Aquaman #65 finds Arthur Curry assembling Atlantis’ deadliest army using his most underrated power in order to stop Orm’s coup for the throne.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Aquaman #65, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Miguel Mendonca, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
In Aquaman #65, Arthur Curry finds himself at the mercy of his sinister half-brother, Orm, who wants the throne of Atlantis for himself. It’s been a long time coming because even though Orm formed his own kingdom of Dagon, he wants his home under his thumb as he doesn’t think Aquaman and Mera have done a good job.
It’s entitlement, privilege, and arrogance balled up into one but in this final issue, Arthur assembles Atlantis’ deadliest army ever thanks to his most underrated power.
After his wedding is rudely interrupted, Aquaman is left badly wounded by Orm. But despite the matrimony ceremony turning to shambles, he channels his ability to speak to fish, turning it into “the call”, a cry for help as he realizes with Xebel siding with Orm, back-up’s needed. Sure, the power has been the butt of jokes in so many cartoons and memes, it’s since been redeemed in the DCEU by Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, who explained this means of communication was a beacon that acted as a feeler.
Here, it fulfills the same role, and while he does talk to fish and summons aquatic life to his side, one Old God of the ocean, Caille amplifies it beyond its natural reach. It doesn’t just call the other Old Gods, like water flowing it reaches Aqualad and his grandfather, Mecha Manta, who come rushing. It disseminates to the Justice League, who appear as if they’ve been ferried in an instant to their comrade’s side. Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, John Stewart/Green Lantern, and, of course, Batman, are all there.
The army gets larger as other undersea colleagues stand beside the king too: Garth, Dolphin, Tula and so many other leviathans. They’ve had it up to here with Orm’s antics and clearly, this distress signal is something he can use anywhere at any time, even on land, to create a legion of true justice. Orm loses it and tries to battle Arthur to the death, but he’s quickly incapacitated by his brother. As the League admits, war is never the answer, and what Arthur’s doing is securing peace, which is why he won’t kill Orm.