Aquaman: The Sea Sorcerer / The Sea Snares Of Captain Sly

Dennis Marks pens "The Sea Sorcerer".

We begin in an ancient cave where some hocus-pocus is going on. A wizard notes that he now has every spell that exists, and he's going to use them on Aquaman to take over the seas. He spies on the Sea King with a crystal ball and calls up a sandstorm (?), then arrives on a giant toad which grabs Aqualad with his tongue. The Sea King does the old spinning water bit to free the teen. The Sea Sorcerer swears that he'll get Aquaman, then vanishes. 

Our heroes get a call from a relay station--they are being attacked by a fire-breathing dragon, so they're off to help.  They ride in on marlins which pop the dragon--no good. Aquaman calls in Pufferfish to shoot water at the dragon to put him out. They find the Sorcerer knocked out on the sea floor. who acts like he escaped from the bad guy. Aqualad and Tusky take him toward Atlantis, but he ends up capturing them. Another sandstorm attacks Aquaman, and is then sent toward jagged coral. Aqualad gets Tusky to knock the crystal ball away and break it, saving the Sea King. Tusky frees Aqualad so they join up with Aquaman. The Sea Sorcerer goes all in, trapping them in ice and fire. Aquaman calls in Killer Whales to break the ice, then hits the villain with a hard water ball, knocking him into a deep gorge.

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (51), Minnow (17)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Soaring Sailfish, Leaping Lampreys, Jumping Jellyfish
• Nice ancient book with "The Book of Magic" in English on the cover
• Wouldn't an underwater sandstorm just turn into mud?
• How does a fire-breathing dragon work underwater?
• If you were trapped in ice and fire, wouldn't they just negate each other?

Oscar Bensol brings us the tongue-twisting "Sea Snares of Captain Sly" (on the seashore?).

Yet another strange craft appears in the sky which drops off two henchmen of Captain Sly, who leave a time bomb on the sea floor. Two other henchmen leave sheets of pink plastic blocking a narrow canyon--then turn the sheets invisible with a strange ray. It's a trap for our heroes, who show up as expected. Aquaman goes on alone, and swims right into one of the sheets. Aqualad goes the other way, and hits the other sheet. This time, it constricts around and traps him. A globe is dropped from the ship which picks him up. Aquaman uses a clam to cut the line. The ship goes underwater while members of the fish army help to free the teen. Tusky breaks the plastic bag around Aqualad, and they are off to the battle. Henchman on sea scooters shoot "limpness lights" at Aqualad, but the Sea King saves him with a well-thrown water ball. Aquaman's fish army helps him knocks out the scooters, and our heroes commandeer them. The ship tries to take off, but the limpness lights take it out. Henchmen shoot harpoons at our heroes, but a Sea Turtle protects them. Swordfish are brought in, and trap the henchmen. Tusky catches Captain Sly in his own trap, and it's off to jail for them.

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (52), Minnow (18)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Galloping Guppies
• The henchmen wear deep-sea helmets, but their arms and legs are bare--I don't think that would go well
• If you had an invisibility ray, wouldn't that be enough to go commit crimes?  Why go to all this extra trouble?

Remember, you can play along by watching the show on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, or VUDU. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 1 Early Episodes

If you've been following this blog (and I have no idea why you would), you know that I recently covered the Star Trek animated series, as part of an effort of my wife and I to watch all Trek series in chronological order. We managed to make it through the original series movies since then (it was truly painful to watch Star Trek V: Kirk vs. God again), so now we're watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix.

I'm not going to do a separate entry for each episode--that would take too long and there's plenty of others on the net who have already done so. However, from time to time, I will drop in a blog entry with my thoughts on recent episodes we've watched.

One point upfront. If you want to feel really old, consider this: The period of time since TNG premiered (1987) is now longer than the period between the TOS (1966) and TNG premieres. Ouch!

We're several episodes into the first season so far--

• I'm sure the cast was nervous during the production of the pilot. The characters were not fully formed, concepts were being introduced, and from my memories at the time, the series was far from a sure thing. That being said, it is very strange that everyone involved on camera really gave you ACTING by the bushel.  Every line was spoken like it was the most important thing ever said--like they were giving speeches in front of a podium.
• Why did they spend what seemed like half the pilot separating and reattaching the saucer section--so some Trekkie could say "I knew they could do that from the engineering manual I bought at the convention"?
• Who's bright idea was skirts on the early uniforms--specially for male extras? I know it was William Ware Theiss, but somebody had to approve that.
• Does Dr. Crusher shop at uglysweaters.com for her son, or does Wesley buy them? (BTW--there's a tumblr if you're interested in seeing them)
• In retrospect, I don't think Tasha Yar was killed due to Denise Crosby's Playboy pictorial. She was not a good actress, and her backstory is terrible. Rape gangs?  She also held back Worf on the show--all he did was talk about Klingon honor before she was offed.
• Picard seems to go for the "surrender" option a lot
• The juxtaposition of drama and humor is very strange--wacky antics from Data one second, and a deadly decision the next

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Aquaman: In Captain 'Cuda's Clutches / The Mirror-Man from Planet Imago

Bob Haney brings in a classic JLA villain and gives another a nickname for alliteration's sake "In Captain 'Cuda's Clutches". 

