r/Aquaman • u/Electronic-Exam7677 • 14d ago
DISCUSSION Why does Black Manta hate Aquaman?
He killed Aquaman's son. Like what? I knew villians kill but to kill a child? Reserve Flash killed Flash's mother and his dad got blamed for it. These villians have problems. But I still don't understand why Black Manta hates Aquaman. He is like DC's Namor. Doom isn't that evil he may kill but not a child. I think Superman, Aquaman, Flash, and the Green Lanterns need to get these villians help. If Black Manta, Lex Luthor, Reserve Flash, and Sinestro all had help they wouldn't be evil and hate them.
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u/Napalmeon 14d ago
Arthur accidentally killed his father.
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u/Scorpios94 14d ago
The most modern version definitely shows that. During a clash, Aquaman's father (Thomas Curry) suffered a fatal heart attack. Enraged, Aquaman tracked down the ship belonging to Manta's father and accidentally killed him, thinking he was the one responsible. That tragic mistake launched a personal, bitter blood feud where Manta dedicated his life to destroying Aquaman.
But it has changed throughout the years. In the 1993 comic origin, Manta was kidnapped as a boy and forced to work on a ship. He saw Aquaman swimming in the distance and tried to signal him for help, but the hero didn't notice. Manta grew to hate Aquaman for failing to rescue him. And a brief 2003 storyline reimagined him as an autistic orphan subjected to cruel experiments in Arkham Asylum, leading to an irrational obsession with the sea and Aquaman. There's also a notion of his autism being cured and him becoming an ally but then falling back into villainy. It weirdly frames his autism being the cause of his mental problems and hatred toward him.
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u/Duskytheduskmonkey 14d ago
"There's also a notion of his autism being cured and him becoming an ally but then falling back into villainy." More or less? It's already foreshadowed in the last two panels of his origin and in the last panels of #8 that Manta is essentially going to backstab Aquaman since he says the same thing he said to the doctor he killed in Arkham years ago
he also flat-out states that the whole autism made me evil thing was literally an act it's still abelist and problematic but I feel like people don't really read the context and foreshadowing
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u/Electronic-Exam7677 14d ago
So he turns around and kills his son? Uh wow. Villians are just surprising.
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u/Napalmeon 14d ago
Aquaman didn't have a son at this point.
Black Manta to broke into Aquaman's home and startled his father, which accelerated a heart condition that he already had that led to his death. In his anger, Aquaman chased down Black Manta and mistook his father for him.
The Death of a Prince storyline is from the 1970s, and it's cemented that Black Manta was a villain who plays for keeps.
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u/TheMightyMonarchx7 14d ago
As others have pointed out, it varies upon incarnation, but the most recent one was Arthur being the cause of death for Black Manta's father. But the inconsistency actually plays well into his character in my opinion. Black Manta is a villain driven by pure HATE, so much so that it has consumed his very existence and identity. We've seen on more than one occasion that Black Manta is outright miserable when Aquaman is dead/thought dead, losing all sense of purpose in his life. So really the reason for hating Aquaman is irrelevant at this point because Black Manta's fury towards the King of Atlantis is all-consuming and defining. He is the Captain Ahab of DC, and Black Manta seeks only to perpetuate Arthur's suffering. And that differs from the other villains you've mentioned.
Lex Luthor is driven by jealously and petty resentment towards Superman, hating that no matter what accomplishments he achieves they'll be left in Superman's shadow, that the people will always love/remember him more. However there is also a part of him that respects him. Sinestro on the other hand fully admits a part of him respects and considers Hal a complicated friend, but neither will stop him from doing horrible things because Thaal truly believes he is a necessary evil. Eobard Thawne/Prof Zoom/Reverse Flash is a fanboy who can't take rejection, hating his fixation because they're not friends/partners and channels that into destructive tendencies. In fact his torment of Barry is an excuse to socialize with his hero, and if Barry just out of the blue said "Hey lets be allies" Thawne would instantly cave.
Black Manta? No such positive feelings towards Aquaman.
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u/Own-Yogurt1006 13d ago
Emperor Aquaman is the first run of his I dig ..Nemo is kinda gay but making him a powerhouse is awesome cuz he likes to hurt
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u/Pale_Emu_9249 12d ago
Sometimes people are just evil and therapy isn't a solution.
Therapy wouldn't have helped Richard Speck, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jeffrey Epstien and more.
I like your hopefulness, though.
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u/InfiniteDedekindCuts Aquaman 14d ago
It varies wildly depending on what era of comics you are reading.
The new 52 established that it's because Aquaman was responsible for the death of Manta's father. That's what they've stuck to since. So if you're reading any reasonably modern comic, that's the reason.
Also: I don't know if therapy is going to be the answer here.