Aquaman #3 discussion

[HsssH]

Does Aquaman have that many organizations against him that anyone would be familiar with? I think the big boss man reveal will help explain this organization - and wouldn't be surprised if it's Orm

Well your point rises couple of questions:

1. Does Aquaman need some secret organization as adversary? It seams that every character these days has something like that and it has become just another check-list item to clear. It doesn't inspire confidence and doesn't feel very creative.
2. Now, I don't mind Abnett introducing new groups, but I think it could be done in a better way. Here they basically poped out of nowhere and supposedly had been operating for some time already without anyone in-universe being aware of them. Now, maybe Abnett will flesh them out and make them interesting in next few issues, but their introduction to me feels very generic and I think its natural to be sceptical about second act if first one is underwhelming.

Groups claim credit all of the time w/o the leader of the group having to pop his head up. Pretty obvious the people were from Atlantis, which points directly back to the King

Problem is simplicity, for example its easy to infer from previous issues that Aquaman had set up diplomatic relationship between USA and worked out all details required to set up an embassy on USA soil. It had public opening with representatives from various places so obviously it was officially recognized.

Now, what happens in this issue? Embassy seams to be on lock-down and nobody knows why, what would realistically happen here? USA would make some statement on why that is happening or at least inform Atlantis that deal is off and you should all go home. None of that happens, how Aquaman decides to respond? Goes to see Mera and they decide to walk to the White House. He doesn't bother to contact government of Atlantis to find out if they know something about it, he also doesn't bother to make an appointment with the president, assumption here probably is that president just sits all day in White House waiting for someone to see him. Then he gets arrested for dubious reasons, its stupid not because groups claim credits without their leader showing his face all the time, but because Atlantis is not a terrorist group, but a sovereign nation and here you got head of the state saying that he doesn't know anything about it, natural outcome would be to get things cleared up and Aquaman making some kinda counter-statement, not him getting arrested.

Now, I understand that such details might not be interesting to other people, but they are interesting to me and thats why I'm finding whole political angle of Aquaman lacking.

[Den]

For me, Mera almost steals the show. That's not a failing, as Aquaman himself is still a character I like. They enhance each other beautifully in this. While Arthur clearly wants to work within the system, I'm not sure how long Mera is going to put up with what to her must seem obvious injustice. I get the feeling more is happening on the US side of negotiations than we're seeing, and if there isn't some politician with an anti-Atlantean agenda in the wings.

[BFF]

It just feels like it's been done before.

Will the USA land-dwellers work together with the Atlanteans at some point and realize that we're not all that different and we shouldn't be scared of them?

Is NEMO supposed to be a terrorist group? They radicalized Manta pretty quickly, giving him some meaning to his life.

[Brave Sir Robin]

I liked this issue a lot, maybe the most of the new run. It is probably because it solidifies for me Arthur's character and his relationship with Mera. It wasn't any better or worse plot wise, it just started to really make me feel good about the comic. Aquaman and Simone's Batgirl were by far my favorite New 52 characters and it is good to see the things about that Aquaman that made me like the book going strong in this one.

[GigiFusc]

Just read it this morning. The plot point specifics feel so shallow and simplistic that it kind of ruined it for me. Sorry.

[Mr Vigilant]

Well your point rises couple of questions:

1. Does Aquaman need some secret organization as adversary? It seams that every character these days has something like that and it has become just another check-list item to clear. It doesn't inspire confidence and doesn't feel very creative.
2. Now, I don't mind Abnett introducing new groups, but I think it could be done in a better way. Here they basically poped out of nowhere and supposedly had been operating for some time already without anyone in-universe being aware of them. Now, maybe Abnett will flesh them out and make them interesting in next few issues, but their introduction to me feels very generic and I think its natural to be sceptical about second act if first one is underwhelming.



Problem is simplicity, for example its easy to infer from previous issues that Aquaman had set up diplomatic relationship between USA and worked out all details required to set up an embassy on USA soil. It had public opening with representatives from various places so obviously it was officially recognized.

Now, what happens in this issue? Embassy seams to be on lock-down and nobody knows why, what would realistically happen here? USA would make some statement on why that is happening or at least inform Atlantis that deal is off and you should all go home. None of that happens, how Aquaman decides to respond? Goes to see Mera and they decide to walk to the White House. He doesn't bother to contact government of Atlantis to find out if they know something about it, he also doesn't bother to make an appointment with the president, assumption here probably is that president just sits all day in White House waiting for someone to see him. Then he gets arrested for dubious reasons, its stupid not because groups claim credits without their leader showing his face all the time, but because Atlantis is not a terrorist group, but a sovereign nation and here you got head of the state saying that he doesn't know anything about it, natural outcome would be to get things cleared up and Aquaman making some kinda counter-statement, not him getting arrested.

Now, I understand that such details might not be interesting to other people, but they are interesting to me and thats why I'm finding whole political angle of Aquaman lacking.

I agree wholeheartedly with this, the solid, interesting plotting that built up over the first issues just seemed to get shoehorned into a bit of a cliche in the end... Why go to all the trouble of emphasizing the political angles of the embassy and Arthur's aims and then just throw all that away with the governments response to the attack? Abnett sets the Atlantean embassy up as a realistic institution but doesn't follow through with it, breaking the story's own internal logic. He could have got to the same point with Arthur in custody (if he really had to) in much more a much more realistic fashion if he'd just maintained the pace and themes of the first two issues. The plotting in #3 just seemed rushed in comparison. This is issue was a bit of a misstep for me, I'm really hoping he gets it back track in #4.

[soccerguy951]

The story just seems average. Although leaps better than Bunn, Abbetts run so far has just come off as average. Can anyone seriously compare this to storylines such as the Others, Throne of Atlantis, The Dead King, or Aquamans quest to find his mother. Those stories had me unable to wait for the next issue. Ever since Parker left that feeling has been gone. Abbetts run is passable, but that's about it.