‘Aquaman 2’ Takes a Page From the Book of ‘Black Panther’

Five years after Aquaman hit theaters, Jason Momoa returns as Arthur Curry in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The long-awaited sequel arrives just in time for the holidays because nothing says Christmas like underwater fight scenes and drumming octopi.

***SPOILERS AHEAD for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.***

Unlike its bonkers predecessor, Lost Kingdom is a somewhat lackluster affair. Arthur and Mera (Amber Heard) are married with a new baby, Arthur Jr. Arthur splits his time between land and sea, fighting crime and ruling Atlantis as its new king. When old foe David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) rises to take revenge (possessing the Black Trident), Arthur must recruit an unlikely ally to help him find and stop Black Manta from destroying the oceans.

The film is something of a buddy comedy, where Arthur must team up with his estranged brother/former King of Atlantis Orm (Patrick Wilson) to track down Black Manta, whose revenge mission is causing global warming and destruction. They discover that Kordax (Pilou Asbæk), the brother of King Atlan, originally possessed the Black Trident. After warring with Atlantis, Kordax and his kingdom of Necrus (the titular lost kingdom) were banished to an icy prison. Only Atlantean blood can unlock Kordax and his kingdom, so Black Manta (possessed by Kordax via the Black Trident) kidnaps Arthur Jr. to use his blood.

Arthur and Orm attack Black Manta, and Orm steals away the Black Trident. Once Orm is possessed by Kordax, he wounds Arthur, whose blood unlocks the prison and frees Kordax. Arthur and Kordax battle and Arthur bests him, destroying Kordax and Necrus, which collapses. Black Manta dies, Arthur and his son are reunited, and Orm is declared dead by Arthur but is granted a new life as a free man.

Okay, but how does it end?

Arthur decides that the land and the sea must come together to combat climate change, so he announces the existence of Atlantis at the United Nations. It’s a very similar ending to Marvel’s Black Panther, where the king decides to reveal his hidden kingdom to work with larger global powers and share resources.

It does make you wonder: if the world knows Aquaman exists, then did they just assume he was the only one? Didn’t anyone wonder what Arthur Curry was up to when he went under the sea? Maybe that’s one of those questions we’re not supposed to ask.

And it’s certainly one that won’t get answered anytime soon, as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the final film of Warner Bros.’ DCEU.

(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)