Black Manta (DC Extended Universe)

"I waited a long time for this."

- Black Manta first meeting Aquaman

David Kane, also known as Black Manta, is the secondary antagonist of the 2018 epic superhero film Aquaman. He is set to appear in the possible sequel and future movies of the DC Extended Universe, playing a more major role. He is a ruthless treasure hunter and a high-seas mercenary with a flair for creating deadly technological innovations who came into conflict with Aquaman.

He was portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who also portrayed Clarence "Cadillac" Caldwell in The Get Down.

Biography
David Kane was a pirate just like his father, Jesse Kane who helped him steal a military stealth sub. At some point, they were hired by King Orm to take over a Russian nuclear submarine in order to help unite the kingdoms of Atlantis and declare war on the surface world, but they are foiled by Aquaman. After a brief battle, Aquaman deflects a rocket from Jesse, that caused a torpedo to topple over, trapping him as the submarine became flooded. David begged Aquaman for help but was told that they kill innocents and should not expect mercy from the ocean. David was forced to flee and started to bear a deep grudge against Aquaman.

David later targets Atlantis at the behest of Orm, who uses the attack as an excuse to declare war on the surface, which he was eventually paid for, but David instead he wants weapons in order to kill Aquaman. Orm later provides David with a high-tech prototype suit of Atlantean armor and plasma rifle, which David uses and modifies them into a high-tech suit. Using this suit and a squad of elite Men-of-War soldiers.

Now calling himself "Black Manta", Manta confronts Arthur and Mera in Sicily, Italy, with Murk and elite Men-of-War soldiers. Manta almost kills Aquaman, until Aquaman damages the jetpack in his suit and is thrown off a cliff to his apparent death. Manta is rescued by Dr. Stephen Shin, a scientist obsessed with finding Atlantis, and agrees to lead Shin there in exchange for his help in his revenge on Aquaman.

Family

 * Jesse Kane † - Father

Allies

 * Ocean Master - Employer and Benefactor
 * Men-of-War
 * Murk
 * Stephen Shin - Savior

Enemies

 * Aquaman - Archnemesis and Attempted Victim
 * Mera

Trivia

 * Despite both being secondary antagonists in the film, Black Manta and King Nereus are considerably different.
 * While Nereus hasn't even fought Aquaman once, Black Manta has faced him twice.
 * Black Manta's father, Jesse Kane, was indirectly killed by Aquaman, but Nereus' daughter, Mera, worked with Aquaman.
 * Nereus may have redeemed at the end, but Black Manta did not.
 * Nereus hasn't really done anything that makes him a villain, though Black Manta is a villain because he tried to kill Aquaman.
 * Black Manta may return in the sequel, as the main antagonist.
 * In the comics, Black Manta was the primary archenemy to Aquaman and a member of Lex Luthor's supervillain teams.