Half-Atlantean, half-human, Aquaman is the son of the Queen of Atlantis and a lighthouse keeper named Tom Curry. This wasn't always the case, though, as he had gone through many origin changes during his time in the DCU. Once he was even raised by dolphins after being born to an ancient wizard and the Queen of Atlantis. In fact, during his introduction his father was an undersea explorer who lived in the ruins of Atlantis through an airtight home.
After the first run, Aquaman finally became the son of Tom Curry and grew up on land alongside his father. For a while, the two only had each other and fought together to keep each other safe. However, Tom's parenting methods were anything but savory at the time and Arthur was none the wiser.
In fact, by tackling the harder obstacles first, Aquaman would learn how to adapt to his surroundings even more as he got older, having been used to it as a child. In Adventure Comics #261 Aquaman's adventures take him to an island where he's attacked by the land mammals there. His bond with the animals of the ocean had grown so strong during his training that they all rushed to his rescue almost immediately without Aquaman commanding them to. He even commanded a water buffalo on technicality alone. Having been forced so quickly to master telepathy with ocean animals forged a bond with the creatures of the sea that ultimately had them regard him as one of their own. Even animals as big as whales heeded his every command and one even protected a ship full of people in its mouth without swallowing, simply because Aquaman told it to.
Aquaman was taught by his father to always do good, despite otherwise being forced into dangerous situations, so after becoming protector of the sea, the creatures of the ocean naturally became his family. Adventure Comics #262 saw Aquaman injured during one of his adventures, and all the creatures of the ocean rushed to protect him. After forming something similar to a human operating room, the animals miraculously knew exactly what to do after being able to tap into Arthur's knowledge that flowed naturally to them from an open telepathic bond. Commanding animals while unconscious is no easy feat, but Arthur Curry did it so easily that it showed just how beneficial his training growing up actually was.
Training never comes easy to a new superhero, but no matter how they train, in the end they always seem to get better. Aquaman was only able to get better when his father put him in high stress and dangerous situations. While unethical and definitely traumatizing, Arthur took those lessons to heart and became the ultimate protector of the sea. Now roaming the ocean as Aquaman, he helps the oceans of the world however he can.
