Aquaman 36: Taking Down a Tyrant
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"The Assassination of King Rath"
Creative Team:
Dan Abnett - Writer, Riccardo Federici - Artist. Sunny Gho - Colorist, Steve Wands - Letterer, Stjepan Sejic - Cover, Andrea Shea - Assistant Editor, Alex Antone - Editor, Brian Cunningham - Group Editor, Aquaman Created by Paul Norris
DC Comics' Solicitation:
"Aquaman and the resistance hatch a new plan to assassinate King Rath and end the Atlantean Civil War! But even with a double agent strategically placed inside Rath’s inner circle, the resistance may not stand a chance, as Rath’s new magical abilities make him more lethal—and unstable—than ever before!"
From the beginning, we see Arthur and Murk disagreeing over whether they capture or kill Corum Rath when they get to the palace. Murk, seeing the king's downward spiral firsthand, sees no other option but to assassinate him while Arthur would prefer to put him on trial. At this point they do not fully know what the king has become (see my posts on issue 34 and 35 for more detail), and they have no idea how hard it will be to subdue him. This is no longer merely a mortal, but someone so incredibly consumed by darkness that it has literally turned him into a monster. When the time comes, Corum Rath easily takes down Murk and has Aquaman on the ropes. Murk derides Arthur for not taking the kill shot which allowed both of them to be captured.
As I see it, Aquaman 36 brings up both a 4th and 5th Commandment issue. Is it okay to dissent against our leaders when they have fallen away from what is right? Furthermore, is it ever acceptable to take a life, even if it may saves the lives of others? In regards to the first question, I would argue that if the leader is clearly going against God's will it is our duty to raise the concerns. In this issue, Corum Rath is certainly far beyond a simple error in judgement and demeanor. He has been possessed by darkness and is even slaughtering those who remained loyal until recently. Is assassination in this context justified? The Biblical answer would seem to be yes. In Judges 3:12-30 we read that God sent Ehud to deliver the Israelites from the tyrannical leader of the Moabites named Eglon. He assassinated the king, and Israel was free from the evil Moabite rule. We should be careful not to take this story as an excuse to kill anyone who opposes us. However, we are also called to care for the least of these. We are to come to their defense, and at extreme times that may mean deposing a leader. Certainly, if we find ourselves at such a point in time, we should first come to our Lord in prayer. We should seek guidance from the Eternal One before entering into such a plan.
Taking Down a Tyrant
This issue revolves around two central themes, the morality of assassinating a tyrant as well as what it means to be consumed by evil. The latter is something we have wrestled with for a few issues now, and it seems like the author is really building this as a central point for this extended arc. Corum Rath is nearing his transformation to pure darkness, going as far as killing every dissenter he encounters. This will surely force Aquaman's hand in the coming issues. He may be faced with the decision to kill the King or try one last attempt to capture and remove the tyrant. I wish we had gotten to that decision in this issue, but I am still intrigued with the plot threads that need to be resolved.From the beginning, we see Arthur and Murk disagreeing over whether they capture or kill Corum Rath when they get to the palace. Murk, seeing the king's downward spiral firsthand, sees no other option but to assassinate him while Arthur would prefer to put him on trial. At this point they do not fully know what the king has become (see my posts on issue 34 and 35 for more detail), and they have no idea how hard it will be to subdue him. This is no longer merely a mortal, but someone so incredibly consumed by darkness that it has literally turned him into a monster. When the time comes, Corum Rath easily takes down Murk and has Aquaman on the ropes. Murk derides Arthur for not taking the kill shot which allowed both of them to be captured.
As I see it, Aquaman 36 brings up both a 4th and 5th Commandment issue. Is it okay to dissent against our leaders when they have fallen away from what is right? Furthermore, is it ever acceptable to take a life, even if it may saves the lives of others? In regards to the first question, I would argue that if the leader is clearly going against God's will it is our duty to raise the concerns. In this issue, Corum Rath is certainly far beyond a simple error in judgement and demeanor. He has been possessed by darkness and is even slaughtering those who remained loyal until recently. Is assassination in this context justified? The Biblical answer would seem to be yes. In Judges 3:12-30 we read that God sent Ehud to deliver the Israelites from the tyrannical leader of the Moabites named Eglon. He assassinated the king, and Israel was free from the evil Moabite rule. We should be careful not to take this story as an excuse to kill anyone who opposes us. However, we are also called to care for the least of these. We are to come to their defense, and at extreme times that may mean deposing a leader. Certainly, if we find ourselves at such a point in time, we should first come to our Lord in prayer. We should seek guidance from the Eternal One before entering into such a plan.
Finally, Corum Rath is a spot-on example of man as we become consumed with sin. At first, his selfish aspirations seemed harmless enough for the people of Atlantis. However, just gaining the throne was not enough for him. Once he was king, he closed down the city and built a barrier to keep traffic from leaving or arriving. As the people began to grumble he started killing. Finally, to take the city-state back for good he allowed himself to be consumed by the darkest of magic known as the Abyssal Dark. This transformed him into the creature we see in the issue. For us, we often start with a simple selfish desire. Left unchecked we too can be consumed by the darkness known as sin. Praise be to God we have a Savior who not only encountered the darkness, but defeated it for us on the Cross! We are welcomed to the Light of Christ rather than surrendered to the darkness of sin, death, and the devil.
Final Thoughts
Aquaman has a decision to make. Will he go through with an assassination plot, or will he seek justice in a more democratic fashion? I believe you could argue the merits of either approach from Scripture, but above all, know that you don't have to wrestle with this or any decision alone. Your God loves you and welcomes you to come to Him with any cares or concerns you may have. You are welcome into the Light of Christ's Kingdom. Only through Him can you leave the darkness of sin behind you and be called a Child of God.
What did you think of this issue? I would love to talk about it with you. You can comment below, or find me @behindthecapes on Twitter, or by liking the Behind the Capes Facebook page. Also, something new, Behind the Capes has a group called Behind the Capes' Nerd Out Round Table, where we talk about a bunch of geeky stuff. It is technically a closed group, but anyone can join if they agree to the simple rules laid out in the group. I would love for this group to grow!
What did you think of this issue? I would love to talk about it with you. You can comment below, or find me @behindthecapes on Twitter, or by liking the Behind the Capes Facebook page. Also, something new, Behind the Capes has a group called Behind the Capes' Nerd Out Round Table, where we talk about a bunch of geeky stuff. It is technically a closed group, but anyone can join if they agree to the simple rules laid out in the group. I would love for this group to grow!
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