Dolphin is a fictional character, a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

ine in the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

. Created by writer-artist

Jay Scott Pike Jay Scott Pike (September 6, 1924 – September 13, 2015) was an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator known for his 1950s and 1960s work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, advertising art, and as a good girl artist. He created the ...

, she debuted in '' Showcase'' #79 (December 1968).

Creation and publication history

Dolphin was created by

; at the time the writer-artist was primarily known for his work on DC's line of

romance comics Romance comics are a genre of comic book, comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military ...

. After debuting in '' Showcase'' #79 in December 1968, Dolphin was not seen for nearly a decade before appearing in a cameo in ''Showcase'' #100 (May 1978), which linked the character to

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

. After another hiatus, Dolphin appeared in a

Rip Hunter Rip Hunter (Michael Jon Carter Jr.) is a time-traveling superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jack Miller and artist Ruben Moreira, the character first appeared in ''Showcase (comics), Showcase'' #20 ...

storyline in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' '552-553 and then ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' #78 (January 1995) with a redesigned costume.

Fictional character biography

Dolphin is a girl who was rescued and experimented on by aliens after falling overboard from a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

, gaining fish-like abilities. She is later rescued by sailors, who teach her to speak. Dolphin meets Aquaman during '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'', and the two later fall in love. After Aquaman's wife Mera returns from exile in the Netherworld dimension, Dolphin enters a relationship with Tempest, and the two eventually have a son named Cerdian. In ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'', Dolphin is killed when the

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...

destroys Atlantis. In ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in i ...

'', Dolphin, Tula, and Aquaman are resurrected as

Black Lanterns The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of deceased fictiona ...

and attack Tempest and Mera.''Blackest Night'' #2 August 2009) Dolphin battles the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

before

Dawn Granger Hawk and Dove are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, they appeared in ''Showcase (comics), Showcase'' #75 (June 1968) during the Silver Age of Comic Books. The du ...

destroys her with a burst of light.''Blackest Night: Titans'' #3 (October 2009) In ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

'', Dolphin is permanently resurrected and depicted as a mutant Atlantean.''Aquaman'' (vol. 8) #25 (July 2017)

Powers and abilities

Pre-''Crisis'', Dolphin is a fish-like metahuman who can breathe underwater and is resistant to oceanic pressure. As a Black Lantern, she possesses the conventional powers of a Lantern and vast self-regenerative capabilities. In ''DC Rebirth'', Dolphin is a natural-born Atlantean with paranatural alterations due to being a mutant.''Aquaman'' (vol. 7) #26 (August 2017) She possesses claws and bioluminescence that can be projected as energy blasts.

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Dolphin appears in '' JLA: The Nail'' as a prisoner of

Cadmus Labs This is a list of teams and organizations that appear in various DC Comics publications. Note: Please check :DC Comics superhero teams before adding any redundant entries for superhero teams to the page. 0-9 100 1,000 2000 Committee A ...

In other media

* Dolphin appears in ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen T ...

'', voiced by

Tiya Sircar Tiya Sircar (born May 16, 1982) is an American actress, known for her role as "Real Eleanor"/Vicky in ''The Good Place'' (2016–2020). She also provided the voice for Sabine Wren in Disney XD's ''Star Wars Rebels'' (2014–2018), played Rooni ...

. This version is an Indian metahuman whose powers were activated as part of the

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

's "Project Rutabaga" before the Outsiders rescue her. Due to her physiology leaving her unable to survive outside of water, she is taken to Atlantis to live with

Kaldur'ahm Kaldur'ahm, or Kaldur for short, is the superhero codenamed Aqualad and Aquaman in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Brandon Vietti, Greg Weisman and Phil Bourassa for the television series '' Young Justice'', and ...

's parents, taking the name Delphis. * Dolphin was considered to appear in ''

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Aquaman. Directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, it is the sequel to ''Aquaman (film), Aquaman'' (2018) and ...

'' to replace Mera following the

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

between her actress

Amber Heard Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film '' All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010), '' Drive Angry'' (2011), and ...

and her former partner

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

. * Dolphin appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

External links

* {{Aquaman Comics characters introduced in 1968 DC Comics Atlanteans Fictional characters who can manipulate light DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics metahumans DC Comics superheroes DC Comics shapeshifters Fictional explorers Fictional mute characters Genetically engineered characters in comics