Oh, man, I hope Beatriz still flies around like that. Clears out the sinuses!

This is a pretty banged-up copy, but a moderately important one! From 1979, Super Friends #25, "Puppets of the Overlord!" Written by E. Nelson Bridwell, pencils by Ramona Fradon, inks by Bob Smith.

It always strikes me, when I get a random old issue of Super Friends; that it was in theory the younger reader, kid-friendly version of the characters, based on the cartoon; yet still leaned surprisingly heavily on continuity and lore, even events and characters not seen on the show. Today, bad guy Overlord (really the second Overlord, the first had maybe been his puppet, or was maybe now a puppet) had taken over a small nation and was using its resources against the Super Friends, starting with a "thought-induction helmet." Since the JLA satellite was too far away and he didn't know the heroes' secret identities, Overlord strikes at them at the Hall of Justice, located in scenic Gotham City! The assembled heroes go off the rails for justice, with Batman and Superman, frustrated at having to work within the law, opting instead to take over North and South America, respectively. Aquaman realizes all the mistakes he made as King of Atlantis, and decides to correct them by taking over all the undersea kingdoms; while Wonder Woman opts to free the oppressed women of Africa, and the Wonder Twins choose to bring their superior alien culture to Eurasia. Oh and Robin goes to Australia, where he has a run-in with Tasmanian Devil--no, not that one, you know it's not! 

Batman heads up to the JLA satellite, where he immediately has to gas Green Lantern for not being onboard with his plan. Likewise, Wonder Woman throws down with her "black sister" Nubia in Africa, and Superman knocks out Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, aka the Green Fury, better known to us as Fire, in her first appearance! Her flaming--and, inexplicably, freezing--breath does nothing to the Man of Steel, so not a great start for her. Aquaman takes out Mera and Aqualad, to keep their "old-fashioned morality" from getting in his way, while Jan and Jayna's plan to rule hits a snag when they address a crowd somewhere in "the Arabian Peninsula" that didn't speak English. But, Seraph, the hero of Israel shows up to help--look, it was a different time, alright? Although even so I'm wondering what he was doing there. When Jan and Jayna change form, they snap back to their usual selves, and realize that's how they can save the other Super Friends, by changing them to their civilian identities. Except, Aquaman didn't have one, so he was going to be tougher, especially since the team had to fight him plainclothes! (A bit of lip service is paid to protecting their identities: if anyone saw this fight, it was just going to be Atlanteans, who were telepathic and could've found out anyway, if they cared.)

Aquaman puts up a solid fight, using a squid to get a Kryptonite meteorite to keep Clark out of it, then he no-sales a Green Lantern battering-ram by letting it hit him in the back of the head: his blonde hair was yellow and immune to the power ring's yellow impurity! Diana however is able to contact Mera to pop him one, and the magic lasso cures everyone of the mind-control effect, but they don't know who was behind it. Meanwhile, Overlord ponders his next attack, while one of his puppets seemingly taunts him...

Also this issue: another of DC's title-specific subscription ads; and their Daily Planet hype page! Man, I miss the latter: I know they tried to do something in that vein with "Channel 52" for a while, but it's not the same.

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The back-up feature this issue just infuriated me, but we'll get to that in a second: from 1977, Aquaman #59, "Prey Perilous!" Written by (an uncredited here!) David Michelinie, art by Jim Aparo.

Near the Marianas Trench, a NATO boat tries to shoo Aquaman away with some warning shots; but he's too pissed off for that: his son was dead, his wife was gone, and he'd been trailing old foe the Fisherman for two days. The Fisherman was trying to salvage something from the sunken ship Bellerophon, on the orders of the mysterious, unseen "King-1." (It's somebody who was getting the big push around then! Which maybe didn't quite take...) In their fight, the Bellerophon nearly falls deeper into the trench, but is grabbed by another old Aquaman villain, the Scavenger! (One of the few Aquaman bad guys to make appearances elsewhere: he had a brief stint in Warlord, of all places.)

