Karl Urban as Ocean Master?

Rumors are flying that Star Trek's Karl Urban will be playing Orm/Ocean Master in the 2018 Aquaman film. Here are the erstwhile undersea brothers posing together, it looks like they're getting along for now!

This same rumor mill is also saying that 300: Rise of an Empire director Noam Murro is being strongly considered for the director's chair, with Mud's Jeff Nichols still being mentioned as well.

DC Signature Collection: Ocean Master

Mattel's DC Signature Collection line of action figures released an Ocean Master a few weeks ago, making Orm the third member of the Aqua-Family (after Aquaman and Black Manta) to be represented. It's a handsome figure, and it seemed to inspire Aqua-Fans to pose Orm in funny shots, like these three from F.O.A.M.er Ryan Daly:

...am I the only one who hears the music from the "Bread and Circuses" episode of Star Trek when looking at this last photo?

F.O.A.M.er Kevin Scanlan used his Orm in a slightly more positive manner, in that he was enlisted to guard Kevin's pet fish Ganthet while his tank was being cleaned:

 

Who knows, maybe now that Orm is out of Belle Reve, he'll get off the whole "Destroy All Humanity" thing and go get a job and settle down. Thanks for the pics guys!

Aquaman (Vol.8) #23.2 - Nov. 2013

"New Fish" by Geoff Johns, Tony Bedard, Geraldo Borges, Ruy Jose, and Rod Reis.

Aquaman's part of Villains Month concludes with Ocean Master #1 (aka Aquaman #23.2). It opens a little while ago, at the dawn of Atlantis' invasion of the Surface World:

Now, of course, things are not going quite so well for Orm; he's an inmate at Belle Reve prison, bored as he listens to his court-appointed lawyer go over his trial defense.

After a sympathetic guard brings him a bottle of water (which Orm guzzles down), the lights go out!

As all the inmates--now freed thanks to the Crime Syndicate--flee from the prison, Orm takes a moment to talk to the guard who brought him the water. As he lays there severely wounded, the guard asks Orm for help, which he offers in the form of breaking the guard's neck. Now on foot towards the ocean, he finds walking a tedious way to travel:

On his way home, Orm runs across two super-powered fellow inmates, who are busy attacking some innocent civilians in a nearby general store. They go after him, and learn how big a mistake that is:

A woman he saves begs Orm for help in rescuing her eight year old son, who she is afraid is vulnerable to all the escaped convicts now flooding the streets. Orm responds he doesn't care, and continues walking even after they see that the young boy (and his babysitter) are about to be violently attacked amid the chaos.

He makes it a few steps into the sea, when he hears the young boy cry out, in fear for his mother:

...Not The End!


I can't believe I'm asking this, but, where the heck is Murk?!? He's spent what seems like the last three years planning to rescue Orm, only to get beaten to the punch by the Crime Syndicate. I guess we'll find out when Aquaman proper returns in issue #24.

I liked the art by Gerlado Borges (who we interviewed earlier this month), and am looking forward to his work on the Aquaman Annual. He's aided immeasurably by Rod Reis, who continues to bathe the world of Aquaman in a series of captivating hues.

Jim Lee's First Aquaman Cover!

DC Comics' Jim Lee is an industry icon. He's drawn covers for Superman, Wonder Woman, even Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder -- virtually all of the "Super Friends" titles...and now, finally, we can add Aquaman to complete the list!

Feast your eyes upon the first ever Aquaman cover by the amazingly talented Mr. Lee. Pictured is the Throne of Atlantis variant cover for Aquaman #15 (out next week) which along with the ToA variant to Justice League #15 (also by Lee) unites to form one colossal underwater battle scene.

Both issues are on sale Wednesday December 26th so it will be a Merry Christmas to Aquaman fans everywhere indeed. For all things Throne of Atlantis, please check out our Primer and the official DC Comics Checklist!

Ocean Master Skycap - 1993

"Remember Skycaps? Well, they're back...in Ocean Master form."

