Review: Aquaman #15
“Throne of Atlantis Part Two”
Published by DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Paul Pelletier
Coloured by Rod Reis
The Plot
Gotham City is facing an epic tidal wave with Aquaman saving Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock from drowning. Despite the efforts of the Justice League, there are many casualties and even Mera is pushed to the brink. They find Vulko who awakens in great distress. Aquaman then shares with Batman what he believes will be Atlantis’ next strategic move. They also manage to have a good discussion with one another, but this is shortlived. The Justice League discusses a plan and meanwhile, the Trench are making their move. Orm makes his appearance in Boston and Aquaman goes to confront him. However, they are interrupted, which leads to an unexpected confrontation.
The Breakdown
I really liked how Batman’s role now mirrors his role in the Justice League prior to the reboot. He makes judgment calls and his opinions are really respected. Vulko has continued to not bore me and his presence in the storyline is a good one. Seeing Aquaman and Batman’s relationship grow was a bonus this issue. We’ve been seeing character moments amongst some of the other characters and it’s good to see these two have one, especially considering Aquaman’s attitude over in Justice League. I also like Mera’s new costume design as well as what her limitations are because I’ve wondered what they were. Orm assuming that Aquaman was the ruler of the lands was a funny mistake on his part. His appearance in this issue was brief, but it was good as he also showed his general ignorance towards surface dwellers. I am curious to see who has orchestrated things thus far to create the conflict. This issue did a good job of establishing the high level of danger that everyone is in, which further helps the storyline overall. Pelletier’s facial expressions on Aquaman were fairly consistent with Reis’ renditions of the character. It’s good to see some continuity like that with artistic changes. Also, Rod Reis’ colours have done a good job of maintaining the high quality of this book. Usually the second issues of crossovers are my least favorite; however, I enjoyed this one.
BUT…
The Trench are pretty much exactly where they were last issue…being freed from their rocky confines. I would’ve liked to see some more movement from them this issue or even nothing at all and just have them reappear in the next one. Superman and Wonder Woman’s approach to dealing with Orm was kind of annoying. Sure Atlantis’ reaction was too swift and brutal, but they take his power and standing for granted. Orm controls so much of the world that he might not necessarily need to answer to anybody. This didn’t hurt the story by any means, but it was a typical annoying Superman thing (like in Infinite Crisis when he was mad at Diana for killing Max Lord).
Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?
Buy It. This continues to be one of my highlights of the New(ish) 52. I’m enjoying the scope of this storyline thus far as it is a simple crossover. It’s not an “event” that spans every other comic (and ultimately interrupts their pacing and storylines as well), but rather it is a crossover that logically spans both of these comics. I enjoyed some of the character moments in this issue and I was glad to see that this was still an Aquaman issue and not a Justice League one, which is what I was hoping would happen considering that crossover books sometimes shift their focus. I hope that all of the Aquaman jokes are over and done with because he’s established himself as a legitimate badass in the DCU.
