Every character in this timeline is different from who they are in the main DC Universe. Wonder Woman is no different. Diana is like Moana and she is obsessed with seeing what is beyond the Island. She grabs a boat one day to sail beyond the mist shielding their home. A kraken attacks and this brings Wonder Woman face to face with the first man she has ever met in Aquaman. They remain friends for years going forward and even plan on getting married. When tragedy strikes at the wedding Diana's mother is struck down by an Atlantian spear thrown by Artemis and Garth is framed for it. This is truly a Game of Thrones styled story. Diana sacrifices her homeland and destroys Themyscira in hopes of killing all of the Atlantians along with Arthur. Because they are a people without a home the invade England take it over as New Themyscira. Meanwhile Arthur and Atlantis come up with a plan to get revenge and showcase their power. They sink mainland Europe but the Amazons raise the British Isles up high. Mera discovers where Diana is going to be and set out on her own to end this war. But Wonder Woman beheads Mera and and keeps the helmet as a trophy. This drives Aquaman mad leading these two to the final showdown in battle. It was revealed that Artemis did not act alone in creating this conflict but that she and Orm have been manipulating one another's sides to bring us to the point of madness. By the time Wonder Woman and Aquaman find out the damage is already done.
This volume also showcases the origin of Aquaman in this new reality. It starts off with how the Atlanteans came into the possession of power that can sink and entire continent. We have seen the death of Mera from multiple points of view in this story and it truly reminds me of Game of Thrones as a mentioned earlier because we are shown the emotions and motives from both sides of the conflict; the drama is high here. Aquaman's origin is different in that he is not raised entirely on land like in the main DC Universe but instead as soon as he becomes a teenager Atlanteans barge into his home and kill his father and take him away. This reinforces that a lot of what made Aquaman the hero we know and love today needed that influence from his father. The Aquaman and Wonder Woman stories are mirror images of each other and work quite well together painting a complete picture.
The next story is titled Lois Lane and the Resistance. Lois Lane is always in the wrong place at the wrong time and in this case nothing has changed. Lois and Jimmy are in Europe when the disaster strikes and Jimmy is washed away. The Amazons arrive to rescue female and child survivors if you are male you are S.O.L. Great Britain has been turned into an occupied fortress by the Amazons. The refugees are taken to detention camps and brainwashing centers assimilate the refugees. Right away Lois sees that there is something wrong with this and goes looking for answers. She comes into to possession of a piece of tech that she thought was from Jimmy but was really from Jimmy but was really from Cyborg. This leads her to the resistance in Britain. The resistance is a group misfits that is lead by Grifter. This group and Lois Lanes story is quite intense and interesting. In the end one of England's greatest heroes returns in Britannia. Britannia has her showdown with Wonder Woman while Lois Lane puts out a call to all of the heroes for the final showdown.
The final story in this volume is about the Outsider. This book gives us the origin of the Outsider This is an interesting story because of who the Outsider is, he is a villain. Seeing how the Terrifics are portrayed in this story and how the DC Universe is twisted is just amazing. Black Adam plays a prominent role in this story as the Outsider is going on a quest to see who has set him up and is playing him. At every turn you expect one of the other characters to take down the Outsider because of the prior knowledge. But at every turn he comes away unscathed even when he goes up against Martian Manhunter. All of this takes place between the call that Cyborg made to the heroes at the beginning of Flashpoint and the final showdown.
This third volume of Aquaman touches on his origin which leads seamlessly into the Throne of Atlantis story arc which crosses over with the Justice League book. One of the great things about this book is grand epic scale that the event has taking a what was once a fifth rate character & taking one of his villains to a world threat level. Even though all of Atlantis's attacks were directed at the United States its effects would have been felt around the world. The revelation that Orm is not only Arthur's brother but Ocean Master is nice but the reveal of who really orchestrated this attack to certain & for what purpose is somewhat lackluster. The return of the creatures from The Trench is nice surprise as well. All in all this really an Aquaman story & the Justice League are just bit players but does show that the League is not prepared for everything.
This second volume of Geoff Johns Aquaman is one of the shining stars of the New 52. Johns has deepened the mythos that surrounds this laughable character in recent years. I was glued to this title from the moment I flip open the cover. This volume takes us back to Arthur's early years of crime fighting & what truly makes Black Manta such a dangerous adversary. I like the team of The Others, I just wish they had more screen time than just this one volume.
I am a big fan of Geoff Johns Green Lantern run it is sad to see that that that has come to an end, but now at least I will be able to catch up on it. I liked Aquaman as a black lantern in the Blackest Night story so when I heard Johns was working on a new Aquaman book I put this on my short list of books to read in the near future. This first volume did not disappoint it put all the Aquaman jokes right out in the open. It showcased him as a superhero that is trying to find his place in the world knowing full well that the world thinks he is a joke among the superhero community. Even though his secret identity is public knowledge Aquaman still tries to find solitude & anonymity living in a lighthouse on coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The first arc in this volume is The Trench it brings creatures from the depths of the ocean that would make anybody hesitate going into the the water again. These creatures are reminiscent of the monster in Peter Benchley's White Shark which make them equally terrifying since they can walk on land. The second arc works as a nice set up to the next volume of this title. I know that Johns is off the book soon which I think sucks because he redefined Green Lantern for a generation of readers I wished he would have been able to do that for Aquaman as well hopefully whoever DC has chosen to take on the title will due just as much justice to the character as Geoff Johns work has done so far.
