One thing is for certain after seeing Jason Mamoa unveiled as Aquaman: No one in their right mind will ever refer to the DC hero as the wimpy, useless Justice League member with the ugly orange and green outfit.
Of course, there have been quite a few changes to the Aquaman character since those sad days, but the impression has been a lasting one. It was enough to make some comic fans feel rather underwhelmed when Aquaman was announced as appearing in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie.
However, then came the news that Jason Momoa had been cast in the role of Aquaman. The buzz was inevitable. Momoa was coming off of two rather testosterone-fueled roles ahead of this announcement.
There was his stint as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones and then he played the popular barbarian Conan in a recent reboot. There was some concern that he was drifting towards being typecast as a barbarian.
In his Aquaman role, Jason will inevitably do the character a favor. First and as previously stated, he has killed all the “wimpy Aquaman” jokes dead.
There is only one true King. #unitetheseven pic.twitter.com/RDFG8jbuI6
— ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) February 20, 2015
Second, it’s important to note that casting Momoa helps bring a greater range of ethnic diversity to the DC movie franchise. Some were curious if Jason would look “right” as Aquaman given the character is clearly white. Sometimes comic fans react negatively to the color blind casting of heroes and villains in movies.
However, reaction to the image has largely been positive.
DC holds massive hype. The Aquaman reveal broke the Internet. Every corner was just… and still is, Aquaman. This movie will be huge.
— Superhero Feed (@SuperheroFeed) February 20, 2015
I never had much use for Aquaman, but in this photo he’s pretty badass http://t.co/Cu8GtoRHD2 pic.twitter.com/cw3Z0Y68fh
— Debby Witt (@debbywitt) February 20, 2015
Whoa. I’ll take this #Aquaman Momoa looks rad. http://t.co/R7AB69eCGu
— Mark E. Reilly (@ReillyAround) February 20, 2015
What’s especially interesting about the image of Aquaman are the tattoos. They appear to strongly resemble the tattoos associated with various Polynesian cultures.
It was a very smart move to acknowledge the ethnic change to the character (Jason Momoa is part native Hawaiian) in a way that gives a fresh spin on the Aquaman lore altogether.
Poster version / #aquaman @PrideofGypsies @ZackSnyder #BatmanvSupermanDawnofJustice pic.twitter.com/RwP7DVO5Ly
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) February 20, 2015
Thus far, we’ve only had one brief glimpse of Aquaman, and there is still some speculation as to how he and other Justice League members will figure into the Batman v Superman movie.
Although it’s expected that much of the focus will be on Superman and Batman, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman took up a chunk of screen time.
If you recall, the Man of Steel movie featured the entire Earth having a traumatic experience. Although much of the onscreen carnage involved Metropolis, Aquaman’s watery domain was no doubt heavily affected.
Hopefully a trailer for the movie will be released soon, maybe one that will give us a closer look at Jason as Aquaman.
What do you think of the unveiled image of Aquaman? Do you think Jason Mamoa was a good choice for the role?
[Image Credit: Zack Snyder Twitter ]
