Pffft... that's all we need. Cult hit enemies of Aquaman.

Aquaman: "Stop there Black Manta! Using my ability to talk to fish, I will defeat you!"

Black Mantra: "....."

Aquaman: "Don't ignore me! Hey! Stop that! I'm one of the Magnificent 7, I swear!"

Ah, sad days.

Yeah sad days indeed. Obviously no one else is excited about this card.

Seriously, we are talking about the Secret Society here. Were you hoping Funky Flashman would get the legend treatment? Black Manta is one of their bigger names.

Noooooo :confused:
Lex Luthor and Joker are big names in the SS, Even Grodd or Deathstroke are more popular due to the cartoons. Black Manta is the enemy of a character that most people consider a joke.

It's a great card play-wise and thematically but the character is a nobody.

Repped.... IN A STEEL CAGE!!!!

Seriously, though, this card still rocks, and it makes much more sense for Secret Society than it did the Titans.

And to be fair, before I played VS, I didn't know who Garth was. But, dammit, I've known Black Manta since before I could talk.
Lex and Joker are getting the Legend treatment, but it's probably not going to be team specific. Since they're probably going to be crossover characters between the teams, it's unlikely that they're really going to be either team's Legend as such. Most likely, both will get another legend in addition to the two big names.

With that said, putting Manta's ability on the Joker wouldn't make any sense at all, and Lex wouldn't be a much better candidate. Black Manta is the one sea-going villain on the team, so he gets the graveyard fetch ability. He's a member of the team that loves to dig through the KO'd pile, so he's got the best iteration of that ability in the game. Period.

I expect Lex and Joker to be primarily IG characters. Grodd and Deathstroke will be well-represented in the Society.

Once you get past those characters, you've got your Bizarros and your Black Adams. Once you get past those guys, Black Manta's looking pretty good.

And, as Batshido points out, what other Society character would this power have made more sense on?

I'm stoked for this one. And whether folks like it or not, Aquaman is one of the Magnificent Seven and Black Manta is his arch enemy. As someone already said, better him with a game-changing power than Ahmed Samsarra.

First I have to say, AMAZING art! Second, I am glad that Secret Society got something like this: it's exactly what they needed on turn five. As the article said, there is not much to say about this card, since everyone knows the power of Garth and KO-pile manipulation.

This right here just proved this to be the best DC set ever, where all the teams, at least so far, seem to all be powerful and playable.

Heres hoping that the print Garth too

They won't.

They're not going to print two rares in the same set that are effectively the same card stamped to different teams.

Likely Garth will be in the set, but he's probably going to be a low drop that has a come into play ability that lets you mess with the KO pile.

I really like the card, and honestly, its better him then a total unknown. Besides, Titans can still break this, lol.

Yeah Black Manta its about time this guy got some love. Would have liked a more nasty vicious unique power, but just so happy Manta gets his spot.

He so deserves it I'm very happy. Thank you UDE.

This is a truly Legendary Villain who has been too long neglected.

I am not arguing any of that in fact I said What I was arguing was Black Manta is still considered a nobody unless one specifically has seen the old Justice League cartoons.

Average person on the street would have no idea who Black Manta is. Average comic-book reader would not be able to point out the last time Black Manta did anything of value (outside of the Aquaman book itself).

I have no problem with this card other than other than the fact that a nearly unknown character is getting a serious ability and will see play far more often than some of the better known characters.

He also appeared in the Superman Aquaman Adventure Hour (or whatever), and has appeared in JLA books as well as Aquaman. He is also for Aquaman at least a major catalyst having Killed Aquaman's son. This guys a player and more folks would know him than 20 other villains I could list who have already been printed.

Without looking it up, can you name more than 6 members of the Secret Society? (I don't really want a demonstration, as this is the internet and we have no way of proving or disproving it one way or another. This is meant as an exercise to show the lack of name recognition on the team.) It's not like it's a team full of mainstream powerhouses.

To the average person on the street Talia, Black Adam, Dr. Psycho, The Calculator, Grodd, it's just a list of wierd names. They've got no point of reference for any of that, so using the "normal people won't know this guy" argument pretty much falls apart.

As to the idea that comic book readers might not know who he is, how many people remember The Calculator as a costumed bad guy? What about Dr. Psycho as anything other than a punchline? At least Black Manta got some air time on a cartoon back in the day and might be borderline recognizable. Add to that the fact that he is THE ETERNAL NEMESIS OF ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, and he's probably a decent choice for this card.

Outside of the characters who are getting legend treatment and the aforementioned Bizaaro and Black Adam (who already have several versions and are likely to make appearances here as well) which members of the Secret Society do you consider to be "better known characters"?

There's several Arkham Inmates. But they have their own team. Many of them have already been featured in the Secret Society as well. And they are likely to make appearances in this set as well (see Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy).

There's several members of the Flash Rogues. They've been featured. They are likely to be featured on their own team sooner or later. They will likely make appearances in this set. And, they have less media exposure than Black Manta.

Are we talking Wonder Woman villains here? Circe will probably be in IG. Ginganta and Cheetah could show up on either team. None of these villains is any better known than Manta.

Green Lantern villains? Let's see... Sinestro and Star Sapphire. Stop me if this sounds familiar. They've been featured. They have their own team. They will likely still be in this set.

So, here's where we stand:

1. Black Manta is as famous and deserving as any of the other second-string villains on the team.
2. This power definitely fits in with the Secret Society.
3. This power fits better on Manta thematically than any other member.

I'm happy to debate this further if anyone has a point to make beyond, "Aquaman is lame therefore Black Manta is lame."

Also: "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Batshido again."