Aquaman #39
Joe Bainbridge
Recap
Mera is the Queen of Atlantis, and she must be prepared for the worst as US Air Force survey the area now that Atlantis has risen above the surface. Mera first wishes to serve Atlantis and heal the wounded before meeting with the US Ambassadors. Meanwhile, Aquaman has not been seen but is preparing Atlantis for a war that may or may not occur. While he searches for any Block Ops teams against Mera's knowledge, the Suicide Squad has already entered Atlantis and is preparing a nuke, much to the disliking of Deadshot and Harley Quinn.
Urcell the Atlantean defector who allowed them in attacked Killer Croc who is fine with the nuke. The outburst alerted Murk and Arthur to their location in the ninth tride. Aquaman arrives to stop this with the help of Dolphin, Ondine, and Jurok Byss. The two teams fight, ending in the capture of Quinn and Deadshot. The remaining Squad members capture Urcell and force her to lead them to the center of the city to set off the nuke. When Mera finds out that the US sent a nuke into Atlantis, she decides that Atlantis needs their own criminal Black Ops team...
Review
Leading on from the pages of Suicide Squad, Abnett carries the story forward in full stride, building up for a gnarly showdown. This issue has split the squad in two with one half having a moral code and the other not so much. Satanis is appearing to be the main villain, wanting to carry out Wallers bidding no matter what. With the possible introduction of an Atlantean Suicide Squad, this issue is promising.
Aquaman has clearly learned his lesson and is no longer interfering with US affairs… for the most part. But Mera was meant to be a Queen. She holds all the power in every panel she’s in which is a testament to the writer and the artist, while she also maintains the level of love and mutual respect she has with Arthur. Each panel they are in you can tell that they are a power couple and they are a joy to watch together. The Squad themselves are enjoyable and are a nice change to the recently moody atmosphere of the Aquaman comics.
I was skeptical about the new artists they had got to replace Federici and Gho, but Cifuentes art rises to the challenge and does quite well in this issue, keeping the underworld atmosphere of the ninth tride and the royalty of the throne room.
Final Thoughts
With a possible underwater suicide squad vs suicide squad about to happen, I am very excited for the coming issues, and I also want to see Mera develop more as a Queen. Though she commands power in her panels, we need more ruling Atlantis to understand what makes her better than Arthur at being King.
Aquaman #39: Atlantis Going Nuclear
- Writing - 8.4/108.4/10
- Storyline - 8.2/108.2/10
- Art - 7.2/107.2/10
- Color - 7.4/107.4/10
- Cover Art - 6.9/106.9/10
