Alright, I'll give you two minutes to laugh at Aquaman. Go on, get it all out. Good? Good. The next installment into The Panel Biter's DC Cinematic Universe is "Aquaman". Starring Aquaman, a character who can kick Batman's ass. I'll give you Bat-fans another two minutes to complain. Good? Good.
Amnesty Bay, a small town on the shoreline of Maine and home to a lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry. Tom Curry raised Arthur for twenty-five years on his own, telling Arthur that his mother was a mermaid soon after Arthur discovered his seafaring superpowers. While on a fishing trip with his father's friends, the teenaged Arthur witnessed a man named David Hyde kill Tom. As revenge, Arthur planned on killing David at a pub, but mistakenly killed David's father instead, cementing an eternal rivalry between the two men. Arthur is now the thirty year old hermit who guards the lighthouse in his father's memory, only leaving to help lost ships out on the ocean, gaining him the local moniker of Aquaman. One day, he meets a woman named Mera and a man named Valko who reveal Arthur's true origin. Arthur is brought to the sunken city of Atlantis, meets his half-brother King Orm, and learns his mother was Queen Atlanna. This homecoming is interrupted when a pack of sea monsters known as The Trench start causing havoc in Amnesty Bay. With Mera's help, Arthur must master his aquatic powers and stop The Trench's killing spree all while David returns as The Black Manta.
Obviously the inclusion of Atlantis and undersea action separate "Aquaman" from the rest of the Phase One PBDC films. This film would take heavy influence from Geoff Johns' New 52 run on the character, juggling themes of humor, pride and responsibility. Aquaman himself would start out as a struggling hero trying to make up for his past, while later he'd honor both his parents by protecting land and sea. He would retain his New 52 appearance and would be given his Trident by Mera who's kept it hidden away at Atlanna's request. The death of Atlanna and Orm's father would be believed to be assassination, but ignored by Orm for suspicious (but obvious) reasons. Mera would seem to be one of Atlanna's assistants, but her backstory would be kept secret for now. Valko acts as Arthur's elderly guide, Orm would be a condescending purist, and Professor Stephan Shin would show up when Arthur reluctantly goes to him to examine a Trench's corpse. Black Manta would be our headlining bad guy, taking the mysterious Trench invasion as a chance to finally kill Aquaman. David built the Black Manta arsenal by selling off his father's long-collected antiques after his father's murder, a murder that Arthur would feel guilt over. Visually, Arthur's control over sea creatures would be shown as ripples in the air around him, like heat lines off a grill. Background on Atlantis' history would be given little detail by Orm and the relationship between Tom and Atlanna would be told by Volko. Yes, this is an origin story, but one that'd better show the depth to Aquaman's history. Heh, depth. Oh, and as reference to 1967 "Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", Arthur would have two pet seahorses named Storm and Imp.
In order for this to work, Aquaman must be shown to be powerful enough to rival someone like Superman, but not barbaric enough to scare children. Aquaman must retain his regal roots by serving as a protector of others, while also having the themes of a New Englander. Humanity would see him as a joke, Atlantis would see him as a mistake, but after proving both worlds wrong Aquaman would become an admired hero. This film must be fun, it must be exciting, but most of all it must pay respect to Aquaman's character. Fans of 90's Aquaman be patient, the grittiness will come.
While it was fun crafting an idea for an Aquaman movie, it was also difficult to simplify it. Now with our big five players lined up and two more in the background, we can move on the movie that will "unite the seven". Get hyped readers, "Justice League" is coming up. Thanks for reading!
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