This ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Character Completely Steals the Show

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’

The Big Picture

• Arthur enlists the help of his half-brother Orm to stop Black Manta’s destructive quest for vengeance.
• Orm’s transformation from villain to hero in ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is a standout character arc.
• Orm provides levity, growth, and a foil to Arthur, ultimately earning a happy ending in the film.

The DCEU may be saying a complicated goodbye with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but at least the sequel leaves us with one of its best character arcs. It should come as no surprise that the one true king of Atlantis, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), is very much the main focus of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In his ultimately final adventure, Arthur must once again face the vengeful Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who has now gotten his hands on a weapon of mass destruction capable of melting the polar ice caps.

In order to stop Black Manta’s deranged quest to destroy the world, Arthur will need some assistance that the rest of his friends and family simply can’t provide. He needs help from someone who has a history of working with Manta and has insight into his battle tactics. That someone ends up being Aquaman’s disgraced and imprisoned little half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson). Despite Orm being the main villain of the original Aquaman film, the journey he goes on in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom makes him the movie’s standout character, and the formerly villainous king ends up completely stealing the show.

Orm Was the Tyrannical Ocean Master in 2018’s ‘Aquaman’

When his mother, Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), was banished to the Trench for deserting the Atlantean kingdom, Orm blamed his half-human, half-Atlantean brother, Arthur. Where Arthur was raised in the loving home of a humble lighthouse keeper, Orm was raised as a ruthless soldier, with the seeds of resentment towards the surface world being sown in him at a very young age. When the time came for Orm to ascend the throne of Atlantis, he quickly began making preparations to destroy the humans that took his mother away and were actively polluting his oceans. To accomplish this act of war, Orm would resort to any means necessary to convince the other kingdoms his crusade was a just one.

First, Orm hires a group of human pirates to steal a submarine, so he can feign an attack on his prospective ally King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) and convince him that the humans were instigating a war against the ocean world. This operation is what led to Orm meeting David Kane, the man who would eventually become Black Manta. While Manta succeeds in getting the submarine for Orm, the raid results in Kane’s father being killed by Aquaman, officially instilling a desire for vengeance in the pirate.

Eventually, Orm comes face to face with his half-brother Arthur for the very first time, giving him the very brief opportunity to explain his lifelong hatred for him. Orm nearly kills Arthur in a duel, but the hero escapes along with Orm’s betrothed, Mera (Amber Heard). Orm still needs to get the support of the two other kingdoms, so he outsources the assassination of Arthur to David Kane, giving him an arsenal of Atlantean weaponry to do with as he pleases. Kane fails to kill Arthur, but Aquaman and Black Manta’s battle gives Orm enough time to declare war on the Brine Kingdom.

The climactic duel between Orm and Arthur is a fierce one, but one where Arthur ends up as the victor. Despite this, Orm refuses to yield, saying he would rather die than surrender. Orm’s tune changes when he learns that his mother is there with Arthur, surviving her many years of exile in the trench. With that, Orm finally surrenders for his crimes, with Arthur promising the two would catch up and talk later.

Orm is a Changed Man in ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’

The Orm we meet five years later in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is virtually unrecognizable to the villain we knew before, and it’s not just because he’s now malnourished and bearded when we first reunite with him. For his hostile take over attempts in the first movie, Orm was sentenced to a prison in the middle of a desert, stripping him of his ocean-based powers. When Black Manta returns to wreak havoc, Arthur is forced to break Orm out of that prison. Arthur also tells his brother he’s putting him back in jail, but surprisingly, Orm says he’ll turn himself in, as he feels he owes a debt to society for his crimes. That’s already a pretty big sign of character growth in someone who was practically irredeemable not long ago.

Another big surprise regarding Orm is how he is the best source of levity in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. His and Arthur’s unlikely team-up makes their chemistry with one another a delight to watch on screen, with Arthur’s fun-loving attitude clashing with Orm’s stoic demeanor. One of the funniest scenes in the whole movie is when the dynamic duo have to flee from some giant grasshoppers, and Arthur realizes that Orm doesn’t know how to run, since he’s never had to do it in the ocean.

Orm being a foil to Arthur also works effectively in the film’s narrative, not just its sense of humor. He serves as a reminder that Arthur is not an infallible character, and he still has a lot to learn as the King of Atlantis. When Orm and Arthur invade Black Manta’s base, they are interrupted by Dr. Shin (Randall Park), who offers his help in stopping Manta’s plan for world domination. Arthur is ready to knock out the scientist right then and there, but Orm (someone who has a long documented history of hating humans), tells him to stay his hand. This newfound compassion for humans continues moments later, when Orm stops himself from slaying a defeated Stingray (Jani Zhao).

In the final battle of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Orm proves beyond any reasonable doubt that he is not the villain he once was, even saving the lives of Nereus, Mera, and Arthur Jr. To pay back Orm for his bravery and selflessness, Arthur lets Orm go to start a new life. The film’s ending sees Orm starting that new life wearing a Jabberjaw t-shirt and trying one of those cheeseburgers that Arthur told him so much about. It’s somewhat sad that we likely won’t see this gripping character dynamic again with the upcoming reboot of the DCU, but at least Orm got a true happy ending as a reward for a phenomenal redemption arc.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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