Aquaman is a 2016 comic book by DC Comics, written by Dan Abnett and Brad Walker, and drawn by Walker, Jesus Merino and Phil Briones, as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch.
The series is a direct continuation of Dan Abnett's New 52 run, dealing with Aquaman's struggles as he tries to conciliate his duties as a king with his activities as a superhero. The politics within the kingdom of Atlantis are notably the driving force for most of the plot, with the Atlanteans' centuries-long xenophobia and social apartheid contributing to growing tensions not only with the surface world, but among themselves.
In the first arc, the King of the Seas wants to bring peace to the surface and undersea worlds, but has to deal with the return of Black Manta, who takes over the secret society N.E.M.O. and plans to use its assets to instigate a war between Atlantis and the rest of the planet. This is further complicated by the actions of the Deluge, an Atlantean terrorist organization who intends to dethrone Aquaman at all costs, eventually plunging the kingdom into a civil war.
Aquaman's bride, Mera, would see a rise in prominence later in the run, eventually becoming the protagonist of her own mini-series, titled "Mera: Queen of Atlantis". Said series follows the heroine's adventures in the context of the Atlantean civil war, and also features the return of major antagonist Ocean Master, making his first appearance after a five years long absence.
Abnett's run ended in the forty-first issue, which was a tie-in to Drowned Earth, a Bat Family Crossover with Justice League (2018). He was succeeded by Kelly Sue DeConnick.
DeConnick's run was marked by an attempt to approximate the comics to the DC Extended Universe, most notably by having Aquaman receive tattoos that resembled the ones sported by his film counterpart. She also expanded on the series' mythology by introducing the Sea Gods, Aquaman's new allies who hail from various pantheons. Additionally, Jackson Hyde (Black Manta's son) and Andy Curry (Aquaman and Mera's daughter) finally join the cast after much Foreshadowing in earlier chapters of DC Rebirth.
The book was cancelled in the sixty-fifth issue, which hastily wrapped-up lingering plotlines and concluded the series with Aquaman and Mera's wedding, and had one additional issue featuring a tie-in to the Endless Winter event.
Aquaman (Rebirth) provides examples of:
- 0% Approval Rating: By the end of Rebirth, the Atlanteans have deposed Arthur and elected Mera to be their queen.
- Aborted Arc: During Abnett's run, the Widowhood predicts Aquaman will die in the near future and Mera, consumed by grief, will ravage the world with a massive deluge. Though the first part of the prophecy becomes the basis of DeConnick's run, Mera's supposed descent into insanity is promptly forgotten.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Mera is about to deliver a killing blow to Corum Rath, but Aquaman stops her because, thanks to his aquatelepathy, he has figured out that the villain has mutated into a creature that is more fish than human. Despite all the atrocities Rath had committed, his state is so pitiable the heroes allow him to leave.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Black Manta singlehandedly took the reigns of a Nebulous Evil Organization from its previous C.E.O. for his own, all for the sake of escalating his war on Aquaman and any dreams of peaceful coexistence with the surface world he had.Black Manta: Long live the King. Any Questions?
◊ - Bait-and-Switch: In the Rebirth series, one of the Atlanteans who find Mera suffocating due to the magic of the Crown of Thorns says that they should take her to the king. However, rather than taking her to King Rath, they bring her to King Shark.
- Break Them by Talking: One of the rare heroic examples in the new Rebirth titles, Aquaman actually managed to debase his greatest enemy Black Manta by stating how he wastes his life on pointless anger while Arthur is constantly reinventing himself.
- Brought Down to Normal: Mera tries to traverse the Crown of Thorns by using a damaged amulet, but suffers a magical injury in the process and becomes a regular human. Stuck in the underwater city, she survives thanks to the combined efforts of King Shark, Aquaman and the Widowhood, and is taken back to the surface so she can regain her powers.
