Aquaman #7 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Michael Shelfer, Artist; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Aquaman and his crew have made it closer to Dagon’s sanctum – and they’ve picked up an unlikely new partner in their efforts in the form of Zan, one of the two Wonder Twins. As a water elemental, he makes sense to add to the cast – and this teenage adventurer adds a fun touch of chaotic energy to the story. We haven’t seen either of the Wonder Twins in any real capacity since the end of Mark Russell’s acclaimed take on them, so it makes me wonder where Jayna is and how Zan got captured. But there isn’t much time to dwell on that, as the heroes find themselves under attack once again. They beat a hasty retreat to the ship and blast their way through, finally finding the location of the lost Atlantis – which was literally stolen from the surface and transported here whole. And the entire population has been living here in Dagon’s kingdom – but time hasn’t been working the same way down here.
It’s impossible to talk too much about this story without discussing the big twist at its center, but solicits have been kind of giving it away, so yeah – a lot more time has passed in Atlantis than it has on the surface level. This has turned Garth and Jackson into wizened warriors, Andy into a teenager who takes after her mother – and Mera into an old woman on the brink of death. I’m not sure all of this will stick, because it’s such a massive status quo change not just to Aquaman’s family but to his entire supporting cast. However, the scenes when Arthur is reunited with his family are truly harrowing, as this entire situation is definitely a father’s worst nightmare. It reminds me of the ending of Chris Nolan’s Interstellar. It’s such a huge reset for the title that I can’t even guess what’ll come next – but I suppose that’s the mark of a run that manages to genuinely shake things up for its character.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
