Aquaman: Long Live the King

**Aquaman: Long Live the King** is a 2012 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero Aquaman. The film is a sequel to *Aquaman* and *Justice League*. It was directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa, Adrianne Palicki, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Luke Grimes, Chloe Bennet, and Kevin Bacon. It was released on May 4, 2012 and grossed $749.1 million against a $200 million budget. It ran 123 minutes and received praise from critics for Momoa's performance, the film's style and faithfulness to the comics, and its action sequences. Some detractors criticized the plot as formulaic. *Aquaman: The Lost King* was released on July 3, 2015.

## Plot

A year after saving the world with the Justice League, Arthur Curry balances ruling Atlantis and policing the seas. His wife, Queen Mera, learns she is pregnant from Nuidis Vulko, but does not reveal this to Arthur. Arthur's half-brother, Orm, is in prison after his crimes against Atlantis. While celebrating Arthur's birthday, Mera prepares to reveal her pregnancy to him, but an explosion interrupts the night. Arthur and Mera investigate and discover Orm is not in his cell. An armored sea pirate named David Hyde/Black Manta appears with Orm and they attack the city. Handmaiden Tula grabs Arthur's trident, but she is captured by Orm and Manta along with the trident. Arthur leaves Mera in charge of Atlantis while he and Garth, a servent who has feelings for Tula, leave to rescue her.

Arthur and Garth learn that Orm and Manta have left the ocean, so they disguise themselves as ordinary people and begin searching for them. However, due to Arthur's popularity as a superhero, he is recognized by the people on the surface. He and Garth quickly escape the attention and are able to track Orm using an ancient object hidden on the surface centuries before. They discover Orm and Manta are on another beach closeby. Travelling there, Manta is dismayed that Arthur does not recognize where they are, but the two groups fight anyway. Gartha searches for Tula, but she is nowhere to be found. In Atlantis, Mera and Vulko are surprised to find Tula has returned home, though there is an explosive injected into her leg.

Arthur and Garth are able to get Orm to the ground, though Manta leaves without him. Taking Orm back to the prison, he reveals to them that Manta sent Tula back to Atlantis with a bomb rigged to explode and destroy Atlantis. Arthur and Garth rush back to Atlantis, where Garth and Tula reunite and Vulko is able to disarm the bomb before it is set off. Mera questions why Manta is doing this, and Arthur informs them of the beach they were on. Arthur decides to go to the beach, though Mera declines to go with him, so Vulko joins him instead. Arthur and Vulko investigate the beach and find several dead bodies buried beneath the surface. In Atlantis, Mera reveals her pregnancy to Tula, who agrees to keep it a secret. Garth interrogates Orm, who betrays Manta and reveals that Manta wants to kill Arthur and all of Atlantis because his father and all of his crew were killed during an Atlantean fight months before. Garth reluctantly lets Orm go so they can warn Arthur and Vulko.

On the beach, Arthur, Vulko, Orm, and Garth are attacked by Manta, who kills Orm for betraying him. Arthur and Manta fight, now that both know the latter's motives. However, Manta is chased away when Mera shows up, leading Atlantis's fleet of sea creatures. Mera reveals her pregnancy to Arthur, who is overjoyed. Orm is given a heroic funeral, while Arthur decides to lure Manta back to Atlantis so they can kill him. When Manta shows up, he reveals what Arthur did to his crew to the citizens, many of whom begin defecting to Manta's side. Manta also unveils a new weapon, which allows him to control the frequencies of their sea creatures and forcing them to obey him. Arthur, Mera, Vulko, Garth, and Tula escape from Atlantis, which is taken over by Manta. The Royal Family attempts to come up with a plan, but none of them are able to think of anything to do. Arthur, however, realizes that Orm's former followers are still in the sea and they inform them of Manta's betrayl toward Orm, and they agree to help them fight.

Returning to Atlantis, a battle begins between the two factions. Arthur and Manta duel one-on-one in which the former apologizes for what happened to Manta's father and offers him a position in Atlantis's army. Manta instead kidnaps Mera and nearly kills her until Garth and Tula shoot him down. Arthur forces Manta into chains, but he commits suicide rather than serving a sentence. Arthur decides to make a change to Atlantis's policing of the ocean to protect people like Manta and his crew. Arthur officially knights Garth and Tula, while Orm is revealed to be alive and in hiding. In a post-credits scene, a dark cavern in the ocean is lit up as Orm arrives and asks to see his father, King Atlan.

## Cast

* Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
* Adrianne Palicki as Mera
* Patrick Wilson as Orm
* Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Hyde/Black Manta
* Luke Grimes as Garth
* Chloe Bennet as Tula
* Kevin Bacon as Nuidis Vulko

## Reception

### **Box office**

**Aquaman** grossed $347.3 million (46.4%) in the United States and Canada and $401.8 million (53.6%) in other territories for a total of $749.1 million. Worldwide, it is the ninth highest-grossing 2012 film. It achieved a worldwide opening weekend of $253.2 million.

### **Critical reception**

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 326 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10.