One of Aquaman’s most frequent allies over the years has been Nuidis Vulko, the scientific adviser of Atlantis and one of the city’s most powerful political figures. First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #73 in September 1967, Vulko was the creation of Bob Haney and Howard Purcell.
Vulko was a friend to King Trevis, and was present at Aquaman’s birth. After Aquaman returned to Atlantis, they meet again, both held in prison. After Aquaman escapes and claims the Atlantean throne, Vulko is made his regent. Later appearances saw Vulko acting as a doctor and academic, and he later is King of Atlantis himself for a short period of time.
Vulko is later killed during the Spectre’s attack on Atlantis, which destroys the entire city and kills most of its people; his ghost later appears and acts as a mentor to Aquaman. When DC relaunched their books with The New 52 reboot/retcon, Vulko is brought back. In this continuity, Vulko is a former Atlantean academic who had been forced to flee the city after the Ocean Master had attempted to arrest him. He eventually meets Arthur Curry, who is looking for a way to enter Atlantis. Vulko then assists Aquaman in reclaiming the throne of Atlantis as its true king. Over the years since then, multiple threats have come to Atlantis seeking to claim the throne, and Vulko has defended the city and assisted Aquaman nearly every time.
The character has appeared as an ally of Aquaman in multiple forms of other media, such as on the animated shows The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and Young Justice. In the DC Extended Universe, he is portrayed by Willem Dafoe; while he makes his true debut in the Aquaman film, he had actually filmed scenes for Justice League that were eventually cut from the final film. With a history that spans more than 50 years in comic books, it’s clear that Vulko will likely continue to be seen by Aquaman’s side for many years to come.