Aquaman tries to get Fisherman to team-up with him, to get whatever everyone was trying to get off that ship; but the Fisherman blows him and "King-1" off, trying to backstab Aquaman with a sonic drill. Doesn't work: Aquaman has the tied-up Fisherman delivered to NATO by dolphins, but now had to race after Scavenger's rather striking scorpion-ship...to be continued!

Ah, now the backup, "The Kingdom of Doom!" featuring Mera! She had returned to her dimension, to try and get a machine to heal her son, but has to fight an usurper. Mera beats him, shattering his mind, but he was the one who knew where the machine was...to be continued, except we know Aquababy was already dead, so this just feels mean and pointless and mean. (Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Juan Ortiz, inks by Vince Colletta.) 

I'm a fairly casual Aqua-fan, except I did read all of the brief '91-92 series: there's an issue that maybe hints at Black Manta being abused as a kid, but that still didn't stop me from rooting for Aquaman to drown his ass, and another where Mera and Aquababy are maybe alive in another dimension, or Arthur's hallucinating. Poor Aquababy is one of the few comics characters to die and largely stay dead...Also, the Scavenger, who we really didn't scan here, has a somewhat cool mask design to go with his scorpion-ship, but even in Warlord where he was turned into a soul-draining monster, I don't think he's ever had characterization beyond "some jerk." Still, that puts him a step above the Fisherman, since I don't get his look at all: he maybe needed one of those hats with the lures and hooks on it.

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I recently had to re-organize, um, about everything; but I found an entire longbox in my closet that I'd missed! Some good stuff in there, and a book I'd been coming to and am legitimately surprised I didn't have to buy again. From 1996, Aquaman Annual #2, "Legends of the Dead Earth" Written by Peter David, pencils by Ed Hannigan, inks by Steve Mitchell.

On a distant world, on a natural bridge over the chasmous "vale of tears," two travellers meet: with no room for them to pass each other, they both claim to be storytellers, and agree whoever tells the best story would be able to go forward and the other would have to turn back. (The set-up is supposed to be like maybe a gazillion samurai stories? But also makes zero sense: that looks dangerous as hell, but you should also notice someone else was on there? And where would something like that lead, and why would someone be coming the other way?) The first tells a story of his favorite hero, the great and wise Aquaman. King of Atlantis on a waterless old Earth, the assorting remaining nations and people of earth came to beg, buy, or bargain for precious water. His people had priority, but whenever he could, Aquaman would give what he could. But, he started to wonder, what the people really thought of him, and went incognito to find out. He's disappointed to find, he wasn't universally beloved. Did he lord his control of the water over them? After being discovered during a bar brawl, the people tremble at the thought of his vengeance; but a small child offers Aquaman his rag to clean himself...and probably saves them all. Later, when the city begs for mercy and water, Aquaman gives him all they can carry, but has to admit to himself, with his ego hurt he very nearly would have killed them all, if not for that child.

The other storyteller scoffs, calling that unrealistic, since Aquaman was a villain and oppressor, him and his no-good son Koryak. (Koryak's coloring seems to vary in this, but he has He-Man's Prince Valiant haircut.) Aquaman had the flying skull-shaped city Poseidonis, which cemented his control of the seas: the city could drop like a mountain on ships that didn't offer tribute, or shoot down anyone trying to fly over. The remaining heroes of the earth (nobody we know!) wanted to stop Aquaman, and Ocean Master offers his assistance...for a price. He's spurned, the first time anyway: after getting their asses kicked, they promise him and his partner Black Manta whatever they want. Riding in on a mutated flying manta, the pair call out Aquaman: Koryak wants to just shoot them down, but Aquaman refuses to harm even a monstrously altered sea creature. He may be hesitating, since his former lover (Blue) Dolphin warned him, he would fight his brother, but afterwards he would lose everything. Not knowing the prophecy (and he wouldn't have cared, anyway) Koryak leaps into battle, killing Black Manta, then dying from the mutant manta's sting.

