If there was one book that could use a Rebirth it was Aquaman. For the simple fact that Cullen Bunn’s latest arc was not well received by fans after the stories that Geoff Johns and Jeff Parker were able to tell. Now Dan Abnett gets a shot at the king of Atlantis. The first issue kicks off with a bang! As we saw in the Aquaman Rebirth special, Black Manta is back and apparently still seeking revenge for his father’s death. Meanwhile, Aquaman is ready to open “Spindrift Station†on the east coast which is the first Atlantean dry land embassy. We see that there are dignitaries and reporters from all over converging on this station looking for some time with the King himself. Sadly one of those reporters happened to be Black Manta in disguise. He uses this opportunity to detonate several bombs that flood the building. Mera trying to hold back the water so more people can get to safety ends up the target of Black Manta. Claiming that out of everything Aquaman could lose, loosing Mera would hurt the most. The issue ends with Black Manta and Aquaman going head to head in a bloody battle. We will have to wait 2 weeks for the conclusion of this duel.
Overall I feel that this is a very solid start to this series. Many times I have talked about how important I feel that Mera’s character is to Aquaman. As his queen she is very supportive of his decisions and also seems to always be by his side when things get rough. In the beginning she reassured him about his upcoming political moves to attempt to unite the land and sea. But now with Black Manta attacking in a very sensitive moment, I look forward to seeing Aquaman’s actions without Mera by his side. Does he turn more aggressive and become blinded by rage? I am not saying that Aquaman is helpless without his queen, I just feel she brings a sort of inner peace and balance to him that allow him to approach different situations with confidence. I want to see how he handles the political repercussions of allowing a bombing to occur at the embassy on the first day. Not to mention the countless people that must have died in the attack. How will the people react? How will the Atlantean’s react? This seems like the perfect time for Orm to ralley the Atlantean’s to attempt to go to war with the “land dwellersâ€. Also as much as I love Black Manta, I would like to see Aquaman take on maybe a new original rouge? For a first issue Dan Abnett has set up the series brilliantly and I look forward to the issues to come.
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artwork: Brad Walker
Inker: Andrew Hennessey
Colors: Gabe Eltaeb