Reign Of The Aquamen
March 4, 2008 by The Fortress Keeper
Occasional Superheroine recently reported that DC is planning to relaunch Aquaman once again, but isn’t sure which version to resurrect.
The super friend? The bad-@$$ with the harpoon hand?? The “trophy wife” Aquaman, who briefly wooed your humble host but didn’t really work out???
The Keeper, of course, casts his vote for the classic, Silver-Age version. The grim ‘n’ gritty “Captain Hook” characterization really only worked in the Peter David comics and Justice League Unlimited cartoon.
That said, maybe someone should check in with Mr. Curry himself.
We understand he has a certain way with words.
I’ll second that vote. I liked the harpoon hand look, but the character seemed kind of shallow. And the mystical water hand, creature of the deeeps,sword and sorcery storyline? Not my idea of Aquaman. I want the Aquaman who’s a half-human king of the seas. Just like he used to be.
I’ll third that vote. And I’ll defend myself against charges of codger-ness by saying that it would be a “back to basics” approach, stripping off all the layers of crud, er, complication that have accrued to the character.
Oh classic Arthur all the way.
Having just spent some time thinking about Aquaman, I’d be inclined to go Silver Age, but with something less specific that previous relaunches. I’d love to see someone like Mike Allred on art chores collaborating with a variety of writers who might be able to contribute a variety of quirky stories that cover different scopes.
I’d almost be inclined to lean toward a Classified model with shorter stories and a strict mandate to avoid making the character more like Namor. Which may very well include avoiding super-human strength!
We’re at the perfect time to bring him back to his roots. There’s a certain Silver Age mania in the air. The Showcase books are doing well. Classic Aquaman is already appearing in Teen Titans Year One and looks as badass in classic mode as any harpoon hand iteration.
We haven’t had an Aquaman that polices the seas for decades. Instead we have the Namor model, Atlanteans vs. humanity, etc.