Mera (character): Difference between revisions
Fictional superhero character
Comics character
| Queen Mera | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Textless cover of Mera: Queen of Atlantis trade paperback (December 2018).
Art by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. |
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| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Aquaman #11 (September 1963) |
| Created by | Jack Miller Nick Cardy |
| Species |
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| Place of origin |
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| Team affiliations | Justice League Justice League United Red Lantern Corps The Others Aquaman Family |
| Partnerships | Aquaman |
| Notable aliases | Aquawoman Dead Water Princess of Xebel Queen of Atlantis |
| Abilities |
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Mera () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy, the character first appeared in Aquaman #11 (September 1963).[1]
Originally portrayed as a supporting character to her husband, the superhero Aquaman, possessing the formidable hydrokinetic power to create and control water, modern writers have given greater emphasis to her superhuman physical strength. Mera has been depicted as a member of DC Comics’ flagship superhero team, the Justice League. Queen Mera’s earlier storylines have also portrayed her mental breakdown, as she was faced with crippling loss. The stories explored her attempts at coping with lasting anger and rage. More recent storylines have explored her approach to rulership in comparison to her husband.
The character has been adapted substantially in various media, she was played by Elena Satine on Smallville and most notably featured in the DC Extended Universe where Amber Heard portrayed Mera in Justice League and its director’s cut,[2][3] reprised the role in Aquaman and returned in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.[4] The character has also been adapted in the animated Young Justice television series.
Publication history[edit]
Queen Mera’s Silver Age debut in Aquaman #11 (September 1963) set her place of origin as the mysterious “Dimension Aqua”.[5] Aquaman and Mera were married in the first on-camera superhero wedding in comic book history, in Aquaman #18 (Dec 1964).[6]
During the 2011 “Brightest Day” storyline, Dimension Aqua was revealed to be the extradimensional penal colony known formally as Xebel, a place of exile for an ancient faction of Atlantean people, banished along with their descendants after one of the many civil wars of the fsubmerged Atlantis.[7]
Fictional character biography[edit]
Mera is the former Queen of Dimension Aqua, Queen of Atlantis, and wife of DC Comics superhero Aquaman. Mera also has a twin sister named Hila.[8]
In her first chronological appearance, Mera is shown to be fleeing the criminal Leron, who seized control of her kingdom, when she arrives on Earth and meets Aquaman and Aqualad, who vows to help her. Leron captures them, imprisoning Aquaman and Mera in Dimension Aqua. Aided by the water spirit known as Quisp, Aquaman manages to free Mera and defeats Leron. Mera abdicates the throne of Xebel to Queen V’lana and returns to Atlantis to marry Aquaman.[9][10] Soon after, they had a son named Arthur Curry, Jr., also known as Aquababy.
A few years later, Black Manta kidnapped Aquababy and trapped him inside a translucent tank designed to suffocate him.[11] Vulko sends Mera, desperate to save her son, on an ambitious crusade to her homeworld to find the scientist Xebel, who has the components for a special healing device that could save her son. When she arrives, she discovers that her kingdom has been taken over by the traitorous Leron, who has taken Xebel hostage, casting him and the artifacts into the Great Pit. Mera braves the pit and defeats Leron and his elemental monsters to retrieve the device. Sadly, she returns to Atlantis too late, finding her son dead.[12]
Although their son’s death created a rift between Aquaman and Mera, they tried relocating to a flooded city on the East Coast to start a new life together. It was during this time that Aquaman left to reform the Justice League in Detroit. Becoming more unstable with grief, Mera was committed to an asylum in Atlantis. Shortly afterward an alien force of sentient giant jellyfish took control of the city. During Aquaman’s battle to free them, Mera escapes and savagely attacks him, blaming his “weak genes” for their son’s death.
While defending himself, he accidentally pushes her onto an upturned piece of metal, impaling her. Believing her dead, he has her placed inside a coffin and taken to the royal palace. However, she survived, due to her alien physiology. Rising from her coffin, she bitterly reminds Aquaman how little he really knew of her. No longer seeing any reason to remain on Earth, Mera leaves Atlantis and returns to Dimension Aqua.[13]