Seriously, I kind of want a little bit more than, "U kild mah papee, I keel u!!!" Granted, he's also had some pretty....strange origins. From only being home in water to getting Pulp Fictioned while on a boat, those stories are better left retconned. However, if Johns wanted to add more depth to the character, why not take from those past stories that he seems to love SOOOOO much? Seriously, Manta used to be essentially a black supremacist. Why not have his dad be a staunch Afrocentrist who was a former Black Panther until being arrested after bombing a "white" establishment. Manta wants nothing to with his dad's "career" until his father, while trying to break out of prison and attack the local lighthouse town where Aquaman lives, accidentally ends up drowning. Seeing Aquaman as guilty, as his father was fighting him before he drowned(unknown to Aquaman at the time). Thus, he sees the seas(SEE what I did there?) as a constant reminder of Black bondage, namely of slavery and slave ships. He takes up his father's cause, with the intention of not only killing Aquaman in revenge, but annihilating all of Atlantis and converting it into a haven for blacks. Thus, he equips himself with a powerful technorganic deep sea manta armor that, mimicking the physiology of an Atlantean, allows Manta to be able to combat Aquaman. It also has a long manta-like tail that can hack into machinery, and Manta's infamous two bladed handheld electro thingy.

@justthatkid: No!!! Too simple!

Isn't Black Panther Marvel...?

No, all that race crap would just make him a typical "stereotypical" Black character who's all angsty about race.

They should never do that with him, Black Manta could have been any race, before he revealed his face no one knew he was Black.

That's what's interesting about the character.

Black manta is a cool character and he survived for a very long time without even having much of an origin. Not every character needs some over convoluted backstory. Leave him untouched

@peppeyhare: yeah I'm beautiful on the inside.

@Endanger: Exactly! Manta said himself he was BSing about wanting to find blacks their own paradise. It was only to bring him loyal followers. Manta is a sociopath who will use any twisted lies and deceit to get what he wants. He doesn't need any black nationalism to his character. What makes Black Manta interesting is the genuine, deep seated, palpable hatred he and Aquaman have towards each other.

@blackwind: but what good reason wud he have for a rivalry with am, besides the FAR more stereotypical "YOU KILD MAH PAPPEE, I KEEL U BAK!!!!"

It is my belief that arch villains should have depth to them and not just be people that heroes punch

@justthatkid: too simple for an arch foe

That's more than enough reason. Aquaman and Black Manta are locked in a cycle of hatred where there is no way out by a peaceful resolution.

@justthatkid: Yep.

The killed his father one is a classic and fits Manta so amazingly well afterall; Aquaman is essentially a greek hero, even if those elements are down played these days and revenge for a fallen family member is one of the most common motivations in greek literature.

Not to mention as stated they're trapped in an ever escalating cycle of violence and one up-manship

They calls your guy a moron
You call their guy a deadman
They pull a Knife
You pull a pistol
They pull a sub
You pull a rifle
They send your guy to the hospital
You send their guy to the morgue.