The Sovereign ruler of the Seven Seas, the champion of the deep, the once and future King of Atlantis makes a tsunami-sized splash as Injustice’s most recently revealed playable character. Armed with a trident and decked out in his royal raiment Aquaman looks more than capable of throwing down with best of the game’s heavy hitters.
Guys and gals, I don’t think you understand how excited I am for Arthur’s nautical nonsense! I’ve always been a fan of the character, especially since reading Peter David’s seminal run on the aquatic autocrat in nearly its entirety within the hallowed halls of MSU’s Special Collections Library. Arthur’s seen a much appreciated revival courtesy of Geoff Johns in the New 52’s Justice League and Aquaman series, and I’m happy to see that his badassery has transferred from the comics to the game.
The first thing that I noticed in the trailer was Aquaman’s outfit. NetherRealm has once again done an awesome job adapting the hero’s classic look to the gritty feel of the Injustice universe. The outfit is incredible, keeping the orange scale mail, but opting for what looks like neck/shoulder armor with shark tooth spikes along the neckline, and some cool gauntlets. Can you say warrior king? The only thing I take issue with is the trident he wields. I think it’s awesome that they gave him one, but it looks a little too… industrial? Mass produced? Boring? I could see every grunt in his army carrying one, but I think the King of the Ocean deserves something a little more ornate.
Gameplay
If we dig into the trailer it looks like Aquaman has options to fight both up close and from a distance. His trident normals give him a distinct range advantage against cast members that need to get in close to do damage (possibly) and he can pester opponents with ranged trident tosses (:11) and underground stab strikes(:10). I don’t think he’ll be winning any projectile wars against the likes of the Batman, Cyborg, or Green Arrow, but it’s nice to see they’ve given him the option to try it out.
Can he use his trident to anti-air enemies? You better believe it! You’ll notice at :46 he pops up Cyborg, impales him, and smashes him down on the opposite side. That could definitely be helpful for escaping the corner in a pinch. Want to punish grounded assailants? Stab ’em and electrocute ’em (:16). Insert pun about fried fish here. At one point Arthur calls down a lightning strike to fry his foe (:51). I’m thinking that this is an EX extension off of the underground stab strike attack. It’s got that famous NetherRealm sound effect and everything, plus it bounces the enemy up for more damage. Though at that distance it doesn’t look like there’s any way to get anything off of it. Maybe it’ll be more useful in the corner?
I’m thrilled that Aquaman is going to be playable in Injustice. I really am. The running for my main is between him and Captain Marvel (Shazam), though I imagine when Billy’s alter ego breaks out and starts busting stuff up and calling down the lightning Arthur’ll be relegated to my dedicated second. I can’t wait to see more footage of Aquaman and I can’t wait to get my hands on this game!
I Speak Comics 