Aqualad (Jackson Hyde)
Encyclopedia
Jackson Hyde is one of two fictional character
s codenamed Aqualad
. He is a comic book
superhero
published by DC Comics
. Jackson Hyde, created by Geoff Johns
and Ivan Reis
, debuted in comic books in Brightest Day
#4 (June 2010) and is based on the Aqualad character originally created for the Young Justice
animated series by Greg Weisman
, Brandon Vietti and Phil Bourassa.
animated series. He is a teenager from New Mexico
. In a teaser poster for the Brightest Day event, he is shown using "hard water" abilities to create a sword. This ability had previously been thought to belong exclusively to Aquaman's wife, Mera
, and people from her world.
, Hawk
and Dove
activating the White Lantern Battery
, which had landed in Silver City, New Mexico
after the events of Blackest Night. As the Battery begins to speak to the heroes, the tattoos on Jackson's right arm begin to glow. Jackson Hyde is an average student who is pretty bored in Silver City, New Mexico. Since he was young, he’s been taught by his parents to fear water; they do not want him near it because his true parents would be able to locate him, not to mention certain changes happen to Jackson when he gets in the water.
Jackson has kept this secret hidden for years, lying to his girlfriend about being afraid of drowning, being unable to swim and being in the dark about the mysterious tattoos he’s had since birth. He’s done his best to avoid it. Aquaman
is later contacted by the Entity
, which tells him to locate Jackson before a second unidentified group, which is speculated to be Siren and her Death Squad.
Jackson is seen outside his house during a rainstorm, where he displays for the first time his abilities. As he started to control the water from the rain, his tattoos and eyes began glowing. At this moment he is revealed to possess gills and webbed hands. Its also revealed that Black Manta
is actually his real father, and that Mera
also has some sort of connection to the youth.
After witnessing Jackson in the rain, his adoptive father takes him to a cottage by the sea. He tells him that Mera had given Jackson to him, asking that he keep him away from his parents, and he was given an Atlantean chest to be opened when the truth is discovered. Before the chest can be opened, Black Manta, along with Siren and her Death Squad, attacks. Jackson (using his ability to create hard water constructs) defends his adoptive father, but cannot stop Black Manta from shooting a trident-shaped dart at him. Jackson's adoptive father would have died if not for Aquaman's intervention, who blocks and crushes the dart. Aquaman gets Jackson and his foster father to safety where everything is explained to them. The chest is opened, which activates a map. Using the map, the two discover a sealed chest that only Jackson can open. Once the chest is opened, Jackson is shown a recording from Mera, who explains that his father and mother had been kidnapped and tortured by the people of Xebel (an extradimensional Atlantean penal colony) while exploring the Bermuda Triangle, where the gateway to the colony is located. Xebel's king had ordered that the child, the first "outsider" born there in centuries, be experimented upon in order to serve as a key that would finally free them from their exile. Fearing for the child's safety, Mera had stolen the infant and brought him to the surface world, where she subsequently gave him to the foster family that ended up raising him. She also reveals his true name; Kaldur’ahm. Once the recording is over, Jackson discovers several items which Mera had left for him, notably a soldier's uniform from Xebel and a pair of "Water Bearers", metallic constructs that help him control his water-manipulation abilities.
Aquaman and Jackson ultimately end up in Miami, Florida
, where Black Manta and Siren are leading an army of warriors from Xebel in a full-scale invasion. Jackson successfully uses his waterbearers to create blades, which he uses to fight off the attacking troops, and even briefly holds his own in a duel with Siren. After Black Manta severs Aquaman's right hand, Jackson attacks his father and berates him for siding with the people who killed his own wife, only for Black Manta to throw Jackson to the ground and coldly states that both he and his mother mean nothing to him. Just as Black Manta is about to impale his son with one of his blades, Mera arrives with Aquagirl
, who saves Jackson by kicking his father's square in the face. After using his bio-electrical abilities to cauterize
Aquaman's wound, Jackson and Mera are able to work together to seal Black Manta, Siren and the rest of the invaders away in the Bermuda Triangle. As the heroes celebrate, Jackson is shown beginning to harbor a crush on Aquagirl.
After Damian Wayne
joins the Teen Titans, a vision of Jackson arriving at Titans Tower
and confronting Superboy
, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy
and Kid Flash
is shown as part of a collage of future events that will affect the team.
