Aquaman (Vol.4) #12 - Nov. 1992

Comics Weekend Aquaman returns to Poseidonis and learns about his past in "Spoils of War" by Shaun McLaughlin, Ken Hooper, and Bob Dvorak!

Aquaman has been called back to Poseidonis by King Thesily, and and as soon as he arrives there, he sees a gang of three men seemingly looting from some others.

After a few thrown punches, it turns out the fight was over coral, which is a rare and valuable commodity within the confines of the city. Since Poseidonis' dome is still in ruins, and sharks are still circling, King Thesily has told his citizens they cannot venture outside.

And even though Aquaman has been working hard, trying to get the U.N. to recognize Poseidonis, Thesily is less than pleased with Aquaman's, as Thesily sees it, lack of attention on this matter.

Aquaman begins to defend himself, then:

Aquaman heads off, and finds his old friend Vulko, who is planning to leave the city and study another deep sea city, Tritonis. Aquaman asks to accompany him, to try and keep him safe. After a little cajoling, Vulko agrees, and they both leave Poseidonis.

At Tritonis, the warrior Iqula is still embroiled in a battle with that city's leadership for freedom. Aquaman tries to help Iqula out, but insists only citizens of the city can participate.

Life is odd--even odder than usual--in Tritonis, where bloody pitched battles are fought within a very specific set of rules. When the battle is called to be over, it ends, with both sides retreating peacefully, until the next one.

Aquaman is trying to understand this odd way of warfare, until word comes that Vulko and Iqula's wife, Lady S'Ona, are captured! This leads Iqula to break the enforced truce and go on an all-out attack:

Aquaman can only stand by helplessly and watch, even as Iqula is stabbed.

But he changes his mind when Iqula is shot by a gun of some sort, one that Arthur recognizes is from Poseidonis. He knocks out a few of the royal guards, helps rescue Lady S'Ona, and then heads into the royal chambers to find Vulko.

Inside, Tritonis' king, Firtf, tries to use Vulko as a shield, only to find the weathered old man not quite as helpless as he thought--Vulko kicks the king in the chin, giving Aquaman the chance to land him on his butt with a one punch.

In the meantime, the battle has ended, with both sides laying down their arms. Iqula and S'Ona are installed as the new rulers, and all Aquaman asks of them is they look after Vulko.

As Aquaman prepares to leave Poseidonis, Vulko hands him several volumes, which he calls The Atlantis Chronicles. He tells Arthur they will answer questions he has always had about his origins. Aquaman takes them and departs:

...definitely an unusual issue, and it reminds me a lot of the last few issues of Justice League of America, where all the storylines are wrapped up and pointed toward the new series.

Unlike that series, though, this fourth Aquaman book got the chance to end its brief run on an up note, free from the other goings-on in the DC Universe, which we'll see here tomorrow!