[7.7/10] The Aqualad storyline here isn’t anything groundbreaking, but I appreciate how well it does a simple story. Aqualad has feelings for Tula, enough to where he’s ready to give up the surface world and come back to Atlantis for her. But Tula’s move donto Garth, the young Atalntean hero who chose to stay rather than become Aqualad.
It’s a love triangle! And I tend to hate love triangles. But what makes this one work is how...drama free it is. For a bunch of teenagers, everyone’s surprisingly mature about the situation. Tula’s apologetic yet upfront with Kaldur. Kaldur is professional with Garth. But there’s emotions simmering inside him. Aqualad is pretty stoic when it comes to how he feels, despite his empathy with other junior leaguers. So seeing how he’s affected by these reveals in subtle ways, without any blow-ups or melodramatic interludes, is downright refreshing.
Granted, Black Manta showing up to cause trouble when Aquaman’s away is kind of a cliche for D.C. stories. But it’s a good excuse to get the other Atlanteans into action, and watching Kaldur have to work with the people he’s emotionally estranged from for the good of his people is a sharp dynamic. I’m also intrigued by the presence of Starro as a nice ticking time bomb for the underwater contingent.
In the end though, I like the throughline of this one. Kaldur has a foot in two worlds, and it affects his leadership of the YOung Justice crew. Batman tells him to decide, and after somem shaky footing, Kaldur does, while still wondering what the path not traveled might have looked like. There’s some nice, under the surface emotional storytelling there. (If you’ll pardon the expression.)
At the same tie, I really enjoy the little glimpses we get of the other Junior Leaguers’ lives when their not masked adventuring. I’m not really enamored with Superboy and M’gaan’s stock teen romance, but their cooking mishap turned flirtation is at least a bit cute, especially when their red robotic chaperone shows up. Batman realizing that Robin feels upstaged by Aqualad, and so giving the Boy Wonder some extra one-on-one time is a nice thumbnail sketch of their relationship. Finding out that Wally is, in fact, Barry Allen’s nephew, and that Jay Garrick is also in the picture is a cool bit of lore. And Artemis getting scholastic opportunities that she’s blasé about, but her mother’s insistent she take since mom didn’t get those sorts of opportunities adds shading and depth to a newer character.
Overall, this one succeeds with a solid, mature A-story focused on one of my favorite characters in the show’s early going, replete with small sketches of the other team members that are no less endearing.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-04-09T05:45:38Z
[7.7/10] The Aqualad storyline here isn’t anything groundbreaking, but I appreciate how well it does a simple story. Aqualad has feelings for Tula, enough to where he’s ready to give up the surface world and come back to Atlantis for her. But Tula’s move donto Garth, the young Atalntean hero who chose to stay rather than become Aqualad.
It’s a love triangle! And I tend to hate love triangles. But what makes this one work is how...drama free it is. For a bunch of teenagers, everyone’s surprisingly mature about the situation. Tula’s apologetic yet upfront with Kaldur. Kaldur is professional with Garth. But there’s emotions simmering inside him. Aqualad is pretty stoic when it comes to how he feels, despite his empathy with other junior leaguers. So seeing how he’s affected by these reveals in subtle ways, without any blow-ups or melodramatic interludes, is downright refreshing.
Granted, Black Manta showing up to cause trouble when Aquaman’s away is kind of a cliche for D.C. stories. But it’s a good excuse to get the other Atlanteans into action, and watching Kaldur have to work with the people he’s emotionally estranged from for the good of his people is a sharp dynamic. I’m also intrigued by the presence of Starro as a nice ticking time bomb for the underwater contingent.
In the end though, I like the throughline of this one. Kaldur has a foot in two worlds, and it affects his leadership of the YOung Justice crew. Batman tells him to decide, and after somem shaky footing, Kaldur does, while still wondering what the path not traveled might have looked like. There’s some nice, under the surface emotional storytelling there. (If you’ll pardon the expression.)
At the same tie, I really enjoy the little glimpses we get of the other Junior Leaguers’ lives when their not masked adventuring. I’m not really enamored with Superboy and M’gaan’s stock teen romance, but their cooking mishap turned flirtation is at least a bit cute, especially when their red robotic chaperone shows up. Batman realizing that Robin feels upstaged by Aqualad, and so giving the Boy Wonder some extra one-on-one time is a nice thumbnail sketch of their relationship. Finding out that Wally is, in fact, Barry Allen’s nephew, and that Jay Garrick is also in the picture is a cool bit of lore. And Artemis getting scholastic opportunities that she’s blasé about, but her mother’s insistent she take since mom didn’t get those sorts of opportunities adds shading and depth to a newer character.
Overall, this one succeeds with a solid, mature A-story focused on one of my favorite characters in the show’s early going, replete with small sketches of the other team members that are no less endearing.