Review: Aquaman #9 (Legacy #???)
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: John Timms
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Mera is dead and Aquaman, Andy and the rest of the Aqua-team must return home. It’s a surprising reunion with the Justice League leading to even more surprises for those in Atlantis.
Positives
The biggest positive is a huge spoiler…so SPOILER: Mera is not dead. (Whew!). At no point does it ever really seem possible, but Jeremy Adams makes it seem real for the whole issue. It’s a great surprise/ cliffhanger on the final page. It’s a set up for what comes next, and as it indicates on the first page of Aquaman #9, this is Act Two.
There are some nice details in Arthur and Mera’s quarters in the Justice League satellite, most importantly a photo of a baby blonde haired baby that could only be Arthur, Jr.! Longtime Aquaman fans will remember the saga of Arthur, Jr. While he remained mostly in the background from his birth in Aquaman #23 (1965) with a few exceptions. At one point he is artificially aged for an issue, but ironically his biggest claim to fame is his death at the hands of Black Manta in Adventure Comics #452 and finally being pronounced dead in Aquaman #60 (1978). (See, this is where that Legacy Numbering would provide a little something extra…). Having his existence acknowledged is a great in that it restores an important era of comics back into Aquaman and Mera’s continuity.
Jeremy Adams takes the time this issue to finalize Aquaman’s makeover, both power level and appearance. I’m happy to say that by the end of Aquaman #9, Arthur has shaved his beard.
Negatives
This issue is a reset of sorts with the action coming outside of the main action of Aquaman’s story. It works well enough to so that there’s an obvious reason for the Justice League to see it and have questions, but there is the sense that it this issue is more about getting ready for what happens next.
The misdirection over Mera’s death isn’t really necessary. The twist at the end could’ve easily been done in a different way. While the ensemble approach has been fun, (I’d check out a book with Arion leading them), it’s time for Aquaman and Mera to be the leads in this title.
Oh, yeah…we need that Legacy Numbering!!
Verdict
Jeremy Adams completely his makeover of the King of the Seven Seas in Aquaman #9 and it feels like there’s a whole lot more to come. The obvious is the younger, not dead Mera on the final page with baby Andrina in tow, but there’s bound to be an extensive exploration of Aquaman’s power upgrade, is he stronger than Superman, now? This issue probably falls closer to 7.5/10, but I’ll go with 3.5/5 for the purposes of the graphic below.
