Comic Book / Aquaman (New 52)

Aquaman is a 2011 ongoing comic book by DC Comics, written by Geoff Johns with art by Joe Prado and Ivan Reis, as part of the New 52 relaunch.

Taking place after the events of Flashpoint, the series is a reboot of the Aquaman mythos, and follows the adventures of Aquaman and Mera. The series tackles such themes as the idea of Aquaman being a joke character, the politics of Atlantis, and Atlantis' relationship with the surface world.

The series makes a few notable changes from the pre-Flashpoint continuity, including Aquaman not having yet married Mera, and his rivalry with Black Manta having long ago started over accidentally killing the latter's father.

In 2013, the series was part of a Bat Family Crossover with Justice League (2011), also written by Geoff Johns. The event, called Throne of Atlantis, received a loose animated adaptation in 2015. Elements from this arc also served as the basis for Aquaman (2018), which featured many characters introduced during the New 52 run.

Johns left the book after the twenty-fifth issue, as he shifted his attention to writing Forever Evil (2013) and Batman: Earth One. He would be succeeded by Jeff Parker (issues #26-40), Cullen Bunn (#41-47) and Dan Abnett (#48-53).

The New 52 run ended on issue #53, though it was immediately followed up by Aquaman (Rebirth), with Abnett still on writing duty.

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Aquaman (New 52) provides examples of:

