Terror to the Deep: Black Manta (David Hyde/Kane) Appreciation Thread 2021

[lemonpeace]

"My treasure? If you want it, you could have it! I left everything in this world in that place!"

-- Black Manta, at his execution when he turns himself in after finally killing Aquaman and plundering all of Atlantis

I mean, Jackson would work as an interesting parallel for Ace. hmmm i wonder what a One Piece world in the DC Omniverse would be like. call it Vearth-1!

excuse me while I think up a Black Manta pirate crew...

I feel like that's building up what Abnett was doing with him...and was kind of what he was during Post-Crisis?

Yeah I remember that, when he took over N.E.M.O, became the Fisher King or something like that. I thought that was a cool development, I'm sad the didn't do more with it. I always did like the idea of the Hydes as a family of treasure hunters/contemporary pirates. it fits so well that Aquaman's greatest enemy is a pretty much just a super badass pirate. that's partially why I found the idea if Jackson being the Aquaman of the Confluence so interesting. could've continued the family lineage of piracy as "The Cosmic Aquaman: Space Pirate!"

[Frontier]

...Does that make Aquaman the Marines or Whitebeard...?

I wonder what happened to Black Jack.

[lemonpeace]

...Does that make Aquaman the Marines or Whitebeard...?

I wonder what happened to Black Jack.

hmmm he's a combination of Whitebeard and Garp, with the Justice League being the Marines. I don't think there is a clear World Government analog but the closest thing would probably be the United Planets.

[John Venus]

I would put Atlantis as Raftael/Laugh Tale. A mythical, almost unreachable island that most of the world powers want to keep hidden at all costs with Manta being the only one to reach it.

Jackson would be Ace, the son of his greatest rival whom Aquaman adopted because he doesn't believe a child should pay for their father's sins.

Which I guess would make Garth the 'Luffy' of the story or Koryak could Luffy which would make Aquaman the 'Dragon' of the story as well.

Atlanteans can take the Marines place in this world. The Whitbeard Pirates equivalent could be the combined Justice League, Titans and Young Justice teams.

[lemonpeace]

I would put Atlantis as Raftael/Laugh Tale. A mythical, almost unreachable island that most of the world powers want to keep hidden at all costs with Manta being the only one to reach it.

Jackson would be Ace, the son of his greatest rival whom Aquaman adopted because he doesn't believe a child should pay for their father's sins.

Which I guess would make Garth the 'Luffy' of the story or Koryak could Luffy which would make Aquaman the 'Dragon' of the story as well.

Atlanteans can take the Marines place in this world. The Whitbeard Pirates equivalent could be the combined Justice League, Titans and Young Justice teams.

that could work, I like the Atlantis = Laugh Tale idea, but I think in that case then the Atlantian court should be the World Government trying to keep their secret history (aka Atlantis and all it's resources) hidden; with the Seven Kingdoms being the different kingdoms at the Reverie. then we could have the Atlantian Royal Family be S.W.O.R.D also well as Aquaman's "Whitebeard Pirates", with Mera as Jackson's Marco and Garth as his Thatch (the ones to show our "Ace" the ropes). Young Justice and Teen Titans were his Spade Pirates but the League are the still the Marines. they help Atlantis because they're trynna keep order, even tho they don't necessarily agree with their ideals as a whole, further hitting on Aquaman as the Garp that fights against the system but is also part of the system. And that would make the "Luffy" to Jackson's "Ace" Andy, the adopted little sibling he helps inspire and raise up to follow their path to greatness.

this joke running kinda deep LOL

[Frontier]

that could work, I like the Atlantis = Laugh Tale idea, but I think in that case then the Atlantian court should be the World Government trying to keep their secret history (aka Atlantis and all it's resources) hidden; with the Seven Kingdoms being the different kingdoms at the Reverie. then we could have the Atlantian Royal Family be S.W.O.R.D also well as Aquaman's "Whitebeard Pirates", with Mera as Jackson's Marco and Garth as his Thatch (the ones to show our "Ace" the ropes). Young Justice and Teen Titans were his Spade Pirates but the League are the still the Marines. they help Atlantis because they're trynna keep order, even tho they don't necessarily agree with their ideals as a whole, further hitting on Aquaman as the Garp that fights against the system but is also part of the system. And that would make the "Luffy" to Jackson's "Ace" Andy, the adopted little sibling he helps inspire and raise up to follow their path to greatness.

this is joke running kinda deep LOL

And then we have the One Piece cast popping up in Jackson's mini...

[lemonpeace]

And then we have the One Piece cast popping up in Jackson's mini...

