Balancing A Glass of Water on The Deck: Paul Continues The 52 Pick With Aquaman #1

Aquaman’s got a raw deal. I mean come on think about it? The dude talks to fish and no one takes him seriously. He’s also had the worst PR over the years. They tried to make him cool by cutting off his arm, and growing a Thor like beard and hair. Didn’t he have a spear for a hand? Ouch, tough break Aquaman. And, come to think of it, what the hell is his real name any way? He’s the constant butt of all super hero jokes

Even NPR’s Glen Wheldon has a soft spot the King of the Wide Ocean Blue:

[P]eople who dismiss The Swift and Powerful Monarch of the Ocean are the sort of people who root for the alpha dog, not the underdog. They are drawn to privilege, not spirit; power, not heart; Yankees, not Cubs; Cameron, not Bigelow; Superman, not Aquaman.

Listen: It is the easiest thing in the world to love Superman. It risks nothing. Everything comes easy to Superman.

But Aquaman? That guy’s had a rough go of it.

And so have his fans.

I remember reading this article when Aquaman had returned in Geoff Johns’ “Brightest Day” and stayed with me for many reasons.

1.) There is a passionate Aquaman fan out there. Which I

thought was pretty cool.
2.) There was someone out there crazy enough or ballsy enough…or both…to stand up so passionately for the fish-loving hero.
3.) Does He love fish? Well anyway…

It made me rethink Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman and when DC announced that one of the titles that would be apart of the “New 52” was this character I couldn’t wait to see what they would do with him.

Bare in mind, I really have never read an Aquaman comic, only the stuff from Blackest Night/Brightest Day, and I guess that wasn’t the best material to base my opinion on!

So here we are, issue #1 of Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado’s Aquaman. Right away we get the idea that our ideas of this aquatic hero are mirrored in the DC Universe. Bank robbers in Boston race through the city streets with the BPD on their tail. One of cops spots him from the car and states: “What’s Aquaman doing here? We’re not in the ocean and I don’t see any fish around.”

In one swoop Aquaman is able to stop the robbers while on lookers appear stunned. Not because they saw a car flip over, but because its Aquaman. One of the cops approaches him and asks: “You need a glass of water or something?” Everyone stands around looking uncomfortable, Aquaman included.

The poor guy can’t even catch a break when he tries to get lunch at a near by seafood restaurant! He struts in with his green and orange…costume? Is that what that is? Armor? Anyway…

When he tries to order fish and chips, a patron near by tells him he can’t eat fish because he talks to them. Even though he tries set the record straight the people around him try to correct his own power. I think Johns did a nice job illustrating what it must have been like for this poor guy who can’t catch a break in the super hero community. “How does it feel to be nobody’s favorite superhero?” Ouch.

His voice is lost to the waves of naysayers; the very people he tries to protect don’t care about him. Never mind the fact that this dude controls the water, which makes up 75% of the world surface. I wouldn’t want to mess with that guy.

I’m starting to feel sorry for this guy, like more than Bruce Banner. At least when he Hulks out, people get scared, but Aquaman? No one’s gonna bat an eye!

What we have here isn’t something unique to the super hero genre. We have the guy who needs to prove him self. The guy who is put down by the people around him. What I do like though is that this comic addresses us. What people say about him is what myself and others say about him. But have we ever taken the chance to know Arthur Curry? Some how the misunderstandings speak for him, which is true in life. We’re all so easy to judge off of one half truth that is presented before us, but do we ever really try to know the source material, the soul of the very thing we condemn?

It’s like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Look at how many people whom have never read the book, but when they think of him they think of this giant green monster with bolts in his neck who only speaks two syllables. Well guess what? Frankenstein is the inventor, not the monster, and hes really quite intelligent. So is Aquaman, I think if you look beyond the surface, you’ll find more than just a dude who can talk to fish.

Lets hope Johns and his team can do the character the justice he deserves and reels in a new generation of fans.

That “reels’ bit…No pun intended. Honest!