- The Cavalry:
- Aquaman and Jurok launch a desperate attack to destroy Corum Rath's Crown of Thorns, but are overwhelmed by his forces. When all seems to be lost, King Shark and the Ninth Tride arrive to assist him, turning the tide of the battle.
- During the final battle against Corum Rath, Aquaman is severely wounded, Atlan's Trident is broken, and the heroes' forces are overwhelmed by the villain's undead monsters. Cue Mera arriving with Orm's Trident and the Xebellian army to save the day.
- Continuity Snarl: In 2019, Aquaman died and came back to life. Nothing weird about that, but DC told two parallel stories at the same time about how it happened. In the pages of Justice League, during the Drowned Earth event, Arthur and Black Manta both die when Aquaman makes a kamikaze attack on the Death Kraken, and Aquaman is subsequently brought back to life by the Anti-Monitor to serve as his agent, reuniting with the rest of the League during a time travel mission to Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, in his own comic, Aquaman was killed by Mera in a fit of rage when he reacts badly to her telling him she’s pregnant, he wakes up amnesiac on a mystical island full of ancient sea gods and has to go on a quest to restore his memories and come back to life, and returns by boat to Amnesty Bay. Also, in Aquaman #50, Manta shows up with no explanation how he survived or even any mention that he was ever dead. Both comics showed Arthur reuniting with Mera under completely different circumstances and with neither referencing the other. And just when you think that maybe Drowned Earth is supposed to be non-canon, Orm’s Year of the Villain special explicitly references it, which it has to, because if Drowned Earth didn’t happen, then Orm would still be in prison.
Justice League did try to reconcile the two plot lines by claiming that when Anti-Monitor sent Aquaman back to Earth from his headquarters, he crashed on the island and lost his memories, but that just raised further questions and didn’t change the fact that he still died in two completely different ways in two different books. - Cosmic Deadline: The Rebirth series was one of the many books hit by the infamous
DC Bloodbath of November 2020, where DC cancelled swathes of series and fired dozens of staffers with very short notice. That gave Kelly Sue DeConnick only a few issues to wrap up what was likely intended to be months worth of storylines, resulting in a happy ending that seemed very rushed and a more than a little forced. - Cyanide Pill: All N.E.M.O operative have a bit of Atlantean technology imbedded in their brain stem, triggered to go off in the event that sensitive intel is at risk upon capture by enemy forces. When triggered, this causes a coral-like implant to branch out of their bodies, bursting their skulls into bloody paste.
- Cycle of Revenge: Aquaman and Black Manta had been locked in this since the death of each others' fathers. Complicating matters is that Aquaman meant to kill Black Manta instead over the death of the former's father from an attack. Not only that, it turned out that Arthur's father died from a heart attack, meaning the whole thing could have been avoided. To his credit, Arthur tries to bury the hatchet and convince Manta to abandon his vendetta, knowing that revenge is meaningless. Unfortunately Manta won't give up his grudge, even when his own father in the form of a ship AI tries to as well.
- Demonic Possession: Corum Rath quickly goes over the edge after becoming king of Atlantis, as he unleashes ancient forms of magic that he doesn't have full control over. This culminates in him being possessed by the Abyssal Dark, an ancient demon that plagued Atlantis since its founding.
- Domed Hometown: The first thing Corum Rath does upon being crowned as the King of Atlantis is erect the Crown of Thorns, a magical dome that envelops the city and isolates it from the outside world.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Issue #65 may not conclude their story, but we see Arthur and Mera living with their baby Andy at the Curry lighthouse, and them finally getting married.
- Easy Evangelism: Shows up three times at the end of the Rebirth series as a consequence of the writers having to rush to complete the story after being cancelled at very short notice. First, Orm’s previously fanatically loyal followers are convinced to desert him entirely offscreen by a mute woman; meanwhile Vulko is able to show the ruling class the error of their ways in a single panel; finally the ultraconservative and authoritarian society of Atlantis accepts democracy after a single speech from Mera.
