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Aquaman is set to make huge waves this week, as the film comes crashing into theatres. The film has already made a killing in the Chinese Box Office, garnering approximately $94 million. At the rate in which the film is going, it is set to rival Warner Bros. highest grossing film so far in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), Wonder Woman. Speaking of rivalries, Wonder Woman and Aquaman have always struck me as two incredibly distinct and yet similar individuals. They both draw their powers from ancient Greek gods and children are of two worlds. They’re both founding members of the Justice League and both of them have long, luscious hair.
Well, this version of Aquaman at least. One might assume that their shared heritage and cultural connections might have them be the best of pals. Well, that’s not necessarily the case. In the past, the two have been locked in a bitter and bloody battle. One only need look at the time both the Atlanteans and Amazonians went to war in DC’s original animated film, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. Which I highly recommend you do because it is all sorts of Elseworld crazy and badass. Both Diana and Arthur risked annihilating the whole world by sea and sword just so they could kill each other!
We’re settling score right here and now by pitting these two formidable warriors against each other in an all-out battle to the death. We’ll be taking everything into account from battle tactics to magical abilities and artefacts. They’ll also be fighting with their fullest potential with Diana unlocking her Olympian abilities and Arthur wielding the Trident of Atlantis. This is it people! The exiled Princess of Themyscira against prodigal King of Atlantis. Let’s go!
Background
I suppose the gentlemanly thing to do would be to have Wonder Woman go first. Diana is the offspring of her Amazonian mother Hippolyta and the ruler of the Greek pantheon of gods, Zeus. She was raised among the Amazonians, a group of elite women warriors created by the god himself to defend humanity from their own destructive tendencies, and Ares. Ares had murdered all of his divine kin safe Zeus who died, giving his life to stop Ares, wounding him severely.
And so, Diana grew up among her Amazonian sisters, unaware of her true family. Her mother kept this hidden from her by revealing to her that she was a child formed from clay. But upon encountering a man by the name of Steve Trevors, Hippolyta knew she could no longer Diana from her destiny. The demigod embarked on her mission to bring divine justice, love and peace to man’s world. From the Germans of the First World War to the Parademons of Apokolips, Wonder Woman shall face them all.
It looks like it’s time for my man, Arthur Curry! From what we know as of now, Arthur is the son of lighthouse keeper, Thomas Curry and Queen Atlanna of Atlantis. His mother had left him when he was a young child to return to her duties as queen, meaning he grew up mostly in the surface world. It was only later in life when Arthur would begin to manifest his more Atlantean qualities, being able to breathe underwater and telepathically communicate with marine-based lifeforms. At some point, he discovered the truth of his identity and began training under a mentor by the name of Vulko.
But one reason or another, he never claimed his rightful place as King of Atlantis and instead opted to live his life on the surface world. Before being called to duty by Bruce Wayne to be a member of the Justice League, Curry spent most of his days hanging out in a bar in Iceland. He did, however, return to Atlantis for a brief period of time in an effort to stop the New God general Steppenwolf from acquiring a piece of technology known as the Mother Box. Interestingly enough, Aquaman and Wonder Woman’s ancestors had fought Steppenwolf, side-by-side in the past. After saving the surface world from the terrors of Apokolips, Arthur must now stop a war between his people and humanity by claiming his birthright as King of Atlantis.
Strength And Abilities
There’s little doubt that the two of these combatants are stronger than the average human. Both are capable of using superhuman strength, being able to stand toe-to-toe with Parademons and the baddies the likes of Steppenwolf. To a certain degree, each of them has also shown an aptitude for superspeed (though not quite on par with Flash). We’ve seen Wonder Woman effortlessly take down a room full of armed soldiers and robbers with dazzling speed and grace. Aquaman is a highly proficient swimmer capable of swimming up to Mach 4.6 and as shown in Justice League is capable of moving at immense speed on land. In the film, he managed to gather enough momentum to leap onto a speeding Batmobile. No small feat mind you.
As for durability, Aquaman being half-Atlantean means that he’s able to take intense pressure and projectiles seeing that his people have to survive below the sea. This makes his skin near-impervious to normal bullets or conventional armaments. That being said, Wonder Woman is a freaking half demigod, half superhuman hybrid. She is capable of taking massive hits from heavy hitters like Doomsday and Superman and still come back for more. She even killed a god! Arthur does have some tricks up his sleeves, being able to call sea creatures to aid him in battle but that could easily be countered by Diana’s electrokinesis. When not holding back, Diana can tap into her father’s powers to launch deadly bolts of lightning at her foes. She could easily turn Aquaman’s army of ocean predators to oversize fish sticks. In terms of sheer power, It’s safe to say that Diana probably has the upper hand over Arthur.
