Chapter Sixteen: King of the Seven Seas
Place: Offices of DC Comics, New York City
Year: 1986
"Tom Curry," said Peter David, "served in the US Coast Guard for years before he retired to become a lighthouse keeper. It was a lonely job but he was a bit of a loner; he had been since he had had that 'vision of Poseidon.' The Coast Guard's in charge of lighthouses, anyways, so he knew what to do when he left the service. He moved to a small fishing village in Maine called Amnesty Bay and volunteered for the loneliest job in town.
"He stayed there at his post day in day out, only coming to town once a month for supplies. It might have stayed that way for the rest of his life until there came an especially powerful storm, a hurricane actually, and he saw a woman adrift in the waves clinging to a raft. With that all his Coast Guard training kicked in and he went to the rescue. Curry braved the hurricane, the wind and the waves and managed to rescue her. When she got her back to the warmth of the lighthouse, to blankets and hot coffee, however, she, to his shock was perfectly fine. She should have drowned ten times over but aside from admittedly nasty bruises, she was in better shape than he was.
"She claimed to have no family or home and wouldn't answer questions about where she came from. All she'd give was her name, Atlanna. With nowhere else to go she stayed with him for a time; to his surprise she was a Poseidon worshipper like he was. Tom thought he was the only eccentric in the world. She also loved the sea like he did and they soon swore their marriage by the sea god.
"When the next month rolled around, the people of Amnesty Bay were shocked when Curry strolled into town with his new wife though they did give her a warm welcome. When he told the story, they joked that a woman falling out of the sky was the only way he'd ever have gotten a wife. Atlanna was a mystery to them but even more so to Tom. Why was she always so weak? Why did she spend hours on the beach just staring at the ocean? Why did she have to shower five times a day? Why was it that when she prayed to Poseidon before his fishing trips he always caught double, quadruple, octuple, the fish he otherwise would? (And on perfect seas to boot…) And how was it that she slept all night in the bathtub that one time covered in water without drowning?"
David saw the smiles in the crowd and nodded. "Tom had his suspicions but he never asked her. He'd heard too many stories about otherworldly wives who left their human husbands when they tried to pry into their secrets. He would not lose the love of his life. The only time he made an exception was when she was pregnant with their son. Tom told Atlanna that he'd always respected her decision to remain silent about her past but now he had to know, with all the things she could do, what effect would that have on the baby? Would he be alright? Atlanna told her husband that she would explain in time and assured him that whatever else might happen the baby would be born healthy and strong.
"She was right and gave birth to a healthy boy they named Arthur.
"Tom provided for his wife and reared their son as best he could. He and Atlanna home schooled the boy and young Arthur helped his dad take care of the light house. They'd often go fishing to bring home dinner. In the evenings, he'd ask his father to tell him stories about his days in the Coast Guard; Arthur loved hearing his hero father's adventures. He did make Chief Petty Officer and did earn the Gold Lifesaving Medal and Good Conduct Medal. Arthur also grew up hearing stories of Aquaman, a Golden Age hero famous among all seamen and stories of Atlantis. His mother told those stories but she did his father grew worried.
Schwartz nodded. Mort's original version brought back. I miss you Mort.
"Though Tom Curry trusted his wife completely, he knew that there was something… wrong. When Arthur was a baby, for example, he crawled off into the sea but instead of drowning he started swimming and playing games with the fishes. It got even stranger when, years later, a shark let the young boy pet him! For his part Tom nearly drowned himself trying to rescue Arthur the first time the boy swam off. He didn't know what was more impossible, the fact that the boy could breathe water or that Atlanna knew in advance that he could.
"Tom and Arthur learned the truth on Atlanna's death bed, finally giving into the weakness that'd plagued her for so long. Before she died, she told them her son that his real name is Orin and that she was the mermaid princess of Atlantis. Yes, she told her astonished husband, all the sailors' stories were true. There was indeed an underwater nation of merfolk descended from the survivors of the lost continent. The reason she had left was that rebels had staged a coup against the royal family. They had killed everyone sparing only Atlanna and her infant son, Orm; they knew that while Poseidon wouldn't avenge the members of the royal family they had slain in fair combat, outright murder was another matter. After beating Atlanna to within an inch of her life, the rebels made her swear to leave Atlantis forever and to make sure she did Orm was kept as a hostage. Poseidon's son would live and become king, albeit a puppet king for the coup leaders. She left and it was only happy chance that she washed up at Tom's doorstep.
