Current Events
Murk is currently involved in the investigation concerning who tries to frame Atlantis for the attack on USS Ponchartrain.
Creation
Murk was created by Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier. He made his first appearance in Aquaman #17, the epilogue to the Throne of Atlantis.
Major Story Arcs
The New 52
Throne of Atlantis Aftermath
In the events of Throne of Atlantis, Murk was the leader of a frontline army in the attack on the surface world. He is only seen in cameo on most splash pages of the Atlantean army. After the war, Aquaman regained the position as king of Atlantis. During one of their underwater missions, Murk accompanied Arthur and a group of Atlanteans to stop Captain Moller from illegal whaling and the use of Atlantean weaponry. Murk was ready to kill one of Moller’s crew but Aquaman demanded him to stop. The Sea Devils then boarded the ship and confront Aquaman. However, Dane Dorrance gets too close to Aquaman provoking Murk into taking action by shooting him. Aquaman then yelled at Murk for what he had done. Murk then goes on to tell Arthur that he has protected the nation of Atlantis and defended King Orm against the Fire-Trolls and Deep Six, but if given orders, he’ll refrain from protecting Arthur.
Death of a King
In Aquaman #18, Murk informs Aquaman that they left the humans “relatively” unharmed, even though blood was shed. Having only visited the surface world couple times, Murk is still skeptical and thinks that they are only dangerous to each other rather than Atlantis. However, Aquaman explains to Murk that not all humans are like the ones he has encountered so far and that there is a good side to humanity. Later, Tula meets up with Murk, who told her to ask Arthur about what’s going to happen to Orm, and tells him that Arthur assures her that the surface world will not harm Orm. However, Murk is hesitant to accept Arthur’s reassurance, and informs to Tula that Orm is always going to be his king and they cannot trust Arthur. He goes on to tell her that the Atlantean laws were written before the surface-dwellers were considered a dangerous threat to them and that it’s only a matter of time before the violence they inflict on themselves will somehow find it’s way to Atlantis. Murk eventually tells Tula that the only way to save Orm is to go up to the surface world and rescue him themselves.With the aid from Tula and Swatt, Murk rises out of the water onto the surface world to rescue Orm from imprisonment at Belle Reve prison.
When news of an attack on Atlantis reach the group, they abandon their attempts of freeing Orm and return to Atlantis to aid in the fight against The Dead King and Scavenger‘s forces. The forces of Aquaman with the aid of the Drift and Murk manage to defeat The Dead King and restore Atlantis.
Exiled
Murk and the Drift accompanied Aquaman when he first encountered the invasion by the hidden dimension of Thule later when he left to investigate on his own. After Siren replaced Mera as regent of Atlantis, the Drift questioned what was going on, but finally trusted Aquaman and helped him and Mera to fight their way to Thule and seal the dimension for good.
Dead Water
Murk and the Drift accompany Aquaman and Mera at the “Amnest Bay See Festival”, where they get hands on experience with the surface world and some much needed down time after the events of Exiled.
Murk is in charge of security provisions during the opening of the new Atlantean dry land embassy, called Spindrift Station. Later when Dead Water is held at the embassy and escapes Murk, Mera and Tempest try to stop him but fail, though they manage to prevent any cassualties.
DC Rebirth
The Drowning
Murk’s story continues directly from The New 52 to DC Rebirth (as is the Aquaman book) with his part in the Drowning. Murk maintains his possition as commander of the Atlantean Royal Guard and security chief for Spindrift Station and during Black Manta‘s attack he is responsible for evacuating civilians to safety. Later when Aquaman is in Washington with Mera, he and the Drift are sent by regent Tula to investigate the wreck of the USS Ponchartrain, where he discovers that the attack was staged in order to frame Atlantis. The Drift is ambushed by US special forces who arrived at the scene, but Murk and the Drift quickly disengage and easily evade the surface troops, as instructed by Tula. In the aftermath of the Drowning, Murk reports to Aquaman what he discovered on the site of USS Ponchartrain’s sinking and that it was staged to make it look like Atlantis was the perpetrator of the attack.
Powers & Abilities
Murk is an Atlantean and possesses their typical superhuman abilities, albeit being bigger, stronger and tougher than most of them.
Superhuman Strength
Murk has shown he is strong enough to casually lift an entire steel cargo container filled with weaponry. He also ripped a door from a car by accident while trying to open it. He seems stronger than most other Atlanteans as shown when he briefly fought Swatt.
Enhanced Durability
Murk like all Atlanteans has an enhanced level of durability. He was able to withstand Swatt’s electrical attack.
Underwater Adaptation
He can function normally underwater and is able to withstand the high pressures and extreme temperatures of the deep.
Trained Warrior
Murk is an elite trained warrior and one of the best Atlantis has to offer. He trained in the Fire Pits (and survived) in order to be able to protect Atlantis. He can also operate Atlantrean high tech weapons. He is also a member of the Drift, the Atlantean elite special forces.
Leadership
He is the leader of the Men-of-War, the front line army of Atlantis and the Commander of the Atlantean Royal Guard.
Weaponry & Equipment
Men-of-War Armor
He wears the typical Men-of-War armor which consists of some protective pieces, a helmet and a harpoon-like extension on his arm. It’s designed for melee combat. The suit bears a resemblance to Aquaman’s armor during the Peter David run in the 90s.