[SPOILER] Isn’t Heroic Enough for the Justice League – & DC Just Proved It

Warning: contains spoilers for Outsiders #2!

DC has just confirmed that one iconic member of the Justice League is actually not heroic enough for membership. The Justice League’s reputation is sterling, and they are respected the world over. However, in Outsiders #2, the team, while investigating a series of sea monster attacks, learn that one of the League’s founding members is to blame. Furthermore, this member’s irresponsibility nearly led to catastrophe.

Outsiders #2 is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Robert Carey. As the Outsiders dig into the rash of sea monster attacks, they learn the creature they are pursuing is a young member of its species, and it is the last of its kind. Fans learn that Aquaman, who regularly hunts sea monsters, killed the creature’s entire family, leaving it angry, sad and confused. The team was able to reason with the creature and convince it to call off its attacks.

The creature was lashing out at the surface world, and it was all thanks to Aquaman.

Aquaman Has Come A Long Way from Super Friends

Aquaman, one of the founding members of the Justice League, has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Once regarded as a joke character, Aquaman has become one of the DC Universe’s biggest players. Aquaman is responsible for keeping a majority of the world safe from threats, including sea monsters. Hunting them is a part of Aquaman’s lore, and every year he fights a Cthulhu-like monster. While initially just a quirk of the character, fans have learned that Aquaman’s hobby almost led to a major disaster.

Part of the change in the public’s perception of Aquaman can be attributed to writer Geoff Johns and actor Jason Mamoa, but it actually began nearly 30 years ago, and his destructive hobby continues this trend. When Peter David took off writing duties for Aquaman in the early 1990s, he and his collaborators overhauled the character, giving him a beard, a hook hand and an edgy personality. Aquaman has softened somewhat over the past decade, but as seen in Outsiders #2, he is killing sea monsters with no regard for the consequences, which fits nicely with the character’s 1990s personality.

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Should Aquaman Be Kicked Out of the Justice League?

And it is this behavior that should get Aquaman a reprimand from the Justice League. As the protector of the oceans, Aquaman should have known better than to nearly wipe out an entire species. Such actions can disrupt the balance of an ecosystem, creating chaos and danger. That is exactly what happened in Outsiders #2. Aquaman’s single-minded mission to kill sea monsters nearly wiped an entire race out, and the sole survivor nearly took its anger out on the surface world. This blatant disregard for the safety of others is hardly becoming a member of the Justice League.

Outsiders #2 is on sale now from DC Comics!