In an effort to make its
stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…
Aquaman #1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Ivan Reis
Review by Samuel N. Harris
Some comics fans may be
aware of some stereotypes and negative opinions that have often existed against
Aquaman’s character. Maybe it’s due to his portrayal on the ridiculously corny Super Friends cartoon series of the ‘70s, or based on the idea that his powers are only useful around water or
the ocean. Maybe a guy who talks to fish and rules a fantastical, undersea
kingdom is just a bit too far-fetched, not very believable or relatable to the
modern readers of today. Whatever the reason, Aquaman, the half-breed son of a
human lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, has often been seen by fans as
a silly, weak, or even useless character. That is, until the New 52. Because
the newly rebooted Aquaman #1 shows
us a different side of Aquaman—one that is anything but silly, weak, or
useless.
One thing I enjoyed about
this issue was that it specifically addressed the negative stereotypes about
Aquaman, showing that even the characters in the DC universe see him as weak
and useless—but then it deliberately tried to refute those stereotypes, and, in
my opinion, succeeded. We first see Aquaman in this issue in the middle of a
busy city street, trying to stop an armed robbery. There is no water or ocean
anywhere nearby, so the police and the crooks both wonder aloud what Aquaman
could possibly do to help the situation. So does he summon the waves from far
away, or telepathically convince a giant whale to help him out? Nope. Instead,
he just rams his golden trident into the front of the criminals’ getaway truck
and, with his super strength, flips the truck upside-down. Then he stands by
nonchalantly as the desperate crooks’ bullets bounce harmlessly off of his
super-tough skin. With the thieves clearly defeated, a police officer offers
Aquaman a glass of water—which he declines—and then, after Aquaman has sped
away, says, “I can’t believe we just got upstaged by Aquaman.” A fellow officer
comments, “The boys at the station are never gonna let us hear the end of this.”
After his brief bout with
crime, Aquaman heads over to a local seafood restaurant. Now, I know what you’re
probably thinking: What could Aquaman possibly want with a seafood restaurant?
When I first read this issue, I thought the only possible answer could be that
he would forcefully order the place to shut down, or even destroy the building
himself, because he can’t bear the thought of humans mistreating and eating his
fishy friends. Nope. Instead, he just sits down peacefully and orders the fish
and chips—to the great surprise of me and the surrounding customers within the
story. When one man points out that Aquaman can’t eat fish because he talks to
fish, Aquaman explains that he does not actually talk to fish because fish don’t
talk. In his own words, “Their brains are too primitive to carry on a conversation.
I reach into their midbrains and telepathically push them to help me out.” In
other words, Aquaman doesn’t just spend all day hanging out in the ocean with
his fishy friends. He recognizes that fish are lower beings than himself, so he
uses them to help him when he needs to, but he’s not opposed to eating them
either. Aquaman also says that he chose this particular seafood restaurant
because he has fond memories of his father, the human lighthouse keeper,
bringing him there when he was younger.
One man at the restaurant
asks to interview Aquaman for his blog, but continuously patronizes him along
the way. He mocks Aquaman’s belief that Atlantis even exists, and asks him, “How’s
it feel to be nobody’s favorite superhero?” Instead of lashing out in anger at
such insults (like Namor, the Marvel universe’s hot-tempered ruler of Atlantis,
would probably do), Aquaman, to his credit, gets up and walks away, choosing
not to put up with a public who doesn’t appreciate him—but not before he tosses
a couple gold coins from his undersea stash of treasure to his financially
struggling waitress. By this point in the issue, Aquaman has exemplified
usefulness in battle and crimefighting, moral resolve and strength of
character, generosity and compassion for people in need, and the ability to
partake in normal human activities such as going to a seafood restaurant. Doesn’t
sound like such a bad superhero to me.
Later we see Aquaman with
his wife, Mera, and theirs is apparently one of the few superhero marriages
that has not been retconned by the New 52. Aquaman tells her that he wants to
leave behind all of his troubles in the kingdom of Atlantis and embark on a new
life with her, to which she agrees. I, for one, was pleased to see Aquaman in
this happy relationship for a few pages-because I like it when superheroes are
allowed to be happy for once in a while in their tragedy-filled lives, and I
like seeing Aquaman as a relatable person with troubles behind him, a woman he
loves in front of him, and realistic human desires about the whole situation.
This issue also gives us
a few glimpses of some scary-looking sea-monsters who eat fishermen and who
appear to be Aquaman’s next big villain. They’re not explored much in this
first issue, and Aquaman hasn’t even met or fought them yet, but we’ll probably
be seeing more of them in the issues to come. However, I’m okay with the fact
that we didn’t get to see a whole lot of superhero action in this first issue,
because it means that more time was spent on Aquaman’s character development
and on reestablishing him as a relevant and powerful character.
I’ll admit that Aquaman
was never one of my favorite superheroes. I never quite hated him or thought
him useless like some people seem to, but he was never at the top of my list of
favorites either; I guess I always considered him a B-list character compared
to the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. But this issue with this
new portrayal of him is beginning to change my perceptions. I’m beginning to
see Aquaman as a better and more complex character than I ever had before. I
think it’s clever and well-done how Geoff Johns worked real-life fans’ negative
opinions about Aquaman into the characters in this issue, and how he purposely
took steps to prove those negative opinions wrong. The newly revamped Aquaman
in this issue is strong and assertive, but without becoming an arrogant jerk
like certain other revamped characters I could mention. Aquaman is a bold hero
who does the right thing, helps people out, has a relatable human side, and can
still do plenty of good in situations that don’t directly involve water or
fish. This was a great first issue and I’m looking forward to reading more of this version of Aquaman.
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