Aquaman leaps into battle against Ocean Master, but it's a short fight, since the mystic forces unleashed dump the citizens of Poseidonis into the ocean and seemingly either destroys the city or launches it into space, where the two would battle forever. But, Ocean Master would be remembered for his heroism; according to the second storyteller. The first calls his story "calumny,' although I'd personally be more offended that it was anti-climactic. Both storytellers then claim to be descendants of Aquaman, hero or villain, and begin to fight it out, like brothers in that line forever.

So both Poseidonis--which looked like a stone version of Brainiac's ship--and Koryak would've been recent additions from David's run: pretty sure Poseidonis would be blow'd up in short order, but Koryak would be around a bit longer. Couldn't say if he's appeared anytime recently, though. 

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I really expected more garter belts in Howard Chaykin's Justice League.

Well, they're all business in these issues, so maybe not. From 2006, JLA: Classified #26, "Secret History, Sacred Trust, part one" Written by Howard Chaykin, pencils by Kilian Plunkett, inks by Tom Nguyen.  

I think this was pretty concurrent with the JLA book at the time, with the Grant Morrison core team: the most seasoned of professionals, if a bit detached. They were like an encounter with a really good paramedic: if you need them, you're probably confused, helpless, and having the worst day of your life; but for them it's just Tuesday. They'll take care of you, but won't get all worked up about it.

Plotwise, this is both pretty solid and almost specifically what you would expect from Chaykin: two South American countries were on the verge of war, but both sides seem to somehow have put metahuman soldiers into the field. The JLA has to thread the needle between doing the right thing, and not overly imposing their will on foreign nations, while maybe also figuring out where the metahumans came from and not seeming too pro-America. Despite having two aliens and two monarchs on the team, they still work more closely with the U.S. government than you would probably expect; which feels real post-911 but also hopefully isn't rushing back. It's also completely not-surprising that the President is concerned about any other countries "using metahumans for international terrorism" yet being A-OK with America having them.

From Joe Kelly's run, Faith makes an appearance here, returning from the warring countries "on a mission I can't discuss for an agency that doesn't officially exist." (I honestly forget what her powers were, and I think she was traded to the Byrne-era Doom Patrol, which really feels like getting sent to the minors.) While in the field they might have been a unified front, the League seems a little back-bitey here: Kyle and Wally are seen by some of the others as a bit like children, American simpletons who don't really understand the rest of the world, no matter how many times they've saved it. (...fair.) Later, playing the king card, Aquaman throws a wrench in things, by insisting the President and the JLA make their case to the United Nations; where things get dragged to a halt by the objections of the Dutch ambassador. (Are her complaints legitimate, or somehow sinister? Maybe both, really.) While the JLA is officially ordered to stay out of the conflict, Faith takes Bruce, Clark, Kyle, Wally, and Diana undercover; on Mission: Impossible rules: if you're caught, no one's ever heard of you... 

This storyline would run through JLA Classified #31, and while I was able to get the whole thing from the dollar bins recently, I don't think it's been collected. Later in the story, J'onn plays one-man JLA to make it look like the others were where the world expected them to be; Kyle is effective undercover at a comic-con while Wally seems really bad at clandestine stuff; and the JLA honestly seems to get along pretty well regardless of if they're sometimes irritated or annoyed by each other.

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I remember a house ad for this, wonder if it's in the issue?

This was a 68-pager, and while I don't think it was the first in this format, it was part of multiple revamps for the title. From 1979, Adventure Comics #463, cover by José Luis García-López.

The opener, "Urtumi the Image Eater" is an oddball one for the Flash, as returning from Earth-2 he's attacked by a bizarre creature, which had been released when archeologists removed a Native American tablet. (Story by Cary Bates, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Joe Giella.) "Mind over Murder!" is a bit more substantial, as Deadman tries to use a somewhat-unhinged scientist's invention, to create a new body for himself. It doesn't work, and Boston continues to get irritated by Rama Kushna, who tells him that would never have worked, and he should be grateful for what he has, because he might have it for eternity...I think Rama was trying to be encouraging, not threatening, but Boston doesn't really see it that way. (Written by Len Wein, pencils by José Luis García-López, inks by Frank Chiaramonte.)

