Aquaman - advice needed

I've been reading a lot of DC comic books lately, and I've been intetersted in Aquaman. I am aware of his reputation as "nobody's favorite superhero, but I liked him in Brightest Day.

I'd like to read of more his titles, but I know jack all about DCU, especially with this multiverse thing and all, so I would like to ask for advice - what Aquaman story arcs ad titles would you recommend?

edited 9th Dec '12 5:47:10 PM by UseYourDelusion

Honestly? Aquaman was pretty awful, until the latest volume, it started in September 2011, and only has 14 issues so far and is fantastic!

The thing is that DC has had trouble picking a direction for Aquaman. They'll try something, and each time it peters out they go in an entirely new direction.

Is Aquaman a shy, awkward guy who's trying to fit in? The current series by Johns, as well as JLA: Year One, portray him this way, and the Johns series has been popular because of it.

Is Aquaman a gruff, stoic warrior king with a mean streak and a lot on his mind? This was Peter David's rendition of the character in the 90's, and it's one of the most fondly remembered dark 90's changes.

Then you had the 2000's attempts at revamping the character, with the water-hand, Sub Diego, the King Arthur riff.

He's a hard character to write, and different interpretations of him emphasize different aspects.

Right now, though, you can't go wrong with Geoff Johns' most recent Aquaman graphic novels. JLA: Year One is a good further read if you want a similar portrayal of the character.

There was that time he beat up Namor.

Just pickup the first Nu52 trade and you'll be fine. It's a great book explains itself very well and is genuinely entertaining.

I'll give N52 version a try. I have to admit that I really, really hated most of the DC Reboot, or at least what they did to Batfamily, but that doesn't mean that nothing good could come out of it. Besides, Geoff Johns is a pretty awesome writer and I got interested in DC heroes because of his work, so I think I'll read it.

If you're not afraid of older stuff, I'd recommend trying to track down the Aquaman stuff drawn by Jim Aparo back in the '70's. You could probably find a "Showcase Presents: Aquaman" collection or some such. It reads a touch old fashioned now, but it's worth looking at. You'll find the original versions of a lot of the characters they're playing with now.

I thought I'd add my two cents to Aquaman, and this seems like a good topic to do it.

I like the reboot Aquaman version quite a lot, because it feels a bit more unique and well developed than some of the other takes on his character I've seen. And most of those takes all heavily focus on him being the King of Atlantis. I'm sure I would like Peter David's run with him though.

I realize that he is a king in the reboot now as well, but Geoff Johns really took his time to get him there. I think what really helps is how his origin is interpreted. It really feels like Arthur's life on the surface and his human father has had a much greater affect on him than in past incarnations in and out of comics. I haven't followed Aquaman too closely before; the only Aquaman comic I really read before the reboot was Sword of Atlantis, which I liked, but that wasn't about Arthur.

My point is, before this reboot it never seemed like Aquaman was very human. To put it briefly, he seemed a bit like a male version of Wonder Woman, someone from a secret, hidden world out of touch with the rest of the modern world, at least at first. I know that Post Crisis Aquaman's origin was changed from him being half-human to him being the son of an Atlantean wizard. But the impression I get from even Silver Age Aquaman and adaptations of that is that his whole life was focused on being King of Atlantis with very little contact with the surface. It just seemed like his human side never even mattered.

For example, let's look at his recent adaptation in animation. We've got his appearances in the Diniverse with Superman TAS and Justice League. There he is very much a King, he controls massive army, and he seems to be very distant from the surface world, etc. Essentially, to me, he seems a lot like Namor, and I can't say I really like that. And even in Batman the Brave and the Bold, as entertaining and awesome as he is there, it's pretty clear that he's spent most of his life under the sea.

But with the reboot, Johns not only uses his silver age origin, he takes good advantage of the story potential it has. His time growing up on the surface really shaped his life, and finding Atlantis and the origins of his other half was a big life changing thing for him. I think the Aquaman's origin is like a mix between Superman's and Wonder Woman's, but it still feels unique in comparison. Like Superman, he's kind of from a different world but raised on "earth," as it were, except by his real father instead of adopted parents. Like Wonder Woman, he becomes a superhero when he discovers this other world, but in his case he's discovering the secret, hidden world, rather than emerging from it.

