Hostess® Ad: Mera Meets the Manta Men
Appeared in: Batman #296, Detective Comics #475, Batman #297, Detective Comics #476, World's Finest #449
Writer: Unknown
Art: Curt Swan and Vince Colletta
Year: February-March 1978
Note: This adventure takes place in a Hypertime dimension known as Earth-Hostess®.
OVERVIEW
Aqualad and Mera see some sharks headed toward beaches. Aqualad tries to turn them back with his telepathy, but fails. The two heroes then see Manta Men behind the sharks, driving them on. Mera uses her hard-water powers to form a giant hand that delivers Hostess® Fruit Pies to the Manta Men. They are so busy eating the pies that they let the sharks escape, and once again an evil plot of Black Manta is foiled.
COMMENTS
Aquaman doesn't appear at all in this ad. Neither does Black Manta.
The Manta Men are basically humans with mantas stuck on their backs. They snap the manta "wings" together to emit a stun ray, which drives the sharks onward. They like soggy Fruit Pies.
Once again Mera is the master of Earth-Hostess® realities. I wonder where she got the Fruit Pies from, though. I didn't think that her hard-water powers could form light tender crusts with real fruit filling.
CONCLUSION
Not too bad, though I'm still waiting for an explanation of where the pies came from...