The Jaws Callback
After Orm hires Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) to hunt down Aquaman for him, we get a montage of the fearsome pirate David Hyde personalizing the Atlantean weaponry and armor that Ocean Master gave him. While creating his helmet, the laser eyes go off and blast a hole in his ceiling, also cracking the helmet in two. “I’m gonna need a bigger helmet,” David says to himself.
Obviously, this sets up the full reveal of the iconic Black Manta get-up later on in the film, complete with an enlarged helmet plucked right from the comics. However, it’s surely also a neat nod to another iconic sea-based movie: Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Famously, Chief Brody says “you’re gonna need a bigger boat” – often misquoted as “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Sticking on the topic of Black Manta though, David’s father Jesse appears earlier on in the film, with his death kicking off his hatred of Aquaman. He’s played by Michael Beach – a brilliant bit of casting as Beach previously voiced Devil Ray on the Justice League: Unlimited animated series. For those who don’t know, Devil Ray was Black Manta in all but name (as the rights to the character were tied up at the time with an Aquaman live-action show that never materialized).
Dr. Stephen Shin
At one point, we catch up with a bit of TV and witness a talkshow in which the hosts are speaking about all the chatter of an Aquaman. The guest on the show is a crackpot raving about his belief in the existence of Atlantis and that Aquaman must be an Atlantean. Though the audience know him to be correct, the guy’s naturally mocked by the TV presenters.
The banner on the screen reveals that this is Dr. Stephen Shin, an important character in The New 52 reboot of Aquaman’s mythos, a period of the comics which is hugely influential on the movie (probably because Geoff Johns co-wrote both). On the page, he’s also the human with the most expert knowledge of Atlantis, but that’s because he’s a friend of both Arthur and his father.
However, one key element of the character has been carried over for the movie. The post-credits scene reveals that he’s going to be roped into helping Black Manta get revenge on Aquaman – if a sequel’s made, that is. A similar thing happened in the comics as well, though Shin ended up remorseful of his actions.
It’s also worth mentioning that Shin is played by Randall Park, who already starred in a superhero movie this year as agent Jimmy Woo in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. It’s possible that he could end up being a recurring face in both franchises, too.
