TIMELINE: The history of DC Comics superhero Aquaman

The character debuted in 1941, narrating his own origin story. In his original debut, the character was the son of a sea explorer who discovered what was believed to be the lost city of Atlantis. The character learns an array of secret knowledge that allows him to breathe underwater and ultimately become a hero of the sea. In his early stories, the character speaks to aquatic life in their own language rather than telepathically, and can control them up to a minute. Like many heroes who debuted during World War II, Aquaman battles Nazis (mainly nazi ship commanders) but also dealt with sea-related fiends like pirates.

The character's Silver Age debut in Action Comics marked his change into the character we know today. Aquaman was revamped into Arthur Curry, the son of a lighthouse keeper and Atlanna, an exiled Atlantean.

The King of Atlantis has always found himself at the forefront of DC, and the Justice League is no exception. The Justice League made their debut, with Aquaman as one of its founding members. The hero was a regular throughout the series, even appearing more than Batman and Superman.

As the archenemy of Aquaman, Black Manta has haunted the seas and the King of Atlantis for more than 40 years, originally debuting in 1967, in which both he and Ocean Master fight to take out Aquaman. Despite this being his debut, the story notes that Aquaman and Black Manta have faced off before in unseen battles. Black Manta will appear in "Aquaman" (2018) portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

While Aquaman's entire premise is considered problematic and laughable, it is this seventies cartoon that is considered the culprit of turning Arthur Curry into the butt of many jokes. The series focused on Curry's ability to communicate with marine life and portrayed him as Batman and Superman's ally who protects the sea.

With the character having been the butt of many jokes and considered one of the sillier superheroes, writers made an effort in the nineties to reboot the character as a serious brooding king, burdened with protecting the sea from its various enemies.

The character made an appearance in "Smallville"'s fifth season in the episode "Aqua" as a younger teenage Arthur Curry. The character made a slew of other appearances throughout the show, becoming an ally of Clark Kent.

Before live action shows like "Arrow," "The Flash" and "Supergirl" were normal to television audiences, fans were almost treated to a live action television series based around Aquaman. The series was created by the same creators of Smallville with hopes of premiering on The WB. This however, did not come to fruition, as only the pilot was filmed, and was not picked up by the CW Network following the merger between WB and UPN. The pilot, with Arthur Curry played by Justin Hartley, focused on him coming to terms with being the lost Prince of Atlantis.

Despite not being a main character, Aquaman made several appearances in the short lived (but recently revived) animated series "Young Justice," in which he serves as mentor to one of the series' main characters, Aqualad.

In 2014, DC announced its upcoming live action films as part of the DC Extended Universe, with "Aquaman" being set for the 2018 release it still has. At the time, the roster included a Flash film set for 2018, as well as a two part Justice League film.

Despite the character's first film coming out this December, the character made his first official big screen appearance in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." The character appears for only a few seconds in footage obtained by Lex Luthor of the various metahumans he has been tracking.

"Aquaman" officially begins production, with director James Wan helming the film. Production of the film officially wrapped on Oct. 21, 2017.

Aquaman made his second live action big screen appearance in the first live action "Justice League" film. As one of the lead characters, Arthur Curry adds more muscle to the group, reluctantly deciding to join the heroes Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg and Superman.

While "Aquaman" had its world premiere in London in late November, "Aquaman" officially releases in America and other theaters in December. The film will be the first live action "Aquaman" film and is the sixth installment in the DC Extended Universe. The film will tell Aquaman's origins, and will focus on the character fighting Ocean Master and Black Manta.