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pluckyredhead · 2 years

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Please Care About Aquaman With Me: Wrapping Up the Nineties

Welcome back to Poseidonis! This one is a long one, but I wanted to wrap up this era, so let’s just dive in, okay? (See what I did there?)

Last time, both Garth and Koryak attempted to overthrow Arthur, who banished Koryak and gave Garth a great big hug. Also, Arthur was officially reinstated as king, but Mera refused to go back to being queen since her marriage to Arthur is no longer valid under Atlantean law. The drama!

Our last installment coincided with the end of the nearly 50 issue Peter David run, which built most of the post-Crisis Aquaverse up from scratch. After a couple of fill-in issues, he’s replaced by Erik Larsen. Apparently there was a long and vicious rivalry between PAD and Larsen, which is a fascinating internet rabbit hole to go down (do you want to see grown men behaving extremely unprofessionally on very old message boards? google this shit), which may be why Larsen promptly throws out a lot of PAD’s toys and brings in his own. Some of them never do anything interesting ever so I won’t really be talking about them here. (I’m sorry, Lagoon Boy! I liked you in Young Justice!)

Also, we’ve reached the early 2000s, so the title of this post isn’t entirely accurate, but we’re closing out this run and will start fresh with the 2003 series, so...just go with it, okay?

Anyway, the Poseidonians almost immediately discover a hidden civilization beneath their own, led by King Noble (Larsen was not working overtime on character names). He and Mera are intensely attracted to each other, leaving Arthur jealous and sulky:

He tries to win Mera back by shaving and cutting his hair to look like he did when they were younger, but it’s not that easy:

Mera points out that their marriage is no longer valid under Atlantean law because of infidelity, and Arthur agrees that yes, okay, there have been “infidelities on both sides,” which...as you’ll recall, Mera was raped, so fuck you very much, Arthur.

Anyway, even if Mera isn’t impressed by Arthur’s naked chin and sad sack demeanor, someone else is:

Yep, Debbie’s back, and she’s changed her codename to Indigo, not that it will matter because she will continue to barely do anything and disappear. Anyway Debbie had previously been a potential love interest for Koryak and is prone to saying things like “kewl,” which leads me to believe she’s about Koryak’s age, much like Dolphin and Garth are the same age. I’m not one to clutch my pearls over an age difference here or there, but Arthur seems to habitually look at women his sons’ ages as prime dating material and that deserves some side eye. However, there is a MUCH BIGGER REASON these two shouldn’t be kissing, which we will soon learn.

Speaking of Garth, he is busy being tragic and passive aggressive whenever Arthur gives political responsibility to or even pays attention to anyone else:

I am FASCINATED by this aspect of Garth’s character so stay tuned for a separate meta post on that. (Yes, more Aquaposting. I’m sorry.)

Also, Dolphin drops a bombshell:

GARTH NO. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. He spends the next couple of issues bewailing the situation to a mermaid who he once mistook for his dead girlfriend, which does not improve things. GARTHOLEMEW. TERRIBLE.

Meanwhile, my darling Koryak is in a bit of a pickle:

The woman on the left is, shockingly, Atlanna, Arthur’s mom, who literally everyone thought was dead. (She’s not actually a mermaid, the bad guy did fucked up surgery on her.) The incredibly annoying bad guy used to be called Charybdis, and he’s the reason Arthur lost a hand. Now he’s back, he looks like this for some reason, and he’s changed his name to Piranha Man because he thinks it sounds cooler. This really feels like Larsen going “No one even knows what a Charybdis is, ugh, David, you’re so pretentious” and changing everything about Peter David’s creation to be an asshole. But Piranha Man sucked when he was Charybdis and he still sucks now, so it’s really more of a lateral move rather than making him better or worse as a villain.

Anyway he has decided to capture all of Arthur’s loved ones in revenge. He manages to snag Mera, Atlan, Garth, Dolphin, and Debbie as well as Atlanna and Koryak, but Arthur rescues them and then just sort of...doesn’t know how to deal with his mom being back so he puts her in a hospital and ignores her. Also Koryak just eaves off page and like three issues later Arthur realizes he never got to talk to him. Doing great, Arthur!