Okay, not really, but this Ocean Master Skycap is new to the Shrine, having been sent in last week by newest F.O.A.M. member Michael Bailey, he of the Fortress of Baileytude blog and many, many podcasts. We had run the Aquaman Skycap years ago, but I didn't know they did one of Orm, so I'm of course happy to see it and put it up here!

I'm not exactly sure who did the art here, but I'm betting its the work of Ken Hooper, who was drawing the Aquaman book at the time, and whose work graced the Aquaman pog...er, Skycap.

Thanks Michael, and welcome to F.O.A.M.!

DC Universe Online: The Tides of War

While we are still waiting for an imminent announcement regarding Aquaman as a playable character in the soon to be released Injustice: Gods Among Us, this week did see the update to DC Universe Online with "The Tides of War" featuring the Sea King and his would-be usurper brother, Ocean Master!

Check out some of the screen shots below and watch the video to get the back-story on DCUO's latest update.

(click images to embiggen)

Promo for the update also teases involvement by the Fisherman and "new pets" for players to adopt. Are you playing DCUO? If so, be sure to let us know what you think of Aquaman and the Tides of War!

Custom Ocean Master Action Figure

This awesome custom Ocean Master action figure was made by our newest F.O.A.M. member, Scott Rivet, who posted it on the Shrine's Facebook page a week or two ago.

This Orm isn't all that different from the DC Universe version that came out a couple of years ago, except Scott made some changes here and there that make his version look more like the one from the comics. And bonus points for the background--it looks like Orm is tired of letting Black Manta be the only Aquaman villain in the Legion of Doom!

Great work Scott, and welcome to F.O.A.M.!

DC Super-Pets: Deep-Sea Duel

Last week the Shrine posted a recap of Capstone's Black Manta and The Octopus Army, part of their line of DC Super-Villains chapter books. Between that book, Deepwater Disaster, and Heroes on the High Seas (part of the DC Super-Pets series), Capstone has gotten Aquaman in front of more little kids than your average season of Super Friends. And now they're doing it again!

Capstone sent me this cover preview of the next Aqua-centric book in the DC Super-Pets series, Deep-Sea Duel, again drawn by the incomparable Art Baltazar and apparently starring Aqualad! Aww, yeah!

Deep-Sea Duel is scheduled for release this Summer, and of course the Shrine will have a full-length recap once it's available. Stay tuned, Aqua-Fans!

Teen Titans #29 - Oct. 1970

Comics Weekend "Captives!" by Steve Skeates and Nick Cardy.

On Tuesday, in honor of Aqualad's birthday, we took a look back at a rare Aqua-centric issue of Teen Titans, which concerned Garth having to drag his former teammates into investigating a mystery that we now know involves his mentor's old foe, Ocean Master!

That first installment ended with Aqualad storming off in disgust, finding a clue that led to a shadowy figure knocking him out. When Garth woke up, he found himself tied to a tree, with the time to replenish himself with water almost up:

Meanwhile, across town, two other Teen Titans, Hawk and Dove (in their civilian identities) are investigating this mystery on their own, wanting to get out from "the shadow of the Titans."

Some armed goons arrive, and Hank and Don change into their costumes. Don, in his role as Dove, is his usual useless self, and soon Hawk is knocked out and dragged out of Sharon's apartment. Dove goes and finds the Titans (so much for the "Let's do this ourselves" plan), and they engage the bad guys as they spy Hawk being dragged off a pier:

Turns out Sharon saw the aliens' transformation, and that's what has been making her so unnerved--not knowing whether what she was was real or whether she was going crazy. Hawk is skeptical, but nevertheless they use teamwork to try and escape, stumbling into a room where Ocean Master and one of the aliens are plotting:

Ocean Master, playing both ends against the middle, zaps the in-disguise alien with a ray gun, transforming back into his true form. Then the Teen Titans show up moments after Orm's alien accomplices do, and the whole thing becomes one giant chaotic fight. Aqualad takes a specific interest in taking out Ocean Master:

Back at Titans HQ, Aqualad tries to talk the Titans into resuming their roles as superheroes, but he does not get the answer he wants:

...awk-ward!

