The New 52’s Justice League had a rough go of things. They had to beat Darkseid even though they barely knew each other, and that was just their first arc. The book’s first “event” ran from 2012 to 2013 across both JLA and Aquaman, and saw the team fight against the armies of the sunken continent, with Aquaman’s brother Orm deciding to lead a battle against the surface.
This story, Throne of Atlantis, was so popular it even got a film in 2015 known as Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. But this list is centered around the original storyline, which was filled with beautifully illustrated moments that are still amazing so many years later.
10 MERA'S FIRST APPEARANCE
In the middle of a mission to take down some criminals looking to scare some key witnesses into being quiet, Batman gets some help from Aquaman. They wrap up everything, and just as Batman is pointing out how he never needed help, one of the crooks gets free of the police.
He goes for a gun to try and get his way out of things, only to get washed out by a forceful wave. This is Mera’s introduction to the Justice League storyline, leaving everyone speechless by her swift action and absurd power.
9 SUPERMAN AND WONDER WOMAN CATCH AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER
It’s early enough in this new incarnation of the universe to still believe Clark and Diana as a couple can actually work out. They’re enjoying their very first civilian date together, when, suddenly, Metropolis is flooded thanks to an attack from Ocean Master.
Both of them spring into action to try and save as many people as they can, but they’re both forced to use all of their energy to stop an entire aircraft carrier from wiping out the city.
8 AQUAMAN SAVES INSPECTOR GORDON AND BULLOCK
An issue prior, when Aquaman appears in Gotham, a pair of cops make jokes about how Aquaman has an “aqua signal” which throws fifty pounds of fish food into a bay any time a water-related crime occurs.
But when Ocean Master suddenly floods both Gotham and Metropolis, it’s Aquaman that helps to save Gordon and Bullock from dying, thanks to the Bat-Signal giving him an idea of where to go. It’s always funny to make an Aquaman joke until they’re actually in need of his help.
7 ORM RAISES HIS ARMIES
During the early parts of this war, Batman gives Aquaman the opportunity to talk to his brother and get him to stand down. From the very beginning, it goes pretty poorly, and the League decides to intervene. Arthur still tries to talk his brother off the ledge, but Orm is having none of it.
Instead, after a bit of a skirmish where Batman is put down and Superman is tossed aside, Orm raises the entire might of his army. Thousands of soldiers coming from the sea, fully armed and ready to put an end to the threat of the surface world.
6 SUPERMAN BOILS THE OCEANS
Orm brings his armies out of the ocean, but the League is unfazed. The lot of them decide to go into battle against the forces of Orm’s armies. Aquaman tries summoning his friends from the deep, while Orm traps Wonder Woman inside a typhoon. This ticks off Superman, who turns the typhoon into ice and then punches her out of it.
Afterward, he turns his heat vision on full blast and starts incinerating the ocean to make them retreat. This is just a reminder of what Superman could do if he ever got fed up with everyone.
5 ORM DEFEATS THE LEAGUE
Orm finally gets fed up with the resistance from the Justice League. He uses his powers to take the entire League down for good. This is unexpected from a guy named Ocean Master, but as it turns out his powers are much greater than anyone expected.
His odd crown gave him power over the oceans, but his personal trident granted him the ability to summon storms. He blasts Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman with lightning, then traps all of them inside typhoons, sentencing them to the “dark waters” where the Trench lives.
4 "WELCOME TO THE JUSTICE LEAGUE"
By this point, the Justice League has been published for over a year. The entire time it’s kept the exact same cast of seven members. But when Cyborg has to undergo a transformation to save the rest of the team, and there’s no back up to protect the Earth while the Atlanteans have their way with innocents, Cyborg is left with no choice but to expand the team.
Like that, Green Arrow, Black Lightning, Element Woman, Vixen, Goldrush, Hawkman, Zatanna, Shazam, Firestorm, and Black Canary are all added to the fold. Seeing them work together was pretty awesome, even though ultimately very little ever came of it as far as permanent roster changes.
3 VULKO, THE TRAITOR
The big question of Throne of Atlantis is “who started this war”. Atlantis is randomly attacked by what everyone believes to be surface-dwellers, but they never manage to get the proof.
Instead, when the Trench suddenly arrives on land and begin attacking both Atlantean and surface-dwellers alike, we learn Orm actually didn’t start this on his own. We learn that it’s actually Vulko, who found an ancient scepter, beginning the war because Arthur lost his claim to the throne and he found himself exiled.
2 MERA AND ZATANNA HOLD BACK THE OCEANS
The League plus their new members make quick work of all the Atlanteans guarding the bombs meant to sink part of the coast. Orm is incensed by this loss, but rather than give up, he decides to make use of his crown to sink the city. But Mera appears and uses her power to hold back the wave.
Though Orm is unimpressed by Mera’s power, he doesn’t realize they have another ally in Zatanna, who changes the water into ice with a single spell. That’s what happens when one underestimates the Justice League.
1 AQUAMAN DEFEATS ORM
With Aquaman surviving the dark waters, the League makes their return to send Ocean Master packing. This time Aquaman is serious about their fight, knowing his brother won’t be stopped otherwise. Though he tries to talk sense into him, Ocean Master believes both Arthur and his friend Vulko have been ruined by the surface world.
So with one final battle that teaches Orm about the sacrifices a leader has to make, Arthur shatters Orm’s crown, bringing an end to his power over the sea, and brings him into the authorities.