Anyway. Garth finally gets over himself and proposes to Dolphin, who accepts. The Titans arrive for the wedding:

LOOK AT HIM HOLDING LIAN. PRECIOUS.

He has a little heart-to-heart with Donna about where his head’s at:

“I was sort of pushed into this...and I don’t love Dolphin as much as I loved Tula...” This is gonna go great.

Anyway, Garth and Dolphin get hitched, and then there’s a very stupid plotline where basically there’s like a gangster fish that’s getting everyone high on hallucinogenic fish secretions? Sure. The fish secretions just exacerbate all the underwater romantic complications going on: Mera is attracted to Noble but still has feelings for Arthur, Arthur is still in love with Mera but interested in Debbie, blah blah blah. Everyone gets all hornt up on fish secretions, and then...

LOLOLOL OH NO. TERRIBLE. Anyway yeah it turns out Atlan is Debbie’s father too. This information is so shocking that Debbie instantly vanishes and never appears in another Aquaman comic ever again. Whoops?

Speaking of women disappearing forever, Atlanna’s doing better:

There’s a whole thing where dead people come back from hell, including Atlanna’s husband, King Trevis, who is the one who actually abandoned baby Arthur in the middle of the ocean when he was born. Atlanna basically defeats him by calling him a cuck, and then vanishes until the New 52, where everything about her will be different. Bye, Atlanna!

Also, people coming back from hell involves a lot of lava, some of which burns off King Noble’s antennae, at which point Mera promptly realizes she’s not interested in him at all, he was just releasing sexy pheromones from his antennae without realizing it. Bye, Noble!

With their romantic rivals thus vanquished or sister-zoned, Arthur and Mera admit that they still love each other and get back together. I give them about a year. (No, really. I’ve read the comics after this.) And with that, Larsen’s run is over. Bye, Larsen!

He is replaced by Dan Jurgens, who immediately plunges into a Garth-centric story (good) that starts with Arthur and Garth...on a talk show?

HI YES HELLO, I’M FASCINATED BY THIS. Garth is a prince now? This is new! He’s literally never been called a prince before. Does this mean Arthur has named Garth his heir? Is it an honorary title? DAN JURGENS, EXPLAIN.

(Also, hi, Rodunn, welcome to being a key Aquaman supporting character for about three years and then going away forever. Too bad, I like Rodunn.)

Arthur is on this talk show trying to get support for Atlantis, because the land nation of Cerdia has committed many acts of aggression against Atlantis and the UN is ignoring Arthur’s pleas. In fact, Cerdia attempts to assassinate Arthur with a bomb during the show, but still, no assistance or sanctions from the international community.

(Cerdia, btw, is sort of vaguely “foreign” with no location specified in the comics, though the DC wiki says it’s near the Canary Islands. It’s ruled by the evil Queen Charlanda, who wants to conquer Atlantis for...pearls, idk. The whole thing is very silly.)

In the midst of a devastating attack on Atlantis...Dolphin has her baby!

Awww, they’re cute.

However, almost immediately after this, the baby is kidnapped by a mysterious figure who is clearly allied with Charlanda. Arthur and Garth take the fight to Cerdia and discover that Charlanda’s secret ally is...

...Orm! Who has been manipulating Charlanda the whole time, and pretty much immediately causes her death after being confronted by Arthur. He’s also placed Garth’s baby in a tank of water that he starts superheating, which isn’t exactly what happened to Aquababy, but it’s enough to be a very pointed parallel.

Garth manages to control the temperature of the water enough to protect the baby. In the chaos of the fight, the tank breaks and Orm flees. The Arthur we’ve always known would chase the bad guy.

But now he stays to help find the baby! Awww. I’m genuinely emotional about this, you guys - the rift between Arthur and Garth that began with Aquababy’s deal never really healed properly, and this is a huge step in that direction.

Not that Arthur isn’t HUGELY PROBLEMATIC, because he promptly declares in front of the UN, god, and everyone that since Cerdia’s queen is dead, Atlantis is annexing Cerdia as a colony. See, Charlanda kept her people poor and uneducated, so they can’t possibly self-govern, so really, Arthur’s doing them a favor! This is portrayed as a good and heroic move. What the fuck.

