Black Manta

Legion of Doom Team Member

Black Manta
Information
Real name:	not known
Species:	Human
Homeworld:	Earth
Universe:	Earth-1A
Affiliations:	The Legion of Doom
Rogue of:	Aquaman
Voiced/Played:	Season 2: Ted Knight Season 3: Ted Cassidy
Black Manta Gallery

'Manta' as he was called then, in his only Season 2 (1977) appearance.

Black Manta is a supervillain. He is member of the Legion of Doom, and the archenemy of Aquaman.

Background Information

Black Manta, without his mask. Art by Jim Aparo.

On the parallel-universe of Earth-One, there is no information regarding Black Manta as a youth.

As an adult, this man would design a costume (primarily a black wetsuit with bug-eyed helmet that was able to shoot blasting rays from its eyes) and fashioned a high-tech submersible inspired by manta rays.

Taking the name Black Manta, he and his masked army would became a force to be reckoned with.

The fearsome Black Manta and Aquaman battled repeatedly over the next several years.

During one of these clashes,it was revealed that Black Manta was actually an African American, whose stated objective at one point was for black people to be dominant in the ocean after having been oppressed for so long on dry land; even if it was a ruse to gain more followers.

His main goal was to defeat Aquaman and gain power for himself through the conquest of Atlantis.

In late 1977, Black Manta kills Arthur Curry, Jr., Aquaman's son, which left Aquaman obsessed with revenge.

Continuity From Filmation series: The Adventures of Aquaman (1968 – 1970)

Filmation Version

Coming Soon!

Powers and Abilities

• Limited Degree of Expertise in Mechanical Engineering: as he was able to manufacture his suit, weaponry, and vehicles
• Hand-to-Hand Combat Training

Equipment

Black Manta's suit: is specifically designed to adapt him to an oceanic environment.

• Temperature Resistance: The suit allows him complete resistance to the cold and pressure of deep sea conditions.
• Superhuman Durability, and Strength: The suit allows Black Manta to lift/strike with the force of 5 tons.
• Water breathing ability: It is not clear if the suit has a hidden oxygen supply or its ability to extract oxygen from the water like the gills of a fish.
• Jet Boots: The suit has jet-boots which function in or out of water.
• Telepathic Scrambler: The suit is equipped with a telepathic-scrambler that is used to temporarily strip Aquaman of his aquatic telepathy.
• Laser Beams: The eyes of helmet fires laser beams.
• Various High-Tech Equipment
• Various Array of Weapons: Such weapons include blades, electric blasts from wrist gauntlets, miniaturized torpedoes, and energy beams from his helmet.

Weaknesses

Not Known

Transportation

• Manta's Sea-Saucer

Episode Appearances

The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977): The Water Beast Challenge of the SuperFriends (1978): Wanted: The SuperFriends Invasion of the Fearians The World's Deadliest Game The Time Trap Trial of the SuperFriends Monolith of Evil The Giants of Doom Secret Origins of the SuperFriends Revenge on Gorilla City Swamp of the Living Dead Conquerors of the Future The Final Challenge Fairy Tale of Doom Doomsday SuperFriends: Rest In Peace History of Doom Revenge of Doom

Notes

• Black Manta debuted in Aquaman vol.1, #35 (October, 1967).
• He was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.
• Black Manta's first animated appearance was on the Aquaman animated series (a Filmation cartoon that premiered on CBS on September 9, 1967, and ended June 1970); in which he was also a featured as a regular villain.
• Black Manta’s first appearance in the The All-New Super Friends Hour marks the unofficial first time that a DC supervillain appeared on Hanna Barbera’s Super Friends.
• Interestingly, he did not go by Black Manta, he went by just 'Manta.'
• In this appearance his suit color was olive brown.
• His first origin was given in DC Comics Aquaman, Vol.4, #6 (May, 1992), by writer Shaun McLaughlin. It is part of the Modern Age / New Earth continuity.

In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and loved to play by the sea. As a youth he was kidnapped and sexually abused on a ship for an unspecified amount of time. At one point he apparently saw Aquaman with his dolphin friends and tried to signal him for help but was not seen. Finally, he was forced to defend himself, killing one of his tormentors on the ship with a knife. Hating the emotionless sea (and Aquaman, whom he saw as its representative), the boy was determined to become its master.

• In his second origin was given in DC Comics Aquaman, Vol. 6, #8 (September 2003), by writer Rick Veitch. It is part of the Modern Age / New Earth continuity.

In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta was an orphan who has autism and was placed in Gotham City's Arkham Asylum. He felt comfortable in freezing cold water, while cotton sheets were excruciatingly painful. Because the attendants at Arkham didn't know how to deal with autism, they would end up restraining him to the bed as he struggled and screamed whenever they tried putting him there. The boy was also fascinated when he saw Aquaman on television. The boy would end up being subjected to experimental treatments. One treatment seemed to clear the boy's head, but left him violent as a result; he killed the scientist who had administered the treatment and escaped from Arkham.

External Links

• For more on Black Manta see article at Wikipedia
• Devil Ray at The World's Finest
• Black Manta at The Unofficial Aquaman Website
• For more on Black Manta see article at DC Database

Appearances in Other Media

Devil Ray Devil Ray first appeared on the cartoon Justice League Unlimited. Devil Ray was intended to be Black Manta, Aquaman's archnemesis from the DC Comics, but his name had to be changed for this show due to copyright issues. Devil Ray was a supervillain recruited by Grodd into his Legion of Doom. He was a resilient fighter and ruthless killer, who took great pleasure and pride in his heinous work. - For more on Devil Ray see article at DCAU Wiki