Topo, also known as Tactical Observation and Pursuit Operative, is an octopus associated with Atlantis[1] who was known to be a childhood friend of Arthur Curry.
Biography[]
Friendship with Arthur[]
When Arthur Curry was around six years old, Topo was known to be a baby Octopus who often showed up at the beach on Amnesty Bay. Arthur was first alerted to his presence when Topo tickled his foot during one of Arthur's walks down the beach. When Arthur would wave to Topo, the octopus would for some reason wave back.
Over the next few years, Topo would continue to visit Arthur at the beach, with Arthur coming to call him Topo. On one particular day, after Arthur had reached the age of 13, Topo slid up onto the rocks of the beach as Arthur greeted him. Arthur remarked that he hadn't seen him for quite a while, which meant Topo must have been busy.
As Arthur continued to talk and walk on the beach, Topo would follow Arthur through the water alongside him. Arthur narrated his problems from several hours ago, when the sea creatures at Boston Aquarium had seemingly reacted to defend him in his time of need. This made Arthur wonder whether he had a certain power to communicate with sea life. Arthur then remarked on the ridiculousness of him talking over his problems with an octopus like Topo.[2]
Capture in Amnesty Bay[]
Some weeks later, Topo was caught by a fisherman named Gilly in Amnesty Bay. Upon hearing of an octopus being captured, Arthur and his friend Claudia hurried over to the dock. By this time, Topo had become larger than most fishermen in Amnesty Bay, easily filling up an eight-feet long tank.
Arthur attempted to convince the fisherman to let it go, but it was for naught. The fisherman expressed his desire to sell Topo to the aquarium and hopefully make a little extra amount of money in the process. He attempted to placate Arthur by telling him that Topo would be well-cared for, but his attempts were only aggravated by Mike who started teasing Arthur about his obsession with sea creatures.
When Claudia asked Arthur if he was all right, Arthur began to feel that Topo hated staying in the tank. Arthur then began to pretend feeling sick, enlisting Claudia's help. As Gilly and the rest of the people were distracted by him, Arthur telepathically communicated to Topo that he should make his escape. Topo thus began to throw its mass and tentacles against the tank, rocking it back and forth until the tank flipped in the direction of the ocean, pouring Topo back into his domain, allowing him to swim away free.[2]
Rescue at Amnesty Bay[]
Sometime later, Topo returned to Amnesty Bay to help aid Arthur in rescuing several kids from a storm.[2]
Duel in the Ring of Fire[]
He eventually found his way to Atlantis. During a Ring of Fire duel between Arthur and King Orm Marius, Topo played the drums.[3]
Preparing for a Royal Wedding[]
During the preparations for the wedding between Arthur Curry and Mera, Atlanna enthusiastically directed the royal attendants to ensure that Topo had the finest sound system available for the wedding dance.[4]
Abilities[]
- Proficient drummer: Topo has showed strong ability in playing the drums.[3]
- Expert Spy: Topo is genetically engineered octopus for infiltration and espionage.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
- Arthur Curry - king and childhood friend
- Atlanna - former queen
- Orm Marius - former king
- Mera
- Nuidis Vulko †
- Men-of-War
- Murk - former ally
- Claudia
- Storm
Behind the scenes[]
- At a press junket for Aquaman, director James Wan confirmed to IGN that the octopus playing drums in the film was indeed Topo. Wan expressed his love for the character, saying "I love Topo from the Silver Age comic books and I love him because he's such a fun, funny character, but obviously in the comic book it's really silly. So my job is, how do I bring him into this movie and do the cool version of that and still be a bit tongue-in-cheek and not be afraid to lean that way?"[1]
- In DC Comics, Topo was an animal companion to Aquaman, frequently acting as a sidekick to him and his associates. He made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #229 in 1956.
- Over 70 different versions of Topo were designed by the film's art team. There were many variations done in certain designs regarding differences in the Polynesian tattoo design for the character.[5]
- In the earlier drafts of the film's script, Topo was going to be much more than just a brief cameo in the film. Wan revealed that Topo originally had a "really big role," but, "as we developed the script more and more, he became less and less important in the film." Wan said that he ultimately chose not to get rid of Topo entirely out of his love for the character, saying, "I still didn't want to get rid of him. I thought if I could give him just one cameo at least I planted that seed and it would be great just to see."[1]
- While at the time Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom or any other sequels to the film had not yet been announced, James Wan added, "It would be great if [Topo] could join up in future adventures," hinting at his return in the future.[1]
- Topo notably has a large role in the prequel tie-in novel Aquaman: Undertow which along with the book Aquaman: Arthur's Guide to Atlantis reveals that Arthur had been acquainted with him since the age of six, a frequent visitor to Amnesty Bay.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Vejvoda, Jim (December 21, 2018). Aquaman Director on That Crazy, Classic DC Comics Character Cameo. IGN. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved on September 17, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Aquaman: Undertow
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Aquaman
- ↑ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Special
- ↑ Topo's Art Design
External Links[]
Topo on DC Database
Topo on Wikipedia
