member of the Homo magi offshoot of humanity born in ancient Atlantis. While within the lineage of the Atlantian royal house, his spirit interacts with the past generation to father Aquaman, the Ocean Master and Deep Blue. He also acts as a mentor in magic to Aqualad. During The New 52, Atlan's origins are once again revised. He is now known as Atlan, the Greatest King of Atlantis. Before Atlantis was sunk into the sea, the nation was ruled by Atlan until he was betrayed by his brother Orin (Aquaman's ancestor) and by his people. They killed his wife and children and he and his loyalists were all hunted down. Within that time, he forged the Six Artifacts of Atlantis with his arcane knowledge and became known as the Dead King. He returned years later and, without uttering a single word, killed his brother and his queen, plunging Atlantis into a civil war. After years of silence, he finally spoke, "Let it all...die!" and, using his great strength along with the Trident (one of the six Artifacts that he had forged), eventually sunk the great nation that he had spent his lifetime building beneath the ocean; what happened to Atlan afterwards remains unknown. Later, Atlan was awakened in Antarctica when Aquaman, now the current king of Atlantis, used his telepathy on a global scale and, claiming that Aquaman was mistaken to think that he was the king of Atlantis, proceeded to destroy a research station and killed its personnel. After that, he found Mera and took her to Xebel. Aquaman travelled to Xebel to free Mera, but was shocked to hear the truth that his ancestors had murdered the Dead King's family and usurped the throne. After a brutal fight (during which the Dead King manages to claim Aquaman's Trident) Aquaman freed Mera and the rest of the Xebelians, but they sided with the Dead King, recognizing him as the true ruler of Atlantis, except for Mera. They managed to escape to Atlantis, but found it being attacked by the Scavenger's fleet. During the battle, the Dead King and the Xebelians arrived and he managed to cause Aquaman to black out, using his Sceptre and Aquaman's Trident. After being in a coma for six months and soon discovering the Dead King's origins with the help of Vulko, Aquaman returned to liberate Atlantis from the Dead King and the Xebelians, using