New Aquaman's Darkest Power Is Too Brutal For DC's Movie Universe
Warning: spoilers ahead for Aquamen #2!
In the latest issue of DC Comics' Aquamen, Jackson Hyde has already distinguished himself as the more brutal Aquaman over Arthur Curry, utilizing his powers in dark new ways that will likely never be seen in the DC movie universe. While he may have earned the Aquaman title and is currently sharing it with the original, it came at the cost of an intense gauntlet of pain the younger hero has been struggling with. Now, the discovery that Arthur has been keeping major secrets from him has led Jackson to go out on his own, leading to an intensely violent interrogation of Orm the Ocean Master.
In the previous DC series Aquaman: The Becoming, Jackson was framed for a terrorist attack on Atlantis. While his name was eventually cleared, new secrets about his mother and a sister he never knew came to light, culminating in his mother falling into a coma by the series' end. As such, Jackson is in quite a dark place by the first issue of Aquamen from Brandon Thomas, Chuck Brown, and Sami Basri. However, the original Aquaman only made things worse with the reveal that he's been working with Jackon's supervillain father Black Manta behind the new Aquaman's back.
Jackson has very little interest in hearing Arthur's explanations in the new Aquamen #2, and he absolutely refuses to work with his father. Instead, the new Aquaman decides to investigate the series' imminent threat on his own; the same danger that's somehow convinced Arthur to think that working with one of their greatest rivals is a good idea. Ironically, Jackson's first stop in his search for answers is the Aquarium, Atlantis' maximum-security prison where he and Arthur just put away Orm the Ocean Master in the series' first issue. However, Jackson isn't there to team-up with the original Aquaman's evil half-brother. Instead, he's there to torture Orm for information, using his powers of hydrokinesis to manipulate the water running through Orm's blood, violently contorting and twisting his body in all sorts of painful ways.
The new Aquaman's brutal use of his powers is not unlike a waterbender's ability to bloodbend as seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Featured as a dark ability where waterbenders could turn their opponents into puppets by controlling the water within their blood, the practice was largely discouraged and frowned upon for being too cruel and violent. However, Jackson's similar display certainly fits the darknesss he's adopted in recent issues, proving that he's going to need some help if he ever wants to redeem himself and rejoin the light. Tragically, while Jackson has thoroughly rejected his father's evil and always attempted to bring him to justice, it's Black Manta's turn away from villainy that is destroying the new Aquaman's sense of heroism.
Jackson Hyde's Aquaman has lost himself to grief and anger in this new series. Rather than partnering as Aquamen who could save the day together, Arthur and Jackson are now opposed as a major Atlantis conspiracy is unfolding which threatens the surface world as well. While it would be nice to see the two heroes reconciling and figuring things out as this new Aquamen series continues, it may take some time should Arthur discover the pure brutality Jackson displayed at Ocean Master's expense.