Aquaman trailer.

FAN: Discuss various fictional worlds that don't qualify for SF.

Moderator: Steve

User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Aquaman trailer.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDkg3h8PCVU

This... actually looks pretty good. Some genre clichés, but some fairly nice visuals and no real "trying too hard to be edgy" grimdark vibe.

Maybe I should have learned my lesson by now with the DC films, but I think I'll try and make it to this one. I mean, Wonder Woman was pretty good, right? Thematic inconsistencies regarding the anti-war message aside, anyway.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Elheru Aran
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13073
Joined: 2004-03-04 01:15am
Location: Georgia

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Elheru Aran »

It doesn't look bad, though I still think Amber Heard looks absolutely ridiculous with that shade of hair.

I also think this poster should be an official advertisment for the movie:

Image
It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.
User avatar
Vendetta
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10895
Joined: 2002-07-07 04:57pm
Location: Sheffield, UK

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Vendetta »

It looked okay. Though with Orm and Black Manta in the same movie with apparently different conflicts it's probably going to be pretty messy.
User avatar
FaxModem1
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 7700
Joined: 2002-10-30 06:40pm
Location: In a dark reflection of a better world

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by FaxModem1 »

Unless they're going for a 'Ideologically opposed enemies working together to get what they both want' type of reveal.
Image
User avatar
Crossroads Inc.
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9233
Joined: 2005-03-20 06:26pm
Location: Defending Sparkeling Bishonen
Contact:

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Ugh...
Zero interest to see it.
Once again DC is trying to hard at being "Edgy and cool"
They keep trying to copy the things Marvel gets right, and it always comes out wrong...
oh God.. You know who DC is? They are Justin Hammer!
Everything that is Cool about Tony Stark, but done wrong so he comes off as being utterly unlikeable!
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan
Read "Tales From The Crossroads"!
Read "One Wrong Turn"!
User avatar
Imperial Overlord
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11978
Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
Location: The Tower at Charm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Imperial Overlord »

Ocean Master and Black Manta could work well if you have Black Manta's dickery adding to Ocean Master's distrust and hatred of the surface so that Aquaman has to go from just punching the bad guy (Manta) to preventing war and taking a leadership role.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Tribble »

I'm still waiting for Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, El Dorado and Samurai. It'll be fun to see their grim-dark versions :P
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
Q99
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2105
Joined: 2015-05-16 01:33pm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Q99 »

Imperial Overlord wrote: 2018-08-10 03:10am Ocean Master and Black Manta could work well if you have Black Manta's dickery adding to Ocean Master's distrust and hatred of the surface so that Aquaman has to go from just punching the bad guy (Manta) to preventing war and taking a leadership role.
They're an interesting duo, who, of note, appeared together in Black Manta's very first appearance.

Image

The dynamic is somewhat noteworthy in that Orm really wants to be Aquaman's arch enemy, he's pretty much entirely defined against Arthur. Black Manta actually is Aquaman's arch enemy, because even without being an atlantean, he's more ruthless and intelligent.
User avatar
K. A. Pital
Glamorous Commie
Posts: 20813
Joined: 2003-02-26 11:39am
Location: Elysium

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by K. A. Pital »

It's gonna suck.

Why?

Cause it's Aquaman, guys.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...

...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Assalti Frontali
Crazedwraith
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11863
Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Crazedwraith »

What an original opinion.
Q99
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2105
Joined: 2015-05-16 01:33pm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Q99 »

Aquaman is a better topic than often given credit for, he has a number of strong comic runs.

I'd argue one of the stronger points of JL too.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Batman »

Arthur gets dissed a lot in the US due to the Superfriends cartoon, which is a nonissue in the rest of the world due to none of us ever having seen it
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
FaxModem1
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 7700
Joined: 2002-10-30 06:40pm
Location: In a dark reflection of a better world

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by FaxModem1 »

Stas is probably just dissing Aquaman because he's a king, and Stas would much prefer to see Atlantis have Black Manta lead a successful revolution over the underwater monarchy. :P

-----

I am curious how much they're going to address the racial motivation of Black Manta, if at all.
Image
User avatar
Imperial Overlord
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11978
Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
Location: The Tower at Charm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Imperial Overlord »

FaxModem1 wrote: 2018-08-13 01:10am Stas is probably just dissing Aquaman because he's a king, and Stas would much prefer to see Atlantis have Black Manta lead a successful revolution over the underwater monarchy. :P

-----

I am curious how much they're going to address the racial motivation of Black Manta, if at all.
From what I understand of Black Manta, the racial motivation is a rationalization/recruiting tool for henchmen. He's a greedy, power hungry, vengeful SOB who plays the race card when it helps him.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
Q99
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2105
Joined: 2015-05-16 01:33pm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Q99 »

Imperial Overlord wrote: 2018-08-13 03:53am From what I understand of Black Manta, the racial motivation is a rationalization/recruiting tool for henchmen. He's a greedy, power hungry, vengeful SOB who plays the race card when it helps him.
He's kinda undersea, evil, black Batman, who takes on a foe stronger than himself in said foe's natural environment with regularity, and does a lot better than technically more powerful opponents.
User avatar
Imperial Overlord
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11978
Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
Location: The Tower at Charm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Imperial Overlord »

Black Manta doesn't have super powers, although he does have great tech. Aquaman isn't as strong as Superman, but can punch hard enough that Supes will feel it. For Black Manta to hold arch nemesis position on a hero that powerful tells you all you need to know about his competency. He's a dick, but very good at being very bad.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
User avatar
K. A. Pital
Glamorous Commie
Posts: 20813
Joined: 2003-02-26 11:39am
Location: Elysium

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by K. A. Pital »

Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...

