Black Manta (2021-) #1 Review

Following his appearance in the Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular, the scourge of the seas now gets his own series. Black Manta is chasing a rare metal with incredible powers, and he’s not the only one who wants to get his hands on it, friend and foe alike!

What I thought

The issue opens with Black Manta saving a group of people from the high seas. They would have been enslaved if not for him. Once he defeats their leader he retrieves the Orichalum. Elsewhere a mysterious man with limited magical powers returns to his base where Mr. Red and Ms. Orange have been drafted into his organization. In his base is a very Large Orichalum deposit. He uses his newly absorbed power to begin his weaponsmithing. At the same time across the globe, some black people start experiencing a “triggering”. Black Manta is one such individual. In the underworld, a woman with black skin and white hair breaks free of her stone statue prison and conjures swords as she battles demons hoping to escape the underworld. I thought this issue with its very introspective Black Manta was well executed. It adds layers to him in many ways. Villain, yes, but, not just evil. The art courtesy of Valentine de Landro is adequate but because of the style, I had to read the book multiple times to differentiate the characters. Especially the mystery villain and Black Manta, that may be a personal problem but it happened. This “triggering” event is similar to what took place in Gotham during the Batman and Signal series and the detonation of the Terrigen bomb. It’s a nice idea but how far-reaching will be? Only time will tell! Overall I enjoyed this opening issue quite a bit, hopefully, it gets better as things progress! 3/5 stars