Jason Momoa's look as Aquaman has been revealed, and based on the reactions across the Internet (the good seem to outweigh the bad at the moment), one thing's clear: Nobody was expecting this.
Zack Snyder, director of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the two planned Justice League movies, debuted Momoa's striking look on Twitter, and he of course knew that fans would immediately scrutinize the photo and completely pick it apart.
Who are we to refuse?
We took Snyder's washed-out image and turned up the color saturation to bring out its true colors (seen below), and we were surprised by some of the things we found. Here are 10 details from the image you may have missed that give us an indication of how much respect is being given to the source material — and how much the big-screen Aquaman will differ.
1. Golden Goodness
Aquaman sports an orange top in the comics, and Snyder is paying homage to that look with golden armor. Anybody else getting a a samurai vibe from the way the pieces are layered?
2. Scales
Check out the patterns on the armor. Look familiar? It should. It's meant to evoke the scales on the character's comic book uniform.
3. Inky Scales
Speaking of scales, take a look at the tattoos on Arthur Curry's other (bulging) arm. The pattern there matches the scaly pattern on the armor. If you can't afford armor for both shoulders, guess you have to go with the next best thing.
4. Tattoos
How about those tattoos all across his upper body, too. They look kind of tribal, like the ink sported by natives of some south Pacific island. Also: Dude is so hardcore, he actually has tats across his nipple. Ouch much?
5. That Empty Patch
Look at that last picture one more time. Notice anything strange? Boy, we do. What in the world is up with that big, black patch in the middle of the tattoo scales? It's obviously more tattoo work, but it looks bizarre. The subtle shadows along the edges make it appear that that patch is deeper than the rest of his skin. Almost like that bit of skin has been cut out and peeled off. We have no idea what this is or why, but ew.
6. The Hair!
Oh yeah, we're going there.
Remember in the comics when Aquaman went all Captain-Hook-meets-Zeus? He let his hair go, grew a beard, and was generally angry at the whole world. The look Aquaman sported during that period (which was around the time that Peter David wrote the book) seems to have inspired his look for the movies. Aside from the follicles, you can see the shoulder armor, the leather straps, the severe expression... It's all right there.
But we have to circle back to the hair. Jason Momoa had already told his fans that his Khal Drogo Aquaman would not have the blonde hair of his comic book counterpart. But hello, highlights! Somebody's been hittin' the product.
7. Going Green
If you were worried that your beloved Aquaman might lose his signature orange-and-green duds, fret not comic book fans. We already mentioned the gold of Momoa's armor. But turning up the image's saturation level revealed something we hadn't noticed at all from Snyder's original photo: his pants are green! There's only a sliver of them visible in the image, but here's a closeup to prove the glorious greenness.
8. Something's Fishy
The texture of his shoulders looks like dragon scales, but his pants look more like fish skin. Aaaaand we apologize for the image of Kevin Costner in Waterworld that just popped into your head.
9. A+
At least some things are sacred. Every hero needs a logo, an icon, and Aquaman's has always been on his belt. It's taken hundreds of form factors over the years, but it's always been in the rough shape of an "A." Momoa's costume keeps that, as well as the orange/gold color, but makes it much more slender. It kind of looks like the Assassin's Creed insignia, actually.
10. The Trident
This ain't no sissy weapon. Finnick Odair, eat your heart out.
