JT's Take: Aquaman #10

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Hola Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the most recent issue of Geoff John's "Aquaman", a book that is, in my opinion, one of the three best books since the DC Reboot, along with John's "Green Lantern" and Snyder's "Batman" series. So let's hope this issue lives up to the hype.

Aquaman #10

Summary: This issue kicks off with a secret operative by the name of... The Operative. He's a former teammate of Aquaman's, and has found one of Black Manta's secret bases. He's using the information to find out how Manta has been able to find and hunt down his former teammates. When Manta's men eventually arrive, he makes quick work of them but suffers a gunshot wound before escaping. After his escape, we see that The Operative is actually an old man, who uses a suit that helps enhance his abilities. He eventually tells his pilot/Grandson that they need to find Aquaman. From there we see Mera, arguing with a former ally turned enemy of Aquaman's by the name of Shin, since in the last issue he revealed that Aquaman killed Black Manta's father. Shin assures Mera that what he said about Aquaman is true, and Aquaman has deep secrets that he's hidden away. From there we see Aquaman and Black Manta, beating the hell out of one another in the middle of the city. From there we see a Flashback of when Aquaman's father died, and he asked Arthur to do something we don't get to hear, from there Arthur goes after Manta and attacks him on a boat during a thunderstorm, after a fight he snaps his neck, and lightning crashes, showing that the man he killed wasn't Manta. Manta then came aboard, as he'd been diving, and saw that Aquaman had just murdered his father. In the present, Manta and Aquaman continue to fight when Aquaman's former teammates, Prisoner and Ya'Wara show up, and tell Aquaman not to kill Manta until they can find out why he's been stealing the relics of Aquaman's former teammates. Aquaman says Manta is his and he'll decide when to kill him, which causes enough of a distraction for Manta to steal Ya'Wara's amulet. Manta uses the amulet to transport away as Aquaman runs after him, and the issue comes to a close as Black Manta appears face to face with Shin and Mera.


Thoughts: Well, This issue kinda let me down. The last issue was a bit more interesting and the reveal of Aquaman killing Manta's father was surprising. In this issue we saw how that happened, which was cool, but the stuff with The Operative didn't intrigue me, and that was like... the first six pages of the issue. I know it's building to more, but it seemed excessive here. Also, Johns, can we get some better names than The Prisoner and The Operative please? Besides seeing how Manta's father died, this was a pretty slow issue, even the fight with Aquaman and Manta seemed like it never got into second gear, which didn't excite me. Maybe I picked a bad issue to start reviewing with, but for what I did, this was kind of average.

Score:  6.5/10

Black Manta: My revenge is only the beginning, Aquaman.