The Four Color Media Monitor: The AV Club "confirms" Aquaman's a loser

The AV Club set a poor example by asking some illustrators to draw them a "loser" superhero, and one drew up a picture of Aquaman as a loser to the Sub-Mariner, with the writer of the entry saying:

Sorry, Aquaman. Looks like folks have a thing for Namor The Submariner. And Emma Frost, well... looks like she has her sights set on only one man of the sea. Maybe one day things will change!

Even if this was just a joke, it's still not funny. In fact, no matter how much this was played for laughs, it could have a negative impact on Arthur Curry's reputation as a character, discouraging people from taking a look at Aquaman's past tales since the Golden Age. One of the commenters reacted by telling them:

I really hate the "Aquaman is a joke" as instant "fact" among comic geeks.

Let's review: Super strong, near-invulenerable skin, the "has to be in water at least once an hour" thing was done away with long ago, can swim the ocean depths which means plenty of stamina for a fight and has shown no qualms about killing. He's smart and cunning and oh yes, he has every single land mass on Earth surrounded and is king of a high-tech city. And the "talks to fish" thing isn't that funny when he can have a pack of sharks on you in no time.

Namor is much the same but key difference is Orin doesn't let his ego and arrogance get the better of him so much, he's smart and willing to ask for help if need be. So Namor has Emma Frost? Big deal, Aquaman's wife is a hotter redhead who can control the oceans themselves. Put them head to head and Aquaman is the one who comes out on top.

I think he meant to say Arthur rather than "Orin", but let's let that slide for now. This makes me think of some important points to make, having read several of the Silver Age stories Stan Lee wrote in Tales to Astonish from the mid-60s, like how even Namor can talk to fish (as seen in issue 72, where he communicates mentally), and he's not entirely bulletproof: a small Colt.45 bullet might not affect him (and didn't in issue 84), but a larger one from a Magnum pistol or a machine gun has a better chance of injuring him, and indeed, there were times when Namor suffered injuries during that run (like in issue 79 where the National Guard shot at him, wounding his shoulder). And, when out of water too long, Sub-Mariner's strength could ebb, and only improved when he could get wetter again. So how can anybody make putdowns of Aquaman when Namor had some of the same powers and weaknesses? The answer must be that these people didn't read Namor either, nor do they have a high opinion on Sub-Mariner simply because Namor's never achieved the same high profile status Spider-Man's had.

And what's the big deal about Namor paired up with White Queen in the illustration they posted? We know who she is already: a reformed member of the Hellfire Club who later joined the X-Men as more of an ally. Wake us when a brand new babe is introduced for Namor to be mated with. For now, I'd be a lot happier if these phonies in the mainstream press would stop making jokes about 3rd tiers they probably wouldn't make about Spider-Man. It only takes away from the more vital questions about whether there's any good stories published for Aquaman, and in past decades, I'd say there were. And I've got a sad feeling the AV Club will never do a history retrospective on those famous Silver Age gems with Aquaman, so audiences could see something from olden days far more worth their time than what's been produced in the past 15 years.

Labels: Aquaman, dc comics, marvel comics, msm propaganda

Things like this only prove that sites like A.V. Club are schizophrenic due to multiple editors with conflicting opinions.

"The answer must be that these people didn't read Namor either, nor do they have a high opinion on Sub-Mariner simply because Namor's never achieved the same high profile status Spider-Man's had."
Are you sure that it isn't the fact that Namor's default personality is that of an arrogant douche-bag, no matter how much writers try to change or hide that fact? Here's a couple points about Namor as told by devilkais as a reaction to IGN's Heroes List:
- I've read several appearances of Namor and I swear to all that's holy, I have NO IDEA how people could call him an ally ! The dude is simply an utter dickhead that came close to harm many heroes and even betrayed them. Hell I have his appearances in the Lee/Kirby F4 and the guy does everything he can to steal Sue from Reed.
And in Emperor Doom , he showed NO problem betraying the Avengers (he basically threatened to snap Wanda's neck so that Vision would surrender) so that Dr Doom would take over the entire planet's free will. And then Victor betrayed Namor by controlling him too ! Serves him right!
I frankly prefer Namora from Exiles over Namor McKenzie . At least, while she's not evil she never made any pretense about hiding her ruthlessness and does the whole "arrogant pragmatist" shtick much better .
I NEVER got how people could bitch about Venom, Deadpool, Gambit or Cable while guys like Namor get away with this kind of crap!

"And what's the big deal about Namor paired up with White Queen in the illustration they posted? We know who she is already: a reformed member of the Hellfire Club who later joined the X-Men as more of an ally."
That's not Emma Frost, that is an imposter created by Grant Morrison, here is the real Emma:
http://devilkais.deviantart.com/art/SPOTLIGHT-Emma-Frost-280604284?q=sort%3Atime%20%28%28Emma%20Frost%29%20AND%20%28by%3Adevilkais%29%29&qo=17

http://devilkais.deviantart.com/art/SugarBombs-The-Generation-X-Recap-540374345?q=sort%3Atime%20%28%28Emma%20Frost%29%20AND%20%28by%3Adevilkais%29%29&qo=1

http://devilkais.deviantart.com/art/My-take-on-Emma-Frost-338832177?q=sort%3Atime%20%28%28Emma%20Frost%29%20AND%20%28by%3Adevilkais%29%29&qo=9

Posted by Drag | 9:34 AM

I can't help but agree with the Namor compare/contrast: Namor is a much worse character than Arthur. Or I'm glad people finally wising up to this fact.

Well, Namor has teamed-up with the X-Men off/on -- plus he's officially Marvel's first mutant -- so the image makes sense. And really, Reed should push for that, as it's rather unsettling how Namor always hits on his wife. And I'm not sure what Emma's current status with Cyclops is, but pretty sure it's broken up but still working together.

Posted by Killer Moth | 1:16 PM

What's your opinion on cyborgs Mr. Green?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/tech/innovation/cyborg-neil-harbisson-implant-antenna/

Posted by Drag | 6:21 PM

Uh, what do cyborgs have to do with Aquaman? Nothing.

Posted by Carl | 12:50 PM

Mr. Green's been able to write whole blog entries from single sentence ideas in the comments section based on the latest news, so I'm just throwing out my own story for the heck of it.

Posted by Drag | 5:22 PM

What, we're going to do mad libs now? Well, in that case, I want DC to undo that JLA story where they ignored Pluto, let it die and called it a day. Pluto's a full planet, damn it.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/24/pluto_planet_nasa/

And careful, Carl, if DC reads this, they might 'treat' us to Aquaborg.

Posted by Killer Moth | 2:17 PM

Depending on how you define "cyborg", Aquaman's already been through that. Remember back in the 90s-early 2000s where his hand kept getting replaced from stuff like a harpoon and water hand to an actual robotic hand?

Posted by Drag | 9:35 PM

"Mr. Green's been able to write whole blog entries from single sentence ideas in the comments section based on the latest news, so I'm just throwing out my own story for the heck of it."

Yes, but usually those topics were related to what he blogs about. You pulled cyborgs out of left field. Honestly, Drag, I get the impression you're a troll sometimes.

Posted by Carl | 10:22 AM

I only put down the cyborg bit because I ran into that article the other day. Besides what's wrong with having an honest, independent opinion every so often?

Posted by Drag | 3:23 PM