Yes, as a
matter of fact, I do.
In fact, I think
that I have more Aquaman comics than any other (barring Superman and
Nightwing).
I know, I know, most people
think Aquaman is a useless superhero, but I don’t agree.
I first really got into the character with
the
Time
and Tide miniseries, where they retold his origins as a set-up for the new
on-going series by
Peter
David.
This is the series that had
Aquaman lose his hand early on and replace it with the infamous
hook.
Between this book and
JLA:
Year One, it really fleshed out a character that I really had only known
from Super Friends.
Plus, once your read
how they treat him in Justice, it’s hard not to have a huge amount of respect
for the guy, even if you thought he was a joke going in.
So, let’s take a look at the Aqua-Powers:
1. Command Sea Life – Yes, I said “Command” not
“Talk to”. He doesn’t have a
conversation with fish, he tells them to do what he wants.
2. 2. Super Strength – No, he’s not on the level of
Superman or Wonder Woman, but he is able to impale a speeding van on the end of
his “trident”* (without being pushed back, I might add) and flip it up and over
himself, landing it on its roof. That’s
pretty dang strong.
3.
3. Invulnerability – Again, not on the level of
Superman, but here he is one up on Wonder Woman. Where Diana will have the same injury you or
I would if she got shot (luckily she has those bracelets and super speed to
save her), Arthur can take multiple bullet strikes and only have a few
scrapes. Quite good, if you ask me.
4.
4. Super Speed Swimming – The guy can swim up to 1,000
feet per second (682 miles per hour) and can swim UP Niagara Falls. Wow.
5.
5. Breathing Underwater – This is the one I always
wanted as a kid. Of course, growing up
at the Shore I swam like a fish anyway, and I was able to hold my breath for a good,
long time, but I always wanted to be able to dive down and explore for more
than a couple of minutes at a time. Not
that there was much to see, mind you.
New Jersey water ain’t anywhere near as clear as the Bahamas.
6.
6. Absolute Ruler of 2/3 of the Planet – Don’t
think this is a super power? Just try
getting your goods to market by boat if he doesn’t want you to. In fact, in the series I mentioned above,
Atlantis actually invaded a surface country and kicked the snot out of them.
Now, after
his treatment in
Blackest
Night and
Brightest
Day, Aquaman has become one of the premiere characters in the DC
Universe.
If you haven’t checked the new
comic out yet, I would recommend it.
And
don’t take my word for it, check out
The
Aquaman Shrine (who were kind enough to induct me into the
Friends Of
AquaMan, aka FOAM, recently) for all the up to the minute Aqua-News.