META : MANTA’S AUTISM. as it has been stated in pre - 52 canon , david suffers from autism spectrum disorder ( ASD. ) this disorder has affected his development as a child and still affects him well into his adulthood .
***one thing i’d like to make sure to mention is that his autism HAS NOT prompted him to commit any of the crimes or acts of terrorism that he has in the past , nor will it be used to justify or excuse any of the atrocities he has committed ! also , if you’ve read through this and feel as though i am portraying something inaccurately or in an offensive manner , PLEASE tell me .
so , david suffers from a “milder” form of autism / is considered to be on the higher - functioning side of the spectrum , meaning he has developed advanced communication skills , but has delayed social skills and suffers from severe sensory issues . although he is extremely intelligent ( as he does have limited expertise in mechanical engineering ) , he does suffer from poor social skills . he often struggles to maintain eye contact with a person , thus explaining his frequent wearing of the manta helmet — even when on land . he struggles to identify the use of sarcasm or humor because of the difficulty to identify and mimic a person’s use of prosody , and has a hard time reading a person’s body language / visual cues . these symptoms affect his ability to form close bonds and leave him feeling disconnected from close ones .
david also has displayed an over focusing on certain interests , mainly his compulsive need to develop new technology and his obsession with atlantis , and its king , aquaman . this affects most conversations he has , as he’s always trying to find ways to steer the conversation towards these topics . his insistence on sameness and fixation on these interests make it harder to adjust to his personal life and social skills , as he’s been shown to drop everything to focus on avenging his father ( as shown when he murdered his customers in cold blood , burned down his new business , and abandoned his new life as a citizen when he’d learned that aquaman had been resurrected in the blackest night event . PICTURED HERE . ) his sensory processing issues affect his reaction to extreme temperatures and sub - zero water temperatures as shown during his treatment in arkham asylum .
manta’s failure to receive the proper treatment for his illness has greatly affected him in that he will continue to struggle with these symptoms . so far , he’s done nothing to seek help following his diagnosis all those years ago and continues to ignore and keep quiet about his autism , seeing it as a weakness holding him back .
