Lawbreakers operating in and around the ocean were getting tired of Aquaman spoiling their capers. To level the playing field, the notorious Dr. Krill developed a surgical procedure that would grant a human being all of the powers of a flying fish. Swimming champ turned career criminal Carter Bragg volunteered to undergo the treatment. Now able to breathe underwater, swim nearly as fast as the Marine Marvel, and take giant leaps into the air where even Aquaman couldn’t go, the Human Flying Fish was poised to be the terror of the Seven Seas!

Aquaman handed him over to the authorities five pages later.

The Human Flying Fish was included in a gallery of Aquaman’s greatest foes in DC Super-Stars #17, which led Li’l Preterite to believe that the Underwater Ace and the Evil Exocoetidae clashed many times over the years. But aside from his origin tale in 1960, Bragg only other 20th Century appearance was in the non-canonical Super Friends comic. In this two-part story, the Super Friends’ enemies took on teen sidekicks of their own; THFF was stuck with a kid codenamed “the Sardine”.

Thirty years later, DC launched Sword of Atlantis starring a new Aquaman also named Arthur Curry who may or not have been the original. A Human Flying Fish also named Carter Bragg who may or may not have been the original appeared during this run, which had far fewer readers than Super Friends did.

The Human Flying Fish has yet to turn up since the New 52, but I’m sure if he does it’ll be as some kind of edgy serial killer who sews fish scales to his own skin or something.

May your spirits soar as high as a flying fish today!