• 0% Approval Rating: Not many among the Atlantean populace were all that happy to have a half-breed surface born king on the throne. Even after taking back his birthright, he still wrestles with their superstition and hate-fueled paranoia towards the land above.
• Aborted Arc:
  • The epilogue in Geoff Johns' run set up another crossover between Justice League and Aquaman, in which Nereus would try to unite the Seven Seas. The crossover never came during Johns' tenure as writer of Justice League and, although Johns said it was one of his planned projects when DC Rebirth was announced, the story never ended up being written.
• Alas, Poor Villain: The Dead King is given a sympathetic backstory, in which his descent into madness is revealed to be a result of his xenophobic brother Orin simultaneously stealing his throne and ordering the murder of his family..
• Altar Diplomacy: Many of the under sea kingdom elopements are done out of political arrangements, largely to better tie political powers with its military.
• Another Dimension: Just as popular in the reboot as it was in previous run. The new take on Aquaman's story is rife with Alternate Universes, Eldritch Locations and Lost Worlds adjacent to Atlantis and the mainstream DC Comics Continuum.
  • Xebel: Once penal dimension turned thriving hidden colony at the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. It is home to a race of water crafting merfolk whom all bear a significant hatred against the Atlantean culture.
  • The Maelstrom: An island danger zone filled with all manor of Alien Animals which exhibits a Genius Loci all its own. Home to a dangerous volcanic entity whom inhabitants must constantly sacrifice to for maintaining the peace.
  • Thule: Parallel malevolent fairy land lorded over by an evil order of dark mystics who ruled Old Atlantis from the shadows, a Pocket Dimension created through foul magics when King Atlan threatened their power on earth.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Arthur deposed his half-brother Orm in order to retake his title as King of Atlantis. Beating him in the middle of a war no less, singlehandedly halting the advance of Atlantean forces with four simple words.
• Balance of Power: Aquaman does his best to maintain this and establish a peaceful cohabitation between both worlds, for if it were ever to fall apart a world war would break out threatening the destruction of the Surface and the Seas.
• Belief Makes You Stupid: It does with the people of Atlantis. Years of hatred, arrogance, bigotry and paranoid delusions have made them believe just about anything and everything horrible about the surface world and its people. A mystic cabal from a separate dimension used this in their attempt to overtake the main DC universe by turning the people and the Atlantean army against their king.
• The Chew Toy: During Geoff Johns' run, it's revealed that everyone in the DC Universe feels entitled to openly berate the "guy who speaks with fishes", married "Aquawoman/Aquawife" (whom they believe to be a mermaid that turns into a woman when dry), broke because of a lack of employment, wearing a ridiculous shirt and useless if compared with the rest of the League.
• Class Reunion: Arthur attends his in the N52 Aquaman #28. He's reluctant about it, having bad memories of his time at school (like Power Incontinence, his father dying, and getting publicly outed), but all-in-all it turns out better than expected.
• Create Your Own Villain: Since the New 52, Black Manta pursues his vendetta against Aquaman because Arthur killed his father.
• Culture Justifies Anything: How many in Atlantis view the surface world's transgressions and intrusions into their domain, the fact that Aquaman is surfaceborn and their roundabout belief in prophecies provides yet another excuse for their isolationist, bordering genocidal views.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In the first few issues of the New 52 run, it's stated outright that the population of the DC Universe consider him a joke just as much as comic book fandom does. Meaning he's had to build up his reputation pretty much from scratch.
• The Exile: The assassins and conspirators who were supposed to be put to death for trying to kill Mera were instead exiled to a place near the Antarctic to start a new colony.
• Faking the Dead: Atlanna faked her own death.
• Fallen Hero:
  • Atlan, the Dead King in the New 52 run. He wanted to unite various races and welcome them into Atlantis, prompting his treacherous, xenophobic brother to kill his family and attempt to murder him. He sank Atlantis in response.
  • Hercules shows up in the same can as an evil threatening Atlantis was sealed in. He performed a Heroic Sacrifice to ensure the evil was sealed away but spent the interim centuries fighting for his life with monstrous beings eventually becoming Brainwashed and Crazy by a monstrous siren who convinced him he was deliberately used and sacrifice to suffer. Arthur manages to seal him in a labyrinth dimension hoping to help him one day.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Mostly due to fear cultivated over the centuries, Atlanteans hate the surface world. Note that most people didn't even know there was an Atlantis until it went to war. Orm himself actually pities them and only has a mild dislike until then. Though he reconsiders his prejudices somewhat after escaping Belle Reve and taking residence with a human woman and her son during Forever Evil, protecting them.
  • Many Atlanteans weren't too happy with the fact that their newest king was a half-born who descends from surface world heritage. A lot of them still aren't by Arthur's own words. Orm on the other hand, while still somewhat fearful of the surface and yet tolerant of them nonetheless, was elated to have a brother despite his mixed background, openly admitting to have wept out of fear and sorrow over having found out he was trapped on the surface world and opting to save him from it.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: In-universe, Aquaman was a laughing stock among the general populace, who saw him as a weakling with the very unflattering power of "talking to fish". This changes after the Atlantean invasion, which exposes the world to his people's technology and cunning, turning him into one of the world's most feared meta-humans.
• Genius Loci: The spirits and memories of the dead become part of Atlantis, so when they don't accept him as a ruler, the land itself quakes.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Black Manta's status as an evil mercenary is highlighted by the scars he has running across his face.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: The New 52 series established Arthur as this: the superhero everyone laughed at. That all changed after Atlantis invaded and flooded the east coast, but now the bad publicity exists because many fear Aquaman.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: A sentiment shared by most if not all Atlantean people. In particular, Murk of The Drift bears much more than simple racism towards the surface dwellers. Something happened to him in the deeply rooted past which he'd rather not disclose as of late.
