Wednesday Comments – DC Comics New 52’s (Aqua)Man of Steel

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First, some housekeeping. So a few weeks back I wrote a column giving my take on the whole New 52 Wally West controversy. It got some comments. In the comment section I challenged anyone who took issue with Wally’s portrayal to come up with a better take given the parameters of the story.

Well Meka3000, not only accepted the challenge, but she knocked it out of the park. Here’s her take;

As far as how I would do it:
-Start out with Barry AS Flash saving Wally from getting hit by a car in the present. That way you create some synergy with #30
-Wally shoves him away after being saved, saying “your the guy that put my uncle in prison” Barry is taken back a bit.
-Later at the police station Wally notices the kid coming in to ask if THEY know where his missing mother is. Show the kid getting frustrated because the police have had NO progress. Barry comes over asking about his situation. He gives the basics on how his mom is missing and he’s out looking for her.
-Then Iris comes to the station with the intention of filing a missing person report because Wally has been out of her site for a day. To which she notices him.
-Iris brings Barry up to speed about who he is and HIS connection to her family. She stresses that while Wally is a good kid, and can be unruly at times. She also asks Barry if HE can help search for his mother. Wally WANTS to be a part of the search.
-Barry tells Iris that Wally can help him search for her. He’ll have him home at a decent time.
-Over the next few issues we see Barry and Wally bond as they search. Eventually we could see Wally finding out who Barry really is.

I would be very interested in reading that take on the character. So, I want to thank Meka3000 for taking the time to read and comment.

This week is about Aquaman.

So last week saw the release of Secret Origins #2, which featured the current origin of Aquaman. I’m not the biggest Aquaman fan, but I have been reading the character since 1991 and I’ve got to say this the most milquetoast Aquaman origin ever.

It’s loaded with superhero tropes and specifically things reminiscent of other DC icon origins. It’s possibly the least original origin I’ve ever read. In fact if you switched up the dialogue you could play it as a parody of superhero origins.

Much like Batman, Superman and The Flash, Aquaman’s early childhood featured the love of both parents. (I suppose Green Lantern had two parents too, though his mom almost never comes up.) It’s an idyllic scene that completely sets you up for tragedy.

Then Aquaman’s mom is disappears. Granted she’s not dead like The Flash’s mom, but that void still weighs heavy on Aquaman. So much that he’s basically telling his origin to her at her grave.

From then on, Aquaman is raised by his father, who does his best to keep his son’s gifts under wraps, while still giving him a normal life. Yes, that’s right Aquaman’s dad is basically Ma & Pa Kent with beachfront property.

But that’s not the only Smallville connection; upon graduation Aquaman finds out that his best friend Danny has known about him being “different” and “special” for quite some time. This is actually a melding of Lana Lang’s post-Crisis origin (a post graduation revelation) and her New 52 origin (knowing Clark was different.)

While on the boat Danny and Aquaman hear a mayday call. There’s a plane has suffered engine failure and crashed in the ocean. Aquaman, being the good person his father raised him to be, he dives down and saves the pilot, by picking the plane up and rising out of the water, like a hero would do.

It’s incredibly to Superman’s debut in the classic Man of Steel miniseries. Superman saves a space plane, but both heroes are overwhelmed by the attention they get and run home for comfort.

Aquaman doesn’t find comfort though, he finds Black Manta attacking Mr. Curry, who has a heart attack. A vengeance seeking Aquaman then tracks down Black Manta for vengeance and snaps his neck, only he actually kills Black Manta’s dad. Oops.

I point this out, not because it’s reminiscent of someone else’s origin, but because DC is apparently cool with Aquaman thinking a) Black people look alike and b) that Aquaman, like most police forces in the United States, doesn’t really give that much regard to making sure they’ve got the guilty Black man, close enough is good enough.

Then Aquaman goes off to find himself in the world and learns about the other half of his heritage. Which, again has the ring of Man of Steel.

Now I love Man of Steel. It’s a great origin. John Byrne did an amazing job. But while it’s a great origin, but it’s Superman’s origin, not Aquaman’s origin.

And yes, Aqumana’s origin in Time & Tide is very reminiscent of Tarzan. Aquaman, being an orphan and feral child, raised by dolphins, not apes. But it’s a much better origin than stealing the origin, of your Justice League teammate.

The fact that Aquaman’s origin borrows so heavily from Man of Steel implies that DC doesn’t really have the faith in character. I’m sure we all remember how when Geoff Johns launched Aquaman in The New 52, it seemed like every fifth page either had someone addressing how Aquaman was thought of as lame or Aquaman doing something to prove what a truly bad-ass he was. And having the Justice League deal with an attack by Atlantean forces really seemed like a way to bolster Aquaman’s role in the New 52.

Overcompensate much?

What DC is doing with Aquaman reminds me of a guy with a bad combover; it’s not fooling anyone and it’s a sad example of not being comfortable with who you are.

Well, that does it for it for this week. It’s Wednesday, go out and get some fresh new comics from your local comic shop.