Battle Prowess
Strength isn’t always the determining factor, however. Sometimes a more physically capable opponent could be overcome with the right amount of skills. Unfortunately for Aquaman, he would be outmatched here as well. Credit where credit is due, Aquaman is rather proficient with the occasional trident or quintrent. During the final battle in Justice League, he was absolute beast with the quintrent, slaughtering Parademons left, right and centre. He was also able to launch it with incredible speed and accuracy. As for hand to hand combat, he isn’t so much of a martial artists than he is a mean brawler. He’s also able to make use of his body weight and inertia when he’s underwater for combative purposes. A skill that does make him a unique and impressive opponent. As far as strategies go, he’s a more improvisational than he is analytical. Meaning he can seem like a bit of a reckless jackass from time to time.
Diana, on the other hand, is Themyscira’s best warrior. I mean where do I even begin on her repertoire? She’s skilled in the art of hand-to-hand combat and wrestling. She’s comfortable using a multitude of weapons from swords to bows to lassos. She has had more than 100 years of experience under her belt as a warrior. She’s naturally fluent in all human languages! Which means she probably can’t talk to fish so we’ll give Aquaman that. She is incredibly wise and intelligent, having travelled around the world of man and picking up multiple skills along the way. She can even school Batman on a thing or two about cosmic beings, alien technology and ancient history. Admittedly, she has been shown to be a tad naive in her younger days but in her prime now, she carries the wisdom of the gods and mankind. Sorry Curry but I imagine it’s pretty hard to get the drop an immortal century old guardian of humanity.
Weapons of War
I know it’s looking a little grim for Aquaman but there may be a way Arthur can turn it all around. The weapons currently in Wonder Woman’s possession consists of the Sword of Athena, her Amazonian shield, her Bracelets of Submission and her trusty Lasso of Hestia. The sword probably isn’t your regular old sword seeing that it’s strong enough to hack off Doomsday’s hand. Her shield is a certainly no joke either, being able to withstand bullets and energy blasts without so much as a dent. Combining her demigoddess like powers, she is able to create a massive discharge of energy when slaps her bracelets together. A blast strong enough to launch enemies flying away and even collapse a bridge in Justice League. Her Lasso of Hestia compels her enemies to reveal the truth and if they resist the effects of the lasso, it’s also capable of radiating heat. Holy shit, the woman is armed to the teeth but one thing she doesn’t have is the power of the Trident.
Aquaman’s Trident of Atlantis allows him to discharge and control lightning bolts at the user’s whim and only answers to the true King of Atlantis. So if Wonder Woman does try to throw a few bolts his way, Aquaman could easily counter that with his trident. Moreover, the wielder possesses the power of hydrokinesis. Meaning that Aquaman can control any body of water within the area. The applications for it is endless. He could gather the humidity of an area and freeze it into ice. He could form huge tidal waves by drawing water from his surroundings. But most importantly, he could drain his opponent of all water content in their body…turning them into a dry husk. I mean the human body is basically 70% water. Though Diana’s body might not exactly have the same physiology as humans, she is capable of experiencing fatigue in battle, thus making her vulnerable. If Aquaman can survive his fight with her long enough to drain her of all essential liquids, he very well could defeat her.
Verdict
Regardless of environmental factors, it is my humble opinion that Wonder Woman would dominate the battlefield. Aquaman might be able to harness the powers of a god but Wonder Woman is pretty much one herself! Even if Aquaman threw the entire ocean at Diana, I have no doubt that she’ll be able to knock back the tide with her bracelets and send Arthur’s host of the deep packing. I mean this is a woman who single-handedly took down whole battalions of armed German soldiers, while she was still naive and inexperienced! A Wonder Woman in her prime would be bloody scary to fight. Perhaps if Aquaman tries to bloodbend Diana, he may stand a chance but I still believe she’d find a way to outmanoeuvre the guy.
Aquaman would probably get a few good shots in but eventually, his recklessness and inexperience would be his downfall. If Diana is out to kill with her sword and shield, she will no doubt use her superior battle prowess and god-like strength to get the job done. And if you’re ever in doubt, I reiterate that you should check out the animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. It’ll pretty much settle the score for you. It looks like the Amazonian Princess would prove the would-be ruler’s downfall should they even cross sword and trident. Wonder no more who is the greater of the two. So what do you guys think? Were you rooting for Wonder Woman the whole way? Or do you believe Aquaman would have left swimming with the fishes? Be sure to let us know in the comments down below and tell us who you’d like to see next our versus arena! .
And if you’d like to talk movies with me, you can hit me up here: @cinesam