• In a Single Bound: Being fully adapted to live in the pressure of the deepest sea trenches, Aquaman and Mera, while on the surface, are both able to leap miles at times through the air, with Hulk-like jumps.
• Interplanetary Voyage: Arthur has ventured to a planet afflicted by the Thule's incursion, and visited another world by accidentally stumbling upon the mystery of Dead Water.
• It Runs in the Family:
  • Mera notes that Atlanna's good looks and superpowers pass from generation to generation.
  • In Xebel's case, one marries into the power as well as the crown. Whenever the last king of the colony passes, both their title as monarch and the hydromancy of the royal bloodline passes over to their next marital successor.
• Love Before First Sight: Mera meeting with Arthur in the secret origin comics. While initially poisoned by Xebelian propaganda, she came to adore Aquaman intently eventually becoming his loyal bride.
• Memetic Loser: Discussed In-Universe at the start of Geoff Johns' run, where everyone treats Aquaman as a complete joke despite his valiant efforts in repelling Darkseid's invasion. An insensitive blogger even directly asks him how it feels to be nobody's favourite hero.
• Missing Mom: Atlanna, Orm and Arthur's mother, died before Arthur got to meet her. And then he finds out her body was removed from its grave later on.
• Mordor: The mystically conceived alternate dimension of Thule erected by a cabal of mystics was equivalent to this until its destruction.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Manta states Mera is the linchpin in Arthur's dark world, and if he ever lost her, the weight of being sea king would crush him indefinitely. This is an accurate description of Flashpoint Aquaman's Start of Darkness.
  • The New 52's Aquaman #10 features Black Manta's collection of nautical memorabilia, including Arthur's Hook Hand and the original Black Manta helmet. What makes it this is that as far as can be seen, Arthur never lost his hand in current continuity, and never met Manta before he wore his current helmet.
  • Hook Hand Arthur, complete with beard, shows up in an Imagine Spot of one of Arthur's classmates in Aquaman #28.
  • Aquaman #29 has Arthur borrowing his Batman: The Brave and the Bold's counterpart's catchphrase while berating himself for letting his trident be stolen: "Outrageous!"
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Black Manta. As some Belle Reve guards learned in the New 52's Aquaman #14, "the guy who loses to Aquaman" can kill you with his hands tied.
• Of the People: A clear and glaring problem about the people of Atlantis and other undersea nations is their strict isolationism and surface-hating culture. Many of them chose mainly to steer clear of the humans and the world above, other less enlightened minds have a tendency to think cleansing the surface is the only way to protect themselves.
• Psychic Nosebleed: Arthur gives himself one trying to control Topo, the monstrously giant squid-like creature near Atlantis, when he needs him to fight off an attack by the Scavenger. Topo is more intelligent than most sea life, meaning Aquaman finds him nearly impossible to control, and in fact puts himself in a coma for months when he attempts it.
• Pyrrhic Victory: At the end of the Throne of Atlantis arc, Aquaman has become ruler of Atlantis and stopped the war against the surface. Unfortunately, he's now looked at with fear and mistrust both by humans and his own kingdom.
• Prongs of Poseidon: Takes much more prominence in this comic run than it did in the last. Usually those who hold a trident, scepter or some form of polearm carry an entitlement to superintendency, for possession of which regularly stands as a symbol of leadership in these instances. In rarer cases, they're the prerequisite of royal blood largely within Atlantean based cultures.
• Rescue Romance: Atlanna saved Tom Curry from drowning when his lifeboat capsized. They fell in love, begetting Arthur Curry as a result.
• Samaritan Relationship Starter: Mera falls for Arthur after seeing what a good person he is.
• Sanity Slippage: Atlan has a mental breakdown after his wife and kids are killed by his treacherous brother. Upon returning to Atlantis, he murders the traitor without saying a single word and, in a fit of rage, sinks the nation he spent his entire life building. His mental state continues to degenerate throughout the "Death of a King" arc: Witnessing the Xebelians abandon him, the Atlanteans refuse to acknowledge him as their ruler, and the Trench fight alongside Arthur, Atlan tries to destroy Atlantis with his scepter, while madly rambling that he has been betrayed by everyone again.
• Series Continuity Error: In Geoff Johns' run:
  • In issue 6, an ancient Atlantean log recounts how a group of soldiers was killed by the Trench while pursuing the man who wanted to sink the continent. This contradicts Atlantis' backstory as revealed in issue 24, since it's stated that the Trench are the degenerated form of one of the Atlantean races, meaning they could only have come into existence after Atlan sank the kingdom.
  • In issue 25, Aquaman retrieves the Atlantean Scepter from a treasure trove and states he had hidden it there since the events of Throne of Atlantis. This contradicts previous events from the same arc, since the Dead King is clearly seen wielding said weapon during his first appearance up until his first confrontation with the protagonist at Xebel.
• Sinister Stingrays: Black Manta carries a manta theme is very ruthless.
• Time Skip: A six-month one from the start of Forever Evil at issue #23.
• Under City: The seven hidden kingdoms of Atlantis thrived under King Atlan's rule, but following the coup d'etat and subsequent sinking of the continent, they've been forgotten to history.
  • The Trench: a ravenous cavern dwelling race of subhuman water breathers who adapted to living in the sea floor.
  • Xebel: Secessionist clan of criminals exiled from Atlantis to a cosmic Alcatraz within the Bermuda Triangle, occupied by water bending merefolk.
  • Ninth Tride: The slums on the ocean floor, home to the dregs of Atlantean society.
• Ungrateful Townsfolk: Aquaman is openly bashed on by the Atlanteans for being a surface-born, and by regular humans for being associated with the race that conducted a series of terrorist attacks on Boston, Gotham and Metropolis.
• We Would Have Told You, But...: Nereus, the king of Xebel, was dispatched by the Dead King Atlan to discover the whereabouts of the other four out of seven kingdoms of Atlantis. He returns, stating he could not find any of them. Turns out he was purposefully withholding his findings, though he tries to make a deal with Orm to seek out their locations together.
• Wham Line:
  • The reader is made to believe that Aquaman is seeking revenge on Black Manta for the death of his father. The twist, as revealed by Dr. Shin, is that it's actually the other way around: "In a fit of rage, seeking revenge, Aquaman killed Black Manta's father."
  • The connection between the Dead King Atlan and Arthur changes the protagonist's entire perception of his own heritage. Vulko tells Aquaman that "Atlan was once a great hero of the world... and your ancestors were the villains".

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