History
Manta is a member of the Imperial Guard, a multi-ethnic group of super-powered alien beings who act as enforcers of the laws of the Shi'ar Empire. She was one of eight Imperial Guardsmen chosen to battle the team of superhuman Earthling mutants known as the X-Men over the fate of Phoenix, a primal force of the cosmos that had assumed the form of the X-Man Jean Grey.[1]
Later, after the formerly-exiled Deathbird had usurped the Shi'ar throne, Manta was amongst those Imperial Guard members who clashed with the British team of costumed adventurers known as Excalibur and the team of interstellar freebooters known as the Starjammers over the fate of the then-bearer of the cosmic Phoenix Force, the alternate future daughter of the X-Man Jean Grey named Rachel Summers.[2]
During the war between the Shi'ar and Kree Empires, Manta was one of a small contingent of Guardsmen that were dispatched by then-Empress Lilandra to retrieve the famous Nega-Bands of the Kree warrior Captain Marvel from his tomb.
Manta was later one member of the insurgency team that attacked the X-Men on the orders of their Empress Lilandra, who was at the time under the mental control of Charles Xavier's mutant twin sister Cassandra Nova. The attack was halted by the arrival of her fellow Guardsman Smasher who managed to convince the Guard of the true threat. Together, the Guard and the X-Men managed to defeat Nova and free Lilandra.[3]
When the focus of the decay of the universe was found to be the Earth, the Majestor addressed the Galactic Council, and decided that the Earth had to be destroyed to save the universe.[4] Even though the Shi'ar planned a sneak attack on the Earth, the Guardians of the Galaxy managed to discover their plan and warned the Avengers.[5]
While approaching Earth, the Shi'ar alerted humanity that they had two hours left to live until Earth was destroyed by their fleet. Using a super weapon capable of channeling the Earth's power, Sunspot and A.I.M. retaliated against the Shi'ar in front, while S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers used a Planetkiller seized from the Builders to attack from behind. However, A.I.M.'s weapon overheated and exploded, and the Planetkiller was destroyed by the Annihilation Wave. With no options left, the Avengers prepared to meet their end. However, the Illuminati used the controller disk of a rogue planet that shared the same space with Earth while phased while Iron Man flew to the Sol's Hammer, and prepared to use it.[6]
Iron Man charged and fired Sol's Hammer, successfully destroying the Shi'ar fleet, including Manta.[7]
Once the universe was destroyed,[8] it ultimately came back.[9] The Shi'ar and the Imperial Guard were brought back as a byproduct of the universal renewal,[10] with no memories of the universe's temporary demise, like the rest of the inhabitants of the universe.[11]Attributes
Powers
- Infrared and Ultraviolet Vision: Manta can see the infrared and ultraviolet part of the spectrum in addition to the visible part of the spectrum. Thus, she perceives things due to the heat that they emit.[12]
- Light Generation: Manta can project rays of blinding light from her body. These rays seem connected to her life force.[12] Her rays are hot enough to be used to weld metal or obliterate organic beings.[13]
- Flight
Weaknesses
See Also
- 79 appearance(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
- 4 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
- 3 minor appearance(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
- 40 image(s) of Manta (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ X-Men #137
- ↑ X-Men: Spotlight on...Starjammers #2
- ↑ New X-Men #125–126
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #41
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #42
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #43
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #44
- ↑ Secret Wars #1
- ↑ Secret Wars #9
- ↑ Ultimates (Vol. 3) #3
- ↑ Ultimates (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #3
- ↑ Marvel Encyclopedia Vol 1 X-Men