The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics.

Chapter 1265 Sea Hero and Black Manta

Back on Earth, Batman and the others still need to process the data submitted by Damian and the Young Justice League.

It must be said that everyone has done a great job. Damian has squeezed into the center of the Illuminati, and Superboy, Artemis, and Martian Girl from the Young Justice League are also currently trusted by several leaders.

Although there were some minor disruptions on Earth while they were away, these small sacrifices were acceptable.

After all, there is no reward without effort.

This time, both adults and children did a good job, and without the Illuminati's knowledge, their positions alongside the Justice League were subtly reversed.

Originally, the Illuminati operated in the shadows while the Justice League operated in the light. Now, on the surface, nothing seems to have changed, but in reality, the roles have been reversed.

Unbeknownst to the Illuminati, the Justice League had already infiltrated their ranks, but Yang Le wanted more than just that.

Although they seemed to have planted many spies within the Illuminati, only Damian actually had access to the core information, and even he could only manage his own small area.

While behaving like a mad dog might reassure the de facto leader, Sević, it alienated him from the others.

Especially the queen bee; while the relationship between the two can't be described as complete estrangement, it's certainly close to being irreconcilable.

This deprived him of his source of intelligence on others, so they needed to plant a spy next to each of the other leaders to help them obtain information that Damian could not easily obtain.

Yang Le actually had an idea about this. Although he had forgotten most of the plot of "Young Justice League", he still remembered a few interesting points.

For example, Aquaman in Young Justice is actually Black Manta's biological son.

In the original comics, the early members of the Young Justice League used this to carry out a brilliant mission-versus-mission operation.

Dick, who had transformed from Robin into Nightwing, used this small advantage to ultimately achieve a minor comeback against the Illuminati.

At the same time, it also makes everyone realize that Dick is really becoming more and more like Batman, even though he once said he didn't want to become that kind of person.

However, this cannot be blamed on Dick. Given the threat from the Illuminati at the time, he had to do things against his will, because if he did not, the superheroes would likely suffer a complete defeat.

However, now that Yang Le has been prescient, Dick no longer needs to become the person he doesn't want to be.

"Where did you get this information?" Batman frowned. It wasn't that he didn't trust Yang Le, but the information was too secretive and didn't seem like something that could be obtained easily.

"Don't you think Jackson's eyebrows look somewhat similar to those of a black manta ray?"

As Yang Le spoke, he took a picture that he had prepared beforehand and showed it to Batman. The latter picked up the picture and carefully examined it, finding that it was exactly as Yang Le had said.

The two have many similarities in the details of their facial features. The only difference is that Jackson's face looks very kind, while Black Manta has a fierce look.

This may be related to the environment in which they were born. Jackson grew up in Atlantis and received an education from the Atlantean royal family. In addition, he was often surrounded by Aquaman and received all kinds of positive ideas.

And what about the black manta ray? Leaving aside its upbringing, it lived a life of constant warfare and plunder, making it impossible for it to have a kind appearance. It just goes to show that childhood environment can indeed influence a person's entire life, and the saying "the face reflects the heart" holds some truth.

"At first I only had some guesses, and I specifically went to verify them."

Yang Le then presented the paternity test results, saying, "The Justice League's database contains Black Manta's genes, and I also got some of Jackson's blood. The test results were just as I guessed."

The Justice League actually has a lot of supervillains' genes preserved, for the purpose of facilitating future investigations. Basically, except for those whose genes cannot be collected, a copy was kept for everyone.

Batman glanced at them and confirmed that, just as Yang Le had said, the genetic compatibility between the two was only that of a father and son.
"You want to tell Jackson about this?" Batman frowned. "And then have him use that identity to infiltrate the Illuminati?"

Batman thought Yang Le was being a bit too extreme. It would be a miracle if a normal person didn't break down after hearing this news, let alone continue to carry out dangerous missions.
He couldn't even do that.

"Besides, this reason alone is not enough to convince the Illuminati." Batman tapped the paternity report on the table.

“You need to understand that Jackson grew up in Atlantis since he was a child, and he never knew who his real father was.”

"Moreover, judging from Black Manta's actions over the past few years, he probably doesn't know that he has a son, or that the son is in the hands of his enemy."

"If he knew about this, he would have already gone to fight Aquaman to the death."

“Aside from sharing the same blood, there is absolutely no kinship between them. Would the Light of Day believe that Jackson would leave the Justice League solely because he is a biological father?”

In reality, let alone the Illuminati, even Superman, the most understanding member of the Justice League, would probably only believe this in his first year.

“I know, so we need a reason enough to make Young Master Hai abandon the light and join the darkness.”

Yang Le then took out two more photos, one of a man and one of a woman. Judging from their features, both of them were Atlanteans.

"The man and woman are Gus and Tula, both of whom were Jackson's best friends in Atlantis. Jackson once had a crush on Tula, but Tula had already developed feelings for Gus."

"Jealousy?" Batman continued to frown.

"Wait, I'm not finished yet." Yang Le gestured for Batman to calm down. "Just being jealous isn't enough, but what if Jackson's two friends die?"

"Not only that, but he died on a mission under Aquaman's command. If he were to find out his identity at this point, wouldn't his subsequent betrayal seem more logical?"

“Jackson wasn’t that kind of kid.” Green Arrow shook his head. He had been listening without saying anything because what he had heard was too shocking, and the two men’s questions left him no room to maneuver.

Now that he finally had a chance, he naturally seized the opportunity to express his opinion.

"Although I didn't spend much time with that child, I could tell that he wasn't the kind of child who would take his anger out on others."

“We just need to make the Illuminati think that way,” Batman answered for Yang Le.

(End of this chapter)