THAT SECOND PANEL IS TOO CUTE. ILLEGAL.

Also, “for all practical purposes, our prince”? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. IS HE A PRINCE OR ISN’T HE. IS HE THE HEIR OR ISN’T HE. ARTHUR EXPLAIN. Also lol at Arthur being like “I’m afraid it’s time I put you to work on official business,” both because that is literally the only thing Garth wants in the entire world and because of what the official business is:

Yeah, he wanted Garth to name his baby after Cerdia so he could Lion King-style wave him around and make the Cerdians stop being mad about being colonized. Both Arthur’s pose and Cerdian’s face here upset me greatly. The only good thing about this page is Dolphin’s outfit.

There are about five issues of the run after this, but they’re not significant, plot-wise - Arthur and Mera go to Skartaris, Garth gets kidnapped by aliens, yadda yadda. This last page is pretty indicative of the way this series ends: with Arthur sitting confidently on the throne of an empire, Mera by his side, a dynasty implied to be secure with Garth and Cerdian in the (presumed???) line of succession, allies galore.

And the second the 2003 series begins, that will all promptly be well and truly fucked.

Next up: Said fuckening, featuring the Obsidian Age, yet another deposing, and Arthur’s magical water hand!

#aquaman #arthur curry #garth #tempest #mera #dolphin #koryak #koryak curry #deep blue #indigo #debbie perkins #aquasplaining

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cgbcomics · 1 year

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#aquaman #tempest #mera #dolphin #vulko #dc comics #00s comics

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coverpanelarchive · 8 months

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Aquaman #38 (2006)

#dc comics #aquaman #john arcudi #nathan eyring #rob leigh #arthur curry #mera #garth of shayeris #tempest #koryak #vulko #dolphin

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donnatroyprincessofthemyscira · 8 months

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#Garth #Tempest #Dolphin #Mera #Arthur Curry #Aquaman #Aqualad #titans #teen titans #donna troy

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dailydccomics · 6 months

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when family duties takes priority over what you actually want Aquaman vol 5 #70

#arthur curry #garth of shayeris #dolphin #dc comics #cerdian #aquafam #aquaman #tempest #dc #mera of xebel #garth #mera #vulko #orin #comics #aquaman vol 5

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flawseer · 7 months

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WoF Reference guide - #02: Nautilus, Webs, Riptide

Another one of these headcanon visual references I've made for myself. I guess this one is the "Talons of Peace Seawings edition".

With this one and the last entry taken together, there are now two father-son pairs between them. One of my sub-goals with this was to examine and identify traits that would plausibly be passed down from parents to their children. We'll see how that goes.

Build is average, neither particularly fat nor muscular. Size is average too, but he has a tendency to stand very straight and rigid to make himself look taller than he is.

Proportionally large head; small, exceptionally dry nose; high cheek bones; pronounced Adam's apple; stubbly barbs growing out the back of the jaw.

Eyes and general resting expression have an air of self-importance and aloofness to them.

Horns curve upwards and are somewhat smooth, but not perfectly so.

Luminous areas on face and body form an intricate pattern of interlocking and crisscrossing black spirals that turn a bright neon green when lighting up.

Dorsal fringe made of leaf-like sections shaped like curly waves, with large gaps in between sections; ventral fringe is small and wispy.

Build is slender, bordering on gangly; tends to slouch, bad overall posture, makes him look small despite his size being slightly above average.

Head is somewhat elongated with bottle-shaped nose, similar to sea horse or dolphin; cheeks are sunken in.

Sad, tired-looking eyes, heavy eyelids; not particularly emotive. Slightly near-sighted.

Forehead fins are orderly and uniform in size and thickness, but with many splits and blemishes.

Horns extend straight backwards, smooth, little hooks at the end.

Luminous patches on face, limbs, and back are blotty and uneven with no clearly defined shape or size; ventral patches are narrow and slitted, shaped like rice grains.

Ventral and dorsal fringes wavy and all in one piece, reminiscent of sea foam.

Has a small luminous birthmark between two claws of his left front talon.

Frame is rather tall and well-built, muscular, fit.

Head shape angular with bottle-shaped nasal ridge, pronounced jaw and chin.

