Hila is the identical twin sister of Mera and a sister-in-law to Aquaman. A born trouble-maker, Hila was the black sheep of the family. The “bad girl” inevitably fell for a “bad boy” by the name of Kandor. Given their reputation, the duo were easily framed for a crime and sentenced to exile.
A few years later, they were on Earth. Kandor was on a quest to locate the Golden Eels and acquire their powers. He had taken to using mind-control to keep the bored Hila by his side. He had her set-up a trap for Aquaman, intending to interrogate him for the location of the Eels. Hila received some affection from Aquaman before Mera caught them in the act. Then she lured him to a confrontation with Kandor. Actually Hila had planned for the two men to knock each other out, leaving her free.
Hila arrived on Atlantis and impersonated Mera. But acts of public adoration for the Queen by the Atlanteans, including a birthday celebration, got her feeling guilty. She tearfully admitted the truth and returned to rescue Arthur. Kandor had gained the upper hand in the battle and was ready to literally crush his opponent. When Hila rescued her brother-in-law and confronted her lover. The two fought using their hard-water powers.
Meanwhile Professor Xeron/Kreon contacted Mera and restored her lost powers. The second sister joined the Fray. But the general confusion allowed Kandor to place one of the sisters under his mind-control again. Aquaman was then in a new predicament. The two identical sisters were fighting over his fate, one trying to kill him and the other to save him. The mind-controlled one lost the fight.
Kandor was worried his Hila was hurt. Only to learn he had made the same mistake Arthur did. He was unable to tell them apart. Mera was the sister first mind-controlled and then defeated. Hila was the defender of Aquaman and the victor. The four of them then had to join forces against the Armadillo Men. created by Kandor to be his private army, the genetic constructs had rebelled. The two sisters and their respective consorts were able to defeat them.
A tired but healthy Kandor released Mera and expressed his love of Mera. Then the four were joined by Aqualad. He had used the contact with Dimension Aqua to ask some questions. Hila and Kandor’s innocence of their original crime had been proven some time ago. Their names were clear and their sentence had been canceled. The other members of their race were simply unable to locate them and recall them. The duo returned home but their subsequent activities are unknown.
Brightest Day
Hila is seen in the Brightest Day series in pursuit of both Aqualad and Aquaman for reasons as of yet unknown. She briefly engaged in combat with Black Manta as well. She is later reealed to be the mother of Aqualad. She and Black Manta had a romantic affair which left her pregnant with Aqualad, but she left the child on the surface world.
Personality
Hila is presented as the black sheep of the Xebel royal family, yet she is a talented military leader. Both Hila and her twin sister, Mera, received the same education, which could have resulted in a close relationship during their childhood. However, Hila maintained her resolve to kill the king of Atlantis, in contrast to Mera, who fell in love with him. To Hila, Mera’s actions are seen as a sign of weakness and a betrayal.
Hila always felt jealous of the attention Mera received, being considered the perfect princess. Mera, a natural-born Xebelian of the royal family, had the ability to manipulate water through hydrokinesis and was considered a genius in this regard. Hila, on the other hand, was not as talented as her twin sister. To compensate for this, Hila chose to study dark magic, showcasing her intellect by mastering these skills. She dyed her hair purple to differentiate herself from her identical sister and as an act of rebellion against the royal family.
Moreover, Hila often behaves like a trickster in stories, impersonating her sister Mera to tarnish her reputation. This behavior reinforces the image of Hila as a ambitious, who seeks to overcome her limitations and rival her sister, even through unconventional means.
Powers and Abilities
Hila possesses Atlantean physiology with attributes such as enhanced strength, reflexes, durability, night vision, and amphibious adaptability.
Sharp intellect: Hila is a user of occultism, a knowledge of Atlantis that cannot be learned by just anyone, allowing her to deceive with great skill.
Magic: As a shapeshifter, Hila is capable of using magic.
Shapeshifting: As a shapeshifter, she is a master of illusion and deception. This is evident as she hides her natural hair color, which is identical to her sister’s, allowing Hila to look exactly like her sister.
Hydrokinesis: Unlike the rest of her family, Hila did not naturally inherit the ability to manipulate water like her sister. Instead, she gained this ability through magic provided by the sorcerers of Thule, enhanced to rival Mera’s. She is capable of creating objects from hard water, increasing the water density strong enough to trap a Super-Atlantean, and extracting blood from a person’s body.
Illusion casting: As a shapeshifter, she is capable of casting realistic illusions.
Deception: Skilled in the art of deception, she successfully impersonated her sister to unite Atlantis against Aquaman, convincing them that he was a prophesied destroyer of all.
Military strength: She is a skilled swordswoman, ambushing her enemies with her armed military strength.
Other Media
Animation
DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis
The movie starts with a flashback of Princess Hila with her sister, Princess Mera. The two girls are on their own after their father has been dethroned and send in jail. Hila promises her sister, Mera that she can help them get a new home if she helps her to take over Atlantis. (The movie implies that Hila stole the book of magic from Xebel to help her in her quest). However, their plan was interrupted by Wonder Woman who kickes the book into the trench lair. After years pass, Hawkgirl finds the book of Magic, Both Raven and Wonder Woman recognises it. Raven goes on to say that the book is the most powerful magical artifact ever created. The team creates a safe to hold the book so that no one can get to it. When they ask Raven to seal it with some magic, the book opens and send a signal to Siren. The princess and her sister Mera come to the school to retrieve the book. They defeated the heroes of Super Hero High. The pair goes and overthrow arthur, but Mera does not feel that what Hila is doing is right. Hila sensing that Mera’s heart is not in the fight, arrest her sister. Mera is rescued by BumbleBee who then calls on the rest of the heroes for help. Wonder Woman and Mera fight Hila and imprisone her until King Arthur banishes her back to Xebel. It is worth noting that Siren does not seem to posse her aquakinesis powers. Instead, she relies on the book of magic to fight her rivals. That could be due to the plot of the movie.
Games
DC Legends
Siren: Assassin of the Deep Sea is a playable character in the game. She is a Villain with Mystical affinity.
Her bio says: A fierce warrior Siren uses her cunning and mystical powers to battle her twin sister Mera and her husband Aquaman. Like her twin sister Mera Hila was raised in the exile realm of Xebel and trained as an assassin. Possessing the same power to control and shape hard water Hila was always more the trouble-maker than her sister. After Mera was sent to assassinate Aquaman but instead sided with him Hila became Siren and led a Xebel death squad to finish the job. Cunning ruthless and deceptive she is not above impersonating her sister or using her feminine charms in the pursuit of her mission.
DC Unchained
Siren is a playable character in this upcoming ios game. At the moment this game has only been released in Asia.