"The Night of the Soul Thief" opens with the Justice Society on the trail of Batman's true killer, and both Dick Grayson and Helena Wayne are unmasked, as their secret identities had been exposed in the wake of Batman's death. The team fights assorted elementals, before being taken before one Fredric Vaux, a sorcerer plotting to end the current age of heroes, so the ongoing conflict of Order vs. Chaos could get back on track, with Chaos victorious and him ruling earth in its name. Vaux had wanted to erase even the memory of the heroes, but too many people in Gotham City remember Batman for that to go away easily. Helena is furious that her father died for nothing, a pawn in a larger game; but on losing Vaux is discarded by Chaos and seemingly done. Doctor Fate then uses what was left of his spell, to convince Earth-2 that Batman and Bruce Wayne had both died, but had been separate men, saving Robin and Huntress's identities. (Written by Paul Levitz, pencils by Joe Staton, inks by Dave Hunt.)

"Climax" is an Aquaman story, and I may need to take a moment to see if he (or Flash or Wonder Woman, for that matter) had his own title at the time: I feel like I've read several Aquaman stories in Adventure. This month, it's Aquaman vs. Aqualad, Mera, Vulko, most of Atlantis, and capitalism! Universal Food Products had entered into a manufacturing partnership with Atlantis, which everyone thought would be good for everyone; except for Aquaman, who had discovered UFP's generators were heating the sea to unlivable levels, while their fertilizers were going to deplete Atlantis's farmland. Or farm-waters; I'm not sure how it works. Arthur wasn't currently the king, and everyone seems to think he's just being stubborn; but come on: the UFP guys had a boat commander in a very Nazi-style uniform, with a friggin' monocle. Pretty sure they're the bad guys, man. Aquaman exposes them, but admits to his friends he didn't blame them, since he didn't have any proof backing him up. Feels like a trust exercise they failed, though. Also, is it my imagination, or despite having less rep Aqualad threw down with his mentor more often than Robin or Speedy did with theirs? Yeah, Robin would've been a good soldier at the time; but I guess Speedy and Ollie probably rough-housed all the time. ("Put down the needle, Roy!" "Make me!" "Put down the chili, Ollie!" "Make me!") (Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Joe Giella.)

Bees. My god. It's Wonder Woman vs. "The Insanity Swarm!" Intelligent bees attack the Houston space center, leaving those stung as mindless and comatose. It's old JLA baddie the Queen Bee, who, when wrapped up in Diana's magic lasso, explains she had taken their minds, but even the lasso couldn't force her to give them back: she had set the self-destruct to prevent even her doing so. But, if Wonder Woman became her slave, then maybe...(Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Joe Staton, inks by Frank McLaughlin.) 

 This was around DC Implosion time, wasn't it? But, there is a US Postal Service Statement of Ownership this issue: total paid circulation, single issue nearest to filing date, 91,693. As usual, those would be blockbuster numbers today, but I don't think were amazing for the time, maybe even for a bimonthly book. Still, this didn't have a copy of the house ad promoting it; not because it would've been redundant, but this book was no ads at the time! I'll add said ad the next time I stumble across it.

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I thought it was weird he knew Bruce and Hal as a kid; but that's just scraping the surface here.

I got this a couple shows back, and finally got to read it! From 1971, Superman #171, "Dark Strangler of the Seas!" Written by Frank Robbins, pencils by Bob Brown, inks by Murphy Anderson.

Some time back, we saw a book from a decade later, where young Clark met Hal Jordan; but this issue is all Superboy and Aquaboy. Some fishermen pull an oil-covered "monster" from the ocean, which Superboy rushes to a detergent factory to have him scrubbed off, but the mysterious teen in the scaly orange shirt keeps trying to fight his way back into the water, until he finally is able to explain he needed it to breathe! Aquaboy introduces himself, and explains how one of "his" porpoises had died after being covered in oil from a leaky tanker: he had tried to confront the ship's captain, and was himself doused in oil. Superboy is rather quicker to action than stodgey old Superman, and flies with Aquaboy to the shipping-line owners; who outright refuse them: one in a shiek-style headdress decries the idea of taking their ships out of service to repair them as "wasteful!"

