Aquaman and the Others #3 - July 2014

Comics Weekend "Legacy of Gold Part III" by Dan Jurgens, Lan Medina, Allen Martinez, and Matt Milla.

The plot thickens this month, with Aquaman and the Heartbreakers coming face to face with the brother and sister team who want those Atlantean relics post-haste:

Ya'Wara commands her panther friend Tomo to attack Darya, who promptly transforms it into a snarling hell-beast that turns on its master! Ya'Wara is unable or unwilling to defend herself against her beloved pet, only to be saved by The Operative, who shoots the poor creature dead.

Darya then transports the whole team back to their castle, where they meet her brother Anton in person. Anton explains the deal: give us the Atlantean gold, and everyone goes home alive. Aquaman has a slightly different counter-offer, one he learned from the Batman School of Negotiation:

Aquaman has the team fan out to find Kahina's captive sister Sayeh. Ya'Wara and Sky take on Anton, while the Operative and Prisoner of War tussle with Darya. Meanwhile, Aquaman and Aaron find Sayeh who, upon seeing the Sea King, has another one of her terrible visions:

The disembodied voice belongs to the Big Bad known as Legend, who demands the return of the gold that he claims was stolen!

Meanwhile, Ya'Wara, who was transported to Sky's ghost dimension in an attempt to save her life, meets Kahina and Vostok, who say they cannot "move on" because their work is not yet done. Ya'Wara is happy to see her friends, but also unnerved to be talking those she consider the dead. Back at the castle, Aquaman is dubious about Legend's claims, and that this guy claims to have been there when Atlan sank Atlantis eons ago! The Sea King decides enough of this, he and his team are packing up and leaving:

Next: OMAC and the Others!

 

I loved Aquaman being a hard-nosed negotiator here, ala Batman or Captain Kirk. He has spent so much of his career being a sad sack, I'm really enjoying this new confident version of my hero. Sure, he ends up with a trident in his stomach, but I'm sure he'll recover by next issue, right? Right?

Also: another nice cover courtesy Joe Prado and Ivan Reis. So far these Others covers have been some of the most dynamic and exciting DC has been putting out. Is it too early to call for a The Aquaman Art of Reis/Prado/Reis hardcover book?