Aquaman Movie?

[Villano]

I found this on the news of Superherohype.com:

Aquaman to be a Goofy Movie?
Source: Comic Book Resources Wednesday, September 8, 2004


Comic Book Resources has an interesting rumor about the possible Aquaman adaptation...

Allegedly, DC's lord of the seas is getting the cinematic treatment, courtesy of producers Alan and Peter Riche and writer Ben Grant. Rob's source said, "They want this Aquaman to be a goofy screwball comedy. Their thought was, 'since he's such a stupid character let's play that up.'"

I checked out Comic Book Resouces. It basically said the same thing except it added that while the source is reliable, it's still just a rumor until they can confirm it.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be untrue like the Jack Black Green Lantern comedy.

 

[haiiro]

Hopefully, this will turn out to be untrue like the Jack Black Green Lantern comedy.

What aspects of Aquaman's character do you think would work well in a serious movie treatment?

I've always thought Aquaman was one of the lamest superheroes ever created, but then again I didn't have all that much exposure to the character -- mainly the cartoons, where the villain's plot always has to involve water in some way, so they can shoehorn Aquaman into it somehow. So it's a genuine question, not a dig at you -- I really am curious.

 

[Jamdin]

Aquaman's origin story would be very interesting to see on the big screen. His mother was a princess from Atlantis and his father was a lighthouse keeper. That's a doomed romance right there. Of course, there would be a big tweak in his origin story but I hope they don't have him raised by dolphins.

I could see him battling Black Mantra for control of the Atlantean throne. There is no need for Aqualad and Aquababy but I do hope they have Mera. Hopefully, Hollywood doesn't pull a "Catwoman" on us and make him a Stargate keeper in Atlantis.

Most people remember Aquaman from the cartoons of the 1960s so I can see Hollywood wanting to make a screwball comedy out of it. I have been waiting for either Aquaman or Namor to show up in either a movie or a tv series while watching "The Man From Atlantis." After seeing "Waterworld", I was still waiting for either of the aquatic superheroes to show up. Hopefully, they will do a serious version of Aquaman but I will be happy as long as they stay true to the comic version.

 

[Ranger REG]

Hopefully, this will turn out to be untrue like the Jack Black Green Lantern comedy.

Oh, come on. Jack Black is not THAT bad.

Jay London (Last Comic Standing) as The Green Lantern is THAT bad.

 

[Klaus]

Aquaman's origin, as portrayed by Curt Swan some years before Peter David's Time & Tide, would make an awesome movie.

Arthur Curry, a lighthouse keeper, receives a blonde baby and raises him. He teaches the baby in the best way he can, and when the keeper dies, he tells his son (for the young lad is his son) to take his name. The blonde lad is bow Arthur Curry Jr. In search for his mother-from-the-ocean, the young lad leaves the body of the only human being he ever knew behind and plunges into the ocean. Eventually he gets captured by Atlantean soldiers and thrown into prison (the orange-and-green suit is the prison uniform). While toiling away for the oppressive atlantean society, he catches a glimpse of a familiar protrait. The portrait of an elder woman, which he recognized as the older version of a woman whose picture he saw at the lighthouse. It's his mother. And to his astonishment, she's the last Queen of Atlantis, making him the prince.

In the end he leads a revolt against the warrior clan that holds sway of Atlantean government, reunites with his mother (who then dies) and takes the throne with a heavy heart.

Aquaman is cool. You can't beat his line during Grant Morrison's WWIII:
"I am the King of Atlantis. Sovereign ruler of seventeen underwater nations. My territory surrounds every country on Earth. You don't want to pick a fight with me."

 

[haiiro]

Aquaman is cool. You can't beat his line during Grant Morrison's WWIII:
"I am the King of Atlantis. Sovereign ruler of seventeen underwater nations. My territory surrounds every country on Earth. You don't want to pick a fight with me."

That is actually pretty cool.

 

[kingamy]

Aquaman is cool. You can't beat his line during Grant Morrison's WWIII:
"I am the King of Atlantis. Sovereign ruler of seventeen underwater nations. My territory surrounds every country on Earth. You don't want to pick a fight with me."

What about Switzerland?

j/k

kingamy

 

[buzzard]

I don't think I can get past the South Park analog. Yo know Sea-Man. Of course his sidekick was a little bird- you guessed it, a swallow.

buzzard

 

[Villano]

What aspects of Aquaman's character do you think would work well in a serious movie treatment?

I've always thought Aquaman was one of the lamest superheroes ever created, but then again I didn't have all that much exposure to the character -- mainly the cartoons, where the villain's plot always has to involve water in some way, so they can shoehorn Aquaman into it somehow. So it's a genuine question, not a dig at you -- I really am curious.

Honestly, I'm not really an Aquaman fan and I'm not sure you could do a good, serious movie based on the character. On top of that, movies that are set in/on/around water tend to be very expensive and dificult to shoot (Waterworld, Jaws, and Titanic all went overbudget and over schedule). Chances of a good Aquaman movie are slim.

My point is that just because something my be difficult to translate to the big screen doesn't mean that you should just say, "Screw it, we're making it a comedy." After all, Watchmen is a difficult concept to base a 2 hr movie around. I'm sure most people would rather just not have the movie made then turn it into a comedy. If they don't know how to do Aquaman, don't do it.

As another example, comic writer Beau Smith has said that he wants to write the Sub-Mariner film script. For a moment, I pictured the classic Namor rampaging through the city and bing attacked by the military, just like the recent Hulk movie and thought that would be cool. Then I realized that the audience would be laughing at the sight of Mr. Spock in speedos with wings on his feet.

Much like Catwoman, I'd rather they leave something they didn't understand alone.

On a side note, what about the live-action Justice League pilot? Didn't they make that into a comedy? I've never seen it, but it supposedly never aired because it's so bad (the fact that it never did air sure lends credibility to that theory). Superhero comedy = bad.

And besides, why does everyone always pick on Aquaman? Hawkman was much lamer! I mean Aquaman could help save people in a downed sub or sinking ship. Plus, let's say you need to talk to some fish aliens. Aquaman could help you with that.

What does Hawkman do? He flies! So did half the members of the Super Friends (and the other half flew whenever the animators felt like it). He flies and carries a mace. Oh, he also doesn't wear a shirt. I guess the only thing he's good for is if they need to infiltrate an S&M club (he and Wonder Woman could get in no questions asked).

 

[Klaus]

Re: Hawkman = Conan/Highlander with wings. He's an immortal warrior who has been battling evil alongside his soulmate since Ancient Egypt.

Re: Switzerland: It's in Europe. Europe is surrounded by water.

Re: Justice League TV pilot. It airs regularly here in Brazil. Effects/costume-wise it's reminiscent of those Superboy shows that were filmed in Florida. The humor wasn't that good (to make a good JLI series you'd need writers of Seinfeld or Friends caliber).

Re: Aquaman:

In the recent Justice & Liberty prestige album by Dini/Ross, Aquaman and Flash (Barry Allen) are trapped inside a Russian sub, both infected with an alien virus.

Flash: Are you okay, Aquaman?
Aquaman: Yeah. This is no worse than a jellyfish's sting.
Flash: Y'know, you're a great king, but a terrible liar.
Aquaman: Then it's time this king called his knights into play.

At that moment, two blue whales (the largest creatures on Earth) start pounding their collective 60 tons against the sub, while Aquaman punches a whole in the door of the cell holding him and Flash.