Lagoon Boy first appeared in Aquaman vol. 5 #50 (December 1998) and was created by Erik Larsen.
Fictional character biography
No writer has yet provided an origin story for Lagoon Boy. In his first appearance, he is allowed into Atlantis as part of an attempt by Aquaman to make Atlantis more open to those living outside the city by granting them citizenship. His presence is met with protests by many elitist Atlanteans. Lagoon Boy comes to the citizenship ceremony on the day of Aquaman and Mera's marriage. While there he befriends Blubber, a humanoid whale with a genius IQ, and his mermaid assistant Sheeva. Aquaman #54 reveals that the three characters have begun calling themselves "The Land-Lovers" as they were underwater creatures who were fascinated with the world over water. Blubber creates a device which allows Atlanteans to view television from the surface world, and the trio head up to the surface world to explore and compare it to the television broadcasts they had seen. Their appearance creates a huge disturbance and the Coast Guard is quickly called. Aquaman rescues the Land-Lovers from persecution and sends them back to Atlantis.
After Erik Larsen's run on Aquaman ended, the Land-Lovers did not reappear in the title. Lagoon Boy was used shortly before the end of Larsen's run by writer Chuck Dixon, who wrote the Young Justice Special #1 (No Man's Land) story. In the story, the male members of Young Justice (Superboy, Robin and Impulse), head for Gotham City and meet Lagoon Boy. They join together to stop Kobra. Lagoon Boy reappears in Young Justice: Sins of Youth, where he is aged to adulthood. He helps Young Justice against Klarion the Witch Boy and Black Manta, and he assists the JSA, JLA and the Titans in ending the wild mixture of science and magic which had been causing the transformations.
Lagoon Boy later displays the ability to command, or at least enlist the aid of, humpback whales to cause a riptide on the shores of the rogue nation of Zandia, aiding Young Justice in the process.[1] Robin and Lagoon Boy team up to stop a sea monster from damaging Gotham Harbor and force its return to the sea.[2] Lagoon Boy was briefly shown in Infinite Crisis when The Spectre wreaks havoc on the people of Atlantis. He is shown fighting the Spectre alongside many Atlanteans and their allies. Lagoon Boy is one of the few survivors after Spectre squashes the city.[3]
Over a year after Young Justice disbands, Lagoon Boy is recruited alongside several other obscure teenaged heroes as part of a Teen Titans spin-off team known as the Titans East before being comatose after he and the rest of the Titans are attacked by Trigon's children.[4][5]
In 2011, DC Comics rebooted the DC Universe in "The New 52". Lagoon Boy appears as a member of the Teen Titans five years in the future.[6]
During the "Heroes in Crisis" storyline, Lagoon Boy is seen at the Sanctuary rehabilitation center before being killed by a mysterious assailant.[7] However, he is later replaced with a 31st-century clone.
Powers and abilities
Lagoon Boy is an amphibious boy. He is small in stature, but strong, quick and durable. His body is covered in green scales and fins and he has sharp claws and teeth. When excited, Lagoon Boy also has the ability to blow up like a puffer fish, which makes him appear to be much larger and more intimidating, making him physically more powerful and develop quills that can cause great pain to other opponents who cross his path.
Lagoon Boy discovers a conch horn that allows him to call out to his Spotty, a monstrous animal from the undersea trench called the Devil's Deep. Lagoon Boy has also displayed the ability to command humpback whales. At this point, it is unclear just how much control he has over them. He could also conjure and mold water into any shape he saw fit, using it as a jettison device to reach a flying Powerboy.[8]
While not a superpower per se, he also has access to wealth acquired from submerged ships and cities.[9]
Other versions
An alternate universe incarnation of Lagoon Boy appears in Teen Titans: Earth One as a member of the Teen Titans.[10]
In other media
Television
Lagoon Boy, also known as La'gaan, appears in Young Justice, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.[11] This version is a student at the Conservatory of Sorcery and a member of the Team, who displays a cocky, arrogant, and thrill-seeking personality. Additionally, he is the estranged friend of Kaldur'ahm and the boyfriend of Miss Martian who displays a romantic rivalry with her ex-boyfriend Superboy. Near the end of the season, Miss Martian rekindles her relationship with Superboy and eventually breaks up with Lagoon Boy. As of the third season, Lagoon Boy has left the Team, returned to Atlantis, and joined the royal guard. In the fourth season, he is revealed to be bisexual, in a three-way polyamorous marriage, and raising a baby. Later in the season, he joins the Justice League as the third Aquaman, sharing the mantle alongside Kaldur'ahm and their mentor.
^ ab"Lagoon Boy Voices (Aquaman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 19, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