...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Assalti Frontali
Q99
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2105
Joined: 2015-05-16 01:33pm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Q99 »

Question, how much Aquaman media have you read or watched to make that call?
User avatar
K. A. Pital
Glamorous Commie
Posts: 20813
Joined: 2003-02-26 11:39am
Location: Elysium

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by K. A. Pital »

Super Friends. Also, Smallville. *laughs* I need to insert a fish joke here.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...

...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Assalti Frontali
Q99
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2105
Joined: 2015-05-16 01:33pm

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Q99 »

Ok, so no actual Aquaman-as-protagonist stories. That'd explain it. And don't forget- Superfriends had anti-punching rules that stopped them from doing any punching and he has punching people powers.

They didn't even let him throws bears at people!

Image


His appearance in Justice League the animated series might change your mind... they went with the hook-hand take.

There's been several different takes on Aquaman over time. Classic, grizzled bearded-hook-hand (IMO a bit of an overreaction to counter the superfriends vibe, but still, pretty badass), water-hand, rousing-song-of-heroism (from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In which he's just really into superheroing)....
User avatar
Elheru Aran
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13073
Joined: 2004-03-04 01:15am
Location: Georgia

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Elheru Aran »

Aquaman does have a lot of baggage from his Super Friends, talking-to-fish days, which has turned into a lot of memetic mockery over the past... eh... decade-ish? or so. The response to this in his native media has varied somewhat, from grimdark (which Kevin Smith mocked a little bit when he resurrected Green Arrow) to full-on embracing of the cheese (Brave and Bold).

But fundamentally he's a very underestimated superhero, in that a lot of people tend to focus on the mock-able elements (talking to fish, a kinda basic costume, lol mermaids) and forget about the fact that he's also a King of an undersea nation that pretty much controls the oceans, is capable of punching out whales, can travel underwater at several times the speed of sound (I am not kidding), and... can talk to fish. Which includes, you know, stuff like sharks, orca, sperm whales, the occasional giant squid, and a few mythical underwater beasties. Pretty sure they've pulled out a kraken a time or two. Frankly, he should be pretty much near to being on par with Superman, and probably be stronger than Wonder Woman.

They've played with his setting a bit from time to time. On occasion they split the undersea realm into multiple kingdoms (I think that's the current status quo) though Atlantis is usually the strongest/dominant kingdom. Currently there are knockoff Lovecraft-eque Deep Ones too (which you can see in one scene in the trailer). There's the whole controversy about him being half-human and that's pretty much Ocean Master's whole argument for why HE should be King of Atlantis and not Arthur. So plenty of juicy drama potential, and that's without even going over the surface. IIRC Mera is currently from a break-away faction of Atlanteans in the comics, though obviously allied with Arthur.

I do have to say that the dark, dreadlocked look kind of grew on me. It seems to suit Arthur a bit better than the classic surfer-god clean-cut blonde look.
It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

I'm not a big Aquaman fan, but even I know that judging Aquaman on Superfriends is like judging modern Batman on the '60s show.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Broomstick
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 28723
Joined: 2004-01-02 07:04pm
Location: Industrial armpit of the US Midwest

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Broomstick »

K. A. Pital wrote: 2018-08-13 08:38am Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.
You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. Leonard Nimoy.

Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy

Sam Vimes Theory of Economic Injustice
User avatar
Elheru Aran
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13073
Joined: 2004-03-04 01:15am
Location: Georgia

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by Elheru Aran »

Broomstick wrote: 2018-08-13 05:37pm
K. A. Pital wrote: 2018-08-13 08:38am Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.
You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.
To follow this rabbit trail, I suppose there's an argument to be made that Nemo renounced his ancestry and privilege when he built the Nautilus and set out on his anti-war campaign against foreign states.

That said, he still lived at a relatively high standard (had a fancy parlor with pipe-organ and cigars even), treasure gathered from the ocean floor, and was unquestionably in command of his ship, though I suppose a military-style hierarchy is a different proposition from class.

Stas' argument is silly though because Black Manta is something of an anarchist when he has any political convictions, and we know Aquaman has much more depth (hah) and nuance than the old shitty cartoons.
It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.
User avatar
K. A. Pital
Glamorous Commie
Posts: 20813
Joined: 2003-02-26 11:39am
Location: Elysium

Re: Aquaman trailer.

Post by K. A. Pital »

Broomstick wrote: 2018-08-13 05:37pm
K. A. Pital wrote: 2018-08-13 08:38am Captain Nemo was a great undersea antihero, but Black Manta and Aqua-loser are lame.

Also yes, aristocracy sucks. Whether in space or under the seas.
You do know that Captain Nemo was an Indian Prince, original name of Dakkar, correct....? He's an aristocrat, too.
I know, and I used "antihero" for a reason. Aristocracy sucks, but princess Leia is a solid character in the SW films, even a great one maybe. On the other hand, Jupiter Ascending or whatever... is not.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...

...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Assalti Frontali
Post Reply