Manta Force
MANTA Force was a line of toys produced by British toy company Bluebird in 1987. The toyline was initially divided into two main factions: the heroic MANTA Force and their opponents, the evil Viper Squad. Following the popularity of the MANTA Force toy range, an additional enemy was introduced in 1989; a group of robots known as the Karnoids, who were an enemy of both MANTA Force and the Viper Squad. The following year saw the release of the Stenchoids, which were another new threat for the humans. By the early 1990s however, the popularity of the toy range began to decrease and eventually production was stopped.
Plot
By 2012, humans had colonised many planets throughout the Solar System, including Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. The planet Earth however, had become polluted and overpopulated. In an attempt to save mankind, President Battaille ordered the creation of the M.A.N.T.A. ship. M.A.N.T.A. Force was an acronym for Multiple-Air-Naval-Terrain-Assault Force and was the most advanced Earth ship ever built. It was designed to work in any environment and its engine was fuelled by a substance called Thorium.Following the successful launch of the M.A.N.T.A. Force ship, the World Government created the Red Venom to help Manta Force colonise New Earth. On Saturn however, many of the people had grown tired of living in plastic bubbles and believed New Earth should belong to them. During its test runs therefore, the Red Venom was hijacked by a group of highly skilled soldiers called the Viper Squad. Under the command of Major Vex, the Viper Squad attempted to use the Red Venom to hijack the M.A.N.T.A. Force ship, so they could be the ones to colonise New Earth.
Later the two opposing sides joined forces to fight off attacks from a cybernetic alien known as Mad Karnock, who was served by an army of robots called Karnoids. Another enemy also emerged from the swamps of New Earth in the form of the vile Stinkhorn, leader of the Stenchoids, who attempted to destroy the humans with their decomposing Stench weapons.
Toys
Manta Force toys
- MANTA Force - Giant 2-in-1 spaceship which housed 10 smaller vehicles.
- Battle Fortress - M.A.N.T.A. Force bunker with Viper Squad disc launcher
- Astro Shark - White starship that contained several smaller ships. Also included an exclusive red M.A.N.T.A pilot.
- Star Blaster - Silver rocket for Viper Squad, which split into 4 individual aircraft.
- Red Venom - Huge red spaceship for the Viper Squad. Splits into 9 all-terrain vehicles.
- Black Barracuda - Black spaceship which separated into several vehicles, including a tank and a Karnoid robot factory.
- Bog Rocket - Purple spaceship, that could convert into a fortress for Stinkhorn and his Stenchoids.
Smaller sets
- Yellow Wolves - Yellow redecos of the 3 land vehicles from the M.A.N.T.A. ship.
- Red Hawks - Red redecos of the 3 air vehicles from the M.A.N.T.A ship.
- Blue Sharks - Blue redecos of the 3 sea vehicles from the M.A.N.T.A ship.
- Black Viper - Black redeco of the Battle Copter from the M.A.N.T.A ship.
- Porcupine - M.A.N.T.A. Hawks field gun.
- Sting Ray - M.A.N.T.A. Hawks rescue ship.
- Red Viper - Viper Squad attack ship.
- The Sledge Hammer - M.A.N.T.A. Force field Gun.
- The Dictator - Viper Squad field gun.
- The Equalizer & The Vaporizer - Field guns for M.A.N.T.A Force & Viper Squad, sold together.
- The Scythe - M.A.N.T.A. Force vehicle with disc launcher.
- The Cyclops - M.A.N.T.A. Force vehicle with double barreled cannon.
- The Zip Gun - M.A.N.T.A. Force vehicle with rapid fire pellet gun.
- Doomsday - Viper Squad double barreled cannon.
- Rattle Snake - Viper Squad red Zip Gun.
- B.A.T. - Wheeled combat vehicle for the Viper Squad.
- Battle Buzzard - Viper Squad 2-man hang glider.
- Wasp - Viper Squad motorcycle.
- Reinforcements - Includes 16 M.A.N.T.A. men.
- Ammo Pack - 14 replacement projectiles for the vehicles.
- Gutz - Black redeco of Mad Karnack's attack vehicle from the Black Barracuda.