"Tom Curry had long since suspected the stories he'd heard in the Coast Guard were true and that his wife was an Atlantean mermaid… but this!? As for little Arthur, his eyes went wide at the revelation; his mommy was a real princess and he had a brother! Atlanna stroked his cheek and said yes. When the time was right, she would find him if he was still alive and take his place as a prince of Atlantis. He was Poseidon's son and that made him rightful king to everything that lived beneath the wives. He was born to be King of the Seven Seas! At the same time, she asked him never to forget the surface. It was his father's world and that alone made it worth protecting. He swore that oath.
"She died soon after. They two cried for her and, per her instructions, laid her to rest on a coral outcropping named Mercy Reef. Arthur was about ten by this point.
"Tom Curry now knew his son was meant to be something special and he was determined to raise his son to meet his destiny. His training regiment took up ten hours out of each day as the former military man put his son through boot camp. While Arthur tried his best however, and sincerely wanted to be a big hero, he was slow learner and Tom was worried that Arthur was not working to his full potential. Remember, this is when Superboy's the only other hero so there's a lot to compare Arthur to.
"This is especially hard since, as much as Arthur wanted to become a superhero, he was scared of high diving and of swimming too deep. Tom was convinced that Arthur's complaints of not being able to do it were all psychological. He grew up on land and thought like a surface man and so was convinced he couldn't do it what he was asked. Tom knew that that couldn't stand; if his boy was going to be Poseidon's heir, he had to be the best he could be.
"The turning point came when Tom actually waited until Arthur was cleaning the windows at the top of the lighthouse to pretend to drown. Reacting on instinct, he leaped off the top of the lighthouse and dove into the ocean to save his father. Tom Curry was alright and explained that he did it all to impress upon his son that he was indeed capable of feats biologically impossible for ordinary humans. When the future Aquaman learned the truth, he was at angry at his father, of course, but in time came to understand and appreciate why his father did what he did.
"Afterwards, Arthur's training began in earnest. Recalling that his son always seemed stronger after a swim, he constructed a specially designed salt water aquarium for the boy to sleep in at night. When the preteen Arthur woke up the next day he was able to curl thousand pound weights that adult male bodybuilders couldn't even squat. Not content to leave it there, Tom Curry ordered gym equipment people thought was meant as a gag to take his son's strength to the limit."
"What?" asked Kahn. "Aquaman has superstrength?"
"Of course he does," replied David. "Think of it. If he can move at all at the bottom of the ocean like we've had him do, he'd have to have superhuman strength just to push through those tons of water pressure. I've done research. We've seen Aquaman go to the Marians Trench and shrug it off like nothing. Well there its over 15,000 pounds per square inch and that is like concentrating all the weight of an elephant into an area the size of a stamp. Or in Aquaman's case, support over 2,000 tons on his body. That also means that to avoid being crushed he'd have to have limited invulnerability." David laughed. "I'm going to have fun showing young Arthur knocking himself out with a two-by-four as part of testing this!
"In terms of speed, Arthur soon finds himself swimming faster than a jet can fly. Again, think about it, if he can swim from Atlantis to any ocean in the world and be back the next day, he'd have to be that fast. His agility and endurance are likewise superhuman.
"It's worth saying that when he finally does go deep, goes off the continental shelf into the abyss for the first time, he also learns that he can 'see' in the dark. C'mon we might have Atlantis brightly lit for convenience sake but if Aquaman can go deep where the sun's light can't, he'd have to powers like that. When he came back up hours later he reassured his worried father and told him he had sonar!
"The inverse of course means that he gets weaker the longer he stays out of water." David scratched his head. "I don't know who it was that said that Aquaman dehydrates if he stays out of water for an hour but it's going out. If he's not just half human but grew up on land without trouble, that weakness can't work. The way I see it, if he's under water or if he's been out of water less than an hour, he's at full strength. More than that, he gets progressively weaker until he's no stronger than an ordinary man, though that he still strong enough and well trained enough to take care of himself.
