With the King of Atlantis’ resistance down for the count, a magically monstrous King Rath rampages to extinguish them once and for all! Aquaman and Dolphin must gather whoever is left standing for one final battle, but Rath finds bigger fish to fry as he prepares to sink Atlantis deeper into the abyss!
Author: Dan Abnett
Artist: Riccardo Federici
Colorist: Sunny Gho
Cover Artist: Stjepan Sejic
Publisher: DC Comics
What You Need To Know: Aquaman has been deposed and is desperate to get the throne back from the villainous Corum Rath. Arthur Curry has allied himself with the Underworld of Atlantis and has friends inside Rath’s circle, including the commander of the Kings guard Murk. Meanwhile, Vulko and the Ninth Tride go the old Kings of Atlantis for help, but they refuse saying that Rath has become part of Atlantis. The evil King desired magic as his ally and called upon the dark magic of Atlantis and has transformed himself into a monstrosity. The Aquaman attacks Rath with Murk but is quickly beaten by the new King…
What You’ll Find Out: After Aquaman was beaten by King Rath, Murk comes to his rescue, distracting Rath, at the cost of his right arm. Aquaman fights to defend his friend, blasting Rath through a wall and retreating to heal Murk despite his protests to stay and kill Rath while he is weak. Back in Atlantis’ Catacombs, Vulko speaks to the elders who refuse to fight against Rath as they are magically bound from raising a hand against him. King Shark hears a noise and using Dolphins light powers, they see Kadaver leading a Drift party.
Rath returns to his palace to heal and speaks to the Abyssal Dark that gave him his powers. Rath claims that the Dark lied to him about victory but it says that he was just thinking too small and shows him what will happen if he continues to try and defeat the rebels. He shows him a ruined Atlantis with only Rath alive. The Dark persuades Rath to sink Atlantis into the dark and take the surface kingdoms.
At the tower of the Widowhood, the sister try and save Murk, but it appears that he will not survive his wounds. Jurok Byss believes that Aquaman should have attacked Rath and left Murk to die, with the sisters siding with him, but Aquaman claims that he wouldn’t have succeeded anyway as his new trident wasn’t strong enough. As thier cause seems lost, Vulko enters with the elders of Atlantis. As Rath planned to sink Atlantis, the elders were no longer bound to the King and killed Kadaver. Elder Null says that the Abyssal Dark is not a magic but a demon that can be killed and powers up Aquaman’s trident with the magic of the Elders.
As this happens, Rath begins his assault on the tower, believing it to be the structure that holds Atlantis together. Aquaman speeds out of the tower and stabs Rath through the chest with his newly powered trident. But Rath is unhurt, pushes Aquaman aside and breaks the Trident, leaving Aquaman floating in the water…
What Just Happened:
Dan Abnett continues to write a powerful comic in this issue of Aquaman. The Aquaman run is easily one of the better ones and the most epic one that I’ve read. Though little actual story takes place, it is not unexpected as the fight between Rath and Aquaman commences and it truly is intense. Abnett has written the issue and its lead up in such a way that the fight doesn’t seem forced but is 100% necessary and what everyone wants.
We didn’t get a great deal of the relationships between these characters except the glimpse of Aquaman and Murk’s friendship. This issue could’ve done with some more Dolphin. She is one of the better characters in Abnett’s stories and needs more. Saying this, Abnett writes dialogue for his characters superbly, giving each of them an in-depth backstory, and a clear character. Aquaman struggles to be a leader to be followed even when the actual one is a true villain, and the believability of it all is a credit to Abnett’s skills.
Federici and Gho’s art is standout across all artistic medium and the issues fill me with joy whenever I see their names on the front cover. Federici continues to grasp the true underworld of Atlantis and his issues have made Atlantis feel like a real city instead of just a giant palace. We don’t generally get to see much more of Atlantis and Abnett has given these two great artists their time to shine. Gho’s use of the darker colors are incredible and enhances the comic to be a joy to read.
Rating: 8.1/10
Final Thoughts: Abnett has delivered yet another grand issue. His story continues to be enticing and is monumental to the future of Atlantis. Federici and Gho are the dynamic duo of the series and drag me straight into it. Abnett and his team are delivering a stunning climax to this story and I am desperate to see where it ends.