JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS (2015) ... The Justice League Shakespearian Tragedy!

JUSTICE LEAGUE THRONE OF ATLANTIS REVIEW
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is a direct-to-video animated superhero film which is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film is inspired by the Throne of Atlantis story arc written by Geoff Johns and serves as a sequel to 2014's Justice League: War.
 
Jason O'Mara, Christopher Gorham, Sean Astin, Shemar Moore, Steven Blum, George Newbern and Melique Berger reprise their respective roles from Justice League: War, while Nathan Fillion reprises his role as Green Lantern / Hal Jordan from Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League: Doom and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

The movie itself is intriguing to say the least, Warner Bros and DC always deliver slick animation and the effort put into theses DVDs is truly amazing. All that said I have to say I enjoyed this origin story of Aquaman and his enrolment into the Justice League.

The story itself lends a lot from various other works including a parallel to Marvel's Thor and Loki relationship in the way of Aquaman's standing with his menacing villainous brother, Orm and his quest for the throne. Another parallel seems to be that of Marvel's The Avengers (2012) wherein we have a villain and his alien army attacking Metropolis instead of New York.

I do wish they had covered more of Arthur / Aquaman's story and whilst I do realize it must be difficult to have such a story when there are a handful of other heroes to explore also, the movie should've gone a little more into finer details of the origin story. Don't get me wrong the movie really plays out in a very Shakespearian fashion with all the usual traits including relationships between a mother and her son, the child vying for the throne and a secret son whose been hidden from the world.

Justice League fans should give this one a go as the mythology, as ever changing as it is, is still definitely worth knowing.

JUSTICE LEAGUE THRONE OF ATLANTIS SYNOPSIS
In the Atlantic, the U.S.S. California submarine picks up incoming human-like threats approaching the sub by sonar. The sub is attacked, leaving the entire crew dead by the invading hostiles. At S.T.A.R. Labs' Justice League headquarters, Cyborg is given news by Colonel Steve Trevor over the sunken sub. Cyborg decides to check it himself, deciding against Trevor's idea of calling the other superheroes, as he puts it "there is no Justice League". At Mercy Reef, Arthur Curry, drunk over the death of his father, picks a fight with a group of tough guys over them wanting to eat the lobster Arthur was talking to. He defeats them, but is watched by Mera and Dr. Shin. At the sunken sub, Cyborg discovers hand prints on the hull, and that the missiles are missing. He is then attacked by the same hostiles that attacked the sub, and suffers damage through his escape. Back at their HQ, Cyborg gets help from Flash and Shazam to get Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, leaving Batman the last one remaining. Green Lantern decides to head to Gotham City to get Batman, who is currently chasing henchmen of the Scarecrow. Green Lantern captures them for Batman, but Batman is angry as he needed them to head to where Scarecrow was. With the entire team together, they check the raised sub and Cyborg's assault; they realize the enemy isn't related to Darkseid, but warriors from Earth's origin. Thanks to Diana's knowledge, she reveals these warriors are from Atlantis; with the theory of war related to the missing missiles, and using Shazam's suggestion, Superman and Batman decide to meet Atlantis-expert Dr. Shin, while the others are tasked in finding Atlantis.

At Atlantis, Orm and Black Manta meet with Orm's mother, Queen Atlanna. They argue over declaring war on the surface world because of the damage during the events of Darkseid's attack, and Atlanna asks Mera to bring Arthur, her other son, to Atlantis. Black Manta uses a fake submarine to attack Atlantis using the same stolen missiles, framing the surface for the attack. Arthur answers the door to Dr. Shin, who tries to tell him that his father contacted him before his death to help Arthur; moments later, he is killed by Atlantean soldiers. Arthur is overwhelmed by the attack, until he is saved by Mera. Batman and Superman enter Dr. Shin's home, discovering that his work is destroyed. Superman recreates a photograph of Arthur Curry and a letter from his father revealing that his son is half-Atlantean; Batman decides they must find him. The attack on Atlantis leads the citizens to demand for war, but Queen Atlanna decides that they might need to reveal themselves after centuries of being hidden, and decides to contact the Justice League. Arthur wakes up underwater next to Mera, who reveals the situation: Atlanna met Arthur's father and gave birth to him, but because of royalty, she couldn't be with him nor Arthur so had to leave to be with her king and Orm. Now, Atlanna believes Arthur can help Atlantis be the bridge between the two worlds; Mera shows him ancient ruins, where she dresses him with his royal garb. Arthur can't take the news and heads to surface, with Mera following him; soon, they are attacked by the Trench. The battle is tough, with Arthur bleeding for the first time in his life, until the Justice League arrive in time to defeat the Trench. Orm hears from Manta that the Trench failed to kill Arthur; Orm and Queen Atlanna argue because Orm wants to start a war, as per his late father's wishes, and reveals his knowledge of Arthur Curry. Queen Atlanna reveals to him that she knows he attacked Atlantis, and with this news, Manta and Orm murder Atlanna and take over.

Arthur, Mera, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Cyborg arrive at Atlantis and learn of Atlanna's death, and are defeated by Orm (who has now become the super villain "Ocean Master") . The group is sent to be consumed by the monstrous Dark Trench, while Ocean Master leads Atlantis' army to the surface. Arthur breaks from his bonds and with Superman's help, they save the rest and defeat the monster. In Metropolis, a tidal wave, Ocean Master's army in disguise, reaches the shores and begins the attack. The military fight back but are powerless until the League arrive. During the fight, Superman saves John Henry Irons, and Wonder Woman saves Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Arthur fights Black Manta, who reveals his plan to have manipulated Ocean Master and will soon get rid of him and take over; just as he explains this, he doesn't realize Arthur calling a great white shark to attack him defeating Black Manta. Mera fights Ocean Master, but is taken down; the League come in, but one by one, some (Wonder Woman,Green Lantern,Flash,and Shazam) are defeated, or (Superman and Cyborg) severely wounded. Arthur becomes the last to face Ocean Master, and has an upper hand during the fight until the end. Batman saves Cyborg from dying, and he reveals that he got video of Ocean Master confessing to killing his mother when they were captured. Cyborg broadcasts Ocean Master's confession all over Metropolis for Atlantis' soldiers to see; Arthur takes the upper hand and defeats Ocean Master, then he leads his soldiers to bridge Atlantis and the surface together in peace instead of war; with that, the attack ends.

Later in Atlantis, Arthur is crowned as king, with the Justice League among the audience celebrating. Batman suggests that with new threats appearing, they need to solidify the team, and Cyborg reveals plans for a watchtower. Arthur joins as Aquaman, and soon heads with now love interest Mera against the Trench outside Atlantis. In the post credits scene, Orm is jailed at Belle Reve Prison, and is approached by Lex Luthor who has a proposition for him to consider.

JUSTICE LEAGUE THRONE OF ATLANTIS TRAILER