DCU Comic Book Reviews

AQUAMAN #1

Castaway

February 2003

Written by Rick Veitch

Pencils by Yvel Guichet

Inks by Mark Propst

Cover by Alex Maleev

Synopsis

Flooded in a sea of memories, Aquaman is dragged by the denizens of the deep to traitor’s rock.  Aquaman has been found guilty of crimes against Atlantis and has bee sentenced to death by desiccation on traitor’s reef.  Aquaman refuses to die.  He escapes his bonds and wanders into traitor’s reef, delirious from loss of blood and lack of water.  Eventually he comes to a lake, but he is too weak to get to it.  Frustrated, he tosses his harpoon into the water.  It is caught by the Lady of the Lake, who tells him that to be in the water of truth is to be made whole.  He shows her is missing hand and tells her if she can fix that, he might be her destiny mumbo jumbo.  She tells him the age of the waterbearer has begun and takes him for a swim in the water of truth.  Meanwhile, J’onn J’onzz finds Aquaman’s harpoon stuck deep into a rock.  A moment later he finds Aquaman, who tells J’onn about the lake.  J’onn tells him that the reef is dry and that Aquaman must be dreaming.  If that is so, Aquaman asks, how does J’onn explain Aquaman’s new hand made out of water!

Review

I doubt that most people who read Our Worlds At War believed that Aquaman was dead, so it was not much a surprise to learn he would come back in the JLA event called The Obsidian Age.  Now, for the fourth time, DC is attempting to bring back Aquaman to a new audience.  What is amazing about Aquaman is that he is one of the bigger names in the DC Universe, especially to those who don’t read comic books, but for some reason he has never caught on and never had the staying power as Wonder Woman or The Flash.  The basic problem (at least as I see it) is that Aquaman is supposed to live under the water.  When he leaves the water the common perception is that he lacks the same powers and abilities as Superman and the others.  If Aquaman is kept under water, then he remains isolated from the rest of the DCU, which severely limits what DC can do with him. 

You’ve got to give DC credit; they keep trying and now comes the fourth attempt.  Unlike most first issues or even first story arcs by a new writer, this issue does not introduce a lot of many concepts.  This is really a continuation of the Obsidian Age.  The one notable exception is the introduction of the Arthurian legend.  I should say the King Arthur legend although it seems that the events of that legend will play a crucial role in Aquaman’s new series (I happened to notice how his name of “Arthur” was never mentioned - it was either “Orin” or “Aquaman” - until the Lady of the Lake asked him for his name).  It is interesting to note that in the Arthurian legend Excalibur was thrown into the lake just moments before death, as a last ditch attempt to keep the sword away from others.  Like Excalibur, Aquaman tosses his harpoon near the moment of death.  More importantly, Aquaman never had his hand repaired and kept the harpoon as a reminder for his failings and all that he had lost.  If he felt he was going to die, he might as well toss it away to be free of that burden.  And then the Lady of the Lake indicated that the water was the lake of truth to find his destiny.  This would suggest his destiny was a fresh new start rather than reminders of the past. 

Besides the Lady of the Lake and the harpoon toss, I noticed at the beginning of the issue the book the light keeper (presumably Arthur Curry) was reading to Aquaman:  Once and Future King, the story of King Arthur.  And, of course, the harpoon was stuck in the rock at the end, just the Sword In The Stone.  All of these are easily recognizable references to the King Arthur legend.  The question at this point is: is the Lady of the Lake going to be important to this series as it continues or is her appearance a one-time attempt to get away from the bitter, angry Aquaman with the hook to a different Aquaman with water for a hand.  He did tell her that if she could fix his hand, he might believe in her destiny mumbo jumbo.  She then fixes his hand, a sign that indeed this is a fresh new start. 

Personally, I always liked the bitter, angry Aquaman.  He was an interesting character, especially within the context of the JLA and the world at large.  Here was a hero who did not give a damn about anything other than protecting his people and his kingdom.  And woebegone to anyone who got in his way.  He was so different from the others that he stood out, but that is only in the context of the other heroes.  If they decide to change Aquaman, it might work as long as he remains separated from the rest.-- MRB

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