From there it's made clear that Arthur is a guy who is stuck between two worlds he doesn't quite fit in, but worlds that he will still defend. What I really like is how this version of Aquaman is not like Namor, he does care a lot about the surface and will defend it from his own Atlantean people, which is most definitely not the typical type of Namor depiction. And he's actually quite familiar with the surface world unlike Bat B Aquaman. This Arthur probably has eaten apple pie plenty of times.

And all this is made pretty clear in the first issue when we have Arthur just trying to have a meal in a seafood restaurant. He may be King of Atlantis, but he was still raised like a regular human. It shows that he has a degree of humility to go with his humanity. That was a very important scene for me, since I can't really imagine any other (serious) incarnation of Aquaman doing that. Brave and the Bold Aquaman DID do that of course, but I think you get what I mean.

Anyway, new 52 Aquaman just feels more human and relatable to me than Aquaman has in the past, and that's why I like the series a lot. He isn't completely foreign to the rest of the world, like Diana was before she became Wonder Woman, which I really like. And I like the drama of him trying to fit between his two worlds; because of his powers, he doesn't fit in on the surface, but because of his surface upbringing, he doesn't fit in under the sea either. The Aquaman of the past always fit in with Atlanteans (relatively speaking, and yes I'm aware of the blond hair thing). But like I keep trying to say, this Aquaman feels more like a superhero like Superman first and a king second.

Also, Mera is really awesome in the reboot.

edited 1st May '13 8:21:12 AM by StarOutlaw

But how many variations of the "talks to fish" jokes have they burned through so far?

In the reboot? Quite a few, but not every issue. And I think some of them do kind of work, like when the media pokes fun at him getting stuck in a desert. Definitely more than others, but most of it's early on, and I think having Aquaman being the butt of so many jokes actually sort of pays off narrative wise once Atlantis invades land; it helps demonstrate what a significant change in attitude the public has towards Aquaman when they stop joking about him and start to fear him.

Here is this "superhero" whom everyone either assumes can only breathe underwater and talk to fish, or think he's useless and redundant on a team with the likes of Superman even if he has super strength. Then suddenly they see him knock Superman around and find out that Atlantis is very real and very dangerous after it floods major cities and kills probably thousands with a very pissed off army/navy. And Aquaman leads Atlantis. That whole incident is supposed to be this big wake up call to the public bout just how dangerous Aquaman and his kind can actually be. The jokes do serve a kind of purpose to the story, whereas they could have just been a running gag and nod to his Never Live It Down status and nothing more.

Without the joking being there, the impact wouldn't have felt as great, at least in universe. At least when people were joking about him they found Aquaman non-threatening, but after what happens things get worse and Arthur doesn't feel like he can live on the surface anymore, which is probably part of the reason he goes back to the sea.

edited 17th Jun '13 6:05:01 PM by StarOutlaw

*claps*

That was beautiful.

Speaking of which, can anyone point me to a resource where I can find some proof of Aquamans feats?

I'm compiling some information on Aquaman for a popular fictional character based combat show, and while I've got some idea of a lot of Aquamans feats and abilities ^note I've pegged him as being able to lift an oil platform, being able to swim faster than Superman can fly, able to control all forms of organic life that evolved from or spent millenia in the sea on any planet, being able to withstand being shot by a tank, being almost immune to Amazo using heat vision, being able to summon water and lightning with his trident and being immune to magic, able to manipulate water and to use the death touch with the Waterbearers hand, I can only find visual confirmation for a few of these things^note The oil rig and the controlling of sea life. Anyone know a good place to look for images of the rest?

edited 13th Apr '14 4:29:26 PM by CommaParenthises

google images—search "Aquaman throws a polar bear."

Comicvine means I just keep getting the same set of images over and over, none of which are relevant to the feat in question.

I don't follow. Has Comicvine taken over your Google search?

I would start watching some Brave and the Bold on Netflix. By far my favorite Aquaman portryal.

comicvine dominates the first 7 pages of Google image results of searches relating to Aquaman

There is actually an old episode of the Super Friends where Aquaman displays super strength by bending the bars of a cage in which he has been imprisoned. I remember it as being the first time I had ever seen any reference made to his strength.

Comicsvine doesn't do that for my google images search using that phrase—maybe switch to Yahoo search or one of the more obscure engines.

Check the DCAU's "Justice League", especially "The Terror Beyond", parts 1 & 2. Great Aquaman action in "warrior king" mode!