Warning: Contains spoilers for Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong #2!
Superheroes often have an iconic weakness, like Aquaman has a hidden weakness that is much more embarrassing. The Atlantean hero has often been ridiculed in popular culture, despite often being portrayed as an awesome character in the comics. The latest revelation about his weaknesses is likely to only add fodder to the people who view him as a joke.
Aquaman is simultaneously a superhero and the king of the undersea nation of Atlantis. He takes both of his roles very seriously, even becoming the leader of the Justice League at one point. Despite the incredibly cool dual nature of the character his powers leave much to be desired. While he does have some degree of super strength, Aquaman’s most notable powers revolve around the ocean and aquatic life. This can make him seem useless in terrestrial conflicts (even if this isn’t the case). His weakness is also connected to his aquatic nature, and while it is slightly silly, it can also be incredibly deadly.
In Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong #2, written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Vasco Georgiev, Aquaman and the Flash finally directly confront the alien threat that has entranced everybody on Earth. Upon entering the alien ship, Flash is immediately struck by a terrible smell, but Aquaman reveals that he is unaffected by it. Living most of his life in the ocean has left his sense of smell incredibly underdeveloped. It is unclear whether Aquaman has no sense of smell or just an incredibly weak one, but either way, given he can’t detect a scent that so affected Aquaman's teammate the Flash, it must be a serious deficiency.
While this may not seem like an important weakness at first, it is actually incredibly dangerous for Aquaman specifically. Royalty is often the target of assassinations involving poison, often in food or drink. Taste is one of a human’s natural defenses against this ploy, as noticing that a meal tastes off can reveal the presence of poison hidden within. But Aquaman doesn’t have this defense mechanism, making the king of Atlantis especially susceptible to this sort of attack. On the superhero side of his life, poison gas is a relatively common weapon, which can often be detected by smell. But given his weakness, if one of his villains ever used a gas weapon against him, he might not even figure out they were using gas until it is too late.
The ostensibly lame nature of this weakness fits Aquaman incredibly well. He is a character who may seem silly at first glance but is actually incredibly awesome. A lack of smell may not seem too serious initially, but on further inspection it is extremely dangerous, just like Aquaman himself.
Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong #2 is now available from DC Comics.
