Warning! Spoilers for Aquaman: The Becoming #1 ahead!
The future Aquaman has begun training for his future role in a much more ethical version of the X-Men's Danger Room. Being a superhero requires a lot of physical work, especially for heroes who spend most of their time in extreme conditions, such as Aquaman and his allies. To keep up in sporting shape and develop one’s skills, most superhero teams and wealthy heroes make use of dedicated training spaces. While the X-Men’s particular approach to a training room is downright heinous, Aquaman steers clear of this sin.
In Aquaman: The Becoming #1 by Brandon Thomas and Diego Olortegui, current Aqualad and future Aquaman Jackson Hyde, continues to prepare and train himself to take up the mantle. After practicing in the Curry family grotto in Atlantis, Hyde journeys to the surface to reconnect with his mother and deal with a low level criminal threatening Amnesty Bay. When he returns to Atlantis to continue his training, Aqualad finds himself attacked by a mysterious, Atlantean-armor clad figure. After a fierce fight, and a series of explosions, Aqualad awakens to find himself surrounded by Atlantean peacekeepers, and under arrest for terrorist acts.
Aqualad’s training in Atlantis takes place in a virtual reality nanite pool housed in the Curry family grotto. This pool fills a role similar to facilities in other heroes' bases, like the Xavier Institute's Danger Room or the numerous training modules Batman installs in the Batcave and his safehouses. The Curry family grotto utilizes virtual reality and nanite simulation to recreate a variety of environments and scenarios, giving it vast flexibility that only really compares to the X-Men's legendary Danger Room. This flexibility, and the fact that the room’s user is completely safe during the training, are not the only advantages that Aquaman’s version of the Danger Room has; it is also far more ethical than the X-Men’s classic training facility of choice.
The X-Men’s Danger Room is a cutting-edge, technological wonder that allows young mutants with all sorts of powers to sharpen their skills and learn to effectively use their unique gifts. This versatility is impressive, especially given the number of students who enroll in Xavier’s school, though it is not without a great, and chilling cost. While utilizing hyper-advanced Shi'ar technology to create realistic environments and training programs in the Danger Room, Professor Xavier discovered that the artificial intelligence that powered the room became self aware. Xavier made the choice to ignore this and effectively enslaved the AI (later named "Danger") to fulfill his school's needs. While the Danger Room allowed the X-Men to hone their skills, one would think enslaving a sentient being, organic or synthetic, would run counter to Charles Xavier’s typically lofty morals.
Interestingly, Aquaman’s virtual reality training program is not the only instance of a humane Danger Room in the DC universe. Tim Drake aka Robin, set up his own Danger Room for the Bat-family codenamed the “Mudroom," which was powered entirely by a consenting, reformed Clayface. While a living, sentient intelligence may be necessary to create a compelling Danger Room, it appears that enslavement is not a necessary part of the equation, and Aquaman has figured out the best way to implement the space.
Training and exercise are key parts of most hero’s routines, and often requires specialist equipment to do so well. While the X-Men have implemented an iconic and efficient Danger Room, the cost of it was the enslavement of a sentient being. Aquaman utilizes advanced Atlantean nanotechnology to create a space that allows heroes to train in a safe environment, with a variety of scenarios, without requiring the bondage of a keen mind.