Return of the king
Aquaman returns to the big screen this december in what could be Jason momoa’s last hurrah as the atlantean King.
THESE days, the hype surrounding superhero movies tend to revolve around off-screen issues rather than the actual movie itself, or its faithfulness to the source material.
In the case of Aquaman, what has been talked about has been completely irrelevant to the story of the Atlantis King himself. Instead, we’ve had numerous controversies and issues about Amber Heard’s status in the movie, Jason Momoa’s behaviour, Elon Musk coming to Heard’s defense, and the quality of visual effects in the film.
As a comic book fan and purist, these kind of news do not interest me. Although, it does make some people wonder whether we should even bother to watch the movie at all.
But based on the movie trailers alone and the fact that some of the recent DC Comics movies like The Flash and Blue Beetle have actually been pretty good, it is clear that DC has been paying attention to fans’ grouses, as well as taking note of past success factors in the (not-so-distant) Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Hence, today we will look at (possible) bright spots in the upcoming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom movie, which is due for release on Dec 20, after numerous delays over the past couple of years.
Tie-in comic
In case you’ve forgotten what happened in the last movie, DC Comics has very helpfully released a tie-in comic (Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Special
#1) with three short stories revolving around the new film’s three central characters, which also serves to fill in some of the gaps between the two movies.
The first one sees Arthur himself having to juggle between his duties as King of Atlantis and a member of the Justice League, while preparing for his wedding with Mera.
After a battle with the supervillain Charybdis, he finally accepts his greater responsibility as ruler, and also gets a surprise – Mera is pregnant with his child.
The second story is about Black Manta and his quest to garner more followers and a weapon to fight Aquaman with.
The final story details Orm’s fate following the events of the first movie and his attempts to escape imprisonment.
The rise of Black Manta
While David Kane, aka Black Manta, was in the first movie, he wasn’t the main antagonist. However, the build-up for his character in that movie was sufficient to justify him becoming the lead villain in this sequel.
In the comics, Black Manta is arguably Aquaman’s biggest villain, having killed Aquaman’s son (Arthur Curry Jr). In the comics, Aquaman was the one hellbent on revenge, but in the movie, Black Manta is the one who wants Arthur to pay for his father’s death (which happened in the first movie).
The trailer shows Black Manta leaving a trail of destruction as he goes after Aquaman’s loved ones and his prized assets. The tie-in comic also explains the source of Manta’s new-found powers and what makes him a formidable villain.
Having failed twice to defeat Aquaman in the first movie, Black Manta has got more than an “equaliser” in the form of a weapon called the “Black Trident”.
In the comics, the weapon allows its user to create earthquakes, to the extent of causing a global meltdown. While the trident is nowhere near Infinity Gauntlet level, the movie version comes equipped with “dark magic”, something which Black Manta will apparently use to destroy Aquaman and his family.
New costumes
From the trailer you can see that both Aquaman and Black Manta are sporting new costumes, which we can agree instantly does justice to their comic book looks.
While Aquaman’s trademark golden orange comic book costume makes an appearance, what is most amazing is the level of detail in the gloves, the belt buckle, the pants and boots (!). Overall, they certainly offer an aesthetically pleasing design befitting an underwater monarch. There is also a second costume which is purely dark blue, offering Aquaman a stealthy look.
As for Black Manta, his new suit is more practical and resembles actual wetsuits. Best of all, his trademark silver helmet replicates the comic book version.
Brothers once more
Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to be not one of those dark and broody “Snyderverse” movies, and one lively injection into the script is the teaming up of Aquaman and his half-brother Orm Marius aka Ocean Master.
If you recall, they fought each other in the first movie, resulting in Aquaman dethroning Orm and imprisoning him.
This time around, they are reunited by a common threat and enemy, forcing them to put aside their differences for the sake of Atlantis and the royal family (or what’s left of it by the time Black Manta is through with them).
Judging by Aquaman and Orm’s chemistry in the trailer, we can probably expect a “buddy comedy” type dynamic between them, which should make for some fun moments.
With great power...
The first movie started by portraying Arthur as a superpowered beach bum with a sense of responsibility, before gradually coming to terms with his heritage and deciding to play a bigger social and environmental role.
Well, with him having ascended the throne, Aquaman now has to play the role of a leader and balance the scales between Atlanteans and the surface dwellers.
An even bigger challenge awaits him in The Lost Kingdom, with him having to cope with being a husband and a father – having the King of Atlantis change diapers in between making diplomatic decisions certainly offers the movie script some depth and dimension!
Whether we love or loathe this sequel, one thing I am preparing myself is to not get too attached to this movie – as it is the 15th and final instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), before James Gunn’s DC cinematic universe takes over.
Chances are, this will most likely be Momoa’s last Aquaman movie, even if the box office receipts dictate otherwise, as the actor has been rumoured to be taking on another role in the DC universe altogether... that of the Main Man, Lobo, himself.