Black Manta #2 is an issue of the series Black Manta (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 2021. It was published on October 19, 2021.
Synopsis for "Assassin of the Sea, Part Two"
The boy who was held hostage on Captain Demo's ship has been returned home safely. Believing that Black Manta is a hero who "rescued" him, he makes a Black Manta costume and plays superhero with three white friends. However, they tell him Black Manta is a villain and try to "defeat" him. A boy playing Aquaman shoots him with a super soaker and ruins his costume, and they argue over whether Black Manta is a bad guy or not.
Meanwhile at Boston Harbor, Dr. Shin meets with Manta and Gallous. Manta threatens Shin as none of his leads have helped Manta find a cure to his attacks, but Shin tells him he believes he understands what is happening. One of his students suffered an attack like Manta's, and when Shin tested his blood he found Atlantean genetic markers. He has identified the stone as an Atlantean magical ore called Orichalcum, and he believes it is activating dormant Atlantean DNA in surface dwellers, inadvertently killing them in the process. This would suggest that Manta himself has Atlantean heritage, which he rejects out of hand. Gallous suggests they talk to an old acquaintance of hers- Jim Craddock, the Gentleman Ghost.
On Themyscira, the door to the Underworld opens and the mysterious woman with the Orichalcum necklace emerges riding a demon. The Amazon's oracle predicted this and so Queen Nubia is waiting to meet her. She tells the woman that the Amazons will allow her to pass freely from the Underworld, and the nameless woman asks if they know who she is, revealing she has no memories. She suffers an attack like the ones Manta has been experiencing and realises her necklace is drawing her somewhere. Nubia invites her to stay on Themyscira so they can work out what is happening together, but the woman leaves, saying she will put an end to whoever is responsible.
Black Manta and Gallous infiltrate a fancy party where Gallous believes Craddock is hanging out. They use special goggles to try and find which guest he is possessing, only to discover he has possessed all of them. Under Gentleman Ghost's control the entire party attacks the two, and Gallous warns Manta not to kill them. He hits the entire room with a low-level optic blast which knocks them all unconscious, and Gentleman Ghost rises from their bodies. He attacks them but Manta is able to restrain and incapacitate him with a special bolo. Manta tells Gentleman Ghost that he wants him to use his powers to take Manta to Atlantis in 9000BC.
Back in Boston, "Blue" sits in a prison cell. The police demand he tell them his name and he replies by listing the names of famous slave revolts and Black Power leaders. He morphs into a water form, and around the world's oceans duplicates of him form and speak to people nearby, announcing that the oceans now belong to Black people. The duplicates explode, destroying targets around the world including Black Manta's ocean floor base.
Appearing in "Assassin of the Sea, Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Gallous the Goat
- Manta Men (First appearance)
- Dr. Shin
Antagonists:
- Devil Ray/"Blue" (First appearance as Devil Ray) (Cameo)
- Gentleman Ghost
- Ghosts
Other Characters:
- Amazons of Themyscira
- Aqualad (Jackson Hyde) (Behind the scenes)
- "Aquaman" (Single appearance) (Cosplay)
- Boston Police Department (Cameo)
- Brad/"Superman" (Single appearance) (Cosplay)
- Sam/"Black Manta" cosplayer (Unnamed)
- Torrid (Unnamed)
- Gruff (Unnamed) (First full appearance)
- "Wonder Woman" (Single appearance) (Cosplay)
- Atlanteans (Mentioned only)
- Cal (Dr. Shin's student) (Mentioned only)
- Captain Demo's Crew (Mentioned only)
- Penelope (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth 0
- 21st Century
- Atlantic Ocean
- Pacific Ocean
- Themyscira
- United States of America
- Boston
- Boston Harbor
- Boston Seaport Police Station
- The Hamptons
- Boston
- Prehistoric Era (Mentioned only)
- Atlantis (Mentioned only)
- 21st Century
- Sphere of the Gods
- Underworld (Mentioned only)
Items:
Vehicles:
Concepts:
- Magic
- Time Travel (Mentioned only)
Notes
- This story takes place between the events of Nubia and the Amazons #4 and Trial of the Amazons #1.
- The bolo Balack Manta uses against Gentleman Ghost presumably contains Nth Metal but this is never stated within the comic.
Trivia
- Devil Ray lists the names Turner, Zanj, Louverture and Garvey; referencing Nat Turner's slave rebellion, the Zanj rebellion, Toussaint Louverture and Marcus Garvey.
See Also