- February 16, 2022
Aquaman: The Becoming #6 Review
Written by: Brandon Thomas
Penciling by: Serg Acuna, Diego Olortegui
Inking by: Serg Acuna, Wade Von Grawbadger
Coloring by: Adriano Lucas
Lettering by: Andworld Design
I really enjoyed the first issue of Aquaman: The Becoming. Coming off the heals of Future State: Aquaman, it was a breath of fresh air for a DC franchise that deserved more spotlight. It wasn’t the same tone, nor the same kind of story, but it was something different from the rest of the Bat-books that overpopulate the shelves. But I also feel like it didn’t meet the standards of Future State: Aquaman. Trading an older Andy for Jackson’s mother and new sister just didn’t hit the same. Where Future State brought me to tears I found myself shrugging through most of Jackson’s other relationships here.
It’s always difficult to build out new character dynamics in six issues, don’t get me wrong, I know that. I just wish they had gone about it a different way here. The plot contrivances to drive a wedge between Jackson and his mother were distracting. Then how they tried to make his sister appear evil but also not didn’t hit for me. It dragged down the overall plot and kept the book from being about Jackson becoming Aquaman.
In all honesty, by the end, I’m not sure why Jackson is being called Aquaman, story-wise I mean. Aquaman: The Becoming kind of forgot the “becoming” part of the title. By the end, Jackson is actually embittered, closed off, and alone, which makes for an interesting premise for the sequel, but is not what I was promised and feels both earned and unearned…? Like, it makes sense with what happened over the series, but what happened over the series wasn’t great.
The last issue of Aquaman: The Becoming is probably the best since the first issue. It sold me on the idea of the Aquamen at the end with the new antagonistic dynamics that just scream melodrama, and I love melodrama (sometimes). I do have to say that if you’re looking to jump into the Aquaman section of DC, it might be better to jump right Aquamen than to start with this series.