Despite this grim ending, this was of course not Aqualad's last work with the Titans. While I generally agree with his sentiment, he's such a jerk about it to his fellow pals that its surprising they kept hanging out with him. But the Titans are a forgiving bunch, I guess.

After such an Aqualad-centric first installment, this second chapter is much more about Hawk and Dove, two of the more ridiculous characters in the DCU. I was thrilled to see Steve Skeates tie in story elements from Aquaman, which was still kind of an unusual thing to do in comics. On the art front, Nick Cardy doesn't quite get as much of a chance to shine in this issue--except on the cover, where he was, as usual, brilliant.

History of the DCU Ocean Master by DC Direct - 2009

The final part of my birthday extravaganza (as perpetrated by a gaggle of F.O.A.M. members, led by Russell Burbage) finally arrived just before Christmas--this super-spiffy Ocean Master action figure, part of DC Direct's History of the DC Universe line!

Orm is part of the line's third wave, which also includes Superman, Brainiac, and Plastic Man, making for the strangest Bridge Club you ever saw. Its a great figure, well executed and a spitting image of the original comic book version.

After so many years of there never being any Ocean Master action figures, its nice to see Orm start to catch up! Maybe he won't be so filled with rage now.

Once again, thanks to Russell and his Gang of Ten for an extraordinary birthday. The items kept coming in, almost making it into the new year! Nice job, fellas--and remember, my next birthday is only eight months away!

Ocean Master Paper Doll

I found this ginormous package (standing about knee high) on my doorstep last Saturday, sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Mac Schafer.

Inside was another of Mac's beautifully idiosyncratic paper dolls representing members of the AquaFamily. This time it was Mac's newest creation, Ocean Master!

I think I love Orm's oddly-shaped cape most of all; it gives the whole piece a kind of angular, Rankin-Bass type feel that I really like. I can just picture Mac's Aqua-Family dolls breaking into song.

Mac sent me a picture of it a week or two ago, and when I told him how much I liked it he generously decided to send it to me. But that's not at all! Inside the Box O'AquaFun was another of Mac's paper dolls--Aqualad!

I had previously done a post on the Aqualad paper doll, but I didn't have it in my collection until now. As you can see, despite their past differences, Garth and Orm are getting along:

It was exceedingly generous of Mac to send me these beauties, just, as he put it, "as a way so thanks for the Aquaman Shrine." The Shrine is such a labor of love for me, I feel like I don't deserve gifts for putting it together--its me who should be thanking all of you!

And that's why I decided to post this today, on Thanksgiving. Not to be all corny, but I am very thankful for all of you out there who come by and check out what I'm doing, and send me stuff to use or just something you think I'll find interesting. Its greatly appreciated, and I'm humbled by all the support the Shrine is shown on a regular basis.

And special thanks to Mac, I love 'em!



Related posts:
Aquaman Paper Doll
Mera Paper Doll
Aqualad Paper Doll

Batman Vs. Ocean Master Action League 2-Pack - 2009

I picked up this nifty set at Target a few weeks ago but kept forgetting to do a post on it (mostly due to the largess of you Aqua-Fans, who keep sending me more and more stuff!).

This is part of the cute "Action League" subset for the Brave and the Bold line of toys. The Aquaman 2-pack featured him along with Black Manta, so Batman seemed as good a foe as any for the Ocean Master. I love his look of rage!

These sets are really adorable, and they feature such B-listers as Metamporpho and (okay, C-lister) B'Wana Beast. Because they're so small (each figure is only about 3" or so high) they're relatively cheap, and a good value for your money. Hopefully that means they're selling well, and we can look forward to more B&B stars being given the Action League treatment!

Superman Match II Game - 1978

I absolutely love it when someone out there sends me pics of an item I never knew existed, like this Superman Match II Game from Ideal!

