Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3
DC Comics
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Lan Medina
Inks by Norm Rapmund
Colors by Veronica Gandini
Mera has a flashback to the first time she defied Nereus as she lies unconscious on the beach. As she wakes up, she finds herself at the mercy of Orm as his family tries to stop him. Orm has to then explain to his young son what he was about to do. Mera could take this time to press an attack, but she backs off to let the moment play itself out.
This whole issue is about the trappings of duty, especially when it relates to those of royal blood. Mera’s struggle with her life before Arthur was dealing with the responsibility of being of royal blood and her duty to her future husband Nereus. As she confronts the part of her path that led her on a new journey, Orm has a similar confrontation he needs to have with his fiancée.
I like Mera’s journey in this issue as we learn about how her sense of duty was manipulated by those around her and her desire to please them kept that manipulation going. She tries to convince Orm that he is a product of the same conditioning as they think about the circumstances that have brought them both to Amnesty Bay. There is some great writing in this part of the story as Erin confronts Orm about the responsibilities that he has now. It would be easy to take the moments and make them about the confrontation, but Abnett does a good job of giving Mera the opportunity to stick up for Orm and the two of them begin to understand each other more.
The story works when Mera is given a purpose to her actions and this one continues to do that. It’s refreshing to see Mera’s journey in this series and her story continues to be compelling.
