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    Mera

    Character » Mera appears in 995 issues.

    Mera of Xebel is an Atlantean and the famous love interest and wife of Aquaman. She hails from the penal colony of Xebel in the Bermuda Triangle of Atlantean exiles and was tasked with the mission to kill the King of Atlantis - before she abandoned her quest when she met and fell in love with Aquaman. Mera has been at Aquaman's side ever since, proving to be his most valuable partner in battle and in life. She has also spent time leading Atlantis and helping Xebelians.

    Mera and the Mermaids - Selkies

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    RazzaTazz

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    Edited By RazzaTazz

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    Continuing with the comparisons of mermaids from legend to Mera (still based on the Amanda Adams book) the comparison now falls to the Selkies, a creture which as the author states is not really a mermaid, but which strangely draws stronger comparisons to Mera.  A selkie is a mythical creature that is neither part fish nor half anything.  Rather it exists as a human on land and as a seal in the water.  The selkies are usually represented as females, and despite being dedicated primarily to the ocean will bathe on land from time to time.  When doing so they remove their skins and the adept or lucky man can capture it and make hold the sea borne woman as his marital captive.  The selkie is still a loving wife, but most of all a loving mother, but given the opportunity to return to the sea does not hesitate when she can return to her skin.  Even so after all the time spent on land she will still love her children, even if she will not return.  There are thus tales of escaped selkies who provide bountiful fishing hauls for their children (though generally at the hands of the men that captured them) or of painting the sea a specific colour for their children to show them their love.  Mera is as always not half fish either, but the connection here would be that to her son and to her husband.  One of the defining moments of her life (at least before the new 52 reboot) is the death of her son which impacted also her marriage with Arthur.  As this pertains to the selkies is that they are almost always depicted as losing children, either their children on land or their children at sea, and thus they exist in a near constant state of broken-hearted motherhood, much as Mera does.  The other connection to Mera is the rejection of land.  Mera accepts land only because Arthur is there, without him it is a place to be avoided.  This is a bit of an inversion of the usual tale, as it is her love that keeps her there, but she is nonetheless out of her preferred element when she is on land.  Thus far Mera finds her closest mermaid kin in the selkie, not a mermaid per se, but one which holds certain characteristics of the mythical creatures.  
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    Doctor!!!!!

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    #1  Edited By Doctor!!!!!

    One thing I know for sure about them both is that they are extremely beautiful, well... then again, Silkies, I saw the Colin Farrel Movie some years ago, so I understood their mythology, they do have something in common, except the shedding.

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    jrock85

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    #2  Edited By jrock85

    Brilliant observation.

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