These pics are from the newest member of F.O.A.M., Shawn Myers, who had this to say about the game:

This is the Superman Match II game from my childhood. It's a superhero version of the kids game classic "Memory."

I loved this game and must have played it 12,578,495 times the first year I had it. Then when I was tired of playing it the regular way, I would flip over the tiles to form the letters of the alphabet.

It was manufactured by Ideal (in fact when the tiles are flipped into the starting position there is an Ideal logo on each of the tiles). There used to be plastic clips to place along each side of the board, but they have since been lost to to me.

As you flip over the tiles you have to remember the position of each hero--or villain to find the correct match:

But--being the Aqua-fan that you are, I'm sure that you're already spotted the reason why I'm sending you these pics:

Here's a pic of the entire board with all of the tiles in alphabetical order:

Not only does this game look like a ton of fun, but check out some of the characters represented on the tiles:

...wow, you didn't see a lot (read: any) of merchandise with Black Lightning on it!

Also interesting that they chose to use Ocean Master instead of Black Manta, which seemed like the more logical choice. I think that makes this game that much more awesome.

Thanks Shawn, and welcome to F.O.A.M!

Ocean Master Skybox Trading Card - 1995

F.O.A.M. member Doug Zawisza, who sent me yesterday's Black Manta card, also sent me this one, from the same set--this time its Ocean Master!

This moody painting, again like yesterday's, is by artist Alexander Gregory. I'm not familiar with Mr. Gregory's work, but he certainly showed a great facility at portraying Aquaman's bad guys! Anyone know if he ever had a chance to paint Aquaman? That'd be something I'd love to see.

Thanks again Doug!

Aquaman (Vol.6) #69 - July 2000

Comics Weekend "Glory"

Last issue ended with the war between Atlantis and Cerdia finally over, Tempest's son rescued, and Garth's granddaughter Donna finally getting to see the amazing nation of Atlantis.

This issue picks up with Donna delivering her report to her class (with the help of what looks like an iPod--Dan Jurgens was a few years ahead of Steve Jobs, it seems), and she tells of how the citizens of Atlantis started to return home:

Dolphin is overjoyed to see Garth, with their son, waiting for them in Atlantis.

Mera wonders where Aquaman is, and Vulko chimes in Atlantis needs it's king. But Arthur is already working on his kingly duties, namely the rebuilding of Atlantis, with the help of some friends:

Mera asks where Arthur is, and Garth tells her that he is chasing down Ocean Master.

And we see just that, as Aquaman uses an Atlantean ship to chase Orm down. Not deterred by his half-brother's obvious anger, Orm turns his ship around and fires several torpedoes at Arthur's ship, seemingly blasting it to pieces.

Orm thinks he's killed Arthur--yeah, right:

...I absolutely love this sequence. Steve Epting really took pains to give Aquaman a really impressive, powerful feel, either moving through the water like a bullet, or ripping open a bad guy's ship like the Man of Steel.

Orm's ship crashes, and Aquaman grabs Orm and saves him. Orm returns the favor by trying to blast him with that damn scepter, but Aquaman commands a bunch of his finny friends to pound him relentlessly.

He even calls forth a giant, prehistoric-looking sea monster, whom Orm assumes will eat him, causing him to officially give up.

Aquaman grabs Orm's scepter, breaking it in two, which reduces Orm to a helpless rag doll. He takes his brother from the clutches of the creature and heads back for his ship.

Later, Aquaman makes an appearance at the U.N. to address what has happened. He claims that, under the articles of war, Cerdia rightfully now belongs to Atlantis:

...the end.

A great storyline comes to a great ending, full of the majesty and honor that befits the character of a superhero who is also a king.

Its also a nice in that, in many ways, the seemingly-endless "Atlantis vs. The Surface World" arc that was part of Aquaman's back story for so long finally gets resolved. Why hasn't this series of issues been collected as a trade, DC?