Return of the King

There's a lot of speculation going on about Brightest Day. But one thing is very clear: Aquaman is coming back.

He's certainly not the only one who'll be coming back. Martian Manhunter and others will very likely be returning. But to my mind Aquaman's return is the most significant.

Why? I think it's because Aquaman is going to be Geoff Johns's new pet project. Whatever you think about Geoff Johns and his work, you can't deny that he's done a fantastic job of revitalizing floundering franchises. If someone had come to me in 2002 or 2003 and said that Green Lantern would be one of the hottest books in comics with a spin-off (and a third on the way) I would have said they were crazy.

But there you have it. And I imagine the new Flash book will be a big success as well (assuming all the Rebirth delays haven't crippled it before it even hits the starting line).

To me, all signs point to Geoff Johns taking on Aquaman next. Johns has already said that he has big plans for Mera in the coming year. Now, when he said that he clearly couldn't come out and also say that he had big plans for Aquaman. But with Aquaman pretty obviously returning in Brightest Day, how exactly could Johns work on Mera without touching on Aquaman as well.

Aquaman deserves a place of honor among the DC pantheon. He is one of the true "Big Seven." Hopefully by the time Geoff Johns is done with him everyone else will see that as clearly as I.