Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Ocean Master: Year of the Villain #1 Review



Deep Dive

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Miguel Mendonca, Ivan Plascencia, and Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 11, 2019


I may not be a big fan of the whole Year of the Villain "event" going on right now, but I am an Ocean Master fan so I grabbed this one to review.  We haven't got enough of Orm lately, so I will take it any way I can.  So was it any good?  Let's find out...



The issue starts with Dan Watters showing that he did his homework.  Orm has returned to Louisiana and while Erin is still pissed he took off and doesn't want him back.  It's a good in to let Orm talk about what he's been up to and believe me, it's not what he expected when he went off to fight for Atlantis.



He continues talking about mad kings and underwater passageways until Erin stops him because he hasn't said he's sorry.  He still doesn't but tells her about the Rig...a place where awful experiments were done on innocents being run by the Marine Marauder.  She is one of the first side characters to step up because of an offer from Lex and I wish there were more like her, plus the twist here is that Orm isn't the bad guy.  Nice!

Of course, Orm is ticked at Luthor for allowing the ocean to be attacked but also for being overlooked...until now.  Yea, Luthor may not have given the Ocean Master an offer, but Watters set up a better benefactor for Orm.  It's also a bit heartbreaking as well.



We finally do get to see Lex, who shows up bearing gifts a little too late and Orm turns him down like a badass!  The issue ends with Orm declaring Tommy his heir and looking like he is going to cause Aquaman some grief coming up in his book.

So, this is not a typical Year of the Villain one-shot.  Instead of just showing Orm taking an offer and being bad, Dan Watters stayed true to the character and used this issue to bring Orm back into the spotlight and set him up to be trouble for Atlantis down the road.  It's a forward-thinking issue and that's something I didn't expect after so many surface-level issues before it.  It makes sense since Orm is anything but surface level!



I also really liked the art by Miguel Mendonca.  It was clean and bright and helped tell the story without trying to be too in your face and crazy.  

Bits and Pieces:

This was not your typical Year of the Villain one-shot and I think Orm fans will be very happy about that.  Dan Watters gets Ocean Master back in the game, stays true to the character and sets him up for bigger and badder things down the line. This was a pleasant surprise and one I can recommend to any Aquaman fan out there.  

8.8/10




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