Aquaman To End Major Storyline In November With Double-Sized Issue

Update: DC Comics has reached out to clarify that Aquaman will only be ending a major story arc in issue #65, and that the comic will not be canceled. Series writer Kelly Sue DeConnick recently indicated something similar on social media. You can check that out below.

DC Comics will reportedly be canceling Aquaman with issue #65 this November. Bleecing Cool got early word that the forthcoming November solicitations for DC Comics books will reveal that Aquaman #65 is set to be a double-sized finale issue. Word of the cancellation was also mentioned by the Aquaverse Twitter account, which keeps a close eye on all things Aquaman: “… as we understand that the dreaded “Final Issue” stamp will adorn AQUAMAN’s impending November solicitation, but you know what? We’re perfectly fine with that. Will explain that last part after they go live.” The final issue will see Aquaman in an all-out undersea war, so it should be quite a finale.

It’s noted in the report that the recent DC Comics layoffs didn’t affect Aquaman, which seems to have had its ending planned in advance. We already have the solicitation for Aquaman’s penultimate issue, #64, which reads:

“Wedding bells? More like wedding hells, as Mera’s nuptials ignite a war across the Seven Kingdoms. Arthur, Orm, the Trench, Xebel, and more battle not just for the crown but for the future of Atlantis and beyond. Stuffed to the gills with characters and action, this all-out undersea brawl will leave readers gasping for air!”

Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) has been building the Atlantean world of Aquaman to an epic finale war, in which pretty much every major faction or character from Aquaman’s modern story arc (Arthur, Mera, Orm, Aqualad (Jackson Hyde), Black Manta, and the various kingdoms of Atlantis (Xebel, The Trench, etc.) all colliding.

The galvanizing incident for this undersea war seems to Mera and her wedding. Mera has come out of her coma with a revelation (revealed in Aquaman #61):

“The test of a leader is how they wield their power. Coral that does not bend will break… I was born a royal. As such, I have long understood the political nature of marriage. Still, I have resisted it… I told myself I hoarded power to keep it from those who would abuse it… But now I wonder. Should the fate of a nation really hinge on the whims of any one person?… The appetite for power is never sated. I am determined that when I do marry, it will be to my equal… What I’m trying to say is: We must dissolve the monarchies! No more kings! No more queens! We must give our power to our people!”

This major socio-political shift has set off all kinds of power struggles across Atlantis and opened opportunities for Black Manta to strike. Whatever Mera ultimately decides, Atlantis will truly (as Ocean Master proclaims) be coming to an end of an era soon.

Aquaman #65 will hit store shelves in November.