Aquaman #17 Review and **SPOILERS**

I’m the Aquafan Club President

Writer: Dan Abnett 

Penciller: Scot Eaton 

Inker: Wayne Faucher 

Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb 

Letterer: Pat Brosseau 

Cover: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennesy & Gabe Eltaeb 

Assistant Editors: Amedeo Turturro & Diego Lopez 

Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $2.99 

On Sale Date: February 15, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Remember those crazy candies, Warheads? They were like these jawbreakers that started sweet, then got hot as hell, and then the center was sour. Not actually sour, though, candy sour. More like tart. I hated those damned candies, they demanded a wide range of emotions from a kid in elementary school. Like, just give me a block of sugar or some syrupy sap in a toothpaste tube already. Warheads were more torture than treat, which may have owed to the name. The Warhead in the last issue of Aquaman didn’t seem too torturous…I mean, he was literally torturing people, but he didn’t rub me the wrong way as a character. How do you think I’ll feel after a more thorough introduction? Find out in my review of Aquaman #17!

 

Explain It!

After dwelling in the deep for a while, Aquaman’s been riding the shallows recently—everybody loves him! While en route to the United Nations, he encounters a mob of Aquafans—people who are fans of Arthur Curry, the King of Atlantis, if that wasn’t clear—and they’re not only enthusiastic, but they have printed signs and balloons with his official logo, and even an inflatable Aquaman doll floating above the crowd! One particularly smitten woman has an Aquaman purse. I fully expect all of this stuff to be available from the DC Comics online store by May. The inflatable Aquaman, at least. I have my reasons. While Mera and pals watch on television from Amnesty Bay, Arthur addresses the United Nations, but immediately gets a headache from Warhead’s telepathy (as was shown last issue.) This time, it causes him to hallucinate what looks like a wounded soldier, who speaks but makes no sound. Eventually this vision passes and Arthur snaps back to his spiel as if nothing happened. It’s not as if this is the first time someone’s stood at the U.N. podium and spaced out for a while.

When Aquaman exits the U.N. building with his detail of assigned bodyguards, he sees the bloodied soldier again. This time, the soldier beckons Aquaman to follow and he decides he’d quite like to, despite the protests of his guards. Of course, they’re about as effective at stopping Aquaman as I am at reducing my hair loss, and he takes off with a bound and lands at Beckman College. There, the injured soldier speaks, and as he does the area seems to become a battlefield, with explosions and tanks and probably Bill Paxton losing his shit somewhere. That vanishes, leaving a kid in a lab coat pointing a shotgun at Arthur. We know that the guy is being controlled by Warhead, but Aquaman hasn’t even met the guy yet. It doesn’t matter, though, since firing a shotgun point blank at Aquaman has about as much effect as I do when I beg my boss not to humiliate me in front of my colleagues.

Aquaman asks where “he” is, which is kind of sexist because which gender would be more associated with expert mind control, hmm? You can ask my wife. The fella is happy to point the way, though Aquaman is beset by more ineffective scientists wielding guns that are easily dispensed with. Warhead sends out his telepathy, which gives Aquaman a wicked migraine but doesn’t debilitate him completely like it does to lowly humans. Eventually, Aquaman gets to Warhead and gives him what-for using their shared telepathic gifts, then Warhead does the Vulcan mind meld on Arthur and shows him the horrors of war—but this time, it’s not an illusion! He’s really on a battlefield!

This was a pretty cool comic! A little lame that we essentially waited around to see Warhead at the very end, which is more or less what happened last issue, but overall I had a good time with it. I guess I just like seeing Aquaman winning, a beloved hero that gets the respect he deserves. I know it can’t last forever, but while we have it I love to see Aquafans. Heck, you can sign me right up. Warhead is a pretty intriguing villain, I suspect he’s got altruistic motives but poor execution, which could be said of a lot of comic book criminals. Regardless, I am interested in his connection to bloody war and want to learn more about him, so that’s job done as far as I’m concerned.

Bits and Pieces:

Our beloved Aquaman basks in the glory of adulation and the annoyance of Warhead sending telepathic hallucinations his way. A slow burn of an issue that unfolds well and keeps the reader interested throughout. Looks pretty sweet, too. Aquaman, I think you and I could be friends!

8/10