After Aquaman is resurrected by Swamp Thing
(who became the new Life Entity), Mera tells Aquaman that Jackson wants to continue his training. Aquaman informs her that he has already contacted the Titans.
and other citizens of Xebel. He is later given a pair of "Water Bearers", weapons which allow him to focus that power, creating shapes and weapons with the water. In addition, he is able to discharge powerful bolts of electricity from his fingertips in a manner similar to that of an Electric eel
.
animated series, Aqualad is voiced by Khary Payton
. He appears as the "elected" leader of the team within the series, and it has been revealed that he is the son of supervillain Black Manta
. Because the character was originally created for the animated series before being brought into Brightest Day, he has a different origin from his comic book counterpart, including being a citizen of Atlantis rather than living in New Mexico. However, he still shares his costume, eel tattoos and water manipulation with his comic book counterpart. Though he still maintains the birth name of Kaldur’ahm, he does not use the Jackson Hyde alias created for the comics. In the pilot episode, "Independence Day", Aqualad is shown using his Water Bearers to manipulate water, and also displays the ability to generate bolts of electricity during a battle with the Guardian
.
He is portrayed as the most mature member of the group, and is the one who ultimately convinces Superboy
to abandon the sinister Project Cadmus
and become a hero. In "Welcome To Happy Harbor", Aqualad is shown to be the only member of Young Justice who is kind to Miss Martian
when she initially joins the team. In "Drop Zone", Aqualad is unanimously chosen to be the leader of the team after rallying them to victory during a mission in Santa Prisca. In "Denial", Aqualad states that he spent a year studying at an Atlantean sorcery school and that his tattoos are magical in nature. The following episode "Downtime" reveals parts of Aqualad's origin, stating that he and his friend Garth
had first come to Aquaman's attention when they saved their king's life during a battle with Ocean Master
. Aquaman offered to take on both teens as his proteges, but Garth chose to remain in Atlantis to continue his studies, while Kaldur chose to travel with Aquaman and become Aqualad. Here it is also revealed that he had an interest in a girl named Tula
, who eventually ended up in a relationship with Garth after Kaldur left Atlantis.
In "Targets", Aqualad comes to the aid of Red Arrow when the League of Assassins
plot to assassinate Lex Luthor
. Aqualad is told by Red Arrow that he heard Sportsmaster mentioning something about a mole on the Young Justice team and Aqualad decides to investigate this possibility in secret, keeping his other teammates in the dark. In "Homefront", he, Superboy, Miss Martian and Kid Flash
are attacked in the cave by two robots that look like Red Tornado
. Though Robin
and Artemis eventually free them, Red Tornado arrives and is taken over by whatever force was controlling the other robots, leading Aqualad to conclude that Red Tornado was probably the "double-agent" Sportsmaster was talking about. In the following episode (titled "Alpha Male"), when Aqualad privately discusses this probability with Batman
, Superboy uses his super-hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation. He overhears that Aqualad willingly kept his suspicions of a traitor from the rest of the team, information that could have prepared them all for the attack on the cave. Especially angry that this had put Miss Martian (who he recently started dating) in danger, Superboy confronts Aqualad in front of their teammates, leading to a divide among Young Justice that threatens all of their future together. While on a mission to investigate recent sightings of Monsieur Mallah
in India, the team defies Aqualad at every turn until Captain Marvel
, who had volunteered to temporarily replace the missing Red Tornado on the team, convinces him to take a cue from Batman and "take command" for the good of the team. Emboldened, Aqualad gets everyone to work together and they eventually defeat Monsieur Mallah and the Brain
because of his leadership. In the end, the team forgives him after he explains his reasoning: He knew that he couldn't trust Sportsmaster and so he kept the information about a mole from the team in case it was all just a ploy to drive a wedge between them. At the end of "Alpha Male", everyone agrees that Aqualad is still the best man to lead Young Justice and so he remains the leader of the team.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s codenamed Aqualad
Aqualad
Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in books published by DC Comics. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in Adventure Comics #269 , and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon...
. He is a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Jackson Hyde, created by Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
and Ivan Reis
Ivan Reis
Ivan Reis , born 1976 in São Paulo, is a Brazilian comic book artist. He is known for his work on books such as Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel, and DC Comics' Green Lantern books...
, debuted in comic books in Brightest Day
Brightest Day
Brightest Day is a year-long comic book maxi-series that began in April 2010. The story follows the ending of the series Blackest Night and how the aftermath of these events affect the entire DC Universe.-Plot:...
