Review: Aquaman and the Others Vol. 2- Alignment Earth

Quick Summary

Pros: The Vostok-X story is incredibly interesting and is quite nearly deserving of its own book. The majority of the book’s plot is fun and full of action.

Cons: Villains are generic and boring. The Futures End issues are lackluster.

Overall: In this significant improvement to the series as a whole, readers are treated to a story that allows the Others to be the awesome characters they were when they debuted. They receive great character development, fun interactions, and show off their unique sets of powers. However, outside of them, the book falters and fails to develop into something more. If you liked the Others when they were introduced, this is the book you have been waiting for.

Story

Aquaman and the Others Vol. 2: Alignment Earth is a marked improvement on the previous volume. It keeps a tight narrative and focuses on the development of the Others as characters in a wonderful way. It also writes Vostok-X in a way that instantly turns him into the series’ most interesting character. However, it still has its fair share of problems that prevent it from being more than average. There is enough appeal here for readers who really wanted to see a proper demonstration of what the Others could be, but not enough appeal for readers who are just here for Aquaman.

(spoilers start here)

The book starts out with a focus on Vostok-X, a character who died in Aquaman Vol. 2: The Others (Review) but returned as a clone in Aquaman and the Others Vol. 1: Legacy of Gold (Review). It immediately address his status as a clone and explains that even he doesn’t know exactly what he is. He goes on to discover he is one of four clones bred by the USSR in order to develop the perfect cosmonaut. It is actually an incredibly interesting concept and one of the best portions of this book, especially since the Vostok-X was so unexpected initially.

The story then proceeds to detail the exploits of Mayhem, a newly formed group of criminals with aspirations toward world domination. They hijack some nuclear codes, try to turn the Others against each other, but are ultimately defeated with the Others rally in defense of the Earth. This is the part of the book where action and heroics reign supreme and the part that will satisfy anyone with an itch for standard superhero theatrics. It isn’t an overwhelmingly interesting story but it gets the job done and does it with a unique cast of characters.

The biggest detriment preventing this from being a more noteworthy arc is the villains. Besides the KGBeast, every villain shown is generic and underdeveloped. Most barely receive a few lines of dialogue and even that seems forced. It feels like the writers just needed a team for the Others to fight and ended up throwing these characters together.

Completely divorced from the main story arc, are two Futures End tie-in issues that tell of the Others’ exploits in a possible future. It is mostly an Aquaman story, addressing his desire for peace between Atlantis and the surface, while the Others themselves serve as extras. It also casts Mera in an antagonistic role that seems incredibly out of character from her actions in the Aquaman series. This paired with a rushed and overly perfect conclusion, make these issues feel lackluster at best.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Lan Medina returns to the book and presents a visual style very similar to what readers saw in Aquaman and the Others Vol. 1: Legacy of Gold (Review). The characters and locations all look find and have plenty of detail. The book also doesn’t have any glaring flaws, as the vast majority of the book looks great. However, there also aren’t any moments where the art stands out in an incredibly positive way. All of this together produces a book that is alright but not anything special.

Continuity

Aquaman and the Others Vol. 2: Alignment Earth occurs directly after the events of Aquaman and the Others Vol. 1: Legacy of Gold (Review).

The series ends here and doesn’t necessarily continue in any specific comic. Aquaman continues his adventures in his solo series but the Others somewhat disappear from DC Comics at this point in time.

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• The deaths of Kahina and the first Vostok-X are mentioned. These happen in Aquaman Vol. 2: The Others (Review).
• There are a number of references to Futures End, which starts in Future’s End Vol. 1.
  • Sayeh’s visions of the future depict the world of Futures End.
  • The Futures End tie-in issues directly relate to this storyline.
  • The king seen in these Futures End issues is the king from Aquaman Vol. 4: Death of a King (Review)