WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Aquaman #56, by Kyle Higgins, Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan, Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
One of the most popular Aquaman villains introduced over the course of the past decade is the Trench. Created by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis in 2011's Aquaman #1 to launch the New 52 era of the superhero, the Trench are a ravenous race of amphibious fish monsters that hail from the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, The insatiable creatures attacked the surface world at the behest of their ancient queen, with Arthur Curry and Mera killing the monstrous regent before barely escaping with their lives. The Trench subsequently appeared in the 2018 Aquaman film, depicted quite faithfully in comparison to the original source material, and now a spinoff film centered on the monstrous species is in active development by Warner Bros. and DC Films.
Since the Trench Queen's death, her offspring lack the collective hive mind that had unified them and have roamed erratically through the Seven Seas. And in Aquaman #56, Arthur and Mera cross paths with the Trench once again, shocked to discover that the monsters have launched a coordinated assault on a deep sea rig slaughtering anyone caught in their bloody maelstrom. Aquaman and Mera are astonished at how well the Trench appear to be working together, even though Arthur killed their queen years ago.
As Aquaman and Mera battle their way onto the rig, they discover that the Trench attacked the facility to rescue a new Trench queen who appears to still be in infancy. The young queen is held in confined captivity, presumably for scientific observation as the crew researches the nature of the forgotten, aquatic species. Arthur and Mera then realize the Trench are reacting to the queen's telepathic cries to help, drawn to their young, isolated leader. Upon this discovery, Aquaman makes a drastic decision that may impact the DC Universe for years to come.
To atone for killing the ancient Trench queen years ago, Aquaman decides not only to free the young queen from her prison but return her to her people to lead them into a new age. As Aquaman and Mera burst free from the fiery rig and back into the safety of the ocean, they find themselves completely surrounded by the Trench, the aquatic creatures' fangs and claws gleaming hungrily beneath the waves. To the heroes' surprise, the Trench leave the couple alone as they dive back into the ocean's depths, with Arthur and the new queen sharing a smile before they go their separate ways.
While Aquaman certainly helped preserve the Trench from being a more chaotically violent presence in the oceans of the DCU, he has installed a new leader that could very easily grow into the latest threat from the seven seas. With the new queen having endured all manner of cruel experiments in captivity, the Trench could potentially strike at humanity with a renewed sense of revenge after their new queen's harsh upbringing.
As the King of the Seas, Aquaman has a sworn duty to protect all manner of marine life, even the ravenous Trench. The undersea creatures have been shown in a more sympathetic light at times, even helping Arthur turn the tide of Aquaman's climactic final battle in his first solo movie. However, they're still the most monstrous, genuinely terrifying threats to face the Atlantean superhero in his extensive history. Aquaman undoubtedly made the heroic, noble move rescuing the Trench's queen, but his decision could have bloody consequences for the rest of the world.