Thursday, April 21, 2022

"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" - Enter Amber Heard



"Aquaman" actress Amber Heard reprises her role as 'Princess Mera' for director James Wan in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom", releasing in 2023:


The comic book character 'Princess Mera' debuted in DC's "Aquaman" #11 (September 1963), created by writer Jack Miller and illustrator Nick Cardy...


...as the former 'Queen of Dimension Aqua', 'Queen of Atlantis' and wife of 'Arthur Curry' aka 'Aquaman'.


In her first appearance, Mera flees the criminal 'Leron', who seized control of her kingdom, when she arrives on the surface and meets the human Aquaman, who vows to help her. 


But Leron captures them, imprisoning Aquaman and Mera in 'Dimension Aqua'.


Aided by the water spirit known as 'Quisp', Aquaman manages to free Mera and defeats Leron. 


Mera abdicates the throne of 'Xebel' to 'Queen V'lana', returning to Atlantis to marry Aquaman.


'Aquaman' was created by writer Paul Norris and illustrator Mort Weisinger, debuting in "More Fun Comics" #73 (November 1941)...


...initially as a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, then starred in several volumes of a solo title. 


"...the story must start with my father, a famous undersea explorer — if I spoke his name, you would recognize it. My mother died when I was a baby, and he turned to his work of solving the ocean's secrets. 


"His greatest discovery was an ancient city, in the depths where no other diver had ever penetrated. My father believed it was the lost kingdom of 'Atlantis'. He made himself a water-tight home in one of the palaces and lived there, studying the records and devices of the race's marvelous wisdom. 


"From the books and records, he learned ways of teaching me to live under the ocean, drawing oxygen from the water and using all the power of the sea to make me wonderfully strong and swift. 


"By training and a hundred scientific secrets, I became what you see — a human being who lives and thrives under the water..."


Click the images to enlarge...