defeats them but is forced to leave her family to protect them from her people. She promises to return when safe to do so and goes back to Atlantis, entrusting her advisor, Nuidis Vulko, to train Arthur. Becoming a skilled warrior, Arthur rejects Atlantis upon learning that Atlanna was executed by Orvax for loving a human and having a half-breed son. In the present, Arthur has become known as the metahuman dubbed as the "Aquaman" by the public. One year after Steppenwolf's defeat, Arthur confronts pirates hijacking a Russian Akula-class submarine. Their leader is killed in a failed attempt to kill Arthur, and the leader's son David vows revenge. The present king Orm Marius, Orvax's son (who is now Atlantis's new ruler after his father died) and Arthur's younger half-brother, convinces King Nereus of Xebel to help unite Atlantis and destroy the surface world for polluting the oceans. If Orm unites all four kingdoms, he will receive the title of Ocean Master, commander of the most powerful force on the planet. Nereus agrees to help after they are attacked by the hijacked submarine. Nereus' daughter Mera, betrothed to Orm, refuses to aid them and requests Arthur's help. Although refusing at first, Arthur accompanies her back to Atlantis after Orm sends a tidal wave that nearly kills his father. There, Vulko urges him to find the Trident of Atlan, a magic artifact of Atlantis' first ruler, to reclaim his rightful place as king. They are ambushed by Orm's men, and Arthur is captured. Orm blames him for Atlanna's death and nearly kills him in a duel before Mera rescues him. Arthur and Mera journey to the fallen Kingdom of the Deserters hidden under the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, Italy, where they retrieve the trident's coordinates. Orm gives David a prototype Atlantean battle suit to kill Arthur, imprisons Vulko, and coerces the Kingdom of the Fishermen to pledge their allegiance to him by killing their king and forcing the queen and princess to accept. It is also revealed that Orm hired David and his father to hijack the Russian submarine (which is the same one that attacked Atlantis earlier) to win Nereus's support. An armored David rechristens himself as Black Manta and injures Arthur, but Arthur manages to defeat David. At their destination, Arthur and Mera fend off amphibious