OK, He's Evil, But How Does He Breathe

Villains Month
DC Collectibles/DC Comics
various writers
various artists

We're going to do something slightly different today. I bought and read Forever Evil No. 1 and some of the various Villains Month special issues where the bad guys take over the existing titles for the month. I enjoyed most of what I read, but I feel like it is too early to say much about the seven-issue Forever Evil story as it is just getting started.

So, our primary focus today is going to be another release timed to coincide with Villains Month: one of the first action figures dedicated to villains since the launch of The New 52! Overall, I like the design of the new Black Manta figure offered by DC Collectibles. The old smooth black costume Manta used to wear seems more like a diving suit, but some of the new details added to his New 52 suit are interesting additions.

He looks even more lethal with a wrist-mounted device that shoots something (a grapple line, if memory serves), his familiar energy "gun" and two short swords/long daggers. The bulkier, raised collar on his suit also makes his helmet look that much more otherworldly. And this figure has textured lenses for the helmet's eye pieces -- another nice touch.

But the figure is not perfect. The hoses that run from the tank on his back to his helmet are much stiffer in construction than previous Black Manta figures. They are cramped into a smaller space because this Manta's helmet is smaller and there needs to be room for those swords/daggers on his back as well. All of that means you can't really turn the figure's head from side to side for posing purposes. This Manta looks straight ahead, never to the sides.

And there's another thing about this figure I noticed. Previous Black Manta figures in the 6-inch scale include the DC Direct Alex Ross Justice series and Mattel's DC Universe Classics series figures. Both have a tank on Manta's back that closely resembles the way the figure is typically drawn in the comics. I've always thought of this tank as simply an oxygen tank like any diver would wear, but really, Manta tends to spend a great deal of time underwater, often much longer than the average diver might spend, yet his air tank seems smallish in comparison to the kinds of tanks I've seen actual divers wear.

This new DC Collectibles figure takes that size issue a step further. This figure's tank is flat, not bulbous as past figures' tanks have been, greatly reducing the amount of space available inside. Further cutting into any air capacity the tank might offer is the fact that Manta's swords/daggers are carried on his back, sliding into compartments on the tank. The tank also serves as a holster for Manta's energy weapon. The thing on this Manta's back seems much more like a utility belt or weapons pouch, except for those hoses.

In my own mind, I've decided to reconcile this problem by acknowledging that this device can't possibly be an adequate air supply in and of itself. Rather than being an air tank, it must be a machine that helps Manta extract the oxygen he needs directly from the ocean water. It's like one of Batman's re-breathers, a device so small he can store it in his utility belt. Manta's version is not as compact because he doesn't have the resources Bruce Wayne can tap.

Anyway, back to the comics for some thoughts and recaps, starting off with Forever Evil No. 1: The evil doppelgangers of the Justice League -- the Crime Syndicate from an alternate Earth -- have come to the main DC Universe Earth. They've announced their intentions to be the new masters of this world via all electronic devices across the globe displaying the message "This World Is Ours" upon their arrival as seen at the end of lead-in series Trinity War.

Forever Evil shows the destruction of Belle Reve prison and the subsequent escape of the various super-powered inmates incarcerated there. Several of these villains were given communications devices and sent to rendezvous with the Crime Syndicate, where they are told to do whatever they want to do as long as they don't stand in the Crime Syndicate's way. Of course, Lex Luthor immediately takes a dislike to anyone assuming they are in charge of what he sees as rightfully his. As far as heroes go, the Justice League is gone; the Syndicate members claim to have killed them. Other heroes, like the Teen Titans, are trying to organize a counter attack, but Nightwing tries a more direct approach and is captured for his boldness. Other Syndicate members want to kill Nightwing, but Owlman won't let them. Instead, the Syndicate publicly exposes Nightwing's secret identity and threatens everyone close to him.

For the Villains Month issues, I stuck mostly to the characters featured in titles I usually get anyway. Those seemed to be the villains I would have the most interest in reading more about anyway. Of course I got the Black Manta and Ocean Master issues of Aquaman, both of which were good reads. Both men were incarcerated at Belle Reve before the Crime Syndicate attack, and both have no interest in what the Syndicate members have to offer at first. Manta claims Aquaman's trident from the spoils the Crime Syndicate offers as proof that the Justice League is dead, then goes to visit his father's grave. Though it wasn't by his hand, Manta believes that Aquaman is dead and his father's death has been avenged until Ultraman, seeking buried kryptonite, causes a tidal wave that destroys Manta's father's grave. Manta's hatred of Aquaman has found a new outlet, Ultraman, so it seems likely Manta will be joining Luthor in opposing the Crime Syndicate soon. Ocean Master is harder to predict. His first instinct upon being freed is to seek the ocean, but he isn't sure which direction to head at first. His interactions with the people he meets while trying to return home to Atlantis are often brutal, but it is more from his opinion that humanity is beneath him than any real malice. Unless someone shows they intend to do him harm first.

The other Villains Month books were a mixed bag. Black Adam's history is explored in the pages of Justice League of America and makes for a nice read, but the information presented is similar to his history as seen in the maxi-series 52 from a few years ago. Oh, and he got better after being turned to dust prior to Trinity War. The Secret Society issue in the pages of Justice League shows readers some of the history of Owlman and the Crime Syndicate's version of Alfred Pennyworth, the Outsider. We learn how Alfred became the Outsider and why Owlman seeks to protect the life of Nightwing. I also read the Count Vertigo back story presented in Green Arrow and the DeSaad issue of Earth 2 and decided to give the Cheetah issue of Wonder Woman a try; all three books were OK but not outstanding.

I'm looking forward to the story unfolding in Forever Evil. It's started off pretty good.