Aquaman 2: The History Of Black Manta

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For every comic book superhero, there's a rogue's gallery, but some just hold up better than others. Everyone knows Batman's heavy hitters or Spider-Man's most frequent foes, but only hardcore fans can name a nemesis for a hero like Aquaman.

James Wan's 2018 Aquaman introduced a few of the Atlantean King's big foes, but the final boss was Orm Marius AKA Ocean Master. In between duels with that larger foe, one of Aquaman's more well-known enemies is introduced and defeated in a ten-minute fight scene. That adversary is Black Manta, and the film's mid-credits scene reveals that he will be an even bigger problem in the sequel.

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Black Manta was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy in 1967 for Aquaman #35. Frustratingly, that first appearance of the character describes him as an old enemy of the hero. Twenty-six years passed with Manta serving as Aquaman's de facto nemesis before a single word of backstory was made public. Like most comic book characters, however, that backstory was open-ended and was replaced multiple times. The film shows off a decent accounting of his powers, some of which have been consistent over the years.

Manta typically lacks any superpowers, so he gets by with an armored wetsuit and a massive bug-eyed helmet that shoots lasers. He comes armed with a variety of melee and projectile weapons, from swords and spears to harpoon launchers and ray guns. He often employs an army of underlings to act as henchmen, but sometimes he's a big enough threat on his own. His capabilities are consistent, but his motivation, past, and relationship with Aquaman are anything but.

Chronologically, the first thing fans learned about Black Manta was his first motivation, which