It was the first week in October when social media went abuzz with widespread sharing of the second trailer for James Wan’s Aquaman, after it was presented at New York Comic Con. The extended trailer (which runs over five minutes in length) gives us a look at Jason Momoa’s titular hero, framed within such iconic landscapes as the rocky shoreline of Maine, the barren Sahara, (what we may have misinterpreted as) South America rooftops and CGI interpretations of life beneath the deepest reaches of the sea. And with visionary director Wan at the helm, it goes without saying that the visuals are breathtaking, inevitably prompting many to head to the theaters come December in search of the Trident of Atlantis.
And while seemingly unrelated, a tenuous link between the film and 2018 automotive sales statistics present an interesting statistic. Specifically, we’re talking about the banner year experienced by iconic Italian automaker Maserati whose badging is (of course) a trident. From the Ghibli (which is, admittedly, almost twice the price I’d pay for a base sedan) to the head-swiveling Quattroporte, Maserati is at the top of their design game. From the viewpoint of the discriminating driver with money to burn, there are very few nitpicks one can level at the automaker. Even the line-topping GT Convertible, with a starting price of $150,000 has been warmly received by enthusiasts, contributing to the brand’s strength of sale.
And like all marketing initiatives worth their salt, these two scenarios serve as a perfect case study of how organic trends can begin. While certainly a part of the Aquaman mythos, the trailer indicates that pursuit of the trident will be a major plot point in the film. As such, it goes without saying that tridents of both plastic and foam will be littered throughout toy sections, and propped up behind Christmas trees this year. You might even find them in more opulent neighborhoods, where aspirational vehicles like the Maserati are left in driveways (complete with giant red ribbon) like some sort of super-biased gift from Santa. Bottom-line, it appears that tridents are all the range as we edge towards 2019.
And no-one is more excited about the spike in popularity fueled by this newfound trending than legacy-Trident artisan, Donovan Deal. A technical engineer by trade, Mr. Deal has spent most of his life experimenting with oft-forgotten pastimes as blacksmithing, smelting and metallurgy.
“It’s a passion that’s been handed down through my family for generations. And while, as a trade, it hasn’t been profitable enough to serve as my primary source of income, there’s no way I’d rather spend my spare time than shaping steel. Plus, what can I say? I love me a trident.”
And it’s that love of three-pronged weaponry that propelled Deal from a part-time hobbyist to securing commissioned projects at local Renaissance Fairs, to operating a growing online business that would eventually equate to an additional fifty-thousand dollars of annual supplemental income.
“I’ve gotten almost a hundred new orders in the last month, alone. And while I’d love to think it’s because I make amazing custom tridents, I have to recognize the fact that Aquaman and Maserati have played a role in my growing success. I mean, tridents haven’t been THIS popular since that one time Steve Carell’s characters used one to kill a guy during the news team streetlight in the Anchorman films. Unfortunately, that was a momentary fad, and the few sales I had were from disgruntled meteorologists with a proverbial axe to grind.”
So what is Donovan Deal planning to do with his newfound influx of income? Well, according to him, his next investments might just return the favor paid to him by DC Comic Films and Maserati.
“I’m going to buy myself a brand new Italian luxury SUV, and take my family to the movies,” Deal shares with a gleam in his eye. “And yes, the car will be a Maserati and the movie will be Aquaman,” he clarifies, adding “and then I’m probably going to buy my way into an elite underground meteorologist trident fight club. Are those really a thing?”
They are, of course. But, unfortunately for Donovan Deal, the first rule of Meteorologist Trident Fight Club is that you don’t talk about Meteorologist Trident Fight Club.
