Black Manta to serve as the villain in Aquaman. The long-time Aquaman opponent will feature as the main antagonist in the movie adaptation of the DC Comics series.
Black Manta of course, is familiar to fans of the comics as one of Aquaman’s greatest, if not the greatest, enemies, having tussled with the King of Atlantis since his first appearance in 1967. It wasn’t until the 1990’s, however, that the creators made an origin story for him, albeit one that has changed depending on who is writing the comic in question. Initially, the character was explained to have suffered abuse as a child whilst growing up at sea, leading him to detest Aquaman for his associations with the ocean he grew up hating, but now Black Manta is commonly portrayed as holding the hero responsible for his father’s death and thus endlessly pursuing revenge against him:
The character doesn’t have an actual super powers but is an adept fighter with great strength. His trademark suit, however, allows him to swim across the deeps of the ocean and to fight Aquaman on his home turf.
Screenwriter Will Beall (Gangster Squad, “Castle”) will pen the script for the upcoming movie from a story concocted with director James Wan and DC Entertainment President Geoff Johns.
The underwater film will star Jason Mamoa as the title hero, with Amber Heard set to play his wife Mera (Queen of Atlantis) and Willem Dafoe as his advisor Vulko, both latter characters making their debut in the upcoming Justice League movie.
Leave your thoughts on the announcement that long-time Aquaman enemy Black Manta will be the villain in Aquaman (via Superherohype) in the comments section below. For more Aquaman photos, videos, and information, visit our Aquaman Page, and consider subscribing to us by Email, “following” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “liking” us on Facebook for quick updates. Aquaman is set for release on July 27th, 2018.