Warning! Spoilers ahead for Aquaman #62.
Family reunions aren’t always sunshine and rainbows, least of all in superhero comics. Even beneath the waves in the DC Universe, family members coming back together can be quite challenging – whether it’s Aquaman and his soon-to-be-wife or half-brother Orm, or when Aqualad is forced to come face to face with his estranged father Black Manta as seen in the latest issue of Aquaman. In this issue, Jackson Hyde offers to go on a mission for Aquaman while he’s attending Mera’s fake wedding, which is what puts the young hero on the path to meeting with his supervillain father.
In Aquaman #62, from special guest writer Jordan Clark with art by Marco Santucci, Aqualad is in search of Aquaman and Mera’s missing child, Andy. However, to do that, he’s going to need the technology and advanced scanners aboard the giant Black Manta mechanized robot that Aquaman, Aqualad, and Mera all fought against a few months prior during the Year of the Villain event. In order to gain access to the technology, Aqualad realizes that he’s going to have to speak with his supervillain father, Black Manta. While he’d typically want nothing to do with Manta, he forces himself to appeal to any kindness that might be left in his father’s heart, but it doesn’t quite work out in the way Jackson hoped.
At Black Manta’s refusal, Aqualad has no other choice but to fight his father, with each of them holding grudges against the other for their perceived flaws: Aqualad resents Manta for being a villain, and Manta resents Jackson for being a “weak-willed hero.” However, one more family member arrives to break the tension and stop the fighting, but likewise also makes this the strangest family reunion ever: the Manta mech AI, which is patterned off of mind of Black Manta’s father (Aqualad’s grandfather). After the grandpa AI intervenes, Black Manta and Aqualad come to a deal. Jackson gets to use the mech, provided that he plant a device in Xebel which would allow Manta access to the underwater region. Aqualad agrees, though there may be some heavy consequences later on down the line.
After striking the deal with Manta, Jackson and his robot grandfather take a road trip to Xebel, on the lookout for Aquaman’s child. While there, Aqualad meets a Xebel guard, and they spend some time together sharing information about each other’s homes. Jackson had never been to Xebel before, so the entire experience was incredibly new and exciting for him. However, the sight-seeing is cut short when Xebel finds itself under attack by the fearsome and ravenous Trench.
Aquaman #62 is only the first part of Aqualad’s adventure from special guest writer Jordan Clark, whose mini-arc will conclude with the series’ 63rd issue before going back to Aquaman and Mera’s wedding in Atlantis with regular writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. Hopefully, Aqualad will be able to find Andy and return to help Aquaman with the inevitable battle that’s coming to the seven seas courtesy of the Ocean Master, who was secretly responsible for Andy’s disappearance in the first place.
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