The DCU's Aquaman Reboot Should Start With Jackson Hyde

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now in theaters, closing a unique chapter within the history of DC adaptations. The film has now become the final installment of the DC Extended Universe, before James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe "resets" the franchise going forward. There has been no shortage of speculation about how the new DCU will reboot various things that were successful or prominent in the DCEU — including a potential new take on Arthur Curry / Aquaman and his realm of Atlantis.

While there's no telling what Gunn and Safran's plans are, especially since there is not anything Aquaman-related in their first ten projects, there is one option that could set their take on the character apart without some sort of subversion or deconstruction — starting with the introduction of Jackson Hyde.

Who Is DC's Jackson Hyde?

Originally created by Brandon Vietti, Greg Weisman, and Phil Bourassa for the beloved animated series Young Justice, Jackson Hyde / Kaldur made his comic book debut in 2010's Brightest Day #4. Both the comic and animated version of the character were soon revealed to be the biological son of David Hyde / Black Manta, a twist that changed their relationship to Atlantis and Aquaman. In the comics, Jackson ultimately becomes Aqualad and joins the Teen Titans, and later the third Aquaman who works concurrently alongside Arthur.

The DC Rebirth canon of the character reimagined Jackson as an openly gay teenager, which was explored both in the mainline books and in the hit graphic novel You Brought Me the Ocean.

How Could Jackson Hyde Work in the DCU?

On paper, Jackson might seem like an unconventional choice to build the DCU's Aquaman lore around — after all, he's one of the newest characters tied to that realm in the comics. But it has already become abundantly clear that the DCU won't be starting at "square one" with a lot of its lore, with existing characters like Christopher Smith / Peacemaker (John Cena) and Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle (Xolo Maridueña) being folded in, Clark Kent / Superman (David Corenswet) several years into his superhero career, and Bruce Wayne / Batman already at the point where he has Damian Wayne / Robin in The Brave and the Bold. It has been clear — sometimes literally, in the case of the Corenswet-led Superman: Legacy — that the DCU will be dealing with the concept of superhero legacies, and Jackson could be a fascinating extension of that, allowing for new story without directly re-treading what was covered in the DCEU's Aquaman movies.

For starters, Jackson's story can be told without needing to spend a lot of time actually in Atlantis, which would allow for more time to pass before Gunn and Safran have to establish a visual language for that world. (A similar comparison could be made to how Arthur was originally introduced in the DCEU, or to how Alan Ritchson's Arthur "A.C." Curry existed on Smallville.) In the same way, Jackson's story doesn't need to actually have Aquaman or Black Manta around initially, as both characters can loom large without needing to directly be shown. Given how successful 2018's Aquaman was, their reputations would be felt without immediately needing to recast roles that audiences successfully associate with Jason Momoa and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. (It would also allow for a fun, Darth Vader-esque reveal of his tie to Manta.) In a way, the DCEU's various plans already proved that that could work, as an adaptation of You Brought Me the Ocean was briefly in the works for HBO Max, but never came to fruition. He might not need to become Aquaman or Aqualad right away, but there's a way to use Jackson as the proxy to introduce a whole new incarnation of Atlantis — and bring a fan-favorite character to the screen in the process. 

Would you want to see Jackson Hyde in the DCU? Share your thoughts with us in the comments bellow!