Warning: minor spoilers ahead for Dear DC Super-Villains!
Aquaman's Black Manta is easily identifiable by his helmet, and now, fans can see his most ridiculous use for it. Dear DC Super-Villains - a new graphic novel for young readers - is revealing some interesting secrets about DC's iconic villains. This includes a very strange detail about Aquaman's arch-nemesis.
Black Manta has been a long-time foe of Aquaman, first appearing in 1967. He's easily identifiable by his red-eyed black mask. He's included in the Legion of Doom's roster for this new graphic novel, but what it reveals about him may surprise long-time fans. Black Manta's mask is no longer just a breathing apparatus, an intimidation technique, or even just a means of separating him from other villains. The mask is no longer only required under the water. It is an on-land necessity.
Created by Michael Northrop, Gustavo Duarte, Cris Peter, and Wes Abbott, Dear DC Super-Villains features Black Manta along with many other iconic DC villains. This graphic novel shows a different side to the evil doers than fans usually see, as well as some goofy things fans would never expect. It turns out that Black Manta might have a bit of visual impairment, as his helmet actually doubles as a pair of reading glasses. While reading through his e-mail, Black Manta receives fan mail. However, he can't fully see it clearly, which requires him to put the helmet on before continuing. This is incredibly bizarre and silly, but it would also explain why he wears it all the time.
What the sequence fails to explain, however, is why he won't just invest in a smaller pair of reading glasses. The eyes on the helmet are spaced much more widely than Hyde's face is and it seems like it would cause more visual impairment to Black Manta than help improve his vision. Additionally, it is large and bulky, though based on this particular graphic novel, it seems like he must find it decently comfortable. After all, he is shown wearing it in a high school picture as well. Even if he is just imagining it, if the helmet gets in the way, why include it in a daydream?
This graphic novel is a sequel to Dear Justice League, which features DC's iconic heroes receiving and answering fan mail. That book revealed many interesting tidbits and secrets about the Leaguers and Dear DC Super-Villains is doing something very similar. It is showing a whole new side to DC's super-villains than fans have seen before. While lighthearted and intended to be silly, this particular instance does pique curiosity about how these character identifiers and signature outfits function. It also addresses just how integral these pieces are to the characters themselves.
When a villain's whole persona is a mask, what does daily life look like? How normal can a character get and how similar can they be to regular people before they become unrecognizable, unbelievable, and completely unlike themselves? This graphic novel raises a lot of questions, provides a few answers, but it also features Black Manta using his helmet in a zany and truly ridiculous way.