Last year marked the end of an era for the DC movies in order. 10 years and 16 movies later (including Zack Snyder’s Justice League), the DC Extended Universe came an end in December 2023 with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The sequel saw Yahyah Abdul-Mateen II’s plan to ruin the life of Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry finally come to fruition, though the silver lining is that this scheme paved the way for Arthur and his half-brother Orm, reprised by Patrick Wilson, to resolve their differences. Given the buzz that Momoa is shifting to playing Lobo in the new DC Universe continuity, this will likely be the last time we see the actor playing DC Comics’ King of Atlantis.
Unfortunately, in addition to the Aquaman sequel being nowhere near as commercially successful as its predecessor (although it is the most financially successful DCEU movie since the 2018 release), it also earned primarily negative critical reception, including CinemaBlend’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom review giving it just 2.5 out of 5 stars. While I agree that The Lost Kingdom is kind of a mess, now that it’s available to stream with a Max subscription, I want to steer things in a more positive direction and highlight the key scene between Arthur Curry and Black Manta, a.k.a. David Kane, that I love. It also happens to be the last time we see these two together.
Upon gaining the Black Trident in Aquaman 2, Black Manta was possessed by the spirit of Kordax, the brother of King Atlas who once ruled the Kingdom of Necrus and nearly destroyed the world long ago using Orichalcum. By the time of the movie’s climactic third act though, Kordax left Manta’s body and possessed Orm, but Arthur was able to drive the spirit out of him by convincing his younger brother to let go of his hatred of him. Kordax and the Black Trident were subsequently destroyed, and Arthur and Orm were finally free to start forming a brotherly relationship.
Black Manta, on the other hand, was incapable of relinquishing his hatred for Aquaman, even with Korax no longer influencing his actions. So as Necrus was collapsing and Manta lost his footing, even when Arthur stuck out his hand to pull him back up, Manta refused the offer, choosing to instead fall to his death rather than accept any help from his adversary. This moment perfectly encapsulated how far Arthur had come from the first Aquaman movie, and how Manta is a character consumed by his desire for revenge, even if it’s to his detriment.
Remember that at the beginning of Aquaman, Arthur Curry refused to save Black Manta’s father Jesse after he became trapped aboard the now-sinking submarine he and his son had hijacked with their team. David begged for Arthur to free Jesse, but the half-human, half-Atlantean hero simply told him to beg the sea for mercy, feeling that Jesse murdering innocent people was enough justification for him to die. Jesse opted to blow himself up rather than drown, and David rededicated his life to seeking vengeance against Aquaman and hurt those close to him. He was even willing to, as he put it in The Lost Kingdom, make a deal with the Devil to accomplish his goal.
By the time Arthur found himself in the same kind of situation with Black Manta in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, he’d lost that edge. Through a combination of carrying out his superhero and kingly duties, along with being married to Mera and being a father to Arthur Jr., he was now a man who was willing to save his arch-nemesis despite all the atrocities he committed. It was a sharp 180 from how he’d treated Jesse Kane four years earlier.
But for all that Arthur Curry had changed between the events of Aquaman and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Manta stayed the same… personality-wise, at least. He despised Aquaman with every fiber of his being, so when faced with either having the man save his or life or dying, he chose the latter. It was an unfortunate way to go, but that falls in line with the traditional way Black Manta is depicted; the majority of the time, even if it results in self-sabotage, he won’t pass over the chance to stick it to Aquaman.
So as far as Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta are concerned, their stories are now over. But as mentioned earlier, out of the ashes of the DCEU will rise the DC Universe, so remember to keep visiting CinemaBlend for the latest and greatest news about upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows.
