Written by Dan Watters
Art by Miguel Mendonca
Published by DC Comics
I’m not the biggest Ocean Master fan. Mostly, I have found the character rather lame. He never really registered as a real threat as a villain to me.
Now, with this new “Year of the Villain” initiative, DC is trying to up the ante with their villains. That is what this issue it trying to do, and it largely succeeds, thanks to some deft writing and some pretty great visuals.
The whole thing starts off in Holly Beach, Louisiana. The Ocean Master meets up with Erin, who is the one he loves. The two of them have an emotional argument about him leaving and serves as a pretty strong beginning to the issue.
We get to see the reason why Ocean Master left Erin. Atlantis needed his aid so he ran to defend it. He tells Erin about some of the secret plots by the enemies of Atlantis that took him away.
It is a great moment then when Erin says that she doesn’t care. She is just looking for an apology from the guy. He tells her that he was planning on coming back into both their lives. Then, he proceeds to go on about his story.
Ocean Master then recounts some of the battles that he experienced. These battles aren’t paced too well, and are a little boring to be completely honest. There is a real moment in the end though when Orin becomes “King Orin.” It is a well drawn splash page that really is completely unforgettable.
There is a rather sad ending here as Orin must make a mature decision. It is extremely well handled. This was a pretty decent one-shot overall. The writing is pretty decent and while the art has some rough patches, it is pretty good as well.
It is not bad for a character that I pretty much have written off.
RATING: B
