Zack Snyder, director of the current DC Cinematic Universe tweeted a picture this week of our first good look at Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. This version of Aquaman will make his debut in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, alongside pretty much every other Justice League member (Apart from The Flash and Green Lantern, because reasons). The look has been pretty divisive, bringing about the age old argument of Aquaman’s usefulness and believability within the DCCU and in general pop culture.
Image Credit: twitter.com/zacksnyder
And, as usual, there is much more to dive into with Aquaman. After the jump, we break down some thoughts about our new King of Atlantis.
Let’s just get this said; It’s underwater Khal Drogo. Not that I think there’s anything with that design choice, but it’s WAY too predictable. You can almost hear the board meeting:
“Guys, we want Aquaman in the Justice League Movie!”
“But Aquaman is still thought of as uber lame!”
“I know! Let’s get an overly manly man to play him!”
“Jason Momoa?”
“That’ll do. And basically make him do Khal Drogo but with more water. We need it to be uncomfortably masculine!”
“But isn’t that nothing like the character that the minority of fans actually enjoy?”
“Todd, I am sick of your shit, if we don’t make this gritty and realistic, literally everyone is fired.”
“Yes, Mr Snyder.”
Yep, it’s got Snyder and Nolan’s grubby realistic fingerprints all over it, once again showing that the current trend of DC movies aren’t content with just washing out the colour pallet, but continuing to suck the fun out of their colourful cast of characters. Which is such a damn shame, because Aquaman is far cooler than anyone gives him credit for. I mean, could it be that bad if Jason Momoa looked more like the comic Aquaman?
“Guys, we want Aquaman in the Justice League Movie!”
“But Aquaman is still thought of as uber lame!”
“I know! Let’s get an overly manly man to play him!”
“Jason Momoa?”
“That’ll do. And basically make him do Khal Drogo but with more water. We need it to be uncomfortably masculine!”
“But isn’t that nothing like the character that the minority of fans actually enjoy?”
“Todd, I am sick of your shit, if we don’t make this gritty and realistic, literally everyone is fired.”
“Yes, Mr Snyder.”
Yep, it’s got Snyder and Nolan’s grubby realistic fingerprints all over it, once again showing that the current trend of DC movies aren’t content with just washing out the colour pallet, but continuing to suck the fun out of their colourful cast of characters. Which is such a damn shame, because Aquaman is far cooler than anyone gives him credit for. I mean, could it be that bad if Jason Momoa looked more like the comic Aquaman?
...Okay. I don’t really know how to react to that. But Aquaman is damn cool in the comics. Trust me!
LOOK AT HIM!
LOOK AT HIM!
Image Credit: moviepilot.com
Image Credit: wtfdccomics.wordpress.com
Image Credit: logo-kid.com
LOOK AT HIM!
LOOK AT THIS MAGNIFICENT FOTHERMUCKER!
Image Credit: ign.com
Aquaman does not give one solitary shit about fighting fair. He will kick your ass six ways from Sunday. Yeah, he’s kind of a dick about it, but can you blame the king of an underwater kingdom who can keep his submerged, pressurised strength out of the water?
In terms of his power base, since the 2011 reboot of the DC Universe, Aquaman is now a nigh-on unstoppable powerhouse. Due to his mixed human-Atlantean heritage (Oh yeah, Atlantis totally exists and Aquaman is a descendant of the royal family. Just go with it.), Aquaman has superhuman durability, meaning his is physically bulletproof. He can, of course, survive underwater and can swim up to speeds of 3000 meters per second, meaning he can swim up Niagara Falls if he wanted to. He can even use friggin’ sonar.
In terms of his power base, since the 2011 reboot of the DC Universe, Aquaman is now a nigh-on unstoppable powerhouse. Due to his mixed human-Atlantean heritage (Oh yeah, Atlantis totally exists and Aquaman is a descendant of the royal family. Just go with it.), Aquaman has superhuman durability, meaning his is physically bulletproof. He can, of course, survive underwater and can swim up to speeds of 3000 meters per second, meaning he can swim up Niagara Falls if he wanted to. He can even use friggin’ sonar.
Image Credit: comicvine.com
…It’s hard to deny that seeing Momoa stand up to Superman and pose an equal match or even beat him would be hella satisfying. Then again, given how comics are, he isn’t exactly the most unlikely person to beat the shit out of Superman.
Will any of this appear in the movie? Almost definitely. Seeing Aquaman literally stare down an assault rifle, take every bullet like it wasn't even shit and finally wreaking havoc with his cool-ass trident will make not only for a cool cinematic moment and good trailer bait, but an important moment in showing Aquaman as a force to be reckoned with. The idea that he could also match the speeds of his other counterparts makes him equally menacing.
While admittedly the whole costume for this series of films is seriously compensating for this view of Aquaman…
While admittedly the whole costume for this series of films is seriously compensating for this view of Aquaman…
Image Credit: comicvine.com
Image Credit: io9.com
Yes, that's Alfred. Yes, that happened.
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room. Since the 2011 reboot, Aquaman’s ‘signature’ power of talking to sea creatures has been brutally retconned. The reason suggested is that marine life doesn't possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication. Instead, Aquaman can now add compulsions to the thoughts of aquatic life, which compels them to do his bidding, kind of like a deep sea Derren Brown.
Will we see it in the movie? I guess only time will tell, but given that they managed to ‘ground’ The Last Son of Krypton, it will probably end up with this dude just having a pet goldfish he’s really fond of that inevitably sacrifices itself in a convoluted way of showing Aquaman the valeue of life. Or something like that, yadda yadda, Zack Snyder doesn’t think how normal humans do, you know where this diatribe is going.
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room. Since the 2011 reboot, Aquaman’s ‘signature’ power of talking to sea creatures has been brutally retconned. The reason suggested is that marine life doesn't possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication. Instead, Aquaman can now add compulsions to the thoughts of aquatic life, which compels them to do his bidding, kind of like a deep sea Derren Brown.
Will we see it in the movie? I guess only time will tell, but given that they managed to ‘ground’ The Last Son of Krypton, it will probably end up with this dude just having a pet goldfish he’s really fond of that inevitably sacrifices itself in a convoluted way of showing Aquaman the valeue of life. Or something like that, yadda yadda, Zack Snyder doesn’t think how normal humans do, you know where this diatribe is going.
Image Credit: 52review.blogspot.com
The thing is, we know nothing about this movie universe Aquaman’s direction. Snyder has been pretty tight lipped until this reveal, Momoa has chirped on about how he’s honoured to be playing the character, but we’ve had nothing solid to go on. Sure, given the barbarian-esque, scowling promo shot, we’re probably not in for this kind of Aquaman…
…But that’s a good thing. THIS is the Aquaman we want!
LOOK AT HIM GO!
LOOK AT HIM GO!
Image Credit: ign.com
OH DAMN DUDE!
Image Credit: reddit.com
10/10, BEST FISH MAN EVER!
By Mike Owen
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of all three of our current podcasts, he is responsible for logo, art design and site design, and does a good deal of writing across the spectrum.
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of all three of our current podcasts, he is responsible for logo, art design and site design, and does a good deal of writing across the spectrum.