"It wasn't just physical training that the prince worked on. He and his father checked out every book the town library had on the oceans and Atlantis. Arthur learned basic firefighting, search and rescue, first aid and CPR. Everything Tom picked up in the Coast Guard about saving lives and busting bad guys, he passed on to his son. The boy also studied all he could about marine life so that he would have a good knowledge of what he was dealing with and how to utilize his undersea friends when he needed their help. Dad even brought tanks full of fish so he could practice at home.
He sighed, "Yeah, people might laugh at Aquaman's power to talk to fish but again think about it. He can call in salmon and flounder and guppies. He can also call in great white sharks, blue whales, giant squids, sea serpents, sea monsters, Cthulu." Some people started at that. Got'em! "He will call in the little guys for day to day stuff though. All Atlanteans are much stronger than ordinary humans but not only are members of the royal family stronger still, they're the only ones who can command sea life. It is Arthur's birthright as the Son of Poseidon.
"Poseidon the sea god, eh?" asked Kahn. "You got a lot of myth going on David. What about his trident? You said that he gave the Atlantean royal family the trident so is Aquaman going to get it eventually? And what will it do?"
"That's why you're our khan Mrs. Kahn," he remarked. "It is the actual original trident forged by the Cyclopes for use in the gods' war against the Titans. It was a favor for Zeus freeing them from the underworld. Poseidon planned to hold on to forever but when his son Triton forsook his godhood for the sake of mortals, he knew that he was no longer the most worthy; Triton was. In modern times, nobody outside of the royal family can even touch the trident without suffering immediate and painful death. Even then, nobody but the king can use its full power.
"As to that those powers are, if Aquaman—literally the Son, or at least descendant, of Poseidon—were to use its full power, he could use it to summon hurricanes, earthquakes, tidal waves, floods. Remember, Neptune was god of the seas but he was also the god of earthquakes and storms. It's not just a melee weapon in the hands of a true king.
"That, of course, is all in the future. Back in the past when Arthur Curry us still uncovering his powers, part of the prince's training involved learning by doing. By the time he reached his teens, he became a costumed adventurer with his father's backing. Check the timeline and that means, with the sole exception of Superboy, that Arthur was the only superhero in the world for years. A key difference was seen in how he had no secret identity. Hey Maggin, didn't you say that the JSA went into hiding for refusing to give up their secret identity." The man nodded. "Right. Well Aquaboy went the other direction by telling everyone from day one. 'I have nothing to hide.'
"He starts out small potatoes as Amnesty Bay's local hero. He's somewhere between a glorified lifeguard and a wannabe Coast Guard. The actual Coast Guard—and Navy and fishermen and all other sailors—think him a poor, and even disrespectful, substitute for the real Aquaman, AJ Perkins. Aquaboy is indeed right. Part of that lay in how he proved more willing to break the law than Superboy, the only other superhero at the time. One time, he broke into a Sea World style marine park to free abused dolphins. His dad paid bail but there were other instances of eco terrorism that had Tom Curry pulling his hair out.
"Years passed and Arthur went and bigger and bigger adventures. He was stopping smugglers, fighting sea monsters, rescuing whales and dolphins from whalers and thoughtless fishermen. He also went looking for the original Aquaman; hopefully Perkins could tell him something, anything about Atlantis. It's on one of these adventures that Tom Curry died. Arthur returned home to Amnesty Bay to find himself an orphan.
"By that time, everyone up and down the coast owed the young Aquaman one way or the other. 'He stopped those smugglers.' 'He saved me from drowning,' they said. They took care of everything and Tom given buried at sea with full honors. Arthur laid the body to rest at Mercy Reef and buried it next to his mother's. The townsfolk promised to look after the lighthouse and the cottage and a tearful Aquaman thanked them before swimming off one final time.
"There was nothing left for Arthur on land and his father's training was over; it was time to fulfill the vow he made his mother. He knew that most of the discoveries made by the great white hunters who tramped across the DCU in the 30s and 40s were empty ruins and not the real Atlantis. They meant nothing to him. Instead, he read every Atlantis legend he could find, interviewed Neptune Perkins, searched through Navy files, asked every whale and dolphin the questions he could. He swam across the oceans of the world, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Bay of Bengal, always arriving one moment too late, always catching a glimpse of people like him.
