4. He's A Household Name
Aquaman probably sold so well because of the approach that Geoff Johns took with the tale. Although the consistent Family Guy, The Big Bang Theory and Robot Chicken barbs, among others, regarding a 'useless' Aquaman may have stung and hampered Orin's reputation, it at least afforded the guy exposure not seen to many second-tier heroes. Geoff Johns' response, when crafting a new Aquaman book, was to meet this criticism head-on, making Aquaman a figure that has been openly mocked within the DCU as well as without. During a daring rescue in issue #1, somebody offers him a glass of water, for example. However, this is offset by showcasing Aquaman's new powers, lifting trucks on the end of his trident, shrugging off bullets like flies and summoning sharks to devour hordes of parademons. Johns quickly abandoned the laughing stock angle after he initially addressed it; his point made in the very first issue, he instead focused on simply delivering a good read.