Monday, October 24, 2011

Aquaman #1 - The New 52



We have all heard the jokes. Aquaman can control fish, what an "amazing" and “useful” power that is. They say if you that if you take him out of water and he's pretty much useless.

Aquaman is more than his reputation for a under powered aquatic hero. His powers extend beyond fish to the standard suite of physical powers. Batman proves that interesting character development is aided by lower power levels. Aquaman has been around for a long time and in comics that means something. He debuted in 1941 and has remained a staple character of the DC Universe for a long time. Not many superheroes have that claim to fame.

Aquaman has been the butt of the DC Universe for a long time. I think this is mostly underserved. He’s the king of Atlantis. He uses magic, tactics, and his strength to fight his foes. He’s limited by his theme for sure, but he makes up for that with a relatable story of a kid with a foot in two worlds, trying to bridge the gap between his identities. There is a lot story potential there, and that is missed when you make the cheap joke that he’s stupid he can talk to fish.

Atlantis is also interesting for a lot of reasons. It’s an isolationist world unlike our own with unique set of culture, politics, and ideas. Aquaman has a wife and a family unlike a lot of superheroes. This gives him an interesting dynamic especially since he is away from them for his work with the justice league. There is the conflict between Black Manta and Aquaman is also one of the best conflicts in comics in my opinion. Black Manta has taken many forms from a literal half-manta half-man to a genetic experiment gone wrong. Ocean Master is another interest foil for the hero. I especially like the times in which they cast him as a direct foil to Aquaman when he attempts to usurp Aquaman’s rule like in the episode “The Enemy Below” of the Justice League animated series. Ocean Master can be at times even relatable because he acts the way he does because he believe’s Aquaman’s alliance with the surface will be ultimately to the detriment of the Atlantean people.

Utilizing Aquaman’s rich history and dealing with new reader’s limited preconceptions is a challenge for any writer. What I like about Geoff Johns is that he takes those preconceptions and works them into the story. The people in the DC Universe see Aquaman just like we do in the real world, as a punchline. The brilliant thing is that this makes when he inevitably shows that depths and surprises the world it’s that much more satisfying for the audience, even if they might have been proven wrong as well. Everyone likes when a underdog over succeeds expectations and this does that in the form of a well crafted meta joke.

3 comments:

  1. Great first blog post. I liked how you made a joke out of all of it like when you said 'take him out of water and he's pretty much useless' I thought that was funny.

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  2. :) I love it, I love it, I love it! I read the comic that we can click on and I thought it was very suspenseful but also very funny. I've never read Aquaman before, but, once again, I've never read a comic book in my life. :o Yeah, I know, a criminal act. :)
    Thank you for posting, Paik. I love it. :)
    Keep up the awesomeness!

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  3. Thank you for the positive comments, be sure to check my other posts out!

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