Sibling Rivalry

Diving back into the world of Atlantis, we witness a corrupt king wage war on another world. To prevent his two homes from striking against each other, Arthur Curry must put his allegiance on the line. The next PBDC movie pitch is here, "Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis".

Once the most teased superheroes in America, Aquaman's fan community has risen up in support of the royal hero. It is thanks to his newfound popularity that Aquaman has been able to drum up support for his treaty between the US and Atlantis, a treaty that has both lands divided in opinion. His brother King Orm reluctantly backs the treaty until torpedos launched from a Navy submarine destroy a portion of the undersea kingdom. Orm takes this as a sign of war despite US officials claiming it was a system malfunction. Taking responsibility of the surface and the sea, Aquaman and Mera must solve the mysterious torpedo case, before any more lives are sunk.

Arthur would act more as a diplomat for Atlantis, appearing at UN meetings and discussing politics with his brother. You would think this pressure would shake him, but Arthur is surprisingly happy about all of it. Before becoming Aquaman, Arthur spent his time wallowing in a lighthouse, but now he is the bridge between two worlds just as his parents wanted him to be. Plus, being in a loving relationship with Mera cheers him up, too. Although they disagree, Arthur has gotten along with Orm as well thanks to royal advisor Valko's interventions. Arthur has also been given an assistant of his own, Kaldur. Kaldur is a young Atlantean trained in combat, mysticism and eidetic, making him very quiet and timid. Maxwell Lord would appear after threats of war are placed between the US and Atlantis and he'd question who's side Arthur would protect when it came to war. When Atlantean spies begin invading the country, the US organization ARGUS would try to capture Arthur and label him as a traitor. Arthur, Mera, and Kaldur use biologist Dr. Shin's technology and Lord's connections to access the sub's records, while Orm-taking the title Ocean Master-would focus his troops towards the surface and lock Valko in the dungeons for his misplaced judgements. When Ocean Master attacks the surface he brings not only Atlantean soldiers, but he also brings sea monsters like The Trench (see "All Hail The King" for more info). Arthur and his two Atlanteans venture back to Atlantis after learning the torpedo launch was a hacked order from Atlantis' master operation system, a machine used to power machinery and technology within the mostly magic-based city. The Justice League would appear to help stall Ocean Master's army. They wouldn't be the only heroes having a cameo as characters like Green Arrow, Black Canary, Firestorm, The Atom, and a few other heroes in the background would assist. In order to access the room where the AMOS is stored, Arthur must rescue Valko from the dungeon to punch in a code, but Valko reveals there are two codes, one known by him and the other known by Orm. Against his better instincts, Arthur must make a deal with Black Manta. At this point Manta is a prisoner of Atlantis and with his advanced hacking prowess he could unlock the AMOS door, in exchange for his freedom. Manta shares a brief interaction with Kaldur, one that DC fans might pick up on. After the AMOS door is unlocked, Manta locks the group inside and escapes from Atlantis. Arthur learns the activation command was not made by Orm, but was actually made by Valko. After breaking out of the AMOS and locking Valko up, Aquaman and Mera join the war and bring it to an end when Aquaman defeats his brother in unarmed combat. Orm is locked in prison for his acts of war and Valko claims that Arthur lacked the motivation to become King, like his mother always wanted. So Valko set up the entire war with hopes that Arthur would seize command and lead Atlantis towards peace, or rather, domination. With Mera as his Queen and Kaldur as his new Advisor, Aquaman would become the new King of Atlantis. After the credits, we open to a barren wasteland where an army begins to gather. A small liquid portal opens and the army's leader Nereus proclaims, "Mera, my love, we will take Atlantis back".
This story serves to show the condition the PBDC world is in, to be constantly fluctuating between admiring heroes and fearing their actions. It is less a tale of a prince proving he can be king, but is actually an outsider proving his loyalty is not divided. In a sense, Aquaman's response towards the surface and the sea during this event mirrors the unaligned nature of The Justice League, as they too do not choose national sides. Aquaman represents union, loyalty and resourcefulness in this movie pitch adaptation of one his best stories. Thanks for reading.
Love is in the air in Coast City, though it may be tough love. "Green Lantern: Reign of The Zamerons" is coming next!

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