#4 (June 2010) and is based on the Aqualad character originally created for the Young Justice
Young Justice (TV series)
Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its title, it is not an adaptation of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, but rather an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young...
animated series by Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
, Brandon Vietti and Phil Bourassa.
Publication history
Jackson Hyde first appeared in Brightest Day #4 (June 2010), which coincided with the appearance of Aqualad in the 2010 Young JusticeYoung Justice (TV series)
Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its title, it is not an adaptation of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, but rather an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young...
animated series. He is a teenager from New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. In a teaser poster for the Brightest Day event, he is shown using "hard water" abilities to create a sword. This ability had previously been thought to belong exclusively to Aquaman's wife, Mera
Mera (comics)
Mera is a fictional undersea queen that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Aquaman #11 , and was created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy.-Publication history:...
, and people from her world.
Fictional character biography
Jackson Hyde and his on-and-off again girlfriend Maria are first drawn into the events of Brightest Day after witnessing DeadmanDeadman
Deadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...
, Hawk
Hank Hall
Hank Hall is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe who first appeared in Showcase #75 as Hawk of Hawk and Dove. He later became the supervillain Monarch in the crossover event limited series Armageddon 2001...
and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
activating the White Lantern Battery
White Lantern Corps
The White Lantern Corps is a fictional organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics.-History:The first White Lantern Corps member was created when Sinestro of Korugar bonded with The Entity, the embodiment of life itself...
, which had landed in Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...
after the events of Blackest Night. As the Battery begins to speak to the heroes, the tattoos on Jackson's right arm begin to glow. Jackson Hyde is an average student who is pretty bored in Silver City, New Mexico. Since he was young, he’s been taught by his parents to fear water; they do not want him near it because his true parents would be able to locate him, not to mention certain changes happen to Jackson when he gets in the water.
Jackson has kept this secret hidden for years, lying to his girlfriend about being afraid of drowning, being unable to swim and being in the dark about the mysterious tattoos he’s had since birth. He’s done his best to avoid it. Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
is later contacted by the Entity
White Lantern Corps
The White Lantern Corps is a fictional organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics.-History:The first White Lantern Corps member was created when Sinestro of Korugar bonded with The Entity, the embodiment of life itself...
, which tells him to locate Jackson before a second unidentified group, which is speculated to be Siren and her Death Squad.
Jackson is seen outside his house during a rainstorm, where he displays for the first time his abilities. As he started to control the water from the rain, his tattoos and eyes began glowing. At this moment he is revealed to possess gills and webbed hands. Its also revealed that Black Manta
Black Manta
Black Manta is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as the archenemy of Aquaman. The character debuted in Aquaman #35 .-Fictional character biography:...
is actually his real father, and that Mera
Mera (comics)
Mera is a fictional undersea queen that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Aquaman #11 , and was created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy.-Publication history:...
also has some sort of connection to the youth.
After witnessing Jackson in the rain, his adoptive father takes him to a cottage by the sea. He tells him that Mera had given Jackson to him, asking that he keep him away from his parents, and he was given an Atlantean chest to be opened when the truth is discovered. Before the chest can be opened, Black Manta, along with Siren and her Death Squad, attacks. Jackson (using his ability to create hard water constructs) defends his adoptive father, but cannot stop Black Manta from shooting a trident-shaped dart at him. Jackson's adoptive father would have died if not for Aquaman's intervention, who blocks and crushes the dart. Aquaman gets Jackson and his foster father to safety where everything is explained to them. The chest is opened, which activates a map. Using the map, the two discover a sealed chest that only Jackson can open. Once the chest is opened, Jackson is shown a recording from Mera, who explains that his father and mother had been kidnapped and tortured by the people of Xebel (an extradimensional Atlantean penal colony) while exploring the Bermuda Triangle, where the gateway to the colony is located. Xebel's king had ordered that the child, the first "outsider" born there in centuries, be experimented upon in order to serve as a key that would finally free them from their exile. Fearing for the child's safety, Mera had stolen the infant and brought him to the surface world, where she subsequently gave him to the foster family that ended up raising him. She also reveals his true name; Kaldur’ahm. Once the recording is over, Jackson discovers several items which Mera had left for him, notably a soldier's uniform from Xebel and a pair of "Water Bearers", metallic constructs that help him control his water-manipulation abilities.
