Aquaman Will Probably Lose His Hand In The Lost Kingdom - Here's Why
Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is headed back to the movies for another aquatic adventure. "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is on its way to theaters, and it sees the Atlantean Justice Leaguer take on a dangerous and familiar foe: Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). He's gunning for Aquaman's head with an upgraded suit and the mysterious and powerful Black Trident in hand, still seeking revenge for the death of his father, Jesse Kane (Michael Beach). During their battle, it's entirely likely that Aquaman will lose one of his hands — if director James Wan takes inspiration from the character's comic history.
To fully grasp this "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" theory, it's important to recall two key comic stories. In the pages of 1994's "Aquaman" #2, Arthur Curry has his hand forced into a pool infested with piranhas, who literally ate it off of his arm. Decades earlier, during the "Aquaman: Death of a Prince" story from the 1970s, Manta kills Aquaman's infant son, who is revealed in the "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" trailer to now exist in the film universe.
Since it's unlikely Warner Bros. wants to depict the murder of a baby in a colorful superhero blockbuster, it's possible that Wan's sequel takes inspiration from the DC Animated Universe, where DC fuses these two storylines. In that continuity, Aquaman cuts off his own hand specifically to save the life of his son. Thus, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" can introduce the titular hero's harpoon hand to the live-action DC realm, at least for a bit. Should Momoa's Aquaman endure at the movies and somehow fit in the rebooted DC Universe, he can always get his hand back, just like his comic counterpart eventually did.
If Momoa's Aquaman loses his hand, he could eventually get it back
Aquaman's prosthetic hand has a fascinating DC Comics history, and it sticks around for a fair amount of time. The original harpoon that he attaches to his arm after his dismemberment is destroyed shortly after it is introduced and is replaced by an upgraded one. However, "Aquaman" #51 does away with the harpoon and sees Arthur Curry take on a new arm attachment as the 1999 issue introduces a robotic hand for the hero to use against the forces of evil. Of course, this doesn't last too long either.
Thanks to the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, Aquaman is given a hand made completely of water before things get a bit weird for the character. In "Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis" #57 — the final issue of a series dedicated to Arthur's successor, Arthur Joseph Curry — it comes to light that Arthur has become a magical being known as the Dweller in the Depths. The Dweller is killed a few issues before this is revealed, but the original Aquaman's story doesn't end there. DC's massive "Blackest Night" storyline brings him back from the dead with his original hand intact.
It stands to reason that the minds behind the DC film and television slate won't go through this much rigmarole to give Jason Momoa's Aquaman his hand back — assuming he'll lose it in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" to begin with — but the fact that he lost and regained is in the comics goes to show that the harpoon doesn't have to be a feature of the character forever.