As Aqualad leads an epic underwater defense, the Young Justice hero has two major supervillains each swear their revenge on him.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Aquaman #63, by Jordan Clark, Marco Santucci, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
While Aquaman has been preoccupied with his impending nuptials to his longtime beau Mera, his foes have only stepped up their game. This leaves Jackson Hyde, the teenage Aqualad, as the one to step up in the interim, with the superhero returning to lead defenses at Atlantis’ sister city Xebel as they face an epic invasion. And while Aqualad is successful to protecting the underwater community from multiple threats, two major Aquaman villains each swear their revenge on the teenage hero, potentially setting the stage for a bitter rematch in the future.
Jackson had been forced by his father Black Manta to infiltrate Xebel, leaving behind a device that would allow Manta to bypass the city’s protective forcefield. Because of Jackson’s mother being from Xebel before leaving to give birth to her son, Aqualad is able to enter the city and plant the device while meeting a young guard with whom he instantly finds himself attracted to. This flirtation back in his mother’s hometown came to an abrupt end, however, as the city came under attack from the Trench, the ravenous, ancient faction of fish-monsters from forgotten depths of the sea.
Despite leading the local military in a spirited counterattack against the voracious invaders, Aqualad notices that the defenders are on the verge of being overwhelmed by Trench’s superior numbers. With his grandfather’s consciousness now stored digitally in a massive submarine, Aqualad and the vessel travel to a remote part of the battlefield, luring the Trench after them with a specially modulated sonar emitter to attract them. Safely away from the other Xebel citizens, Aqualad then projects a massive hydrokinetic blast driving the Trench away with their king swearing revenge as he departs from the battlefield.