"It took years but in the end he finally found Atlantis. To be more precise, it found him when mermen said that they'd been trailing him for months and if he was the son of Princess Atlanna. He said he was and proved it with a display of his power to control marine life. They asked him to come with them and soon they arrived at the capital city of Poseidonis. I plan on this being a double page spread to show just how magical this undersea fairy tale kingdom truly is; whales swimming between golden spires, forests of coral, mermaids and magic, sunken pirate ships, knights atop sea horses, and sea monsters terrifying the unwary.
"He was brought to the palace and the throne room of King Orm. They embraced as brothers and soon all Atlantis hailed the happy reunion. When Arthur, or Orin as Orm called him, asked whatever happened to the coup leaders that exiled their mother, Orm would only say that he dealt with them a long time ago. Arthur decided to leave it at that.
"At first, its happy times as the two brothers explore the undersea realms; this is the time when the earliest Aquaman comics happen. It takes place over the course of maybe two or three years and parts we'll retell whole cloth and portions might just be mentioned. We'll see him as a lone superhero whose best known as that water guy by land dwellers. We'll see him find and take in Aqualad and even meet Mera in time for a first kiss. On the side we'll mention his joining the Justice League and letting Garth join the Teen Titans. He also meets Vulko for the first time who teaches him Atlantean history, royal protocol, etc. The only difference is that here it will be revealed that he, off camera, repeatedly tangled with ugly Lovecraft style fishmen in his early days.
"Looking back, Aquaman realized that these were some of the happiest times in his life. There were challenges, but nobody ever died and there was never any doubt. He never had to question anything; there was no gray and good always won. It was too good to last and it all went to the Devil when he and Orm talked about Arthur's childhood.
"Orin admitted that growing up, that he would often cry at the thought of both his mother and his baby brother trapped on land. He vowed as boys will do to kill the men who had exiled them and then lead a rescue party to save them. Arthur assured him that it wasn't all bad. He had a happy childhood and a good father. Orm was confused by that. Their father died before he was born; how could Orin remember him?
"Arthur explained that they are half brothers. Atlanna didn't leave Atlantis pregnant with him; she married a surface man and he was the result. Though he hid it, Orm was horrified by the thought that his brother's a 'half breed.' Forget that it was a commoner, their mother slept with a… a… argh! Arthur led his brother to Mercy Reef where he had buried their mother next to his father and there they shared a moment of silence. Later, when Arthur wasn't there to see, Orm returned and desecrated the tomb in a rage.
"Orm hated—correction, hates—the surface world with every fiber of his being. Part of it was justified, resulting from pollution, nuclear tests, and other things. (Whales and dolphins are sacred to Poseidon so you can guess where that leads.) The other part derived from a combination of racial prejudice and power lust. Like the kings before he wanted to take back the land from the scum that infest it and return it to its proper owners. He knew that many of his people hate the land men as much as does, some even more, and would gladly fight a war of genocide against the land men. Kill the evil humans? No, kill all the humans! He knew however that it wouldn't be so easy; human technology had advanced considerably since the Bronze Age. He'd have to call upon Poseidon's favor if were to win.
"He repeatedly sought the sea god's sanction and in the end, he finally did see Poseidon in a vision. Orm was overjoyed to see the face of his god, to see the father from whom he derived his divine right. Surely the sea god would reward his most faithful follower, right? Instead he revealed himself to say that the plan was folly; the sea belonged to Atlantis and the land to the land men. The earth shaker would not grant any of his power to his foolish son so that that son could wage war against the surface world. If it was wrong for him to sink Atlantis even when they were allied with his enemies how much more wrong would it be for him to kill innocent people who'd done Atlantis no (deliberate) harm? Poseidon in fact said that not only would not aid him, he would see to it that none of the sea gods would aid him.
"There is no quicker path to hate than true love betrayed. True, despite all their posturing the Olympian gods are as fallible as any mortal. Still, Orm's next idea bordered on the insane. If he and Poseidon argued that can only mean that Poseidon was wrong and he was right. He's as egotistical as any god. Knowing that he lacked the sheer power of one, however, Orm went to the deepest trench of the ocean, a black abyss populated only by monsters. It's only by Poseidon's Trident that he carried with him that he was not torn to pieces by the… things there.
