20 Lesser-Known Female Superheroes

Mera (Image via DC Comics)

10. Mera

Yes, Mera is Aquaman’s wife. Yes, we all love to make fun of Aquaman, be it his early appearances or his grimdark showing in the 1990s and Zack Snyder films. However, don’t underestimate Mera herself.

The truth is, Mera actually has a somewhat confusing origin. In her first appearance, she is a Queen who asks Aquaman to help her. Together, they defeat the criminal Leron and save the day. Mera predictably falls in love with Aquaman, abdicates her throne, and returns to Atlantis with him. They have a son together, named Arthur, but who they decide to call Aquababy. Of course.

Anyway, there is a lot of typical drama wherein Aquababy actually dies, providing fodder for relationship drama between Mera and Aquaman. She suffers from mental illness, though oftentimes the comics storylines veer into “crazy woman” stereotype territory. She eventually leaves Atlantis and returns to her original realm.

In Brightest Day, a 2010 year-long crossover arc, writers started to tinker with Mera’s storyline. Now, she is from a penal colony of separatist Atlanteans, Xebel, locked beneath the Bermuda Triangle in another dimension. The Atlanteans proper just… kind of forgot about the penal colony? I blame poor administration. Anyway, Mera, who can move between the dimensions, hasn’t forgotten and wants to free her people.

As part of this mission, Mera must now kill Aquaman. However, he’s hunky and wants to heal orcas and take her to lunch, so it gets complicated. Furthermore, a message from her mother tells Mera that she should simply forget about her mission. Back in Xebel, her mother says, Mera would have been forced into marriage and silence. Better instead to forget everything and carry on in this new dimension.