Aquaman #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I...just really don't get this issue.

I mean, I get the big picture.  Someone, possibly related to the weird zombie Atlanteans that we see escape here, is manipulating events to set Atlantis against the U.S.  I get that part.  In fact, I feel like Johns does a nice job here of showing why it's a Justice League problem and not just an Aquaman, Batman, or Superman problem.

But, I don't get why the Justice League is so bent on defining Aquaman's brother as a murderer.  After all, they shot first.  Aren't they, by their logic, also murderers?  It seems uncharacteristically black-and-white for Batman and Superman in particular.  (I have some recollection of Johns writing another storyline in "Justice League" in a similar way, though I can't recall which one exactly.)  I just have problems believing that neither Batman nor Superman could take a deep breath and give Aquaman the space that he needs to resolve the impasse peacefully.  Moreover, I don't see how Batman in particular hasn't already focused on the problem of why the U.S.S. Mabus unintentionally shot its missiles.  After all, Vulko pretty clearly says that someone is manipulating events, so, even if it hadn't dawned on Batman on his own, he's had someone shine a bright light on the problem.  But, instead, we're still pretending that Atlantis is some sort of unreasonable aggressor.  Bizarre.

Unfortunately, this odd approach to the conflict overshadows the best part of this issue, namely Aquaman and Batman's interactions.  Johns manages to inject some much-needed humor into their conversations, which is a welcome step.  He's played up their adversarial relationship for most of this series, but, here, we see a thaw.  Arthur tells Bruce a little about himself and Bruce rewards this trust by giving him a chance to bargain with his brother.  It's why the last scene of this issue is so bizarre, since it ignores that progress and return right to the status quo when it comes to the two of them.  Aquaman behaves as irrationally as the rest of them were behaving.  The only revelation that would make sense is that it's some sort of plan that Arthur and Bruce hatched off-panel.

At any rate, I have to be honest, I'm starting to wonder why I'm still getting "Justice League."  I mean, it's OK.  But, it doesn't really seem to have the impact outside the title that I thought made it a must-have series.  I mean, I read almost every Bat-family book and we didn't see any sort of tidal wave suddenly wipe out part of Gotham.  If I don't have to read it, I'm starting to wonder why I do.