- Evolving Weapon: Atlan's trident is a symbol of the Atlantean monarchy, but otherwise is just a glorified spear. That changes after Corum Rath breaks the Atlantean magic seals, enabling the weapon to become a conduit and channel the city's mystical energies.
- Eye Scream:
- After Rath frees the Abyssal Dark, the seers from the Widowhood tear their own eyes out to prevent themselves from having traumatizing visions.
- Aquaman defeats the possessed Corum Rath by stabbing him in the right eye with the shattered hilt of Atlan's Trident.
- Fate Worse than Death: Corum Rath is left in a mutated state after being freed from his Demonic Possession. Since his neurological functions are now similar to a fish's, he becomes susceptible to Aquaman's telepathy, which compels him to leave Atlantis and relocate to the darkest depths of the ocean.
- The Fundamentalist: Atlantis is built upon the notions of fear, bigotry and Misanthrope Supreme ideals since before its sinking by King Atlan. About three thousand years later its people have reverted back to its surface hating ways with Corum Rath on the throne, a terrorist human hater who venomously detested Arthur for his land born background.
- Genius Loci: In Rebirth, Aquaman and Mera find a crevice leading to an Alien Sea planet dominated by sapient water. The same waterworld is also the Monster Progenitor turning those consumed by fear or rage into the rampaging sea beast Dead Water.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Ocean Master has Arthur pinned down in the cliffhanger of Rebirth #64, with the rest of Arthur's allies restrained by Orm's forces. He uses his telepathy to send out a distress call. Turns out this isn't one of his usual sealife summons, though. The rest of the Justice League comes to his aid instead. This also shows how far he's come since the Throne of Atlantis arc.
- Happily Married: By the end of the Rebirth run (issue #65), Aquaman and Mera are finally married once again.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Mera and Orm decide to ask Nereus for help to end the Atlantean civil war. The heroine leaves the two men alone, trusting her ally to knock some sense into her ex-fiancé, but this has catastrophic results, as Nereus preys on Orm's lust for power and twisted commitment to Atlantis, ultimately convincing him to turn on Mera.
- King Incognito: Arthur Crown of Atlantis now makes his home within the ninth tide after Corum takes the throne.
- Man of Kryptonite: The sea spirit Lernaea is made of water and can nullify Mera's water-controlling powers by outright stopping them or enveloping her within her body.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Most Atlanteans vehemently fear and hate the surface world as a whole. The few who truly detest humanity are part of a terrorist sect called The Deluge, a fiercely xenophobic movement which thinks war with the surface world is for the good of Atlantis.
- Refusal of the Call: Mera opted to rescind the throne and opt for an autocracy in her place at the Rebirth's end run. Naturally, this did go over well with the other kingdoms in attendence.
- Series Continuity Error: In issue 24, Murk is quick enough to outswim Aquaman. This contradicts the events of issue 9, where it's established that not even the Atlantean vehicles can keep up with the hero's speed.
- Story-Breaker Power: Mera's hydrokinesis lets her manipulate the water inside her opponents' bodies, enabling her to drain their fluids or clog their lungs. As shown in her battle against Orm, this skill lets her end battles quickly and efficiently, which is why she rarely gets to use it against major foes.
- Strawman Political: Aquaman's ruling council becomes this during later stints in Rebirth. Growing increasingly tired of all the conflicts drawn upon Atlantis with Aquaman as king, they elect to put a terrorist on the throne after having the old guard executed. When Mera takes over, they’re shown to be open elitists who don’t care about the common people and seem surprised she would.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: During the Atlantean civil war, many characters point out that the more powerful members of the Justice League and the Teen Titans would easily be able to figure out a way to enter the city and depose the tyrannical King Rath. However, Mera specifically asks them to not intervene, as the involvement of surface agents would only escalate the geopolitical conflict between Atlantis and the rest of the world.
- Wrecked Weapon: Corum Rath, empowered by the demon Abyssal Dark, breaks Atlan's trident in half during his final battle against Aquaman. The weapon is replaced with Poseidon's Trident by the next story arc.