Eyes are open and friendly, but unnaturally dark for a Seawing. Tends to look serious and dutiful.

Forehead fins sweep forward, shaped in a way reminiscent of a wave about to crash onto the beach; texture is very rough with many splits and blemishes.

Horns curve backwards, texture smooth but shape somewhat twisty and gnarled.

Luminous patches on face, limbs, and back are blotty and uneven, fragmented in small clusters like freckles; ventral patches small, shaped like pomegranate seeds.

Ventral and dorsal fringes upright and protruding evenly, all in one piece.

Not quite sure who to do next yet. Maybe Gill, Coral, and Tempest.

#wings of fire #wof #wof art #wof nautilus #wof webs #wof riptide #wof seawing #seawing #dragon #digital art #flawseer ref guide #flawseer talk

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royboyfanpage · 1 month

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roygarth headcanons and motifs?

Okay I wanna just give a disclaimer that I am not a Garth expert, I've only really read him in Titans comics (though I did read Tempest 1996 specifically for this ask), also Roygarth isn't my OTP, I do ship it but it's not something I've thought about in great length, so my apologies if I've gotten Garth's character wrong or if my interpretation of the ship is different to yours/OOC. Also I've not made any in depth ship posts before, I'm more of a passive observer of ships, so apologies if this sucks ass generally.

For it to work in canon, a very strong aspect of it would have to be communication. Roy doesn't always pick up on when he's done something that's upset someone, and Garth can become quite vocally angry if someone upsets/hurts him. I really wish that the progress they'd made in Titans (1999) #16 was expanded on in later comics because I think if they got past that initial barrier of miscommunication they could have such a good relationship. They're actually pretty similar in some ways, they both love very strongly and are fiercly protective of the people they love, but there are differences, too. Roy's very much an immediate reactor in a lot of cases, he reacts immediately when something upsets him and forgives just as fast, whereas Garth can let things fester/build over time and then eventually lash out in a much angrier way, so communication is definitely the most important aspect.

I don't think that they'd ever be the perfect honeymoon couple, there are always gonna be some things about both of them that drive each other insane. I can't see Roy completely dropping all the teasing, and I also can't see Garth suddenly becoming totally okay with it because Roy's explained he's only kidding. However, I do see it becoming more of an exasperation rather than actually pissing him off, and if they were to get closer I could see it becoming more mutual, good-natured teasing. I also think that they'd get better at resolving arguments too, and that they wouldn't escalate as far once a mutual level of trust's been built up. I think Garth kinda has an expectation that people are out to get him sometimes or that they underestimate his worth, so once that's been addressed and Garth's assured that Roy has no ill-will or negativity towards him then he'd be less likely to lash out and more understanding that that's just Roy's way of showing affection.

It's absolutely a slowburn relationship that would take a lot of time to develop. They're not gonna wake up one morning and realise they love each other and should date. I think, if anything, Cerdian would be a really good way for them to actually fall in love with each other (let's say for the sake of this, Cerdian's fine and Garth and Dolphin split up). I think being able to bond over being parents would absolutely open new opportunities for their relationship, and one of the things Roy looks for in a romantic partner is how well they get along with Lian, so another parent would definitely be a good choice of partner for him, especially since Garth already adored Lian even before Cerdian was born and he and Roy had their talk in purgatory. Plus them co-parenting Lian and Cerdian would be adorable.

I still think that the nicknames would persist, but they'd definitely become more terms of affection as they entered a relationship. Maybe not Gill-head specifically since Garth's explicitly stated he doesn't like that one, but other affectionate fish-related ones for sure. Also they'd keep calling each other Speedy and Aqualad affectionately.

Aaand from a more fanon-y perspective, I think Roy'd definitely be the one to initiate much of the physical affection. I 100% see him as a hugger, so I can imagine him just pulling Garth into hugs or dragging him over to the sofa to cuddle. Garth I can see as more of a spontanious kisser. Both of them go bright red whenever the other surprises them with affection. Also they should do the percabeth underwater kiss.

Anyway this is a family

#thank you for the ask anon!!!#sorry if this sucks #roy harper #arsenal #speedy #red arrow #Garth #Aqualad #tempest #roygarth #spaqua #unreasonably nervous about posting this one lol

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