"Remember how I said that he Aquaman had been fighting Lovecraft style fishmen? This is where the grotesques come from; they are called the Trench. They'd been holding back in their fights against Aquaman for fear of Poseidon but on their home turf it's another matter. When they see Orm, they tried to kill and let him pass only when he offered blood sacrifice: the flesh of an Atlantean infant. When the chance to reclaim Atlantis' glory is at hand, what's the life of one whoreson left to die of exposure anyways? The ends justify the means don't they?
"Atlantis has a long history of acknowledging and respecting all religions even if Poseidonism is supreme; the worshipers of The Nameless Ones are the sole exception. The Trench are just barely on the right side of sentience and are all insane by human standards. They along with other sea-folk who worship the Nameless Ones have committed untold obscenities in the service of their unclean gods."
David stopped when he saw a smirk on Denny O'Neil's face. "Yeah," muttered the aqua-scribe, "we'll be seeing 'Shadow over Innsmouth.'
"Some outsiders have tried to approach the depraved cult of freaks and murderers critically and appeal to the moderates. Alas, those moderates literally don't exist and anyone who exposes himself to the Nameless Ones inevitably goes mad. It is said that those part fish, part octopus, part… thing monstrosities are so terrible and deformed that just looking at one will drive a mortal insane. Orm found that out the hard way.
"He stood at the bottom of the abyss, a cold pitiless realm without light. Before him, carved into the trench walls were thousand foot high gates and carved onto the gates was a crude mix of obscenities and the vilest blasphemies. Good. Orm was ready to blaspheme against Poseidon for daring to challenge him. He called upon the magics and opened the gates and then opened his mind to the beast within.
"While all this was happening, Arthur and Aqualad were on routine patrol. They were in fact turning over some smugglers to the local coast guard either in the Pacific or the Indian Ocean when they heard the news on the radio. The Atlantic coasts of the Americas, Europe and Asia were all being battered by level 5 hurricanes, megatsunamis, and 10.0 earthquakes all at once. What's worse is that the epicenter is Atlantis. Arthur can't believe it; Orm's initiated Operation Unthinkable! And then he heard reports of monsters…
"Orm knew that his brother's Justice League friends would be the biggest threat and came prepared. He knew their first priority would be saving lives so he used Poseidon's trident to call up a blitzkrieg of natural disasters. The earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes would not only cripple the land kingdoms but leave their champions off guard for the next phase. Ordinarily the Atlanteans could never hold or even take surface territory; they learned in the campaigns of old that they'd dehydrate under the sun. With Orm summoning torrential rains, however, not only could they strike but so could the armies of fishmen he had loosed.
"Metropolis and the other coastal cities were drowning and the newly formed JLA was everywhere at once trying to save lives. Mera's power to control water was especially helpful in the rescue efforts, though far from enough. Aquaman warned his friends, everyone, of what was happening but it was too little, too late.
"When Ocean Master finally launched the attack, his army was ready for the League's two strongest members. The Atlanteans had been in contact with Themyscira for centuries and had a whole company of their strongest special ops men waiting for her. In their preparation, they learned to their delight that Superman was weak against magic; Orm thus sent a team of Atlantean battle wizards to neutralize him.
"Each Atlantean soldier not only had the strength of ten, twenty, or even a hundred men, but each one was armed with laser rifles and backed by some of the finest battle magicians in the world. Gigantic beasts of war came out of the storm lashed seas to destroy everything in sight. And of course, the Trench swarmed the land, first out of the water, to feed. Orm mused that he'd have to have something ready for them to devour once they the fight was over. It took all his strength to keep them from turning to killing and eating the Atlanteans next to them.
"The fact that Ocean Master would bring the Trench, despite the fact that they would inevitably turn on him and kill Atlanteans the instant he ran out of human flesh to feed them, showed that something was wrong. Aquaman approached his brother and tried to talk to him; when that failed he decided to beat sense into him. Through the fight and through the story we've been seeing Orm growing increasingly irrational and erratic; by the end he's a gibbering lunatic. More by Orm's insanity than anything else, Aquaman finally won their battle and tore the trident from his brother's arms. He then roared 'hear me now Atlantis, I am your king!' He immediately stopped the natural disasters and called off the attack but he quickly learned that it was a pyrrhic victory. Writhing in epileptic seizures and foaming at the mouth, Ocean 'master' confirmed his brother's worst nightmares when he cackled over and over that Ichthultu was coming!"