(bringing it back to Manta) I wouldn't be surprised if the reason Thomas or Olortegui had those cameos included, besides likely being a One Piece fan, was because of the Hyde's legacy as pirates/treasure hunters.

you know what would be cool? if we found out that back in the day one of the ancestors of the Hyde family was a notorious pirate too. All black family lines originate from The Continent, so maybe the first Hyde pirate was Earth-0's version of Black Ceasar. an African warrior who they try trick into captivity but he gets free, takes over the ship, then goes on to sail the seas and make a name for himself as a pirate; eventually establishing the Hyde family name and their manta iconography. if only...

[Frontier]

(bringing it back to Manta) I wouldn't be surprised if the reason Thomas or Olortegui had those cameos included, besides likely being a One Piece fan, was because of the Hyde's legacy as pirates/treasure hunters.

you know what would be cool? if we found out that back in the day one of the ancestors of the Hyde family was a notorious pirate too. All black family lines originate from The Continent, so maybe the first Hyde pirate was Earth-0's version of Black Ceasar. an African warrior who they try trick into captivity but he gets free, takes over the ship, then goes on to sail the seas and make a name for himself as a pirate; eventually establishing the Hyde family name and their manta iconography. if only...

Maybe the enmity with Atlantis and it's people runs deeper in the blood than we know...

[atomicskull]

Would be cool to see Black Manta lead a band of pirates who are all foes of Aquaman. Scavenger, Eel, Marine Marauder, Fisherman. Most of those guys aren't used as much. The Sinister Six of the Seas!

[lemonpeace]

Iunno how I didn't see or post these character designs for Black Manta and Gallous The GOAT





Black Manta #1 just dropped and it's off to a really good start. i'm already hooked. I love that right off the bat this book is very black without being "black"; ya know what I mean? it's not a "black story" per say but it feels like a story that does center it's inherent blackness that comes with having a black lead; especially one that is infamously known to have been racially motivated at one point in time. needless to say, it's a nuance I very much appreciate about this book and I'm excited to see how it'll develop and figure into this series, down the road. I'm super intrigued by Devil Ray, I thought he was Manta in the preview but he seems a lot more resourceful and methodical than i expected. I didn't expect him to hack the concept of magic to conjure a secret base. I am excited to see more of him and Torrid, but I'm digging Gallous the GOAT (absolute fire name) and her partnership with Manta the most



I know i was literally just joking about making a One Piece style crew for Manta (so maybe I'm projecting a little here) but, reading this, i wonder if by the end they'll all come together as Manta's new pirate crew. Black Manta could be the Captain, Gallous the GOAT as his broker and protégé, Torrid is TBD but let's just say she's the magic and arcana expect, Devil Ray is his first-mate and the weapons master, and Mr. Red & Ms. Orange can be the explosives and demolition experts under Devil Ray; then they'll have the Manta Men to man their fleet.

[Jabare]

Wow, The Human Flame. Payback for what he did to J'onn.

I know a lot of people like the old school fish bowl helmet but I much prefer this updated design. It looks more like an actual manta ray.

I dare you to find anyone who likes his goofy looking original helmet over the updated version. His silly helmet was one of the reasons I didn't like him on th eSuper Friends and Aquaman cartoon. I couldn't imagine a human head fiting in that thing.

What does Black Manta do when he's not trying to kill Aquaman?

treasure hunting.

When he retired after Aquaman died he was working at a fish store

H4zrC5s.jpg

litterally the most ridiculous bad@$$ and hilarious scene all rolled into one. Like this would be a scene from Rick and Morty

[Frontier]

I just noticed that Manta has hair kind of like the YJ version too. Although the beard was more refined there.

[J. D. Guy]

I dare you to find anyone who likes his goofy looking original helmet over the updated version. His silly helmet was one of the reasons I didn't like him on th eSuper Friends and Aquaman cartoon. I couldn't imagine a human head fiting in that thing.

We already know how nostalgia-driven old-time readers of mainstream comic books are and can be. And the Aquaman Universe has a particular level of notoriety when it comes to adhering to nostalgia. In their minds, the sillier the helmet looks, the more "authentic" it does.

[Robotman]

I dare you to find anyone who likes his goofy looking original helmet over the updated version. His silly helmet was one of the reasons I didn't like him on th eSuper Friends and Aquaman cartoon. I couldn't imagine a human head fiting in that thing.

Unfortunately Geoff Johns seemed to like the old look. Now that he’s no longer in charge Manta finally got an upgrade.

[John Venus]

I like the silliness of the bowl helmet. Mostly because it prompts me to figure out how his head fits into it and how he sees out it. Same way with Cyclop's literal X-shaped visors he had at one point. It's ridiculous.

But Mantas aren't known for 'oval' shapes anyway so I prefer the Phil Bourassa design.