Mera (New Earth)
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History
Mera was once an undersea queen in an alien otherworldly dimension commonly referred to as Dimension Aqua. Several years ago, a criminal named Leron seized control of the kingdom and deposed Queen Mera. Exiled from her kingdom, Mera fled Dimension Aqua for the Earth dimension whereupon she met the Atlantean sea-king, Aquaman. Aquaman and his sidekick, Aqualad, vowed to assist Mera in any way possible. Leron pursued Mera to Earth, and managed to capture her along with Aquaman. He brought them back to Dimension Alpha where they were imprisoned. Aided by the water sprite known as Quisp, Aquaman managed to free Mera and defeat Leron. However, rather than return to the throne to her kingdom, Mera elected to return to Atlantis with Aquaman. [1]
As Mera continued to share in adventures with the sea-king, the two began to fall in love. The two were soon wed and Mera lived with Aquaman at the Atlantean Royal Palace. [2]
Before long, Mera gave birth to Aquaman's son, whom they named Arthur Curry, Jr., aka, Aquababy. [3]
Less than two years later, Mera suffered the greatest tragedy in her life. Aquaman's nemesis Black Manta kidnapped Arthur Curry, Jr. and confined inside of a translucent tank filled with poison. [4] The child lapsed into a coma and Mera embarked upon an ambitious crusade to save him. She found the means to return to Dimension Aqua and fought against the tyrant Leron in order to learn the location of a special healing device. She discovered that Leron had taken all of Mera's possessions and cast them away into the Great Pit. Mera braved the pit and fought against elemental monsters in order to retrieve the device. Her quest proved successful, but as she returned home to Atlantis, she found that she was too late. Arthur Curry, Jr. had died. [5]
This ultimately led Mera to suffer a nervous breakdown. She abandoned her husband Aquaman, blaming his "weak genes" for Arthur, Jr.'s death. It was her belief that had her son been born of a man from her dimension, then he would have been strong enough to survive Black Manta's attack. Their marriage dissolved, Aquaman left Atlantis, but Mera stayed behind. Her mental stated continued to deteriorate until finally, one of the interim rulers, Lord Wexus had her committed to the AHARD-1 hospital center. She remained there for several months until such time that Aquaman returned to repel an invasion force of giant jellyfish. Aquaman tried to make peace with Mera, but she savagely attacked him. While attempting to defend himself, Aquaman accidentally pushed Mera to hard, impaling her upon an upturned piece of metal. Believing her dead, Aquaman had her placed inside a coffin and taken to the royal palace. However, as Mera is not native to this dimension, her vital organs are not located in the same position as a normal human's. She in fact survived being impaled and rose from her coffin. With nothing more to say to Aquaman, Mera left the Earth realm and returned to Dimension Aqua. [6]Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Amphibian: Though not overtly visible, Mera possesses a set of gills, which allows her to extract oxygen from the surrounding environment enabling her to breathe underwater. Mera can also breathe in an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere, but only for limited periods of time. Prolonged exposure in an above-water environment will cause Mera to weaken, and ultimately die.
- Telepathy: Mera possesses a limited degree of telepathy, which allows her to communicate with other Atlantean beings. Unlike Aquaman however, Mera cannot use this ability to communicate with lower order marine life.
- Hydrokinesis: Mera possesses the ability to increase the density of water within her immediate vicinity for a wide variety of effects. This ability allows her to create "hard water" objects, reshaping volumes of water into simple geometric shapes. Mera commonly uses this power to create water missiles, which she projects towards a selected target.
- Dimensional Travel: Mera has the ability to travel between her native world of Dimension Aqua and the Earth realm. Her aptitude with this power has not always been consistent, and there have been occasions when Mera has been forced to find an alternate recourse for crossing the barriers. [7]
Strength level
- Enhanced Strength: In addition to her ability to perpetually exist underwater, Mera also possesses enhanced density and muscle mass, allowing her to survive at ocean depths that would prove unsafe for normal humans. This additional muscle mass also grants Mera enhanced speed and reflexes, ideal for underwater combat, though she can apply these skills for surface usage as well.
Weaknesses
- Mental Instability: Throughout her adult life, Mera has had to deal with bouts of mental instability. This began after suffering a nervous breakdown following the death of her son and continued for many years. She was remanded to the care of the Atlantis Health and Rehabilitation Department and remained a patient at one of their facilities until finally returning to her native dimension. It has also been suggested that prolonged exposure to this reality may have altered Mera's brain chemistry, exacerbating her prolonged mental health issues.
- Vulnerability to Lead: Exposure to lead will rob Mera of her hard-water powers. [8]
Trivia
- Mera's first television appearance was in the Aquaman segments of Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. Actress Diane Maddox provided the voice of Mera.
- Mera has appeared in three episodes of the Justice League animated series, where she has been voiced by actress Kristin Bauer.
- Mera also appeared on the 1975 Flash/Aquaman book-n-record set by Power Records. She appears in the b-side tale entitled "The Defeat of the Dehydrator".
- In 1967, the Mego Corporation released a 12" Mera action figure as part of their super-hero line of articulated toys.
Recommended Reading
See Also
- Discuss Mera (New Earth) on the forums
- Appearances of Mera (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Mera (New Earth)
- Quotations by Mera (New Earth)
- Images featuring Mera (New Earth)
Links and References
- Mera article at Wikipedia
- Mera biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Mera chronology index at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Aquaman Action Figures
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #15 (Mera biography page)
Footnotes
  This character is or was an ally of Aquaman, and a member of the Aqua-Family and/or its supporting cast. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Aquaman Supporting Cast" category. See also: Aquaman Villains |
 Holy anachronisms, Batman! This article is in need of updated information. |
