Part 1
Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern head under the seas to rescue the crew of the Defiant, a submarine. The Defiant was attacked by a much larger ship from Atlantis. The three heroes are simalarly attacked when they try to rescue the sailors aboard the submarine. Aquaman, the king of Atlantis, lets them rescue the sailors but insists that they leave the Defiant behind.
Green Lantern is more suspicious of Aquaman's motives that either of the others. He sneaks back the next day to investigate the wreck of the Defiant only to discover that the nuclear missiles aboard the sub have all been removed.
It is funny how they refer to Aquaman. They don't seem to know him very well but the only name they use for him is Aquaman. It seems to imply that he has had a public presence in the past but not much in the way of contact with the League. Strange.
Aquaman follows some advice he got from Superman and presents his grievances to the World Assembly. I'm not sure why they didn't just refer to it as the United Nations. His concerns and suggestions are rebuffed. Aquaman leaves in a huff. A sniper strikes as Aquaman is leaving the building, injuring him. Surface medicine can't seem to help Aquaman until Batman shows up with equipment specially designed to help Aquaman; a tank filled with salt water.
Aquaman recovers and agrees to go along with a plan devised by Batman. A public announcement is made that Aquaman is being moved from the hospital where he has been since the attack at the World Assembly to another facility. As he is being moved onto an ambulance the sniper strikes again. This time the League is ready for him. I was expecting the sniper to be someone from Atlantis but I wasn't too surprised to learn that it was Deadshot. He proves to be very slippery and outwits Superman and Wonder Woman. Batman is the one who finally catches him.
Aquaman gets tired of sitting around. Green Lantern insists that he has to stay. Aquaman knocks Green Lantern out with one punch and then leaves. He returns to Atlantis only to discover that things have changed. Orm, his brother, has been busy in his absence. He has General Brak on his side. When Aquaman returns, Orm has him arrested.
This story has some nice fan service moments but as a whole I find it a bit lacking. I liked the inclusion of Deadshot. I liked how difficult he proved to catch. Batman's return also made me happy although his cure for what ailed Aquaman seemed so obvious that it lacked the punch it otherwise might have had.
Part 2
The Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, J'onn J'onzz) arrive in Atlantis. They are there to warn Aquaman about a plot against him but it is too late. Orm has already seized power. The Justice League is overwhelmed and sentenced to death. Mera, Aquaman's wife, rescues them.
Orm has Aquaman chained to a rock above an active underwater lava flow. Just before Orm sends the rock sliding down the embankment toward the lava he brings Aquaman's son to him. Orm sets the rock (with father and son attached to it) sliding down the slope toward the lava. He doesn't stick around to watch his brother and nephew die. Orm is off to conquer the surface world.
Aquaman rescues his son and escapes from certain death but loses his hand in the process. To be clear, he cut off his left hand when he only could break the chains connecting his right arm to the rock. A surgeon fixes his hand and attaches a harpoon in place of the hand. Aquaman and the Leaguers then go after Orm, General Brak, and the Atlantean troops. They find them near the North Pole.
Orm has used the plutonium from the nuclear missiles on the Defiant to arm a Doomsday Thermal Device. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter deal with the Atlantean troops. Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Batman head for the device. Orm damages the device so that it can't be shut down. Orm and Aquaman battle while Green Lantern and Batman try to shut the doomsday device down. Green Lantern uses his ring to protect Batman who crawls into the device and manually tries to shut it down.
Orm does not win the fight with his brother. Aquaman lets him fall to his presumable death. He had the chance to save him but didn't. I was a bit surprised to see that. Batman is able to shut the device down. General Brak tries to plead his case to Aquaman. He claims he was just following orders but Aquaman doesn't accept his excuse.
The second part of this story is considerably more intense than the first. It has its moments. I was very impressed by the way the near execution of Aquaman and his son was handled. I knew they were going to escape but it still got to me. Similarly the scene where Orm begs Aquaman to help him before he falls to his death was also moving. Aquaman isn't a member of the Justice League at this point put he certainly had been at times in the comic books and was a part of the Superfriends cartoon so it was a little surprising that he didn't save his brother.
I was ready to say that I preferred 1.02 (In Blackest Night) to this one but now I'm not so sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment