Black Manta
42 years ago - David Hyde is born the son of a pirate and treasure hunter, raised on his father's ship.
36 years ago - 6-year-old David's father and his crew disturb an Atlantean vessel, and are killed to the man. David is taken as a subject for Thorne's experiments.
32 years ago - 10-year-old David is dumped back on land, Thorne's only surviving subject. Percieved as crazy, he is placed in a home for troubled children where he comes to hate people.
28 years ago - 14-year-old David's weapons designs, based on his time in Atlantis, begin to attract buyers on the black market.
26 years ago - 16-year-old David is recruited by H.I.V.E. who wipe out his previous identity so that he can become one of their weapon designers. He takes the name Black Manta.
21 years ago - 21-year-old Black Manta kills his H.I.V.E. handlers & steals his ship, the Devil Ray. He becomes a pirate, raiding the seas to expand his technology to challenge Atlantis.
19 years ago - 23-year-old Black Manta has an affair with Sha'lain'a, an Atlantean woman from the villiage of Shayeris, in an effort to steal a map to a lost Atlantean treasure. He almost kills her when she discovers his plan, unaware that she is carrying his son, Kaldur'ahm.
18 years ago - 24-year-old Black Manta battles Aquaman for the first time when he stops him from raiding a freighter.
14 years ago - 28-year-old Black Manta attacks Atlantis, but is stopped by Aquaman. He discovers the existance of his son Kaldur'ahm and kidnaps him, beginning his training.
12 years ago - 30-year-old Black Manta's forces capture Aquaman & Aqualad. They escape with the help of Kaldur'ahm, destroying his ships.
11 years ago - 31-year-old Black Manta's forces attack Atlantis in the aftermath of Aquaman's coup, but finds them ready to follow their new king. Kaldur'ahm plays a vital role in defeating his forces.
6 years ago - 36-year-old Black Manta attacks Atlantis with Orm Marius but betrays him, killing Kalandro and abandoning their attack to kidnap Arthur Curry Jr, Injurring Mera so severely she's left in a coma. He forces Arthur Curry to watch his son die, but Arthur cuts his own hand off to save him.
1 year ago - 41-year-old Black Manta joins Legion of Doom.
The early Aquaman comics and animated serials were notably quaint. The bad guys, for the most part, fit into that world. They were mostly harmless hostage-takers who lined up to be knocked out by flying fish or whatever. Even then, though, Black Manta had something special about him. He had a crew of dudes who wore threateningly faceless diving bathyspheres, and had an aura of menace even though his helmet was... a little goofy?
Of course, that helmet has held up over the decades. Black Manta operated forever with almost no backstory; in fact, I'm not 100% sure when he even gained a name. He continued to have that helmet, which after all that time you really had to admit, was badass. He exhibited skills as a lethal combatant, a brilliant technician... never with explanation. He was like a high tech version of the Joker.
So it really falls to us to encapsilate all that cool menace and build a story around him. We took it to a few different places, and we really like how it came out.
Of course, that helmet has held up over the decades. Black Manta operated forever with almost no backstory; in fact, I'm not 100% sure when he even gained a name. He continued to have that helmet, which after all that time you really had to admit, was badass. He exhibited skills as a lethal combatant, a brilliant technician... never with explanation. He was like a high tech version of the Joker.
So it really falls to us to encapsilate all that cool menace and build a story around him. We took it to a few different places, and we really like how it came out.
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Black Manta's Comic HistoryBlack Manta first debuted in the late sixties when the character of Aquaman was appearing in the Justice League, bringing heightened attention to the character and to his world. Clearly designed just around his look, He had no origin or clear motivation, but he LOOKED cool.
As the years passed and Aquaman evolved, he was given a few different origins. He was a boy kidnapped by pirates who grew to hate the sea... or he was autistic and had grown to hate people because of his time in Arkham (what?). After the big reveal that he was actually a black man (It seems like low hanging fruit, but that was a big deal in the seventies), he started to have exclusively black underlings, and there started to be a vibe about him being a racial isolationist. That particular angle didn't take, but what remained was a clear Captain Nemo vibe to the character, that he was creating his own world built around his own morality, complete with followers, a fleet of submarine vessels, and an island lair. When he appeared in the Young Justice animated series they really emphasized that idea, and he was a fantastic central villain. |
Our Black Manta StoryWithout any real backstory to build from, we needed to pare down what we needed from the character. He needed to be a pirate, someone that raided both the surface world and Atlantis. He needs to be very technologically capable, while also being a brutal combatant. And he should have some sort of biological advantage that allows him to stand toe-to-toe against Atlanteans beyond that technology.
We already created Atlantean scientist Thorne to be responsible for the hybrid Atlanteans of Sub Diego including Lorena Marquez, and it makes sense that he would be capturing subjects for his experiments all the way back when Orm's coup first happened. Black Manta being the only surviving subject establishes that he is a capable foe for Aquaman right from the get-go, before he even begins develop his technology. It also sets up his life long hate for Atlantis, which is one of the only parts of Black Manta that HAS to be there. Moving on, we have an expanded vision for what H.I.V.E. is, but it fits really well as the source for his early weapon designs before he branches out on his own as a pirate and terrorist. Lastly, as a way to really cements him as THE Aquaman villain we made him the person responsible for Aquaman sacrificing his hand to save his son's live. That's a HUGE story, and he's the perfect guy to make it happen. |
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Black Manta's FutureWe've broken up the classic Legion of Doom collection of bad guys into a few different teams based on different eras in the comics. Black Manta was, of course, a featured character in the classic 'Challenge of the Superfriends' Legion of Doom, so he was a must-have when we made our version of that original team with our Secret Society. We've also taken a cue from the Young Justice animated series and made Black Manta a member of the super secret organization of incredibly dangerous villains; The Light. It speaks quite a bit to just how effective a villain he's become.
Including him on any team of villains always poses some very interesting questions. Manta is fiercely independent; he's only worked with one person ever, and immediately betrayed and abandoned him. Teams like the Secret Society and the Light are groups of vastly competing egos that looks destined to fail on the surface if it wasn't for the rediculous level of power they can bring to bear. Black Manta himself is as lethal as any bad guy in the entire DC pantheon. He has legions of well-armed followers, he's armed to the teeth with high tech weapons, and could easily stand his ground against any combatant in the entire world, up to and including the likes of Deathstroke. So why would Black Manta choose to be a part of that organization? We can't know, but it's definitely not for anyone's benefit but his own. He has an endgame, and when his motivation becomes clear it's likely going to be bad for everyone. |