I miss short hair/no beard/orange-shirt/noble king Aquaman. The character really does not feel like himself right now, and hasn't since the end of Drowned.
I will say that if we're going for a Mariner Arthur, the hair and beard work. They're good for showing movement and water weight, which can really add atmosphere to a page. It worked very well for him in this month's issue.
I don't think the scalemail is gone, he just hasn't had much need for it yet; he'll don his suit when he goes full Aquaman. I don't mind the tattoos, it's movie synergy sure but i dig the giving Aquaman that aesthetic distinction from the typical superhero™ type. plus if they were gonna take anything from Aquaman (2018) I think adding some polynesian/islander flavor to Aquaman makes about as much sense (if not more) as all the "King Arthur" knights of the sea overtones attached to Aquaman.
THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki
also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.
currently following:
- DC: Red Hood: The Hill
- Marvel: TBD
- Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force
"power does not corrupt, power always reveals."
I mean, if he actually looked more like Jason Momoa the tattoos would make sense. I don't think they've retconned Tom Curry into Temerua Morrison yet so he doesn't have the ancestry to where I think the tattoos would be appropriate or more sense then the "King Arthur" nods.
I guess it also bothers me that to keep it relevant relies on him continually being shirtless instead of wearing his actual costume .
he received the tattoo from a Maori God of the Sea as a show of respect and gratitude, they don't need to make Tom Curry explicitly polynesian (although, admittedly, I'd be down with that) for it to have meaning so long as it respectfully serves the same cultural relevance. Granted I do agree, it would've been better if they made his tats more explicitly like Momoa's in the movie but still I think it being bestowed by a being from Maori culture makes more sense than this underwater people evolving to mirror coincidentally knights and King Arthur motifs and such.
Lol I can see the shirtless complaint but hey man, I kinda like the more lax surfer bro vibe he's got going. I think once he's back in full swing of being Aquaman there'll be more of an equilibrium between him shirtless, him being in civvies, and him in the scalemail.
Last edited by lemonpeace; 09-20-2019 at 06:18 PM.
THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki
also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.
currently following:
- DC: Red Hood: The Hill
- Marvel: TBD
- Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force
"power does not corrupt, power always reveals."
I just don't think it fits for him to be sporting Polynesian or Maoi-esque tatoos when he really doesn't look the part. If he actually resembled Momoa more it would fit better in my opinion.
I mean, it just seems like something that's more rooted in Momoa's culture, while with the King Arthur stuff you've got an ancient kingdom and a one true king who takes over and leads the kingdom to a new age. Although to be honest the King Arthur motift has never been all that big beyond Arthur's name and character status.
To be honest, reading the first arc, I don't get that vibe at all. He seems kind of normal beyond just being disoriented from not having his memories.Lol I can see the shirtless complaint but hey man, I kinda like the more lax surfer bro vibe he's got going. I think once he's back in full swing of being Aquaman there'll be more of an equilibrium between him shirtless, him being in civvies, and him in the scalemail.
eh, the heavy bulky knights in sea-armor and the sword & sorcery elements infused into the character in the 90s (they literally had the lady of the lake from Arthurian lore in Aquaman's stories before) feel more egregious than the Maori tats to me. I feel islander culture just makes more sense for an aquatic hero than the medieval angle. If they went full Momoa the fanboys would lose their mind, I don't think they needed to go that radical to justify the tattoos; earning the tattoos from the Maori felt like it was enough. Yes, expanding his tattoos were definitely something make give his Aquaman more of a personal touch for Momoa, I just don't think it's something that is all that tacked on or so egregious of a change.
The first arc, with the Old Gods, he's definitely more disoriented than anything else but once he meets Mother Shark and goes back to Amnesty Bay he's not necessarily stereotypically bro-y but he's got a more care-free thoughtful everyman kind of feel to him. I'd say more like a kindly beach bum than an obnoxious surfer bro. I definitely think it's supposed to be representative of a weight being off of his shoulders since leaving the thrones and rediscovering who he is.
THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki
also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.
currently following:
- DC: Red Hood: The Hill
- Marvel: TBD
- Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force
"power does not corrupt, power always reveals."
Islander culture feels like it would make more sense if Aquaman was actually part of that culture. Even if a Maori god gave it to him it will probably still seem like cultural appropriation to a layman since Aquaman is culturally not part of that and doesn't look the part beyond the tats.
Personally I think the King Arthur stuff fits Aquaman conceptually more since it lends to his kind of stories and characterization, but that's just me.
I guess I'll have to read the next arcs to truly "hear" DeConnick's voice for Arthur.The first arc, with the Old Gods, he's definitely more disoriented than anything else but once he meets Mother Shark and goes back to Amnesty Bay he's not necessarily stereotypically bro-y but he's got a more care-free thoughtful everyman kind of feel to him. I'd say more like a kindly beach bum than an obnoxious surfer bro. I definitely think it's supposed to be representative of a weight being off of his shoulders since leaving the thrones and rediscovering who he is.
Man, this makes me feel bad for when he inevitably has to be king again .
Has anyone read Aquaman sword of Atlantis? The one where he teams up with King Shark. I’m trying to track it down but I can only find it on the dc comics app. Is it worth getting?
It didn't do it for me, but to be fair, it's not actually Arthur. DC wanted to replace Arthur with... Arthur Joseph Curry! He wasn't Orin, he was Arthur! They also looked the same, but Orin was still part of the plot? It seemed like DC was unsure what they wanted to do to bring people back to Aquaman.
I don't blame the creative team involved, it really does feel like editorial made a status quo and put talented people on it, but they didn't have much to work with.