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While Aquaman wielded his harpoon hand well, the means in which he acquired it is pretty ridiculous.
The Justice League is comprised of some of the most powerful heroes of all time, many of which are imbued with powers beyond comprehension. While many of the Justice League’s powers are innate such as Superman and Martian Manhunter, there are other members of the team that require special weaponry or armaments to assist them in battle. Aquaman, ruler of mighty Atlantis, was armed with the Trident of Neptune, a powerful weapon itself and also a symbol denoting Aquaman’s rule over Atlantis. But there was a moment in Aquaman’s history that he became equipped with another weapon that, while powerful in its own right, made absolutely no sense in regards to how he obtained it.
In 1994’s Aquaman #2 by Peter David, Martin Egeland, and Brad Vancata Aquaman and his ally Dolphin were held captive by the insane villain, Charybdis. With both Aquaman and Dolphin bound and nearly helpless to stop Charybdis it seemed as if both heroes were about to meet their unfortunate ends. Luckily, with the aid of a giant whale, Aqualad managed to break into Charybdis’s lair and free Aquaman and Dolphin. Charybdis fled with Aquaman close behind him.
A battle broke out between Aquaman and Charybdis when they reached land, one that seemed very much in Aquaman’s favor. Pummeling Charybdis with blow after blow, Aquaman lunged for the prone villain but missed him. Charybdis grabbed Aquaman’s arm and plunged it directly into the river that flowed next to them. Aquaman writhed in pain as countless piranha’s swarmed over his hand, consuming it down to the bone. Dolphin was able to appear in the nick of time and aid Aquaman in defeating Charybdis, but not before he lost his left hand entirely.
In issue #0 by Peter David, Martin Egeland, Brad Vancata, and Howard M. Shum Aquaman presents his new hand to his allies: a formidable harpoon head. This new weapon would become a fixture for Aquaman throughout most of the 1990s and was even included in his DCAU appearances. It wasn’t until the Blackest Night event that Aquaman would be given his original flesh and blood hand back. The harpoon was an interesting development for Aquaman for many reasons. Rather than a curse or poison or another unseeable malady, Aquaman was stricken with traumatic amputation. The loss of his hand effected every second of his life and was something that couldn’t be hidden. The injury forced him to learn how to adapt and come to terms with such a large change to his life and he handled it head-on and with positivity. Aquaman’s decision to turn his injury into a means of benefitting himself was a very positive moment of representation for those with limb differences.
The idea of a superhero of being faced with such a life-changing injury and overcoming their obstacles is wonderful, but it’s the means that Aquaman lost his hand that doesn’t make any sense. Aquaman lost his hand by piranha’s. In the following issues he battles Superboy, a Kryptonian, and Lobo, the last Czarnian. Superboy and Lobo are two of the most powerful characters in the DC universe and Aquaman was able to fight them both to a draw. This means that somehow a handful of ordinary fish from Earth were able to pierce Aquaman’s flesh and deal so much damage that he couldn’t heal from his wounds, but being punched, stomped, and thrown by two literal super aliens was less powerful.
There could have been any number of other grievous injuries Aquaman could have suffered that would have resulted in the loss of his hand: high intensity laser beams, highly corrosive acid, even mutant super piranha’s. It’s fitting that fish hurt Aquaman being as he’s famous for his affinity for them, but for a hero that can stand toe to toe with members of the Justice League it still rings a bit odd that he suffered defeat by something so basic and cliché as piranhas. What matters most, however, is that the King of Atlantis came out on top in the end and didn’t allow himself to be weighed down by his injury. No hero is truly invulnerable and it’s uplifting to see one of the greatest find positivity in such a negative experience.
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