As anticipation builds for the debut of Aquaman: The Becoming, DC's upcoming comic about Jackson Hyde and his ascension from Aqualad to Aquaman, newly released artwork hints at what the hero will be up against.
Providing a recap of Jackson's backstory and several images from the six-issue miniseries, DC Comics unveiled a number of details that answer a few questions but raise even more about what the Justice League will be facing when the first issue of the series is released in September. Depicting a legion of Parademons in pursuit of the latest iteration of Aqualad, the spectacular imagery from Diego Olortegui, Wade Von Grawbadger and Adriano Lucas seems to confirm that a mission to Apokolips is in the cards.
"Aquaman: The Becoming is a coming-of-age story for Jackson Hyde, marking his final transformation from Aqualad to Aquaman," said writer Brandon Thomas. "When the series begins, Jackson has everything he's ever wanted... So naturally, we spend the entire story challenging and damaging everything he's created, forcing him to fight for it and prove himself worthy of even having it."
Beginning in a state of relative calm, in which Jackson is busy training Andy, the daughter of Arthur Curry (the original Aquaman), Aquaman: The Becoming will take the young hero down a dark road as he struggles against an unfamiliar antagonist. As Thomas revealed, "A new villain called Deluge has been waiting and watching, enraged at what Jackson has built for himself, believing that he never deserved it." Alluding to supervillain Black Manta, the father whom Jackson rebelled against when he became an Atlantean, Thomas explained that "this series is all about Jackson... gaining a powerful new adversary that will threaten to define him just as strongly as his father has. And there's no famous mentor (Arthur), or surrogate mother (Mera), or supportive friends in sight."
Considering the power of Darkseid and his minions, Jackson's first trial as the new Aquaman should prove a truly formidable task. Battling the Parademons of Apokolips while wrestling with his own demons of self-doubt, a cornerstone of every superhero, Jackson must rally his colleagues to fight the new enemy. The danger posed by that enemy is apparently quite stark, as one of the released drawings even shows a defeated Superman at Jackson's feet.
Thomas concluded his thoughts about Jackson Hyde by stating, "Here is a young man who spent a long time ostracized and estranged from his birth family, who was forced to go out and create his own surrogate one to survive and thrive... There is also a darkness in him, that both tells him he doesn't deserve all the great things finally happening for him and is a constant reminder that his father will always be a part of him, whether he likes it or not. Coming to grips with that is the final step in freeing himself and becoming the hero and man he wants to be."
Aquaman: The Becoming #1, by Brandon Thomas, Diego Olortegui, Wade Von Grawbadger and Adriano Lucas, will be released in print and as a digital comic book on Sept. 21.
Source: DC Comics