WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League #59, by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Tamra Bonvillain and Josh Reed, on sale now.
One of the more unassuming, yet consistently reliable, members of the Justice League is Aquaman. A co-founding figure ever since the Justice League of America’s debut in 1960. Arthur Curry would similarly be on the original roster for the team at the start of the New 52 era and continues to play a major role as the DC Universe moves into the Infinite Frontier era.
And as the Justice League faces an extra-dimensional threat while preparing to expand their ranks, Aquaman unleashes his most devastating attack while coming up with an admittedly nonsensical name for it: The Wall of Shark.
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The Justice League rallies in action when Khandaq comes under attack from a monstrous figure named Brutus, arriving from a parallel dimension. While Black Adam insists that he has the situation well under control, the heroes prove invaluable in driving Brutus back. As the villain is knocked over the ocean, he is hit by a swirling surge filled with voracious sharks — not unlike the infamous Sharknado film series — with Aquaman at the helm and noting that he usually doesn’t showcase this move on enemies upon their first confrontation but felt that the occasion warranted his usual Wall of Shark technique. And while the King of Atlantis may just be polite in this assertion, this is far from the first time that he’s unleashed the attack on a brand-new threat.
While Aquaman has employed fleets of bloodthirsty sharks before, one of the more notable instances was his New 52 debut. The start of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s run had Darkseid attempt to invade Earth with an army of Parademons, only for the fledgling superheroes that would eventually form the Justice League to stand in his way. As a fresh wave of Parademons were poised to swoop down on the exhausted heroes, Aquaman commanded an army of his own, with a group of sharks emerging in a swell of water from the coast to devour the armies of Apokolips and give the heroes a much-needed breather.
One of the more nightmarishly memorable uses of the Wall of Shark came during the 2009 crossover event Blackest Night by Johns and Ivan Reis. While Arthur was dead, his body was risen by the Black Lantern Corps due to his outstanding emotional connection to his wife Mera and former sidekick Garth. While Atlantean guards attempted to rescue Mera and Garth from the undead Aquaman, the zombified superhero summons a maelstrom of undead sharks to consume the reinforcements as he turns his attention back to his old companions, ready to consume their hearts to empower the evil Nekron with their raw emotional energy.
Even against an extra-dimensional monster capable of trading blows with Black Adam and Superman, Aquaman still showcases his importance on the Justice League as the team rings in a bold, new era during Infinite Frontier.
While Aquaman may have been ridiculed for years due to his perceived limitations in simply being able to communicate with fish, the superhero summons the most formidable forces the oceanic depths can muster to turn the tide of battle. And with Brutus on the receiving end, Arthur Curry has finally coined his greatest attack, predating Sharknado despite their obvious similarities. And with the team’s new future only just beginning, Aquaman definitely has a few more tricks up his regal sleeves.
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