“So I told my trainer I wanted to be heavy on my feet. “I had just come off ‘The Greatest Showman,’ so I was really light and I was moving sort of like a dancer,” Abdul-Mateen said. Preparing to play a mortal who holds his own in battle against a muscular half-Atlantean superhero, of course, involved a fair amount of training. A very focused, morally ambiguous, extremely skilled and highly intelligent guy. Then Aquaman comes aboard the ship and takes that away from him.”įor Abdul-Mateen, Manta is just a guy who’s trying to take something back that was taken away from him. He’s coming off this success and his father’s just given him this gift. He’s coming off a personal win with his father,” said Abdul-Mateen. This enthusiasm persuaded him to seek out some comics and further develop his understanding of the “Aquaman” villain. “They love the suit and they love the helmet and they love his wit and his dry sense of humor.” It wasn’t until he saw chatter from fans online that he realized Black Manta was more than just his signature helmet. Having never been much of a comics reader, Abdul-Mateen wasn’t very familiar with the character. The Yale School of Drama-trained actor admits he was initially skeptical about playing Black Manta, the knife-wielding vengeful mercenary he brings to life in the James Wan-helmed DC superhero hit. Crown of Atlantis follows.For “Aquaman” co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the journey to his latest role really started with opening up a comic book and becoming a fan. A conclusion of sorts occurs in the final chapter, one that may seem more a pause in hostilities, but which has a novel solution to seemingly unsolvable problems. He compensates with intricate detail, and both artists have a way with a stunning pin-up image.Īlthough episodic, Black Manta Rising is the second part of a lengthy epic begun in The Drowning, and the entirety of it is very enjoyable, balancing the essence of good superhero material by providing action, puzzles, characterisation and surprises against a credible background. It’s a great influx of credibility to someone so often considered Aquaman’s greatest enemy because the choice is hardly overwhelming.īrad Walker illustrates one episode very nicely, but otherwise the art duties are split between Philippe Briones and Scot Eaton (sample page), both of them very good, although there’s sometimes a stiffness to the way Briones has his characters stand. He’s taken control of an organisation with a world-altering agenda, and one that’s remained secret for a long time, and while his doing so may have been a little too easy, once in charge his effect is horrific. The graphic novel’s title features Black Manta because he has a large part to play. For all the nice touches that feed into the series, however, under Abnett Aquaman is first and foremost a cracking superhero story. This being comics, and superhero comics having a poor track record with such matters, the hope is that it’s not just a set-up for a shock ‘death’ somewhere along the line. Mera plays an almost equal part in the series, and Abnett creates a very convincing loving relationship.
We have Mera’s enforced spiritual tutoring, the continuing attention of the Justice League (although some just stand and pose), the adept and credible escalation of political tensions, and the involvement of superstitious belief. The concealment of a menace to Atlantis to provide a surprise revelation in the early stages is just the start. Once again, so much is good about this collection. This isn’t a secret dragged on and on, with the people responsible revealed early, and having very much taken issue with US security protocols, Abnett now reveals that there are equally questionable aspects to the protections of Atlantis. The Drowning established that someone has an agenda to instigate war between Atlantis and the surface world. Dan Abnett’s opening shot on Aquaman was very good, and Black Manta Rising is slightly better.
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