The young heroes aren't cowed by this, and step up their campaign: Aquaboy sets up surveillance with his fishy friends, and Superboy picks up a leaky tanker, flies it out to the desert, and drains it. (Dumping a lot of oil into the desert isn't seen as an environmental issue!) Superboy then takes the tanker to a shipyard, to be repaired at the shippers' expense. Fearing for their bottom line, the businessmen know they can't take Superboy, but what if they eliminate his partner...? Or use him as leverage. As Superboy brings in another tanker, they set their trap, with Aquaboy's girlfriend, Marita? Who looks a lot like a young Mera, down to her style of swimsuit; but who then betrays him to be captured? Feels like there's a lot that should be unpacked there, but they don't go into it at all! Marita doesn't even have any dialogue! Maybe she got tired of having a boyfriend she could only see for an hour at a time.

Superboy rescues Aquaboy from an exploding tanker, and the bad guys, including Marita, are flown off, to...jail? A stout lecture? It's not clear, but left rather open, as the battle against pollution continues. Spoiler alert: we're pretty much losing. Also this issue: an editor's note, explaining their new approach to Superboy. Previously, he had been stuck in an older "time slot," but going forward his adventures would "trail" the perpetually 29-year-old Superman: if Superman was 29 in 1970, he would've been a teen in 1955; and Superboy's time period would continue to move accordingly. Read more!

Maybe I should've saved this for a fund drive or something.

I'm up way too early this morning, and have a busy--but hopefully fun!--day ahead of me. So, trying to clear the brain fog by grabbing a quick book: from 1977, Super Friends #5, "Telethon Treachery!" Written by E. Nelson Bridwell, pencils by Ramona Fradon, inks by Bob Smith.

I remember telethons, but have never willingly watched so much as five minutes of one. (Feel like I've sat through more than a few pledge drives, though!) I don't have a lot of tolerence for variety acts, but the Super Friends have a good batch for the "annual Justice League Super-Thon!" (I swear "Justice League" and "Super Friends" were basically used interchangeably on that show and comic!) They drop a few names you should recognize, like Kathy Kane, Scott Free, and Zatanna; and even one caller that throws in $75 grand towards the "heart fund," Anthony Stark! (That's about $367,000 today; you could do better, Tony.) Batman has to get off the phones for a bit, to go home and make his own call, chipping in $100K as Bruce Wayne; then getting sucked into watching part of the telethon with Alfred.

But, today's bad guy, Greenback, then puts his plan into place: kidnapping the top pledgers to hold for ransom, starting with Bruce Wayne. Alfred calls in the Super Friends, who send...Robin, Aquaman, Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog. How much would Bruce have had to pledge to get Wonder Woman? Well, he will anyway, since the first batch take care of Greenback's goons but are then stunned by his compressed-air coin-launcher. I kinda feel like anything that could throw a quarter hard enough to knock you out, would also embed it in your skull, but okay. Greenback chains everyone up in his hideout's basement, with Aquaman chained to a load-bearing support: if he broke free, he'd bring the house down on them...I don't think that place was up to code. Wonderdog takes a note back to Superman and Wonder Woman, who have to rescue everyone; and Supes brings Batman's cape and cowl so he can be the one to bring down Greenback. Which isn't a bad villain name, is it? Maybe a little dated, but so are telethons, I suppose.

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This was a bad issue for follow-up. Adam's lucky he was rescued, that could've lingered like a Claremont subplot...

And we'll take a moment to check out the rest of 1980's World's Finest #262, starting with "Siren of the Sargasso" Written by Bob Rozakis, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins. A senator goes overboard on a fishing trip, and Congresswoman (Barbara!) Gordon asks Batman to ask Aquaman to look for him. Said senator had taken a dive after a blonde vision, which was Atlena of Atlantis--the pre-sunk version! This also doesn't go into the "blondes are evil" that a lot of DC's aqua-stories get hung up on; but she had tried to save her people by opening a hole to another Phantom Zone-like dimension, which not only didn't work but still sucked people in now and then. With Mera, Aqualad, and a pod of whales, Aquaman manages to tow out a few refugees before the dimensional rift seals up again, and they have to wait for it to re-open to save the rest. They may still be waiting!

