Beneath the Deep: Black Manta Appreciation 2019

[nj06]

Ivan Reis draws a great Black Manta, Siren, and Aquaman. I definitely miss his art on the title. Post the DCnU reboot, I think Reis made Black Manta look great.

[Korath]

Black Manta always look great in comics (at least since the New 52 but even his prior looks were great to me), but I wonder if DC will try to synergize his look with the movie's in the future ?

I mean, as far as the Aquaman books goes, the last time he played a major part was early Rebirth with N.E.M.O. and more recently, he was left for dead during Drowned Earth, if I remember right.

He needs to make a triumphant come back sooner or later.

[DrNewGod]

Yeah, I could get down with that.

Of course, with Manta back in the armor and the Neron days long behind us, I'm not sure how much use Devil Ray would be (unless they made him the manta monster?), but I wouldn't be against him arriving in the comics at all if the writers could find a hook for him that set him apart from Manta, and treating him as more of the "businessman" trying to keep the operation going could be a solid start.

Lots of superheroes have sidekicks, why not Manta? It would give Aqualad a natural enemy of his own.

I think the reason for that is that they swept it under the rug by writing it was all a lie to trick his subordinates or something like that. Now they've doubled down with the rage machine hate feud angle with Manta which, while one dimensional, has been plenty fun playing with. DC dropped the social conscious angle with their black characters a while ago; John Stewart is supposed to be a social activist but when was the last story where they've played two that? I don't think DC is interested in exploring social themes right now.

That's a sad waste. It would be difficult to navigate without making an anti-hero of him, but it could make for really interesting stories.

[Ascended]

Lots of superheroes have sidekicks, why not Manta? It would give Aqualad a natural enemy of his own.

That could work too. I do enjoy a good villainous sidekick.

[Hatut Zeraze]

How about a 6-issue Black Manta Team-Up mini-series? It could be kinda like Marvel's old Super-Villain Team-Up title, except with Black Manta every issue teaming up with one strange DC character after another.

[lemonpeace]

How about a 6-issue Black Manta Team-Up mini-series? It could be kinda like Marvel's old Super-Villain Team-Up title, except with Black Manta every issue teaming up with one strange DC character after another.

That would be great! Having him paired off with different villains would be a really interesting read. But not the go-to's like Lex or Joker, have him try to weaponize Solomon Grundy or utilize Black Hand (bring him out the source wall) to counter Aquaman's Life Force, or team-up with Cheetah to find some amazonian/atlantian relic or something. It could be interesting.

[ArsonoptiX]

Ivan Reis draws a great Black Manta, Siren, and Aquaman. I definitely miss his art on the title. Post the DCnU reboot, I think Reis made Black Manta look great.

See we got a good start here with the arm gauntlets...just need to angle the helmet more and throw on some chest armor. BUT this is a great look. No disrespect to the great Alex Ross, but his Manta went the way of the Superfriends look. I had always wondered why his helmet sat so high...like does he see out of the neck part and not the eyes( man I hope that makes sense)? I like the helmet to sit lower.

[Lightning Rider]

I loved Ross' take on him.
Attachment 77179
People seem to forget something about him: he was a huge socially concious statement way back in the late 1960s.

Sure he was selfish and villainous, but racism helped make him what he became, and part of his goal was to secure a place for his people (under his absolute rule, of course). Folks rave about Magneto being an anti-hero, and lose their minds over Michael B. Jordan's complex and compelling Killmonger; Haney and Cardy gave us all that in Black Manta decades earlier.

Yep, loved the design and the racial theme Ross continued.

[Lee-Sensei]

I loved Ross' take on him.
Attachment 77179
People seem to forget something about him: he was a huge socially concious statement way back in the late 1960s.

Sure he was selfish and villainous, but racism helped make him what he became, and part of his goal was to secure a place for his people (under his absolute rule, of course). Folks rave about Magneto being an anti-hero, and lose their minds over Michael B. Jordan's complex and compelling Killmonger; Haney and Cardy gave us all that in Black Manta decades earlier.

IIRC, they only revealed that he was black in the late 70’s.

[DrNewGod]

IIRC, they only revealed that he was black in the late 70’s.

Didn't realize that. Still puts him out in front of Magneto by years.

[Korath]

That could work too. I do enjoy a good villainous sidekick.

I don't think it would work with Black Manta. He's so single-minded when it comes to hunting down Aquaman that I can't see him caring about a sidekick.

[lemonpeace]

I don't think it would work with Black Manta. He's so single-minded when it comes to hunting down Aquaman that I can't see him caring about a sidekick.

I believe Manta as he exist now wouldn't fit but Manta when he's the head of an enterprise, as he existed in YJ for example; that could work.

[lemonpeace]

[Korath]

I believe Manta as he exist now wouldn't fit but Manta when he's the head of an enterprise, as he existed in YJ for example; that could work.

true.

Now, transitioning him from the savage killer to the more noble villain he was in YJ would require time, patience and craftmanship.

[KC]

This is my favourite piece of Black Manta art. I love how Joshua Middleton draws him.


Geoff Johns is my favourite Black Manta writer. His origin for Manta was great and added a great dimension to his hatred of Arthur. I also love how savage his Manta is.