Arthur Curry / Aquaman Appreciation Thread 2020

[Flash Gordon]

I'm in love with this page! it's what I've been waiting for for so long

This was pure gold.

[Frontier]

I just don't see a story about giving the power to the people ending well for Atlantis because the people of Atlantis have never come off very well. I mean, half the time Arthur's only king because he's the only one who can reign Atlantis in.

[MadFacedKid]

Which makes me question why he was in the stands thinking the decision of Mera’s was a great idea. I’m surprised Mera thought it was a great idea it just seems like they don’t personally want to be the rulers and are trying to find any possible way to get out of the situation. The latest issue painted Orm as the most logical when it came to dissolving the monarchy.

Stories like that would work for the Inhumans/Attilan or Black Panther/Wakanda or even Marvel’s Atlantis but it sounds out of place with the history of DC’s Atlantis

[hareluyafan1]

Anyone else very concerned about Dolphin right now?

Pound to a penny she'll side with Arthur, be labelled a traitor by the other Sea-changed and when the silt settles she'll end up hated by both sides (Atlantis for being a Sea-changed and the other Sea-changed for siding with Aquaman).

I'm also concerned for Pilot. If he doesn't end up sacrificing his life for her I will be surprised.

I really hope I'm wrong. I don't want to be a pessimist but still...

[Flash Gordon]

I just don't see a story about giving the power to the people ending well for Atlantis because the people of Atlantis have never come off very well. I mean, half the time Arthur's only king because he's the only one who can reign Atlantis in.

The people have a right to govern themselves. If anything Atlantis is isolationist, which is fine- forcing them not to be isnt the answer. Sure Rath seized power but that was more of a coup by the remaining council members and Drift forces. Those are the same people that are keeping peoples in the Ninth Tride and various other places impoverished. They'll need to go, which it seems like Mera is going to take care of.

[Frontier]

Which makes me question why he was in the stands thinking the decision of Mera’s was a great idea. I’m surprised Mera thought it was a great idea it just seems like they don’t personally want to be the rulers and are trying to find any possible way to get out of the situation. The latest issue painted Orm as the most logical when it came to dissolving the monarchy.

Yeah, him saying she's right felt less like a well-thought out "Atlantis is better off without the throne" and more that he's just tired of it ruining his life. I think he would have more mixed feelings about it because of the possible mess it will make.

The people have a right to govern themselves. If anything Atlantis is isolationist, which is fine- forcing them not to be isnt the answer. Sure Rath seized power but that was more of a coup by the remaining council members and Drift forces. Those are the same people that are keeping peoples in the Ninth Tride and various other places impoverished. They'll need to go, which it seems like Mera is going to take care of.

The people have a right to govern themselves but I don't trust them to govern well. Atlantis' isolationist tendencies tend to cause more harm than good, especially when that just doesn't function well in a comic book universe. General Atlantean citizenry seem to just go with the flow of people like Orm or Rath.

[Flash Gordon]

Well, Orm wasn't a bad king. He cared deeply about his people and his role as their leader. He was just easily manipulated into being aggressive due to his classist ego and learned behavior from his classist father. To the average Atlantean he was probably alright though. I don't see Orm having classist policies towards citizenry, regardless of what he spouts behind closed doors. He seemed to believe heavily in his position as a patriarchal protector of his realm. Rath was a despot but he was propped up and put into power by corrupt oligarchs in Atlantis (what was left of the council and the leadership of the Drift). I doubt he was popular with people, but he had the military so he had control- until Arthur's rebellion. A lot of the Atlantean soldiers seem loyal to Rath (which I think would have worked better if there was a time jump between Arthur getting stabbed by Murk and resurfacing in the Ninth Tride. It felt very much like a time jump was intended, with stuff like no soldiers recognizing Aquaman despite him being the king a few days ago). Rath also came into power immediately following Arthur's milktoast response to a legit assassination attempt on his life, the king, and the life of his wife, the queen. Along with the straight up murder of several council members by the United States government. All of which was unwarranted I might add. The US was dubbed into doing so by Black Manta, another surface dweller.

