After cameoing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earlier this year, Jason Momoa's Aquaman will make his full cinematic debut in 2017's Justice League when he teams up with other notable heroes from the DC Extended Universe. Even better, he won't be the only underwater hero involved in the story. Also joining him will be Mera, the future queen of Atlantis and the love of his life. Months after it was announced that Amber Heard would play the heroine, the first look at her character has finally been released.
As you can tell from the concept art above, the DCEU Mera' appearance will be quite faithful to her comic book counterpart, retaining the green costume, crown, red hair, etc. It also looks like she'll have the same water-manipulating powers, if the glowing around her hands is any indication. If you want to see the full image, head over to IGN, which has also posted a still of Amber Heard as Mera on location during Justice League's principal photography. It's hard to tell exactly where, although production did move from London to Iceland, so perhaps she's hanging out on the Icelandic coast. Here's the still below.
Mera has been a key figure in the Aquaman mythos since the early 1960s, and since Justice League will be delving into Arthur Curry Atlantean life, it was only logical that Mera would be included. She won't be part of the movie's Justice League lineup, but don't think that doesn't mean she won't jump into action if necessary. Not only does she have special abilities like breathing underwater and enhanced strength, she can mentally form "hard water" objects with her mind. Whether the DCEU will attribute this water manipulation talent to her originally hailing from the underwater penal colony of Xebel or simply being a "special" Atlantean has yet to be revealed. Regardless, it's good to see that as far as Mera's look goes, director Zack Snyder, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and the rest of the Justice League crew nailed it.
While the Justice League footage screened this past summer at San Diego Comic-Con showed that Batman will have trouble recruiting Aquaman into his team of heroes, we know that eventually, the aquatic hero will join the ranks. At some point in this story, though, moviegoers will get a taste of Aquaman's life under the surface, and that's where Mera will come into the picture. It's also worth reminding readers that she won't be the only Atlantean from Aquaman's personal life appearing in Justice League, as Willem Dafoe will play Nuidis Vulko, one of the top advisers to the Atlantean royalty.
Justice League arrives on November 17, 2017, and following that, Amber Heard's Mera will return for Aquaman, which swims into theaters on July 27, 2018.
