The Lost City of Atlantis is one of the most popular legends of ancient history. A few words in the texts of the Greek philosopher Plato have spawned millennia of speculation and searching by explorers and profiteers. Comic book fans haven't had to go anywhere but their local comic shop. Atlantis has been explored in depth in DC Comics as the home and kingdom of Aquaman.
Much of the in-universe history of Atlantis hadn't been explored until relatively recently. Much of it is still unknown to many fans, who may have first encountered it in the Aquaman movie. As it turns out, the history of the comic Atlantis is as strange as that of the legendary one.
10 Mythic Origin
Atlantis is one of the most famous myths of antiquity. The validity of its existence is up for debate, but not in the comics. The DC version of Atlantis first appeared back in the Golden Age in 1959, in issue #260 of Adventure Comics.
This came about ten years after the debut of the Marvel Comics version of the lost city, and decades after the introduction of Namor, a character many think that Aquaman borrows too heavily from. Much of the history and culture of Atlantis would not be explored in DC Comics until decades later.
9 The Atlantis Chronicles
Until the early 90s, much of the history of Atlantis was a mystery to fans. That changed when legendary comics writer Peter David, famous for his run on The Incredible Hulk, filled in a lot of the blanks. David devoted an entire mini-series, The Atlantis Chronicles, to exploring the backstory and culture of Atlantis.
A great deal of the mythology of the city and its people that played a huge role in the recent Aquaman film was created here. David answered questions on how Atlantis sank, how they came to be, and who made up the royal lineage that led to Aquaman.
8 It's Magic
David established that Atlantis had existed for millions of years. This immediately set up an incongruity with human history (as it's known) since Homo Sapiens did not emerge until the last two or three hundred thousand years. The solution was magic.
The early rise of Atlantis, and its eventual fall, is closely tied to the concept of mana, or magical energy. In the ancient past, mana existed much more pervasively than it does now (though it remains a major element of the DC Universe). This allowed the Atlantean culture to prosper in extraordinary ways.
7 Conclave Of Twelve
Atlantis proved to be a very robust empire before the dawn of civilization as its properly understood. The island of Atlantis was the epicenter of a global empire that included twelve different city-states around the world. Each of these city-states was represented by a ruler in the Conclave of Twelve.
Each of these rulers was also a sorcerer. One person ruled the conclave and they hailed from the first and most powerful city-state in the empire, the City of the Golden Gate. The Conclave was plagued by internal power struggles and outright war.
6 Twelve Crystals of the Zodiac
One of the biggest wars in the early history of Atlantis had to do with the Twelve Crystals of the Zodiac. Some of the most powerful magical artifacts in the DC Universe, the crystals became the focal point of an epic power struggle between Queen Majiestra and her husband Calculha.
Majiestra sought to control the entire empire with the crystals, through which the magical energy of the twelve city-states was gathered. She lost her bid for dominance and her husband gave up his own life to stop her, setting Atlantis on a path toward eventual decline.
5 The Final Frontier
Atlantis was a hidden empire of extraordinary power and advanced technology, not unlike Wakanda. In the aftermath of the bloody wars of succession, many Atlanteans sought refuge elsewhere. That elsewhere turned out to be outer space. Using magic to build and fuel their spaceships, many Atlanteans left earth to explore space.
These Atlanteans eventually settled and evolved along different biological and cultural paths. Some of them became a star-spanning empire, though they lost their connection to earth and the mana.
4 Sinking And Split
The people that stayed in Atlantis would eventually lose their connection to mana as well. The magical energy eventually ebbed and and their kingdom, built almost entirely on magic, collapsed. Much of it sank into the sea, lining up with the popular version of the myth from antiquity.
Most of the survivors stayed in the newly underwater city and it would be a long, long time before any real sense of recovery. Others fled the city and some ended up in another lost world in DC Comics. Some Atlanteans left for Skartaris, the kingdom beneath the Earth's crust home to Warlord.
3 Sub Diego
The sinking of Atlantis would not be the first time any part of the world would take a plunge beneath the ocean. The sunken city eventually expanded to become an empire again and in more modern times, that empire grew to include a big chunk of the city of San Diego.
Part of the city fell into the sea. Lucky for the people that lived there, they developed the ability to breathe underwater. Among them was Lorena Marquez, who became Aquagirl, an eventual member of the Teen Titans. Sub Diego, as it was known, eventually returned to the surface.
2 The Trench
Atlantis fragmented into several smaller cities after it sunk. One of these fragments became The Trench. The Trench is a frightening locale deep in the ocean at the Mariana Trench populated by fish-like creatures that most people don't want to hang around with.
The Trench featured in one of the most visually dynamic set pieces of the Aquaman movie and proved so popular that it's going to be the subject of its own spinoff in the DCEU. The movie will not be a prequel, but will take place between the first and second Aquaman movies.
1 Xebel
Another fragment of old Atlantis is the region of Xebel. It's easily one of the most important as it was home to Mera, the new queen of all Atlantis. Mera is one of the most powerful people in the world above or below the water and with good reason.
The people of Xebel possess a lot of abilities like superhuman strength and stamina, but the big one is water control. Xebel is a former penal colony located in the Bermuda Triangle. The relationship between Xebel and Atlantis was so frosty that Mera was actually sent to kill Aquaman when they first met. Lucky for both it turned out different.