A nation being isolationist doesn't have to be a bad thing. Especially a nation like Atlantis, who has a genuine grip with the surface world. The capitalist nations of the surface have been polluting the seas and destroying the ecosystem of the Earth. Atlanteans care about the sea, it's their home and they seem to be much more in tune with nature than surface people are.

I'm sure it'll be a tough road to walk, and I'm not convinced that the ilk of Corum Rath are truly gone- but that's why Arthur, Mera, and Vulko need to stick around in some governing capacity.

[MadFacedKid]

The people have a right to govern themselves but I don't trust them to govern well. Atlantis' isolationist tendencies tend to cause more harm than good, especially when that just doesn't function well in a comic book universe. General Atlantean citizenry seem to just go with the flow of people like Orm or Rath.

Don’t forget that instance in continuity also where Aquaman left for a little bit and came back to Rao basically governing Atlantis... Or when they got behind the decisions of a Mera imposter and went against their actual king in hopes of destroying a group of people who were basically they’re brethren. Youd legit have to retcon the way the Atlanteans act to make this come off as a good idea their a scary group of people who jump onto a bandwagon of harming anything that could be a threat to them.

Given them a voice as ironically bad as it sounds could and probably logically would become the worst thing you can do. What if attacking the surface world becomes the popular vote? Does the democratic Atlantis ignore what the people want?

[Frontier]

Well, Orm wasn't a bad king. He cared deeply about his people and his role as their leader. He was just easily manipulated into being aggressive due to his classist ego and learned behavior from his classist father. To the average Atlantean he was probably alright though. I don't see Orm having classist policies towards citizenry, regardless of what he spouts behind closed doors. He seemed to believe heavily in his position as a patriarchal protector of his realm. Rath was a despot but he was propped up and put into power by corrupt oligarchs in Atlantis (what was left of the council and the leadership of the Drift). I doubt he was popular with people, but he had the military so he had control- until Arthur's rebellion. A lot of the Atlantean soldiers seem loyal to Rath (which I think would have worked better if there was a time jump between Arthur getting stabbed by Murk and resurfacing in the Ninth Tride. It felt very much like a time jump was intended, with stuff like no soldiers recognizing Aquaman despite him being the king a few days ago). Rath also came into power immediately following Arthur's milktoast response to a legit assassination attempt on his life, the king, and the life of his wife, the queen. Along with the straight up murder of several council members by the United States government. All of which was unwarranted I might add. The US was dubbed into doing so by Black Manta, another surface dweller.

A nation being isolationist doesn't have to be a bad thing. Especially a nation like Atlantis, who has a genuine grip with the surface world. The capitalist nations of the surface have been polluting the seas and destroying the ecosystem of the Earth. Atlanteans care about the sea, it's their home and they seem to be much more in tune with nature than surface people are.

I'm sure it'll be a tough road to walk, and I'm not convinced that the ilk of Corum Rath are truly gone- but that's why Arthur, Mera, and Vulko need to stick around in some governing capacity.

Orm was a good king from the standpoint of Altantean interests but we saw how that ended up when the US was framed for killing Atlanteans. Whatever their gripes with the surface I don't think they should have the freedom to carry out the kind of attacks Orm did in Thrones of Atlantis, and we have no reason to believe that wasn't carried out with the will of the people.

Atlantis' problem is they are isolationists who can never stay isolationists, and they don't mesh well with anyone else. Although if you stick Arthur and Mera in the government then it's basically still the same thing of them ruling the kingdom because they still have the same job they did before.

[Flash Gordon]

Orm was a good king from the standpoint of Altantean interests but we saw how that ended up when the US was framed for killing Atlanteans. Whatever their gripes with the surface I don't think they should have the freedom to carry out the kind of attacks Orm did in Thrones of Atlantis, and we have no reason to believe that wasn't carried out with the will of the people.

Atlantis' problem is they are isolationists who can never stay isolationists, and they don't mesh well with anyone else. Although if you stick Arthur and Mera in the government then it's basically still the same thing of them ruling the kingdom because they still have the same job they did before.

Why shouldn't Orm, or Atlantis, be able to defend itself? I personally don't think the attacks were the right way to go about things in THRONE OF ATLANTIS, but they were hardly unjustified. The corporate culture of the surface world is brutal on the environment, nature, hell even just life in general. The ocean is dying, how could Atlantis not see that as an assault on their ability to even exist, ya know?