Aquaman and Jackson ultimately end up in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, where Black Manta and Siren are leading an army of warriors from Xebel in a full-scale invasion. Jackson successfully uses his waterbearers to create blades, which he uses to fight off the attacking troops, and even briefly holds his own in a duel with Siren. After Black Manta severs Aquaman's right hand, Jackson attacks his father and berates him for siding with the people who killed his own wife, only for Black Manta to throw Jackson to the ground and coldly states that both he and his mother mean nothing to him. Just as Black Manta is about to impale his son with one of his blades, Mera arrives with Aquagirl
Aquagirl (Lorena Marquez)
Lorena Marquez is one of several fictional characters to use the codename Aquagirl. She is a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. Lorena debuted in Aquaman vol...
, who saves Jackson by kicking his father's square in the face. After using his bio-electrical abilities to cauterize
Cauterize
Cauterize was an alternative rock band from Canada, active from 1995 to 2007.In 2003, Cauterize’s first single Something Beautiful was released, with its only music video, was broadcast on the web site muchloud.com...
Aquaman's wound, Jackson and Mera are able to work together to seal Black Manta, Siren and the rest of the invaders away in the Bermuda Triangle. As the heroes celebrate, Jackson is shown beginning to harbor a crush on Aquagirl.
After Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is a fictional character in the . Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul....
joins the Teen Titans, a vision of Jackson arriving at Titans Tower
Titans Tower
Titans Tower is a fictional building in the DC Comics universe. Its various incarnations have been home to the superhero team called the Titans...
and confronting Superboy
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
and Kid Flash
Bart Allen
Bartholomew "Bart" Allen is a superhero in the . Allen first appeared as the superhero Impulse. He would later go on to become the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash. Allen's first cameo appearance was in The Flash #91, while his first full appearance was in issue #92...
is shown as part of a collage of future events that will affect the team.
After Aquaman is resurrected by Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
(who became the new Life Entity), Mera tells Aquaman that Jackson wants to continue his training. Aquaman informs her that he has already contacted the Titans.
Relaunch
Aqualad was initially intended to appear in the first issue of the relaunched Teen Titans title in DC's 2011 New 52 relaunch, but will instead appear in another book.Powers and abilities
Jackson Hyde has been shown to possess the ability to breathe under water as well as enhanced strength. He can adapt his eyes to see in the darkest of ocean bottoms. He features gill slits on the sides of his neck presumably allowing him to extract oxygen from the water. He also appears to demonstrate hydrokinesis, the ability to increase the local specific density of water and then manipulate its shape, similar to MeraMera (comics)
Mera is a fictional undersea queen that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Aquaman #11 , and was created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy.-Publication history:...
and other citizens of Xebel. He is later given a pair of "Water Bearers", weapons which allow him to focus that power, creating shapes and weapons with the water. In addition, he is able to discharge powerful bolts of electricity from his fingertips in a manner similar to that of an Electric eel
Electric eel
The electric eel , is an electric fish, and the only species of the genus Electrophorus. It is capable of generating powerful electric shocks, of up to six hundred volts, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense. It is an apex predator in its South American range...
.
In other media
In the Young JusticeYoung Justice (TV series)
Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its title, it is not an adaptation of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, but rather an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young...
animated series, Aqualad is voiced by Khary Payton
Khary Payton
Khary Payton is an American actor and voice actor known for his voice characterizations in animated cartoons, having portrayed Cyborg in the Teen Titans animated series and Aqualad in Young Justice. In the cartoon series Justice League, Payton provided the voice of the villain Ten...
. He appears as the "elected" leader of the team within the series, and it has been revealed that he is the son of supervillain Black Manta
Black Manta
Black Manta is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as the archenemy of Aquaman. The character debuted in Aquaman #35 .-Fictional character biography:...
. Because the character was originally created for the animated series before being brought into Brightest Day, he has a different origin from his comic book counterpart, including being a citizen of Atlantis rather than living in New Mexico. However, he still shares his costume, eel tattoos and water manipulation with his comic book counterpart. Though he still maintains the birth name of Kaldur’ahm, he does not use the Jackson Hyde alias created for the comics. In the pilot episode, "Independence Day", Aqualad is shown using his Water Bearers to manipulate water, and also displays the ability to generate bolts of electricity during a battle with the Guardian
Guardian (DC Comics)
Guardian is a comic book fictional character, a DC Comics superhero, created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7...
