Just rewatched Aquaman and the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize Orm really did nothing wrong. Orm *is* the rightful king of Atlantis. Arthur’s goals are noble, but he’s a bastard with no valid claim to the throne whatsoever. And why is Orm so vilified? All because he wanted to declare war on the surface? Is he not allowed to war with who he chooses? And it’s not like he just wants to invade the surface for no reason, he gives a valid explanation as to why. The only thing I can really condemn him for was killing the king of the Fishermen, but even so, that was in self defence. Ultimately I don’t think either “side” is morally superior to other in this movie.
Was Orm really the bad guy?
Mason Price
Oliver Collins
Orm is a greater good villain done right. He is a champion for his people. But he's also a pragmatist who's not above using deceit and subterfuge to get his way. Arthur has a claim to the throne that supersedes mere birthright. That's what Vulko and Mera are helping Arthur to prove. Vulko doesn't want Orm to unite the kingdoms and claim rule over them all, because then he really will embark on a conquest of the surface that will most likely end very badly for *both* sides, so Vulko lays all his money on a longshot- that Arthur can prove himself the true heir to Atlan by retrieving the Trident. The first and only time Orm steps well and truly out of bounds is when he refuses to acknowledge Arthur as the rightful King.
Aiden Perez
>rewatched
fucking why?
Dominic Ortiz
him and arthur are joining forces against a common enemy in the sequel
Isaac Smith
Because it's a fun adventure movie.
Adam Johnson
I liked it and hadn’t seen it in a while.
Matthew Howard
My. Fucking. Dick.
Jordan Martinez
Aqualad stopped being a good guy when he unleashed the sea monster and slaughtered tens of thousands just to make an entrance in the final battle.
Aiden Johnson
It was all a trick thats why
Jordan Cook
>tens of thousands
Dozens, if that. Atlanteans are tough enough to survive their ships getting crunched and swatted.
Noah Ross
Orm’s reasons are valid. The ocean has been poisoned, trashed, and fished beyond repair. Going to war in the modern era is seen as a last result. If he tried to open up communications with the surface people and was ignored. He would’ve had the full support from other tribes, but him doing false flags and murdering other kings. It’s seen as evil. He should have used his brother as a diplomat since he basically saved the world from Darkseid minions. They have leverage of that. Also, could’ve accepted Arthur as one or them and helped him search for their mother. Orm was too ambition about taking control or the surface. Should haven delayed it for 5 years.
Until Superman comes and fucks your shut up.
Eli Ross
Good analysis. I actually kind of hope the sequel leans into that environmental angle and the diplomacy bit. You could do a lot of interesting things with that.
Austin Taylor
He's a good guy in the next Aquaman and Black Manta is the main villain.
Similarly, Wonder Woman 2 is resurrecting Chris Pine and doing that live story again.
DC banked on their two lamest Superheroes to carry the DCEU and are now realizing they're just not that interesting once you get past their origin stories.
Ayden Wilson
Oh, you mean like how the Iron Man trilogy told pretty much the exact same story three times?
Nolan Campbell
Like that, but different in the fact that Iron Man was a tentpole character who carried multiple team up films. Aquafag and Wonder Jew were the worst parts of JUSTice League and got their connected universe #cancelled.
DC will always be a fucking joke as long as they have one foot in the Snyderverse and the other in kiddy flicks like Flopzam.
Wyatt Butler
He hadn't carried multiple team-up films by Iron Man 3.
Blake Gomez
Arthur is unfit to actually lead Atlantis in any way, shape or form. He knows jack-fucking-shit about any of their culture, their mindset or history. The whole movie I'm thinking this is some sort of joke cause Mera is legitimately a 1000 times more fit to rule than Arthur. Fucking Vulko is better in every way. Any Atlantean that only knows common undersea knowledge/trivia would be a better candidate.
Arthur would make for a great diplomat and 'face' for Atlantis when on land and the same for the surface when in Atlantis, for sure. But he doesn't know nearly enough about Atlantis and the other sea kingdoms to rule as anything but a puppet for Mera and Vulko, no matter how well intentioned they are towards him.
Hunter Richardson
You're not wrong, but neither Vulko, Mera, nor any other Atlantean has Arthur's gift. He's not the best choice for rule, but he's the only person who can trump Orm's claim to the throne and stop the war.
Adam Myers
Yeah, he's a great champion and clearly fit to be hero to both Atlantis and the surface worlds, there's no arguing that. As well, working to bridge the divide between those two worlds is also something he might excel at. But, having him formally lead a polity he fundamentally has zero understanding of is insane. There's no real choice to be had concerning his right to rule when both tradition and the people are backing him, but Arthur's basically gonna be playing mouthpiece to whatever Mera and Vulko have to say on matters.
Daniel Ortiz
Spot-on. I hope that kind of political angle and courtly intrigue play into the sequel's story. I can absolutely see Arthur(wisely) abdicating the throne, leaving Mera in charge, and Orm, though somewhat reformed, still seething about it.
Justin Reyes
>capeshit
Joshua Miller
What use would an Ocean army have in surface combat. Only noble born can breathe oxygen. Sharks and such are useless and they dont have wheels or walkers.
Like maybe the navy and coastal areas would get fucked but what happens in land when the ocean army has no natural backup and 90% of their troops need breathing masks on.
>but magic
Again only a few have any abilities worth a damn
Oliver Ramirez
The Jellyships can fly.
Charles Richardson
robots
Isaiah Nelson
Unless Atlantis is matrilineal, Arthur shouldn't have a single claim to the throne. The trailers saying he did or needed to "claim what was his" or some shit, pissed me off to such a degree that I've refused to watch it wholesale.
Grayson Parker
>implying there will be a surface combat
They can flood the world or just fuck the shipping lanes and underwater cables hard enough to fuck the economy.
Jaxson Rodriguez
Atlantis does have matrilineal succession. Their highborn are generally fair-haired like Orm. That's because they all trace their lineage back to their ancestral mother - Kara Zor-El.