Aquaman 2's Trailer Suggests an Adaptation of the Hero's Best Modern Comic

Aquaman 2 gives Black Manta a powerful new weapon, and the upgrade may be best on some of the King of Atlantis' comics from the New 52 reboot.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is Aquaman's next cinematic adventure, with Jason Momoa's take on Arthur Curry forced to defend his new underwater kingdom against an old enemy. It's also the last entry in the DC Extended Universe, which was somewhat known for its divergences from the comic books. Despite these changes to the source material, it seems that the next Aquaman is going all in on one of the hero's best comic books runs ever.

Geoff Johns' run on Aquaman revolutionized the character, putting him back in the limelight and giving him the mainstream success needed to do away with his laughable reputation from beforehand. It heavily informed the first DCEU movie focused on the King of Atlantis, and that's seemingly going to be the case again. This can notably be seen in the movie's teasers, which showcase a familiar storyline for the main villain.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Gives Aquaman's Greatest Foe an Upgrade

In the first Aquaman movie, Aquaman makes an eternal enemy out of David Kane after he caused the death of his father. Swearing vengeance on the Atlantean, the newly christened Black Manta acquires technology and an armored suit derived from his enemy's underwater culture to use against him. This turns him into a formidable opponent, especially with powerful laser beams. Unfortunately for him, this still wasn't enough, and Arthur Curry was able to best him in battle before the villain was thrown off a cliff.

The first trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom gives him a major upgrade, thanks to an Atlantean artifact. This trident offers Black Manta more power than he ever wielded before, something which Arthur Curry himself notices. According to Aquaman, Black Manta is a lot stronger than when he first fought him, which says a lot. Even in the first movie, Black Manta was no slouch. Though Arthur later unlocked more power of his own, it's definitely possible for Black Manta to have gotten the proverbial drop on him. Not only does Black Manta's newfound power put him closer to Aquaman's strength, but it also evokes a story from the comic books.

Aquaman 2 May Emulate a New 52 Aquaman Storyline

The New 52 line wide reboot changed a lot of the DC Universe' classic characters, with some of them being radically different. On the other hand, it was a return to form for Aquaman, whose comic book was launched by the all-star creative team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Emphasizing the character's fantasy and action-adventure themes, the book's quality and the popularity of its writer made Aquaman into one of the New 52's biggest success stories. The run's second story arc also changed his relationship with Black Manta.

The pair's new backstory involving them killing each other's father. In the present day, Black Manta vexes Aquaman and his former team of allies, the Others. After hunting and killing some of their ranks, Manta used their stolen artifacts to search for a mysterious Atlantean scepter. Similar looking to Aquaman's trident, it bequeathed its wielder with incredible power. Black Manta promptly displays this by causing a massive tremor simply by striking the ground with the device. The surrounding area is thrown into tumult, with Black Manta's power essentially dwarfing that of Aquaman and the Others. The villain is even able to kill Arthur's ally Vostok with a simple hit from the scepter. Given that it wasn't a blow from a blade and yet it almost instantly dooms the hero, the impression of the scepter's power is obvious.

The similarities between this scepter and the Black Trident that Black Manta has in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are many. Not only does it upgrade his strength, but the trident itself has power rivaling or surpassing the magical trident that Aquaman wields. This seems even more likely as the movie involves Aquaman having to unite with his villainous brother Orm and the forces of each Atlantean kingdom. Black Manta's individual power and his ability to raise the dead make him into a foe that Arthur can't possibly take down on his own. It's an impressive way to increase David Kane's threat level, but this isn't the only time that the DC Extended Universe has pulled from Geoff Johns' Aquaman run to inform its take on the King of the Seven Seas.

The DCEU Aquaman Was Mostly Based on Geoff Johns' Run

From the takes on the mythology to how the story played out, the first Aquaman movie was very clearly based on the character's New 52 comic books. Among this source material, Geoff Johns' work was the biggest influence, namely in terms of Black Manta and Aquaman's rivalry. In the comics, the two killed each other's fathers, and Manta may get similar revenge in Aquaman 2. The modern explanation for Mera and Xebel were from Johns' run, as were the monstrous beasts known as The Trench. Another element pulled from this era of comics was the gigantic Karathen, which was loosely based on the New 52 reimagining of Topo.

Given that Tom Curry survived the first movie, one major change from the New 52 comics is that he reunites with Atlanna, his wife and Aquaman's mother. The scene in which Arthur meets his mom is also loosely based on New 52 comics that weren't written by Geoff Johns. This cements said run as the definitive take on the character, at least when it comes to modern stories. Beforehand, many fans unquestionably stated that the Peter David Aquaman run was the best. While some might argue that this is still true, that run contains numerous elements from the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity that are now incongruous with the character's current interpretation.

Thus, it's no wonder the neo-classic take from Geoff Johns was treated as the go-to source material for the two movies, especially since Johns himself had a huge part in the 2018 film's production. This is how the second movie is being handled and how the DC Extended Universe is ending. The irony is that the New 52 was somewhat criticized for how uncharacteristically dark some of the heroes were portrayed as, with the DCEU suffering from similar complains. The bright spot in both universes was Aquaman, whose adventures and general mythology were defined by Geoff Johns.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swims into theaters on Dec. 20, 2023.