Aquaman will face off against his oldest foe.
[dropcap size=small]J[/dropcap]ason Momoa’s all set to conquer the seas in 2018 as DC’s Aquaman, and it looks like he’ll be going up against Arthur Curry’s oldest foe and archenemy, Black Manta.
The Wrap (via io9) recently reported the news that Black Manta will be the main villain of the standalone alone film. So far however, there’s been no word in regard to who will be playing the big bad guy, and Warner Bros. has made no official comment about Black Manta’s involvement yet.
Manta is a great – albeit entirely obvious – choice, since he is the most recurring enemy of Aquaman’s in the original comic book series. Black Manta first appeared all the way back in 1967 in Aquaman #35, and had enhanced strength and durability in his arsenal, as well as a nifty battle-suit equipped to be worn in an oceanic environment.
It wasn’t until later issues in the early 90’s that the villain’s first harrowing back story was fleshed out and explored in-depth. Manta was kidnapped from his home of Baltimore, Maryland, and forced to work on a ship. After suffering a wealth of abuse at the hands of his captors, Manta finally broke free and developed a hatred of the sea as a result.
In the 2003 series that followed, Manta was depicted as an autistic orphan who was experimented upon in Arkham Asylum. With several different origin stories throughout the years, it’ll be interesting to see if (and how) the movie’s incarnation draws from any of them.
In his earlier depictions, Manta was determined to gain power by seizing Atlantis, and naturally faced resistance from Aquaman and co. In DC’s “New 52” reboot, he is instead hellbent on revenge after it’s revealed Aquaman killed his father. It’s safe to say the pair have had a pretty stormy relationship throughout the years, so we’re sure to see that translated onto the big screens when they square off against each other in 2018.
Aquaman is due for release 27 July, 2018.