Perhaps not waiting as long, "The Ghost of Adam Strange" visits Hawkman: archaeologist Adam is inexplicably bored visiting ruins on Rann with his wife Alanna, and an idle wish to be back on earth is granted by a legendary "id-beast," which could kill him. Trapped in a ghostly form, a medium is able to put Adam's consciousness in Hawkman; then Shayera and Red Tornado help bring Adam back with the JLA transporter. Next month appeared to be Adam recounting recent events on Rann, which sounds like a try-out to replace Hawkman! (Story by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Ken Landgraf, inks by Armando Gil.)

Finally, another nice-looking Don Newton story: Captain Marvel, in "The Captain Marvel of 7,000 B.C." (Story by E.Nelson Bridwell, inks by Dave Hunt.) Billy Batson is visited by the Champion from before recorded history, who gained powers from the magic word "Vlarem" and a different roster of gods. Together they thump the various Sins, and set the Rock of Eternity in place: the Champion is the young wizard Shazam, who was the Champion for like 30 centuries before everyone forget those gods. Not bad! Read more!

Admittedly, I bought this to see him fight Hemp, but...

The "BWAH-HA-HA!" era had ended and Justice League Spectacular had just introduced new lineups for the American and European teams, but I still don't think 1992 was a banner year for the team. Otherwise, they would've been on the cover instead of, "Hemp." From 1992, Deathstroke the Terminator #13, "Terminator Hunt: The Powers that Be!" Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Steve Erwin, inks by Will Blyberg. Maybe there were too many Justice League covers that month, or maybe cover artist Mike Zeck wanted to draw Hemp!

Deathstroke infamously owned the Justice League in Identity Crisis, which somewhat improbably ended up not even being in the top ten worst things about that series. He doesn't have quite as strong a showing today, but it's close; even if it opens with him captured by Superman! He doesn't appear to struggle, although he apparently put up a fight trying to escape the cops the previous issue: that may be worth looking up, it had a couple pages of art by Michael Golden, and apparently Lucy Lane got shot! (Post-Crisis I think she was a much blander, played-straight character; with none of her super-passive-aggressive Silver Age shenanigans. I honestly thought Lucy had appeared on this blog more than Deathstroke...)

At the federal building in Metropolis, Superman turns Deathstroke over to Agent Smith. (Not that one!) Supes is suspicious, partially because Smith seems mega-shady, and appears to have a pinky ring with a setting the size of a Maglite with a skull on it. Still, perhaps it's understandable why Deathstroke went easy with Superman, he knew he'd be able to escape in like three pages: Slade tells his guards he's not really Deathstroke, he's Blue Beetle, working with Superman to give Deathstroke time to flee. When the guards unmask him, Slade is able to beat the stuffing out of them even while handcuffed and shackled. Easier than pie!

Deathstroke's escape makes national news, since multiple Justice Leaguers have been asked to assist in the manhunt: we see Aquaman, this would've been during his '92 series when he was at the United Nations. Hal Jordan is there with his grey streak, and Guy Gardner almost considers helping out until the game comes back on. Picking up new weapons from his stuttering tech-support guy (I don't think he was named here, but he may have worked with Gizmo) Deathstroke is spotted leaving by Hemp and his team. They get flattened inside of three pages, but Hal and Arthur hear the gunfire and find him. Arthur is really talky, perhaps thinking he can convince him to give up. Instead, Deathstroke trash-talks Hal to get under his guard, then gets Arthur with a flare and drops a condemned building on him. That may be a better showing than the Flash (Wally!) who knocks Deathstroke down, but then gets tripped up after he shakes the cops and Smith again.

