Black Manta

**Black Manta** lived with his father on a houseboat, earning some reputation as a diver and a treasure hunter. Hearing about the interest in the "Amnesty Bay Merman", he aggressively chased leads, hoping to catch the cryptid and win a fortune. One night, his investigation led to him accidentally kill Tom Curry, a local lighthouse owner. Soon afterwards, the Merman broke into his houseboat and murdered the diver's father, on the assumption that they were the killer. Out of vengeance, the diver crafted weapons and armor, and went hunting. When the Merman became a publicly-known hero as Aquaman, he became **Black Manta**.

Black Manta had then joined tge Crew of Attuma and commited various acts of Piracy.

## Powers and Abilities

### Black Manta suit

David Kane does not possess any innate powers. Instead, he uses Atlantean technology supplied by Ocean Master to provide him with superhuman strength, endurance, durability, and a variety of weapons.

#### Support powers

* **Superhuman strength**: Black Manta's armor grants him incredible superhuman strength, on par with that of high-born Atlanteans, such as Aquaman. This is shown when he kicked Aquaman off his feet, successfully headbutted him, kicked him out of a house, and - with the help of his jetpack - rammed him off a building.
* **Flight**: Black Manta's suit incorporated the firing mechanism of the plasma cannon onto its back and legs, allowing Manta to fly and hover in mid-air as well as to cover immense distances rather quickly, as seen when he swiftly landed beside a subdued Aquaman in mere seconds despite having sent the latter plummeting over a massive cliff.

#### Defensive Powers

* **Flight**: Black Manta's suit incorporated the firing mechanism of the plasma cannon onto its back and legs, allowing Manta to fly and hover in mid-air as well as to cover immense distances rather quickly, as seen when he swiftly landed beside a subdued Aquaman in mere seconds despite having sent the latter plummeting over a massive cliff.

#### Offensive Powers

* **Energy beams**: The helmet of Black Manta's suit fires thick beams of red plasmoid energy from its eyes, similar to Kryptonian heat vision. These beams are so intense, that Aquaman was sent flying an immense distance by them, with his body left slightly blackened.
* **Retractable blade**: Black Manta keeps a retractable blade in the left forearm. The blade is of Atlantean steel, which makes them sharp enough to slice right through the body of a high-born Atlantean.
* **Wrist-mounted harpoon gun**: Black Manta's suit also boasts Atlantean steel weaponry, such as the spear hook on his right arm, which was sharp enough to pierce Aquaman's flesh. Moreover, the spear hook can also be charged with a strong electric current, which makes it glow red.

### Abilities

* **Genius-level intellect**: Black Manta is extremely intelligent, mostly regarding his pirating, engineering, and leadership skills. He is also well-read and has good memory, reciting a verse from H.P. Lovecraft's *The Call of Cthulhu* whilst confronting Aquaman.
	+ **Expert engineer**: Black Manta has an innate knack for understanding the most complicated technological function of any mechanism. Hence, his being able to take apart, modify and reassemble his Atlantean wet-suit into the powered armor he now adorns, turning the Plasma Gun the suit came with into a helmet-based heat ray and a thruster system. This is particularly noteworthy as Atlantean technology is radically different and more advanced than human technology.
	+ **Expert pirate**: Having been trained by his father Jesse Kane, Black Manta is an immensely skilled pirate, to the point that Orm hired him to stage an attack from the surface dwellers upon the Council of Kings in Atlantis. Indeed, Manta and his father would have successfully overtaken the Russian submarine had Aquaman not intervened.
	+ **Expert leader**: Black Manta is a highly skilled leader, being the new leader of his father's pirate crew, and being entrusted by Attuma to lead a squad of Men-of-War Atlantean soldiers working for the Foot.
* **Master combatant**: Black Manta is extremely skilled in both armed and unarmed combat. He is able to keep up with Aquaman when donning his new armored suit and gained the upper hand against his high-born Atlantean opponent when he began employing his Atlantean steel blades for an extended period of time, although it must be noted that Aquaman also had to protect civilians before ultimately being tossed down a cliff but still leaving Aquaman grievously wounded.
* **Sword mastery**: Black Manta is an extremely skilled swordsman since even before he donned the armor, Aquaman was only saved from a fatal stab from Manta by his Atlantean durability. After gaining Atlantean steel blades, Black Manta successfully managed to land severe wounds on Aquaman with his new weapons.
* **Knife mastery**: Black Manta is skilled a using a knife in combat. This seen when he stabbed Aquaman in the shoulder before the latter could react. This skill even extends to knife throwing. This is seen when he threw his knife at a picture of Aquaman while sitting down and using one eye.
* **Expert marksman**: Black Manta is an expert marksman, being highly skilled with firearms, as seen when he shot Aquaman multiple times during their first encounter, though the shots didn't affect him. His marksmanship extending even to accurately shooting his wrist-mounted harpoon into Aquaman's back. He can also accurately shoot his helmet's optic blasts at any target.

## Equipment

* **Black Manta suit**: David Kane, with the help of Ocean Master, created a specialized armored suit that allows him to operate underwater.[1] The armored suit is outfitted with Atlantean technology, giving it energy projection abilities, as well as facilitating use against immense pressures in deep ocean waters. The suit possesses a distinctive manta-shaped helmet with two large eyes which fire optic blasts (powerful enough to injure Atlanteans) and is connected to an oxygen system that allows Manta to breathe underwater indefinitely. The suit also has a rocket jetpack system that enables him to fly, as well as an Atlantean steel blade within a forearm.
	+ **Retractable blade gauntlet**: David wore a retractable blade gauntlet on his left arm made out of a man-made metal during his mission with his father for close quarter combat purposes. He implemented this weapon into his Black Manta suit, replacing the standard blade with one made out of Atlantean steel, which can pierce Aquaman's skin.
* **Short sword**: David used a short sword made out of man-made steel during missions with his father for close quarter combat, though this was broken by Aquaman during their first fight. When he obtained equipment to make his Black Manta suit from Orm, he gained a short sword made out of Atlantean steel, which can pierce Aquaman's flesh.
* **Manta knife**: He got this knife from his father, who, in his turn, got it from his father. As it was able to harm Aquaman, it is probably wasn't forged by humans.