"What?" interrupted a shocked O'Neil. "Did you just say…"
"Yes, Ichthultu," responded David. "I don't know how much of Lovecraft's work is in public domain and besides, I don't want his ghost to be looking over my shoulder. Regardless, I plan on the last issue ending with the monster coming out from the water and when the next issue opens, Joker curls up into a ball over at Arkham Asylum whimpering that it's too much.
Denny O'Neil smiled at that last part. Guess Cthulu's insanity is just too much for Arkham!
"When the skyscraper sized Ichthultu, 'a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind' comes ashore some people go insane at the sheer horror of it though most people are 'just' traumatized for life.
"And before a certain Lovecraft fan start piling on me that the reaction should be even worse, remember, this is the DCU! They're kinda of jaded about these things.
"But back to the story.
"The Trench stopped whatever it was they were doing and walked up in worship. Ichthultu just trampled the fishmen like ants without ever even noticing they were there. All land dwellers left in the area panic and ran as did the Atlanteans who the monster crushed beneath its heels. Everyone ran except for Aquaman.
"It's not that Arthur Curry planned on defeating the monster; he took it for granted that he couldn't. He knew he was weak, as weak as his own god is strong. He raised up his trident and called on Father Neptune. With that a water giant in the form of a bearded crowned merman forms around Aquaman. Most people don't remember what happened next. Ichtultu was just so revolting to human eyes that ordinary people had to repress the memory of him just to survive. For his part, King Orin blacked out his mind and let Father Neptune take his flesh.
"With his sire's power, the Son of Poseidon battled, living storm lashed seas in humanoid form against the abomination! Whole islands were destroyed and earthquakes shook the eastern seaboard as the gods made war. He staggered when Father Neptune poleaxed him right between the octopus eyes with the power of million h-bombs! Ichultu was not so easily defeated as erased from existence the lightning bolts and hurricanes the sea god sent against him and walked forwards. The only reason everything on both sides of the Atlantic wasn't destroyed was the creation of a milehigh wall made of freeze breath frozen ice wall, a power ring made green construct, and all the power of the gods of Olympus.
"For a time, it seemed as if neither Poseidon nor Icthultu could be the winner but the Atlanteans there gave Poseidon their strength. Even below in Poseidonis and Tritonis and beyond, his people saw in visions and gave him their strength as well. On Paradise Island, the Amazons at their temples saw the statues of the sea god weep blood and bent their knees. The land men did not worship the sea god nor did they even know what was happening but they too cried out to their protector. The monster, on the other hand, had imbued the few of its 'worshippers' it had not turned into drooling idiots not with a spirit of reverence but with one of fear.
"Then, with a final blow from a trident forged for a war between gods, the earth shaker won and when and Ichthultu lay prostrate. Poseidon raised his trident above the monster and it disappeared, teleported away to its crypt. There is nothing, nothing, beneath the waves that does not kneel before the god of the seas. The water giant then dissipated and left Aquaman in its wake.
"With that, the Atlanteans knew beyond any doubt that he was the one true king, ruling by divine right forever. As for the few surviving Trench, they had just seen Ichthultu defeated by Poseidon and turned to face the god's descendant and vicar. For several uncomfortable moments they just stared at him; Aquaman knew he had new subjects. His commands were simple. Go home. They obeyed.
"The battle was over. The first thing Aquaman did was use his trident's power to heal Orm of his madness. He woke up from the nightmare and painfully said that the last thing he could remember was standing before Icthultu's crypt. When he looked around to see the destruction his rampage cause, he was horrified. He allied with the Trench?! He released a monster that killed hundreds of Atlanteans?! Ocean Master began crying; he never meant it to happen it like that…
"Nevertheless it had and for that there could only be one punishment. Aquaman held the trident to his head, already bowed in prayer. 'Yes Father Neptune,' he said. The King of Atlantis looked at his brother and said that Poseidon declared him disowned. No longer would Orm hold the sacred trident. No longer would he command the beasts of the sea. Now and forever, would he be an outcast and an exile. Should he ever even try to return he would die.
