventually defeated by Aquaman and is presumed dead after plummeting down a ledge. He was played by Richard Green.
- In the Justice League season one DVD box set Bruce Timm said they considered bringing Orm back in costume but scratched the idea because they thought the name "Ocean Master" was too corny as well as having to deal with bringing him back after he had fallen from the cliff in his last appearance.
[edit] External links
- Biography on Orm
- Alan Kistler's Profile On Aquaman - A retrospective by comic book historian Alan Kistler of www.MonitorDuty.com tracing Aquaman's history from 1941 all the way to the present day.
