“Throne of Atlantis” continues here, as Silas Stone, Cyborg’s father, upgrades his son to enable him to breathe underwater, so that he can save the rest of the Justice League who were vanquished there by Ocean Master– Aquaman’s brother Orm– who rules Atlantis, but who has declared war on the surface world after missiles were fired upon the undersea kingdom. (See Justice League #16.) Elsewhere, Vulko and Steven Shin have something of a face-off. In the Dark Waters, Aquaman frees himself, but leaves Batman inside of a cocoon to protect him from the oceanic pressure. Batman can still communicate with him, though. Aquaman laments attempting to reason with his brother, when he is suddenly attacked by creatures from The Trench.
Meanwhile, the reserves that Cyborg called in are battling Atlantis’ forces in Boston, with Firestorm, Vixen, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Element Woman, The Atom and the vicious Hawkman combining their powers. Once his upgrade is completed, Cyborg and Mera go to join Aquaman and the others. But slowly, it comes to light that maybe Orm isn’t the real threat and isn’t commanding The Trench.
While overall, I think Geoff Johns is doing a good job with this story, this issue felt a little bit scattered with a lot of different stories happening at the same time, but they do come together in the end nicely. And this does end with quite a jaw-dropping twist. It was also nice to see the Justice League’s roster expand and I love the choices, since Black Lightning and Vixen are two of my favorites. Hawkman in particular stands out, establishing a new status quo for the character.
Paul Pelletier’s artwork is a amazing with several “Wow” moments throughout. It’s generally very detailed and the storytelling flows nicely.
Overall, it was another solid issue!
AQUAMAN #16
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and Cover by Paul Pelletier and Art Thibert