"Orm was horrified and ran to the surf, refusing to believe it was true. The fool nearly drowned when he tried to inhale a lungful of water. It was the worst punishment he could possibly imagine. He was not only exiled amongst the landmen, now he was now one of them. The fact that he, having lost the crown and with it diplomatic immunity, was taken away like a common criminal was merely icing on the cake. On that day, Aquaman lost a brother and gained an enemy.
"All of that was in the future, however. For the moment, there was hope and the promise of a better future. Atlantis issued a full apology and paid reparations for the damages caused. It turned over all war criminals to face justice of surface world courts and agreed to destroy all its weapons. For having served a king so evil as to call up Ichthultu… most Atlanteans were just too ashamed to do anything else. It was a grim reminder of how their bigotry nearly cost them everything. The surface world, familiar with Aquaman's heroics and how he had helped to save the world, time and again, with the League decided to give the Atleanteans a chance. In World War II, the Italians were left alone to rebuild their country after they ousted Mussolini, right?
"For Aquaman, he had come home. Things weren't easy but then he knew that life wasn't about being easy. It didn't even matter if it wasn't easy. Looking at Mera and Garth and Vulko and everyone else, he knew that it doesn't matter how much life throws at you if you have someone next to you to throw it right back. With them looking on, he is crowned king. He has met his destiny and fulfilled the vows made to his mother and father; he will make Atlantis great again and forge everlasting peace between two worlds. He knows he can for he is the living proof that land and sea can embrace.
"It closes with a shot of Aquaman and his beloved Mera marrying each other in Poseidon's sight."
Author's Notes: Hi everyone! Today I thought to share a little behind the scenes stuff. Like I said I first conceived this several years ago and while the basic structure remains the same, the original nine or so chapters have since grown considerably! Look below and compare it to the battle between Aquaman and Icthultu
"It might climax with Orm knowing he is defeated and releasing some great sea monster. It kills him—though of course it really doesn't since he appears in later stories—but he doesn't care; if he can't rule the world, then no one will! Using the divine power of his ancestor, Aquaman raises up Poseidon's trident and strikes down the beast. Atop a mile high tsunami that would have drowned New York and all the other coastal cities but has frizen [sic] in place like a wall of water, Aquaman says "I am Artorious Rex, Lord of Atlantis and King of Seas. I am Artori9ous [sic] Rex, Son of Poseidon and champion of the waters. I am Artorious Rex and I seek congress with all the kings of the Earth." Thus Atlantis is at last reunited with the surface world.
It takes inspiration from The Abyss and I would have liked to use it. The world knows nothing of Atlantis when all of a sudden aqua-somebody comes from nowhere and reveals Atlantis to the world by stopping a tsunami. A major part of the story, however, went on to be Arthur having had a minor career as a young hero before becoming Aquaman.
If you have any question about "Ichthultu" or anything else, please drop a line. But now to the lettercol.
Sir Thames: Thank you for your kind words, as always. :-D
Wolvbm: Thanks! In my research, I never heard that the Golden Age Aquaman joined the JSA. As revealed decades later in Roy Thomas' All Star Squadron, he did however join the Squadron, a confederacy of all World War II era heroes. As for Peter David... well I chose him for how he rebooted Aquaman for the 90s. I respect David. His real Atlantis Chronicles are fine storytelling and his regular issues were great. However, while his origin for Aquaman was good and set him apart from other heroes, I just like his classic/new origin more. Having him do it this way is just a nice bit of symmetry. I do hope you can excuse artistic license! -_-;
Oh... and I do hope you'll like this chapter. ;-)
Lord Ultimas: You have my sympathy for Wally and with how Manhunhter was coming up, I just wanted to ask, would you care to serve as editor for that chapter? (When it finally does come!)
As for Golden Age Aquaman, I'm not surprised. He was a relatively minor character who DC never even bothered to give a name. He was just a superhero who could swam, no Atlantis, no kingship, nothing. While that could have worked a guy whose biggest challenge is capturing Pirate #37 is much harder to make work than an Atlantean king who protects his undersea world from gods and monsters. It was only until the Silver Age that the Aquaman we recognize appeared.
That's all for now everyone. There are still unresolved questions. What about Garth and Mera for that matter? What will we see about that that dang hook hand? Next time, I hope to show you an chapter that is utterly... outrageous!