Elsewhere, the Titans watch another news broadcast that wonders if anyone can stop Deathstroke. Had they dropped the 'Teen' at this point? They do look kinda old, especially Changeling there. I think the book was headed into a crossover next. I also think Deathstroke has shown up on this blog more than the Titans have...
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"The End" Week: Aquaman #13!

Huh, I wonder if I've seen the Aquaman movie yet? I'm writing this one just after Thanksgiving, but here's our second Aquaman last issue for this year! From 1992, Aquaman #13, "My Hero" Written by Shaun McLaughlin, pencils by Chris Schenck, inks by Bob Dvorak.

This one isn't quite "The Kid Who Collects Aquaman," but close: a terminally ill young boy, instead of writing a letter or getting those Make-a-Wish guys, takes off in search of his hero, Aquaman. As he hitchhikes from Erie, PA. he gets to hear several stories about Aquaman: a trucker claims he, and the rest of the JLA, are carnival fakes. A WASP-ish older woman describes Aquaman's war on whale-hunters, in a story so full of holes the boy can see right through it. Finally, he meets a surprisingly trustworthy source: longtime Aquaman villain the Scavenger!

After a ship carrying medical supplies to Toronto went down, the Scavenger was picking over the shipwreck for goodies, when Aquaman came to stop him. The usual fight is cut short when Aquaman explains it's for a measles epidemic, and Scavenger relents, helping him get the supplies delivered. Aquaman then introduces Scavenger as a partner, starting him on the road to rehabilitation; and Scavenger introduces Aquaman to the boy in the end. Yay, what an uplifting story! Except that kid is still going to die, and a later story made Scavenger a pedophile, who would be killed by Hawkman in 1994. That doesn't make a ton of sense in the context of this issue, but this issue doesn't line up with him becoming a mystic "Scavenger of Souls" in 1987's Warlord #124. I don't think any writers that used Scavenger were real concerned with his last appearance.


This series of Aquaman was wrapped pretty quickly: next in 1993 would be Peter David's Time and Tide miniseries, basically Aquaman: Year One. The next Aquaman series would begin in 1994, starting the hook-hand era with the second issue or so.
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"The End" Week: Aquaman #63!

So many of these last issues have "The End" or some such on the cover; so it's unusual to find one that doesn't mention it in the slightest. In fact, there's a blurb at the end, "Next issue on sale during the first week in July," and nope! From 1978, Aquaman #63, "My Brother's Keeper" Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dave Hunt.

You can probably guess from the title, but this issue features the semi-annual return of Aquaman's half-brother, Orm, the Ocean Master! Like Black Manta, he probably doesn't show up quite that often; but it feels like it sometimes. Previously, Orm sent a robot villain called Seaquake to do his job, but now had to step in and try to destroy Atlantis himself; all to better get at the goodies beneath it. He had discovered an ancient Atlantean vault with a sea serpent and incomplete plans for a forbidden super-weapon, and wanted in. The fight goes back and forth, and while Aquaman tussles with mutated fish that won't obey his telepathic commands, Orm finds the weapon, which is basically a box. Said box is supposed to drain the aggression out of Aquaman, who I didn't think was supposed to be the most aggro guy anyway, but he overpowers it, and that's that.

He doesn't get much to do here, but Aqualad returns as well; having taken off in search of his heritage in Adventure Comics. I had thought I had read that, but may have been thinking of the Aquaman reprints in the digest-sized Adventure Comics, with Jim Aparo art, those weren't half-bad. Even if the cancellation isn't alluded to, this issue still ends on a down note, when Aqualad asks how Arthur Jr. was doing, apparently not knowing (or forgetting?) 'Aquababy' had been killed by Black Manta in Adventure #452. That death never sat right with me--I have no idea how Arthur or Mera would be able to go on, or how they hadn't murdered Manta every time he's ever appeared since--but that issue was his last with that title before getting relaunched back to his own book, but with his old numbering and only for seven bimonthly issues.