Mera and Aquaman being a part of the governing body wouldn't be the same as it is now, since it's currently a monarchy- although Atlantis never seemed like an absolute monarchy. It depends on what form the central state apparatus takes, but Aquaman and Mera can simply hold positions within the government.

[Ra-El]

I want this democracy to crash and burn and Arthur to have to go back and take control of Atlantis. But this time he would actually act as a king.

[MadFacedKid]

I want this democracy to crash and burn and Arthur to have to go back and take control of Atlantis. But this time he would actually act as a king.

That’s what I’m waiting on too. I’m sure the ride to getting to that point will be a fun one though but it’s honestly inevitable unless you ignore how DC Atlantis typically acts with Arthur not around.

[Frontier]

Why shouldn't Orm, or Atlantis, be able to defend itself? I personally don't think the attacks were the right way to go about things in THRONE OF ATLANTIS, but they were hardly unjustified. The corporate culture of the surface world is brutal on the environment, nature, hell even just life in general. The ocean is dying, how could Atlantis not see that as an assault on their ability to even exist, ya know?

I don't think they were wrong to defend themselves but the level of attack they perpetrated in ToA was way over the line and that level of dissonance to the innocent people they killed and probably would have killed had Aquaman and the League not intervened is why Arthur had to take the throne back and end the fighting. Aquaman's whole job is to fight for a balance between land and sea without resorting to extremism.

Mera and Aquaman being a part of the governing body wouldn't be the same as it is now, since it's currently a monarchy- although Atlantis never seemed like an absolute monarchy. It depends on what form the central state apparatus takes, but Aquaman and Mera can simply hold positions within the government.

And they will probably still get bogged down in complicated politics because of how Atlantis is. They're just exchanging one headache for another.

I want this democracy to crash and burn and Arthur to have to go back and take control of Atlantis. But this time he would actually act as a king.

That'll probably be what happens one way or another. From what I understand it's what happened to Wakanda.

[Robanker]

I want this democracy to crash and burn and Arthur to have to go back and take control of Atlantis. But this time he would actually act as a king.

He arguably acted most like an actual monarch/politician at the onset of Rebirth where he had to make an actual hard decision as head of state. It's rarely dealt with because, much as it bothers me to say so, most readers don't care about the ocean and the politics therein. Pretty sure any story on ocean dumping would get a lot of the usual jackasses complaining that their comics are suddenly political. Anything on how we aggressively destroy coral reefs and Arthur has had enough would be decried as SJW. It would just be a space opera but undersea with a bunch of ill-defined, made up cultures staking claim over territories just introduced and most would roll their eyes.

It's hard to deal with Atlantis as a realm because it's so tied to the environment so it usually gets made into just another sci-fi locale like a planet in GL or a less mythic Themyscira.


I love all that stuff, but I've yet to really see it sell.

[MadFacedKid]

Mera and Aquaman being a part of the governing body wouldn't be the same as it is now, since it's currently a monarchy- although Atlantis never seemed like an absolute monarchy. It depends on what form the central state apparatus takes, but Aquaman and Mera can simply hold positions within the government.

Given what we’ve seen so far in the New52 the monarchy of Atlantis doesn’t seem to mean much there are still rules the monarchs seem to have to abide by and you could arguably correlate the widowhood and council of Atlantis as Atlantis senate and congress of sorts.

what should of happened after the Rath arc is instead of Aquaman standing down they put people in council from each tride making sure each station of Atlantis had a say and was heard. If that happened a lot of problems like Orm becoming a king of sorts again could of probably been avoided. Or another Corum Rath could of been prevented. Which I still don’t get the politics of Rath ever becoming king till this day

Atlantis' problem is they are isolationists who can never stay isolationists, and they don't mesh well with anyone else. Although if you stick Arthur and Mera in the government then it's basically still the same thing of them ruling the kingdom because they still have the same job they did before.

Which is why Arthur was suppose to be the ideal king he understands the politics of both worlds and being of both worlds he’s the person that would be the most level headed when dealing with stuff going south between Atlantis and The Surface. If he’s not the king being the ambassador makes the most sense. I do prefer him as king though I’ll admit.