- Ground Hog - Karnoid land vehicle. Can be combined with Black Barracuda.
- Glutten - Karnoid land vehicle. Can be combined with Black Barracuda.
- Snatch - Red Karnoid jet fighter. Can be combined with Black Barracuda.
- Sneak - Red Karnoid jet fighter. Can be combined with Black Barracuda.
- Hammer-Head - Karnoid battering ram.
- Turbo-Drill - Karnoid drill vehicle.
- Sling-Shot - Karnoid catapult.
- Spit-Bug - Karnoid missile launcher.
- Snatch - Black redeco of original Snatch. Can combine with Karnoid land vehicles.
- Sneak - Black redeco of original Sneak. Can combine with Karnoid land vehicles.
- Stinkjet - Silver UFO for the vile Stinkhorn.
- Stenchoid - Included a Stenchoid, M.A.N.T.A men, and a Stench Egg.
- Stench Refill - included a large green Stench refill and several M.A.N.T.A. men.
Literature
Eagle Comics
| Issue | Summary | Writers | Illustrators | Release Date |
| Eagle Comics # 285 | The MANTA ship blasts off in search of Earth's twin planet. | W. Steele | Ian Kennedy | Monday 5 September 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 286 | The Viper Squad steal the Manta Force Battle Copter. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 12 September 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 287 | Captain Finn attempts to rescue Commander Quest. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 19 September 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 288 | Commander Quest and Major Vex encounter an alien intelligence. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 26 September 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 289 | Major Vex's Viper Squad investigate an ancient alien city. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 3 October 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 290 | Major Vex finds an alien device which makes him invisible. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 10 October 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 291 | The Viper Squad use their new power of invisibility to infiltrate the MANTA ship. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 17 October 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 292 | Major Vex encounters an alien spacecraft. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 24 October 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 293 | Using a duplication ray he found aboard the alien ship, Major Vex secretly creates a huge army of vehicles and troops. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 31 October 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 294 | The first settlers arrive from Earth and begin construction of a new city on the planet. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 7 November 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 295 | Captain Finn discovers Major Vex's duplicated army. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 14 November 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 296 | Captain Finn explains how he managed to escape from Vex's lair. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 21 November 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 297 | Manta Force realise that their vehicles are being sabotaged. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 28 November 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 298 | The evil duplicate of Captain Finn attempts to destroy the city. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 5 December 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 299 | Major Vex unleashes his huge army of duplicated Manta Force vehicles. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 12 December 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 300 | The alien guardian reveals his secret. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 19 December 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 301 | The real Captain Finn escapes from his prison cell. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 26 December 1987 |
| Eagle Comics # 302 | Major Vex tries to seize control of the planet. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 2 January 1988 |
| Eagle Comics # 303 | The battle for New Earth rages on. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 9 January 1988 |
| Eagle Comics # 304 | With his duplicate army destroyed, Vex seeks to retaliate by annihilating the city. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 16 January 1988 |
| Eagle Comics # 305 | Manta Force must battle a duplicate of their own MANTA Attack Ship, piloted by the evil Viper Squad. | Alan Hebden | Mike Dorey | Monday 23 January 1988 |
Marvel Comics UK
| Issue | Summary | Writers | Illustrators | Release Date |
| Manta Force - Winter Special # 001 | Royston Drake | Royston Drake | Winter, 1989 |
Bluebird Comics
| Issue | Summary | Writers | Illustrators | Release Date |
| Red Venom Strikes at Manta Force! | The Viper Squad hijack a new state-of-the-art spaceship. | Unknown | Unknown | 1988 |
| Manta Force - The Black Barracuda Attacks | Unknown | Unknown | 1989 | |
| Manta Force - Vile Stinkhorn and his Stenchoids | Unknown | Unknown | 1990 |
Carnival Books
| Issue | Summary | Writers | Illustrators | Release Date |
| Manta Force - The Enemy Within | Example | Royston Drake | Royston Drake | Monday 17 July 1989 |
| Manta Force - Red Venom Attack! | Example | Royston Drake | Royston Drake | Monday 17 July 1989 |