Aquaman and Aqualad are on their way back to the Aquacave (perhaps to get some Aquaburgers and Aquafries) when Tusky manages to find trouble again. A jewel in the Aquacave (a monitor for the Jewel people) shows a scary face--it's Captain Barracuda (dressed like a blue conquistador) and Starro, an alien starfish. They are attacking the Jewel people, so off go our heroes.

Starro "inks" the Jewel people (not like tattooing), and the Captain shoots an energy based weapon at the Aqua-duo which paralyzes Aqualad.  The Sea King calls in Star-Gazers, which shock the teen back into health. They don't know where the bad guys are, but Tusky brought the monitor jewel with him so they can find the Jewel people. Of course, they took refuge in their city (where else would they go?). Starro pulls at the jeweled dome, but here comes our heroes with the fish troops. Starro then tries to shock and ink them, but Pufferfish suck up the ink (I don't think that's how they work). The fish army continue the fight, but our Captain keeps paralyzing them. Tusky distracts Barracuda and Aquaman tackles him. The Jewel people give the Sea King a gift, and put the Captain to work mining for more jewels.

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (49), Minnow (14)  
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Cowering Cowfish, Flipping Flatfish, Wailing Wolffish, Suffering Sea Snakes
• Seems awfully convenient that Tusky brought the monitor jewel with him--wasn't he just scared of it earlier?
• Why would Jewel people mine for jewels? Seems like cannibalism.
• Starro is one of the many Silver Age DC villains with a name ending in "O" (Amazo, Kanjar Ro, Chemo, Eclipso...)  
• Starro is more of a henchman than an actual villain here--he does seem to get away at the end though

Dennis Marks brings us "The Mirror-Man from Planet Imago" (sponsored by Xerox). 

Aquaman is fighting the Brain's henchmen--he then goes into the Brain's ship! It's not Aquaman--it's a duplicate from the Planet Imago (you can tell he's the dupe because his eyes are extra-sparkly). The Brain plans to do the old switcheroo! Aqua-dupe commands the fish in the sea to fight (now there's a pay-per-view event!). The real Sea King sees the problem from the Aquacave, so they go check it out. He orders the fish to stop fighting, but it just confuses them, so they have to step in. The Brain uses this opportunity to attack Aqualad and take him back to the ship. It was just a ruse to knock out Aquaman and switch him out with the duplicate! He fools Aqualad but not his steed or Tusky, who gets a real shaking from the faux Sea King. Aqualad is just confused.

The real Aquaman is trapped under a heat beam--he's about to get served with drawn butter! He uses a magnifying glass he happens to have on him to burn a hole in the ship. Meanwhile, Aqua-dupe evicts Aqualad from the Aquacave. He then contacts the Brain and preps to open the doors to Atlantis. The Brain learns about the hole in the ship--Aquaman has escaped! Aqualad and Tusky commiserate, but then the real Aquaman appears and explains what is going on. The real and faux Aquamen battle it out. No one knows who's who, including The Brain, who blasts the duplicate. Aquaman does the old wall of water spinning trick and blows up the ship. The Aqua-dupe explains his planet was fooled--they though the Sea King was the bad guy. 

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (50), Minnow (15), Sardine (1)  Note: I'm counting Aqua-dupe's nicknames as well.
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Jumping Jellyfish, Holy Hogfish. Jumping Jackfish
• So Aquaman carries around a magnifying glass just in case?

Remember, you can play along by watching the show on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, or VUDU. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.

Aquaman: The Devil Fish / The Sea Scavengers

Apparently, no one wanted to take credit for "The Devil Fish".

Aquaman gets a message from the surface--he listens to it on a funky pair of headphones and then tells Aqualad to hold the fort. Mark Bartholomew meets him on the surface--he's a test pilot with a new ship--the "Devil Fish" is a combination helicopter/submarine ready for testing. Unfortunately, a Manta-man overhears this and tells Black Manta about it. Back underwater, the sea trials begin. The ship can go fast underwater or on the water (Supercar!) and is tough enough to go through rock. It can maneuver around whales that Aquaman calls in. Black Manta likee, so he pulls the ship in with a net. Our heroes fight Manta-Men and they retreat. The Devil-Fish escapes but then chases Manta's ship into a whirlpool. Aquaman follows them in.

The test pilot finds his ship in an ancient underwater city (there are lot of those) that includes an air pocket, which Manta is using as a hideout. Aquaman fights off Manta's goons, and the test pilot rams his ship into a the pedestal holding up Manta. Aquaman is able to call up some Sea Dragons to help out, and tells Mark to split. Manta closes the entrance, but too late. Bull whales seal up the entrance, and our heroes figure that's the last they will see from Black Manta (fat chance).

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (44), Minnow (9)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Leaping Lampreys, Great Guppies, Holy Haddock
• Tusky seems angry at the message from the surface
• I thought Mark Bartholemew was some existing DC character, but I didn't find any reference. Must have been some friend of the unknown writer.