This issue came out about the same time as Freedom Fighters #15, but that cancellation had been planned; this one was part of the infamous DC Implosion, wherein a large scale expansion of the DC line didn't really take off as planned. At a glance, over the years we've seen a few other books that were taken out there: Secret Society of Super-Villains #15, Kamandi #59, Claw the Unconquered #12, and hey, Mister Miracle #25! I didn't have my formatting down back then and didn't realize that was a last issue. Kinda think I have DC Super-Stars #18 somewhere, too...
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I do kinda expect a scene like this in the movie:

This wasn't quite the last issue of this series, but pretty much. From 1992, Aquaman #12, "Spoils of War" Written by Shaun McLaughlin, pencils by Ken Hooper, inks by Bob Dvorak.

A few plotlines would be wrapped up this issue, or at least about as wrapped up as they were gonna be: Aquaman returns briefly to Poseidonis, to be fired. The king tells him he's no longer their ambassador to the United Nations, partly because he kept getting wrapped up in superhero business, but largely because the king felt he may have undermined his authority. (I have no idea how Arthur wasn't king at this point, or what claim to the throne that king had.) Arthur tells him he quits, then checks on Vulko, who has also been fired, as he was a tie to the old regime. Vulko wanted to check out Tritonis, and Arthur, wanting to keep him safe, accompanies him.

Tritonius was the home of the mer-people, and currently fighting a civil war; albeit a rather civil one with rules and timekeepers. Their hero, Iqula, explains that their war must be fair, or how else could the righteous win? The king is starting to feel differently, though, and orders Iqula's wife S'ona captured. Vulko gets caught with her, and points out a plot point that might cause her problems later: she wore the mark of Kordax, an ancient ruler with the ability to communicate with sea life, blond hair, and total evil. Kordax was so evil, for years after the Atlanteans would kill any child born with blond hair. When Aquaman and Iqula counterattack, the king's men reveal S'ona's blonde hair, but Iqula rallies his men to not allow "superstition to stand in the way of freedom!"

S'ona had the ability to control fish as well, using some sharks to intimidate a man later; and the king's forces are defeated. Vulko was going to stay, and gives Arthur the Atlantis Chronicles...which I don't know if he would have if he had read them all the way through, since I think there were some revelations in there Arthur wouldn't like. That would be touched upon in the next series of Aquaman, this one was almost done, and left a few plot threads hanging: a possible love interest for Aquaman at the U.N, an Atlantean minister that had been immune to the Scarecrow's fear gas, the king's conflict with Aquaman. That last one would get wrapped up later, since it looks like Thesily would die in a seaquake, but I don't think Iqula or S'ona would appear later.
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Superman's been saved by Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew before, but I still feel like this one has to sting.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash have been captured by a rogue Russian general and his keyboard-playing newly-minted super-villain brother, the Maestro. Who could save them now? Maybe Aquaman, Zatanna, the Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man--and their new Justice League of America! From 1985, Justice League of America #238, "Savage Symphony" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Chuck Patton, inks by Mike Machlan.

The new JLA fly into Russia to save them, with Steel and Vixen musing over the commentary from when they came onto the team: "'How can four second-stringers and three neophytes hope to replace even one Superman?" (An interesting criticism, since it would be several years before Supes would be a major part of the League again.) Vixen notes some people are just afraid of change. After Zatanna and the Manhunter get them past the Russian jets, Gypsy suggests a sneak-attack: coming in from the frozen river. It works fairly well, until the Maestro's synthezier plays up some sonic-created robots and turns the tide. The new JLA could be just as doomed as the old one, until a deaf Russian dissident sacrifices his life to smash the synthezier. Gypsy uses her power in an unexpected way on the general, making him think he was high above a canyon and about to fall to his death.

As the team wraps up, Superman approaches Aquaman to discuss the League headquarters, since I think the satellite was being phased out at this time. This is a pretty traditional 'changing of the guard' kind of story, but it almost feels like the new guys still weren't given enough to do. In fact, there's a far bit of space devoted to Vixen: her paying perhaps too much attention to J'onn, her upcoming bad guy/boomerang enthusiast General Maksai, and how Zatanna just doesn't like her.
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