Aquaman: Five things to know about Black Manta

Credit DC Comics

3. New 52 gave Black Manta and Aquaman a bloody history

A lot changed during the New 52 run of DC Comics. The New 52 wasn’t well received by fans or critics and forced DC’s Rebirth. However, not all was bad.  There were some great stories and reboots of characters. One of the characters whose story was told effectively was Black Manta. The New 52’s Black Manta arc makes him more sinister than ever and Aquaman scriptwriters David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall likely drew inspiration from this version.

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After years of revamping his story and keeping his true identity a secret, the New 52 helped clear some things up. No longer was he Black Manta, the anti-villain — he was transformed into a full-on bad guy.  A trained mercenary and treasure hunter. He was a master at discovering the undiscovered, a pirate.

A man hired Manta to abstract the blood of Arthur Curry to prove the existence of Atlantis. As always, Black Manta sought out to complete the job. Arthur’s father, Thomas, tried to fight him off but succumbed to a deadly heart attack.

In an attempt to avenge his father’s death, Arthur sought out Black Manta. After finding his boat Manta’s boat, Arthur exacted his revenge. However,  instead of killing Black Manata he inadvertently murdered his father. This became Black Manta’s driving force behind his hatred for Aquaman.