Oscar Bensol brings us "The Sea Scavengers". 

The Aqua-Duo are on an offshore oil platform--a threatening letter has come in from "The Sea Scavenger". The foreman (a refugee from one of the Superman cartoons) is worried. Underwater, Tusky sees the "Subma-Robot" (cool name) arriving, controlled by the villain Scavo. Apparently, he called dibs on this area and wants the platform gone, so the robot takes it out. The foreman has to be rescued. Aquaman calls for some giant sea creatures to fight the robot, while a porpoise takes the foreman to the mainland(?!?). The robot responds with razor sharp pinwheels and torpedos. Whales and sharks bang into the robot, Tusky does a wacky bit, the the Subma-Robot is disabled. Scavo and his goons swim out with compressed air bubble guns that hit Aquaman and Aqualad, but they fight them off. Aquaman lets them go, and Scavo retreats to an island with a heat gun that boils the water. Marlins are called in (they like hot water) and they create a tidal wave that hits the island. Now, Aquaman decides it's mainland prison for them.

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (46), Minnow (11)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Holy Haddock, Shivering Shellfish, Jumping Jellyfish (twice), Leaping Lobsters
• In later incarnations, Aquaman would have been the eco-terrorist attacking the oil platform
• If you name your kid Scavo, he's going to become a scavenger
• At one point, our heroes and the foreman appear to be standing on the water
• Sure, Aquaman, let them go after they destroy an oil platform!  Only when they try to boil the sea do you actually capture them...

 Remember, you can play along by watching the show on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, or VUDU. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.

Aquaman: Goliaths of the Deep Sea Gorge / The Sinister Sea Scamp

Oscar Bensol does double duty in this episode, writing both stories.

Tusky is out playing, but is attacked by a Gill-man (looks a lot like the Creature from the Black Lagoon). The AquaDuo hear his barking (underwater?) and give chase. Aquaman drops a shell on his head and then calls in octopi to help out. Turns out the Gill-man is actually looking for the Sea King, as his people need help. A Mastodon-man is attacking his village. The Mastodon-man (think of a huge grey bear with an elephant head) grabs another Gill-man) and Aquaman does the hard water ball bit. Our heroes get trapped in a hut and are about to be crushed when Tusky bites the monster to distract him.

Aquaman calls in more fish troops and they lead the monster away from the village. The monster is after Tusky--he sucks him in with his snout and crashes his first into Aqualad, then sends a water stream that forces the teen onto the rocks. They jump into a crevice, and Aquaman throws a rock into the monster's snout. The rock is then sent at the village, and Aquaman has to do the spinning bit to knock it away. Aqualad doesn't follow orders (as usual) and gets caught again. The Sea King calls in a hammerhead and whales to drag the Mastodon-man away, while Aquaman saves his sidekick from stalagmites (again--underwater?). The monster is dropped in a convenient hole, and Tusky plays dressup to finish us out.

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (40)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Galloping Guppies, Suffering Sea Cows
• There's a lot of "-man" references in this story
• Why huts for the village--does that make sense underwater?
• Aquman casually mentions an "underground sea" where the Mastodon-man will be deposited. Hope there's no hut-based villages there.
• Frankly, this whole episode is like a fever dream

In the second story, our heroes are off to pick up some phosphorous (apparently, that's the light source for Atlantis). The Sea King warns Aqualad how dangerous it is to the touch, so they get the rock in a net and drag it between their sea horse steeds through steep canyons. Tusky is playing as usual and gets lost. A submarine with three "Bulks" (large mutant goons) and the Sea Scamp (WORST VILLAIN NAME EVER) watch Tusky and use an "animator beam" to trap him in kelp. Our heroes notice that Tusky is gone and go to find him. Aquaman calls in thresher sharks to cut him out. The Sea Scamp is not happy and decides to animate some coral that knocks out Aqualad. The fish army is called in, but it's hard to fight coral. Bull sharks knock a boulder on it and take it out.

So, the Sea Scamp animates the phosphorous into a monster (you knew this was coming). They can't touch it, so it's back to the canyons. Aquaman realizes that phosphorous is flammable, so he calls in some Star Gazers (Wikipedia confirms it's a real fish) to electrify and blow it up. The Sea Scamp runs his ship and his Bulks at our heroes, which doesn't do much good, so he tries to escape. Bull whales and sharks disable his ship, and it blows up and crashes. Tusky finds the Sea Scamp, and Aquaman decides to take him to Atlantis where he can invent good things instead of bad. They grab some more phosphorous and head for home. 

Some things to look for:

• Aquaman's nickname for Aqualad count: Tadpole (42), Minnow (8)
• Aqualad catchphrase attempts: Slithering Seaweed, Flipping Flounders
• Since phosphorous is dangerous to the touch, isn't it a bad idea to stand around underwater near a huge cache of it?
• We see the common animation device for glowing objects--switching back and forth quickly between white and yellow.
• Why go through the underwater canyon--just go over it?
• Does anyone it makes sense to drop a villain into Atlantis and just hope he turns good?

Remember, you can play along by watching the show on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, or VUDU. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.