Aquaman: The Devil Fish / The Sea Scavengers / by Mark

Apparently, no one wanted to take credit for "The Devil Fish".

Aquaman gets a message from the surface--he listens to it on a funky pair of headphones and then tells Aqualad to hold the fort. Mark Bartholomew meets him on the surface--he's a test pilot with a new ship--the "Devil Fish" is a combination helicopter/submarine ready for testing. Unfortunately, a Manta-man overhears this and tells Black Manta about it. Back underwater, the sea trials begin. The ship can go fast underwater or on the water (Supercar!) and is tough enough to go through rock. It can maneuver around whales that Aquaman calls in. Black Manta likee, so he pulls the ship in with a net. Our heroes fight Manta-Men and they retreat. The Devil-Fish escapes but then chases Manta's ship into a whirlpool. Aquaman follows them in.

The test pilot finds his ship in an ancient underwater city (there are lot of those) that includes an air pocket, which Manta is using as a hideout. Aquaman fights off Manta's goons, and the test pilot rams his ship into a the pedestal holding up Manta. Aquaman is able to call up some Sea Dragons to help out, and tells Mark to split. Manta closes the entrance, but too late. Bull whales seal up the entrance, and our heroes figure that's the last they will see from Black Manta (fat chance).

Some things to look for:

  • Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (44), Minnow (9)
  • Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Leaping Lampreys, Great Guppies, Holy Haddock
  • Tusky seems angry at the message from the surface
  • I thought Mark Bartholemew was some existing DC character, but I didn't find any reference. Must have been some friend of the unknown writer.

 

Oscar Bensol brings us "The Sea Scavengers". 

The Aqua-Duo are on an offshore oil platform--a threatening letter has come in from "The Sea Scavenger". The foreman (a refugee from one of the Superman cartoons) is worried. Underwater, Tusky sees the "Subma-Robot" (cool name) arriving, controlled by the villain Scavo. Apparently, he called dibs on this area and wants the platform gone, so the robot takes it out. The foreman has to be rescued. Aquaman calls for some giant sea creatures to fight the robot, while a porpoise takes the foreman to the mainland(?!?). The robot responds with razor sharp pinwheels and torpedos. Whales and sharks bang into the robot, Tusky does a wacky bit, the the Subma-Robot is disabled. Scavo and his goons swim out with compressed air bubble guns that hit Aquaman and Aqualad, but they fight them off. Aquaman lets them go, and Scavo retreats to an island with a heat gun that boils the water. Marlins are called in (they like hot water) and they create a tidal wave that hits the island. Now, Aquaman decides it's mainland prison for them.

Some things to look for:

  • Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (46), Minnow (11)
  • Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Holy Haddock, Shivering Shellfish, Jumping Jellyfish (twice), Leaping Lobsters
  • In later incarnations, Aquaman would have been the eco-terrorist attacking the oil platform
  • If you name your kid Scavo, he's going to become a scavenger
  • At one point, our heroes and the foreman appear to be standing on the water
  • Sure, Aquaman, let them go after they destroy an oil platform!  Only when they try to boil the sea do you actually capture them...

 Remember, you can play along by watching the show on iTunesAmazon Instant Video, or VUDU. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.