Convergence: Aquaman #2 (2015) Review

Bloody Hell

Written by: Tony Bedard
Art by: Cliff Richards
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 13, 2015


In my review for the first Convergence: Aquaman, I mentioned that Tony Bedard did a really good job with what he was given.  Zero Hour Aquaman and Deathblow from the Wildstorm Universe...really?  Did Tony owe someone a favor or what?!?  Whatever happened in those back room DC Comics meetings, Bedard did the unthinkable...gave fans a decent Aquaman story and a really good Deathblow one.  Seriously, it was Bedard's love letter to Deathblow fans.  I just hope all three of them read it.  I kid because I care.  So, is this finale another good issue given the odds stacked against it?  Let's find out...



The issue begins in STAR Labs where Aquaman is arming Director Dorrance in preparation for Deathblow's attack.  Two things made me laugh about this scene.  First, we all know that some of these guys are going to die, right?  Aquaman tries to assure them they're going to make it, but come on.  The second part is when Dorrance asks Aquaman advice on how they should lock down the facilities and Aquaman reaches back in his memory and yanks out a story about a Lava Men attack.  It made me giggle, but after he mentions that the Lava Men attacked Atlantis using the sewage system, there is trouble in the sub-basement bathroom.  Holy shit, Aquaman was right on!

We then go to that bathroom and it's a bloody mess thanks to Deathblow.  When I say a "bloody mess" here, I'm not one of those pretentious snots who tries to pretend they are British (I'm looking at you American Doctor Who fans), I mean that there is blood and it's a real mess.

I have to admit, the beginning of this issue is fun.  Sure, it's 90's extreme comic fun, but isn't that the whole point of this issue?  I will again give Tony Bedard full credit for making Deathblow an interesting and funny character to the point that I was rooting for him to win the battle.

Speaking of which, the battle starts out pretty cool with Deathblow emptying clip after clip into Aquaman's body as he gets the STAR Labs personnel to safety and everyone, including myself, finds out Deathblow's secret power...he can't die.  Because of that, the battle goes on and on like Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David in They Live.  Just put on the damn sunglasses!

While this issue wasn't a mind-bender by any means, I was still enjoying it until it takes a sharp left down ridiculous avenue.  Deathblow figures out that STAR Labs has a program designed to stop Aquaman if he goes rogue.  It involves making the facility hot and dry.  To combat this, Aquaman uses his hook hand to sever almost all of Deathblow's major arteries and bathe in his blood which as Director Dorrance reminds us all, is the equivalent of saltwater.  I guess he's right, but he's also a sick bastard and Arthur looks like he stepped off the set of Carrie.  Aquaman wins, San Diego and Deathblow are dust in the wind and after the regularly scheduled earthquake, Aquaman heads off for Convergence #7.  The End.

Up until the blood is the new saltwater, I was into this issue.  I had a bunch of problems with the end, however. Just because Deathblow can't die didn't change the fact that Aquaman was carving him up. Also, I hated that Aquaman just shrugs off that STAR Labs still had the fail-safe against him.  I would have been pissed, but I am a jerk.  Overall though, Tony Bedard gave readers a fun, if not forgettable, a two-part story that I wasn't pissed to have read.

I said it last month and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of Cliff Richards art.  Nothing in this issue changed my mind about that and usually, I'll point out a highlight or two from the issue, but I don't have any.  Nothing really grabbed me.

Bits and Pieces:

Tony Beadard did a good job with what he was given.  Convergence: Aquaman was a fun ride featuring lots of trash talking and blood...just what a 90's extreme comic should have.  I may not have liked the art, but I have joined the ranks of Deathblow fans.  If only I could find the others...

6.5/10