Black Manta



Black Manta (David Hyde) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, he made his debut in Aquaman #35 in September 1967 and has since endured as the archenemy of the superhero Aquaman. The character has had numerous origin stories established throughout his history, having been a young boy kidnapped and enslaved by pirates on their ship; an autistic child experimented on at Arkham Asylum; and a ruthless mercenary caught in a mutual cycle of vengeance with Aquaman over the deaths of both their fathers. Despite these different versions of his past, Black Manta is consistently depicted as a cutthroat underwater villain known for using a high-tech powered armor with a large metal helmet and red eyes.

The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of animated media and video games, having most notably been voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Khary Payton in Young Justice. Black Manta made his live-action cinematic debut in the 2018 DC Extended Universe film Aquaman, portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who will reprise his role in the upcoming 2023 sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.