- "You have our mother's trident. Powerful, but flawed like her."
- ―Ocean Master to Aquaman[src]
Atlanna's Trident was an Atlantean weapon originally wielded by Atlanna. The trident was passed on to her son, Arthur, as a child when his mother was forced to leave him in his early life.
History[]
A queen's weapon[]
The five-pronged trident was originally wielded by Queen Atlanna of Atlantis. In 1985, Atlanna was wounded from battle and later discovered by Thomas Curry near the Curry Lighthouse after washing ashore, her trident still in hand. Following the birth of their son Arthur, a squad of Men of War soldiers using Hydro-pulse rifles were sent by King Orvax to the lighthouse to capture Atlanna but the Queen took up her trident and defeated them. Fearing for her son's life, Atlanna chose to return to Atlantis, leaving her trident behind for Arthur to inherit.[1][2]
Aquatic arsenal[]
After he was of age, Arthur was given his mother's trident by his father and later instructed in combat by Nuidis Vulko, his mother's advisor, in his adolescence. Years later, Arthur was discovered in a sunken wreckage by the NSA's UUV drones, destroying one before swimming away at high speed, footage of which was collected by Lex Luthor in his research of metahumans, believing the Atlantean to be one of the enhanced individuals.[3]
Rescuing the Justice League[]
After Steppenwolf arrived in at the Atlantean Stronghold to steal the Mother Box entrusted to his people thousands of years ago, Arthur, after being chastised by Mera for his inaction against the New God. Before he left Mera and Atlantis, he asked her for the trident. He traveled to Gotham City, where the newly formed Justice League were struggling in a battle against the Apokoliptian invader and his Parademons. When Steppenwolf used a missile from the Knightcrawler to rupture the walls beneath Gotham Harbor and unleashed its waters onto the team, Aquaman arrived, leaping in front of the wave and using the trident's power to hold the torrent back long enough for the team to retreat to a safer position.[4]
Battle of Pozharnov[]
While fighting alongside the Justice League, Aquaman wielded his familial trident during their final battle against Steppenwolf and his Parademons. Battling side by side with the likes of Barry, Cyborg and Diana as Batman made a suicide play to draw off the main force's attention.[4]
Arthur would utilize his weapon of choice to incredibly deadly effect. Both in battle against the Parademon horde, as well in helping defeat Steppenwolf's plans of terraforming the Earth into a new Apokolips. Battling both his army as well as aiding the League in defeating their mastermind, they fought their way to the central command of said Apokoliptian base.[4]
Duel in the Ring of Fire[]
Aquaman wielded the trident against Orm in the duel for the throne. Though the weapon helped him during the hand-to-hand combat, he was eventually overpowered and Orm broke the trident into two halves, rendering it useless.[1]
Capabilities[]
Atlanna's trident was the extension of its maiden namesake's self. Being a mighty weapon forged of unknown metallurgy, both mother and son used the polearm to incredible effectiveness, Atlanna having once used it to dispatch a heavily armed Atlantean garrison outfitted with advanced weapons technology with relative ease.
Arthur uses it with the same, albeit greater, expertise due to a slew of inborn genetic traits both inherent in his proginator as well as unique to himself.
To that regard, Arthur uses his mother's royal heirloom as a conduit to channel his underlying greater powers, such as focusing his powers of hydrokinesis, as he had done when the Gotham Harbor subway tunnels were ruptured during the fight with Steppenwolf; Arthur was able to hold back the sudden flood of water long enough for his Justice League comrades to escape drowning. It has also been observed to have the ability to create shockwaves similar to those of the Trident of Atlan.
Atlanna's trident was incredibly robust in its constitution. Being tough enough to take and withstand multiple blows from Steppenwolf's battleaxe on top of Parademon plasma fire, Kryptonian strength assaults along with being handled and utilized roughly in combat. Mainly as Arthur used it as a throwing weapon besides as a hand-to-hand armament, beyond that it served no greater purpose other than as a symbol of his royal lineage.
Trivia[]
- The trident is approximately 7 feet long, with Aquaman standing at 6'4".
- The design of Atlanna's trident isn't unique among Atlanteans. Some Atlantean Guards can be seen wielding seemingly identical tridents.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Though referred to as a "trident", which would typically denote 3 prongs, this one has 5, leading it to be referred to out-of-universe as a "quindent", particularly by Jason Momoa himself.[5]
- The design of the trident is based on the Trident of Neptune.
- In the Injustice 2 Mobile game, it can be collected as one of the five gear pieces of "Justice League Aquaman" (simply called "Trident"). When equipped, it gives him bonus critical attack chance. Regardless of whether he has it equipped, the Justice League version of Aquaman can be seen wielding it in-game.
- In "Shifting Gears," Atlanna's trident is erroneously gold instead of silver.