Mera

Mera was attacked by a powerful, mysterious figure who demanded she lead him to Xebel. She escaped and went to Xebel to warn them, arriving to discover that her father, the king, had died and the new king was Nereus, her former fiancée. Mera desperately warned that the attacker claimed himself to be the Dead King—the first King of Atlantis. Nereus and the Xebelians agreed to serve the Dead King, while Mera and Aquaman opposed him. The Dead King and the Xebelians conquered Atlantis, and Nereus offered to spare Mera if she married him, but she refused. Breaking loose, she and Aquaman defeated the Dead King and freed Atlantis. In the aftermath, she invited Xebel to rejoin Atlantis as an ally.

When Atlantis rose above the sea, Aquaman and Mera not only had to keep their people alive, but they also had to convince the surface world that it was not an attack. While the Justice League was able to keep a tense peace, the Suicide Squad was secretly sent to sink Atlantis. Mera and Aquaman were able to fight them off and find a safe way to return Atlantis beneath the sea using an ancient mystic artifact. But this incident convinced them that better relations between Atlantis and the surface were needed. They established an Atlantean Embassy in Aquaman's surface hometown, Amnesty Bay, and Mera became the Atlantean Ambassador.

Mera became allies with a number of other heroes, including members of the Justice League. But her first priority was always Atlantis. During the Infinite Crisis, the out-of-control spirit of divine vengeance known as The Spectre attacked Atlantis, killing many, including Aquaman. A devastated Mera tried to keep her kingdom together. When the Black Lanterns resurrected heroes and villains as reanimated undead, Mera had to face her undead husband in battle. Mera, bristling with anger at the desecration of Aquaman, was recruited into the Red Lanterns, who are fueled by rage. As a Red Lantern, she helped defeat the Black Lanterns, and in the white light of creation that resulted, Aquaman was restored to life.

Three alien gods called the Triumvirate, who were imprisoned eons ago by the Atlantean wizard-king Arion, escaped their confinement and attacked Atlantis with the aid of Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom. Among the Legion's members was Aquaman's old enemy, Black Manta. Mera made the decision to free Aquaman's half-brother, Ocean Master, from the royal dungeon where he'd been imprisoned for treason and ask for his help. Ocean Master's vast knowledge of Atlantean history proved useful. He helped Mera and Aquaman find Arion's hidden weapons, which Mera used to psychically reach the Triumvirate and negotiate peace.

Mera ruled with wisdom and kindness, acting to improve the lives of Atlantis's lowest citizens. More tradition-minded Atlanteans were offended by this, and Ocean Master led a rebellion against the throne. Mera and Aquaman retreated to Amnesty Bay, where they lived among surface people until the Frost King attacked Atlantis while the new regime was still off-balance. Mera and Aquaman journeyed to the kingdom of the Fire Trolls, underwater beings who lived in tunnels below Atlantis, hoping to recruit them as allies. Initially, they refused, but after witnessing Mera's aquakinesis, they were impressed and agreed to follow her. Together, they defeated the Frost King and reclaimed their throne in Atlantis.