With the confusing position of DC movies right now, I wouldn’t blame you for not remembering specific plot points about the previous films in the franchise, especially when it’s all being reset. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an ember of a kingdom that was burned to the ground long ago.
And yet here it is, five years after the first Aquaman movie and several regime changes and controversies involving certain cast members and here we are. Aquaman 2, the trailer looks… alright I guess, it’s hard to be excited for these DCEU throwbacks since we know that it likely won’t matter once James Gunn’s DCU really gets up and running.
Anyhow, the trailer gives us a lot to digest. We see Amber Heard’s return as Mera, although she literally appears for one second. We also know that the main villain will be Arthur Curry’s arch-nemesis, Black Manta, who appeared in the first movie, but only as a secondary villain.
On top of all of that, we also see Curry’s brother aka Ocean Master return, although this time it looks like he’s done the classic villain redemption trope and become a good guy. Basically, we’ve got DC’s answer to Thor and Loki; can’t wait for Patrick Wilson to get his own spin-off series on Max.
But who is Aquaman’s brother, Orm?
Like I said, I wouldn’t blame you for not remembering the first movie, not because it was bad, but because it’s kind of redundant now. But here’s a quick recap for those of you who have forgotten. Orm Marius is Arthur Curry’s half-brother. Unlike Arthur, who is half-human, Orm is pure Atlantean. He is the son of Atlanna and Orvus Marius, and he and Aquaman are both the children of Atlanna. Orm’s entire goal in the first movie was to unite the seven kingdoms to declare war on the surface. He’s the main antagonist of the first film and (spoilers) by the end of the film, Aquaman defeats him and he’s imprisoned while Arthur takes his place on the throne.
Was Orm in the comics?
Orm has frequently appeared in the comics — his first appearance was way back in 1966 — although his origin has changed a lot over the years. In some cases he’s been the son of Tom Curry and another human, making him fully human with no powers. This was his original introduction; this version was a tech pirate who was jealous of his older brother and his powers. The origins have changed numerous times, but there is always a deep rivalry between Orm and Arthur, and they are always half brothers, even if the parent they share changes from time to time.
The movie version of Orm takes most of its inspiration from the New 52 series of comics which started in 2011. This version of the character was introduced in 2012 and rather than being fully human, this time he was fully Atlantean and pretty hateful of the surface world. Orm has similar powers to Arthur in the New 52 comics, making him a much more fitting villain.
It will be cool to see where they take Ocean Master’s character in the much-anticipated sequel. It’s always a joy to watch Patrick Wilson and the new dynamic between the two Atlanteans could be interesting.
