Justin Hartley starred as Arthur "A.C." Curry, a young man living in a beachside community in the Florida Keys who learns about his powers and destiny as a monarch and protector of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

The Aquaman pilot was expected to debut in the fall schedule of 2006, but following the merger of the WB and UPN, the resulting CW Network opted not to buy the series.

It received generally favorable reviews, was later released on other online markets, and aired on Canadian television network and YTV.

As they get closer, Atlanna's necklace begins to glow and a surge of light and energy erupts from the ocean, causing cyclones which bring their plane down.

The Coast Guard picks up an unidentified man floating in the Bermuda Triangle and pleading to warn Orin.

Breaking free using a flask of water to enhance his strength, Arthur destroys Nadia by putting a spear through her head.

Ideas for future episodes focused on environmental threats, such as "ocean polluters" and "evil oil companies".

The episode featured Arthur Curry (Alan Ritchson) coming to Smallville to stop an underwater weapons project being developed by LuthorCorp.

"Aqua" became the highest rated episode for Smallville that season, but was never meant to be a backdoor pilot for an Aquaman series.

[8] Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, the creators of Smallville, also considered a series featuring Lois Lane, but felt more confident about Aquaman.

[11] The role of Arthur Curry was originally given to Will Toale, after Gough and Millar saw over 400 candidates from England, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Ving Rhames, Amber McDonald, Denise Quiñones, Rick Peters, and Lou Diamond Phillips filled in the rest of the regular cast members.

[17] Kenny Johnson, who briefly appears as the Sheriff in the pilot's opening, guest starred in the season five episode "Mortal".

[18] Production was based in North Miami, Florida;[19] filming began in March 2006 with an estimated budget of $7 million.

[21] Entity FX, the firm which did the special effects for Smallville since its second season, was contracted to work on the Aquaman pilot.

Gough said in an interview: "The implication when a network doesn't pick up a show is that the pilot sucks and that's not the case.

[31] The pilot became one of the first shows offered by Warner Brothers on the iTunes Store (available only to US customers) for $1.99, under the title Aquaman on July 25, 2006.

[38] Canadian television network YTV aired the pilot as part of their "Superhero Saturday" on June 9 the same year.

[39][40] Warner Home Video in association with Best Buy released the pilot as a promotional DVD on November 11, bundling it together with selected Smallville season sets.

[41] Warner Bros. attached it as a bonus feature to the Blu-ray release of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths in February 2009.

The pilot was found comparable in quality to Smallville,[43] with suggestions that Aquaman was indeed worthy of a place on The CW's schedule.