.
He is portrayed as the most mature member of the group, and is the one who ultimately convinces Superboy
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
to abandon the sinister Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. It was created by Jack Kirby as the DNA Project in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 , and was run by the former Newsboy Legion...
and become a hero. In "Welcome To Happy Harbor", Aqualad is shown to be the only member of Young Justice who is kind to Miss Martian
Miss Martian
Miss Martian is a superhero in the . Miss Martian was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel and first appeared in Teen Titans #37 . Miss Martian is named "Megan Morse" after Marvel Comics associate editor Ben Morse's wife, Megan...
when she initially joins the team. In "Drop Zone", Aqualad is unanimously chosen to be the leader of the team after rallying them to victory during a mission in Santa Prisca. In "Denial", Aqualad states that he spent a year studying at an Atlantean sorcery school and that his tattoos are magical in nature. The following episode "Downtime" reveals parts of Aqualad's origin, stating that he and his friend Garth
Garth (comics)
Garth is a fictional character, a superhero in publications from DC Comics, originally known as Aqualad, and later known by the codename Tempest. As Aqualad, he is the teen sidekick and protege to his guardian, the super-hero known as Aquaman, bearing the same super-abilities as his mentor that...
had first come to Aquaman's attention when they saved their king's life during a battle with Ocean Master
Ocean Master
The Ocean Master is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Aquaman #29 , and was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.-Pre-Crisis:...
. Aquaman offered to take on both teens as his proteges, but Garth chose to remain in Atlantis to continue his studies, while Kaldur chose to travel with Aquaman and become Aqualad. Here it is also revealed that he had an interest in a girl named Tula
Aquagirl
Aquagirl is the name of several fictional characters featured as superheroines in the comic books and other media produced by DC Comics.- Lisa Morel :...
, who eventually ended up in a relationship with Garth after Kaldur left Atlantis.
In "Targets", Aqualad comes to the aid of Red Arrow when the League of Assassins
League of Assassins
The League of Assassins is a group of fictional comic book villains, an organization of killers formerly led by Ra's al Ghul, an enemy of Batman in the DC Comics Universe.-Doctor Ebeneezer Darrk:...
plot to assassinate Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
. Aqualad is told by Red Arrow that he heard Sportsmaster mentioning something about a mole on the Young Justice team and Aqualad decides to investigate this possibility in secret, keeping his other teammates in the dark. In "Homefront", he, Superboy, Miss Martian and Kid Flash
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
are attacked in the cave by two robots that look like Red Tornado
Red Tornado
Red Tornado is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Justice League of America #64 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
. Though Robin
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and Artemis eventually free them, Red Tornado arrives and is taken over by whatever force was controlling the other robots, leading Aqualad to conclude that Red Tornado was probably the "double-agent" Sportsmaster was talking about. In the following episode (titled "Alpha Male"), when Aqualad privately discusses this probability with Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Superboy uses his super-hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation. He overhears that Aqualad willingly kept his suspicions of a traitor from the rest of the team, information that could have prepared them all for the attack on the cave. Especially angry that this had put Miss Martian (who he recently started dating) in danger, Superboy confronts Aqualad in front of their teammates, leading to a divide among Young Justice that threatens all of their future together. While on a mission to investigate recent sightings of Monsieur Mallah
Monsieur Mallah
Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and romantic partner of the Brain. Monsieur Mallah first appeared in Doom Patrol Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and...
in India, the team defies Aqualad at every turn until Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel may refer to:In comics:*Captain Marvel , a Fawcett/DC comic book superhero, alter-ego of Billy Batson**Mary Marvel, called Captain Marvel in The Power of Shazam!...
, who had volunteered to temporarily replace the missing Red Tornado on the team, convinces him to take a cue from Batman and "take command" for the good of the team. Emboldened, Aqualad gets everyone to work together and they eventually defeat Monsieur Mallah and the Brain
Brain (comics)
The Brain is a fictional character, a supervillain in the and frequent enemy of the Doom Patrol. He is a French mastermind and criminal genius...
because of his leadership. In the end, the team forgives him after he explains his reasoning: He knew that he couldn't trust Sportsmaster and so he kept the information about a mole from the team in case it was all just a ploy to drive a wedge between them. At the end of "Alpha Male", everyone agrees that Aqualad is still the best man to lead Young Justice and so he remains the leader of the team.