Scott Snyder & James Tynion Explain Justice League: Drowned Earth

WARNING: The following article contains some minor spoilers for the upcoming Justice League/Aquaman crossover event "Drowned Earth, by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Howard Porter, Francis Manapul, Dan Abnett, Lan Medina and Frazer Irving, kicking off Wednesday, October 31 in a special 48-page one-shot

Aquaman has been experiencing a "rebirth" all his own this year, thanks largely to the release of the first trailers for his feature film, but the big screen isn't the only place the aquatic superhero will spend time the limelight. On the comics front, DC announced at Comic-Con International that Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha will be taking over Aquaman later this year, marking the first major creative shift in the title since the dawn of the Rebirth-era -- but that's not all.

In the upcoming Justice League event, "Drowned Earth," Arthur Curry will find himself and his closest allies thrust into the front lines of a story that has cosmic consequences, not only for his position on the Justice League, but for the history of Atlantis... and Earth's future.

EXCLUSIVE: Cover art for Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1

In other words, there is a tsunami of change coming for the once and future Atlantean king in more ways than one. But what does that actually mean? Well, according to writer James Tynion IV, who will be handling the events book-ending Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1 and #2 alongside artist Howard Porter, the time for some deeper looks at the Aquaman mythology are long overdue.

"We're building off the version of Arthur that's been existence, [...] the character as he's been in Rebirth but also the Geoff Johns run before that. I think Aquaman is a character for both Scott and I who really surprised us. There's this richness and the depth because he's tapped into the fantastic mythology of Atlantis, this he larger than life myth that's a greater metaphor of this great society. But there's also this cynicism there, in the fact that in the real world version of the story, the idea is that Atlantis was this great utopia and then it sank to the seas and died."

"But in the DC Universe, when it sank into the sea, it turned inward," Tynion continued. "It totally sealed itself off and got this really strong isolationism. So one of the big things that we wanted to ask ourselves is, how do you kind of rectify that dream of the original society in the midst of this current Atlantis, an Atlantis focused on isolation and secrecy. Then there's Aquaman, who bridges these two worlds, like the legends of was Atlantis was supposed to be. The optimism and the dream of it would be the thing that's still really appealed to him."

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Of course there's more to Drowned Earth's roots than the mysteries hidden inside Atlantis' walls, and Justice League writer Scott Snyder was more than happy to elaborate on the strange nature of the ocean itself. "We wanted to create this big mystery around the idea that Earth seems to be one of the only planets that has vibrant sort of oceanic life. There just aren't a lot of other places that have big living oceans. So we wanted to create a mystery around that -- was there something that happened with Atlantis that caused that?

"That's kind of why Arthur feels like he's looking back at the days of Atlantis when it was an exploratory city, one of the first ever in history before it sunk," Snyder continued. "And it was a civilization that wanted to reach out to other planets, wanted to reach out to other civilizations and see if there was a way of using the ocean, using this kind of fluidity of life that connect us all to reach out and find other other species."

EXCLUSIVE: Cover art for Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1

As you would expect from a mega-crossover event, getting those answers may prove dangerous, not only to Aquaman and the League, but to our entire planet. Drowned Earth is kicking off with a few catastrophic events -- events, both Tynion and Snyder confirmed, that will revolve around Legion of Doom members Cheetah and Black Manta undertaking a devastating mission to a newly opened area in the post-Metal Rebirth DCU: the Graveyard of Gods. As for how, and why, they get there, well... there's been a murder.

"In Justice League #8, we see Black Manta and Cheetah kill Poseidon," Tynion spoiled. The pair of evil villains then banish him to the Graveyard, which is "still a stage in the larger plan of Lex Luthor and the unlocking of the Totality."

There are larger consequences than just the threat to the pantheons, of course. Cheetah and Manta's actions cause a "major disruption in magic," Snyder said, "similar to what we're seeing in Justice League Dark."

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But putting Poseidon into the Graveyard of Gods isn't the end to the chaos; the events of "Drowned Earth" will awaken a line up of threats that have been locked away for eons are finally able to roam free once more, and they've got Earth in their crosshairs. A group of once forgotten "Sea God" are returning -- the one who bears a striking resemblance to the Dark Knights: Metal evil Batman character, The Drowned, is named Captain Tide says Tynion -- and they've got a plan that could threaten all life on Earth.

Said plan involves flooding (of course) but it's more than just the oceans overflowing. The Sea Gods have brought a mutagenic force with them. Tynion elaborated, "They unleash a cosmic flood all over with this magically enhanced water that literally transforms everyone who touches it into the aquatic, monstrous versions of themselves." Something that would explain the horrifying half-lobster version of the Flash on the event book's cover.

Cover art for Justice League #11, part of the Drowned Earth crossover

The others may not have quite as dramatic a transformation through the story, but that doesn't mean they're in the clear. Snyder specifically pointed out the design work of Francis Manapul, telling CBR, "I told Francis -- I was like: what do you think about trying to create almost like this look for the League as it things get more and more dire where they look like crazy, badass space pirates leading the charge against these guys? And he was so into it, so we just went for it."

Justice League: Drowned Earth kicks off in Justice League/Aquman: Drowned Earth #1 hitting shelves on October 31st, and continues weekly through Justice League #10, Aquaman #42, Justice League #12, and concludes with Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #2.

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