When the creature was adopted for D&D, however, Gygax made a major innovation to the mythic creature: he gave it wings. (At least, this is true by the 1E Monster Manual; the original version of the rules apparently doesn't mention the feature). Although this is original to the game, it has become a common trope of manticore pictures since, even outside of D&D, although it's far from universal.
1E
Aside from the wings, the illustration shows something much like the mythical manticore: a lion-like creature with a human head and a number of spikes projecting from the end of the tail. Other features we can discern are a row of spikes along the back (presumably extensions of the vertebrae) and the fact that the tail appears to be prehensile. The wings are said to be bat-like, but this is only true in general terms because of the existence of a set of three bony struts and a short claw projecting from the elbow, as well as the apparent absence of the "index finger" (digit II, if we want to be technical) from the main webbing.
Manticores are slightly tougher than regular lions, but less so than, say, a sabretooth cat, and have a much thicker hide. Surprisingly, this bulk isn't reflected in larger claws or teeth, since they do less damage with these than a lion, and there's no evidence of the triple row of teeth that the mythical animal was said to possess. There's no mention of a language, but they are more intelligent than a wild animal and are actively evil. As so often, it's hard to tell what this "evil" entails, unless it's merely their choice of diet, and harder still to see why they are "lawful" when they live in very small groups at best.In 2E, the human head has hair that resembles a lion's mane in some respects and is stated to be present in females as well as males. The wings have a more normal structure, although still without the index finger seen on real bat wings and with a small triangular membrane between the thumb and part of what appears to be the middle finger (digit III). Otherwise, they're pretty much the same, although further information is provided on how the young grow, indicating that the small groups they are found in are, as we might expect, mated pairs and their subadult young. It's clarified that manticores stand a whopping six feet (180 cm) tall at the shoulder, far larger than any cat; absent any lightening of the body to assist flight, this means that they should weigh around a ton...
3E
As so often, the look of the manticore has changed radically in 3E. The feline body is now spotted, and more slender than a lion. It's much smaller than in 2E, but still half-again the length of a large male lion, which makes its stated weight of 1,000 lbs (450 kg) sound about right. The tail is longer, and even more obviously prehensile. The spines on the back are longer and too numerous to be vertebral projections, perhaps instead being quills of some kind. The wings have claws on the end of each digit, but are otherwise bat-like - again, absent the index finger.
The most obvious visible change, however, is in the head, which no longer looks human. It clearly does have the triple row of teeth, however, and has quills on the lower jaw - the sort of feature that a biologist is going to assume is some kind of sexual selection feature, since it's hard to see what they'd actually be useful for otherwise. The intent is clearly that this is the sort of creature that someone, especially if they saw it only from a distance, might describe as having the head of a bearded man due to the lack of any other good analogy.
As before, manticores are slightly tougher than lions, with a thicker hide, but this time, the claws and teeth do about the same damage. Surprisingly, given their larger size and greater physical resilience, they are slightly less strong than a lion... although not really enough to be noticeable. They have an animal-like sense of smell, despite the short snout and, for the first time, are specifically stated to speak. They are said to prefer marshy habitat, rather than the deserts they were associated with in myth.
5E
The 5E manticore is said to have the "wings of a dragon" rather than those of a bat, and they are distinguished from bat wings primarily by a scalloped trailing edge, and probably the continued lack of the index finger (although it's hard to tell). Wings of actual dragons vary in this edition, but those of the chromatic species seem to be the ones intended since there's an undeniable resemblance.
The manticore's body is identifiably felid, but the stripes and the thin build aren't particularly leonine. The forepaws have what appear to be opposable thumbs and toes that resemble primate fingers more than those of cats, albeit with (seemingly non-retractable) claws. The beard is again mane-like, studded with numerous sharp quills, which are also found in various locations on the body; they look defensive, perhaps being of some use in fights against griffons. The head is once again relatively humanoid, although not so much as in first two editions, and the triple row of teeth is very much in evidence, as is the prehensile tail.Manticores are again physically similar to lions in most respects that don't involve their flight or tail spikes, although they're back to having the same strength, and they don't move as rapidly on the ground. They speak in the Common tongue, apparently just so that they can insult their opponents before they kill them, which at least supports the "evil" descriptor. Their "lawful" nature is indicated by their willingness to serve others, allowing them to be part of a larger and more varied encounter.
The manticore is clearly a mammal, albeit with an extra pair of limbs forming the wings, which would have the same issues as those of a griffon. Obviously, no real-world mammals possess a triple row of teeth, but some other vertebrates do, and the 5E illustration shows something that looks somewhat like the teeth of sharks. Perhaps they compensate for the lack of a snout and the powerful jaw muscles of a real cat, which would surely reduce the bite force.
Unlike real lions, manticores are not pack predators, although, according to the first two editions, they are at least more sociable than tigers or jaguars are, with some evidence that they remain in mated pairs for protracted periods. This implies that it requires more effort to raise their young than a mother on her own could manage, perhaps due to the time it takes for them to learn to fly or to develop their full intelligence (such as it is). Although manticores in illustrations all appear to be male, given how non-humanoid they are, that may not mean much. Especially if, as 2E states, the females have beard-like manes, too.
The signature attack of the manticore is its ability to fire its tail spikes at opponents. This does feature in some versions of the original myth, and its description is remarkably consistent across editions. It also explains why the tail is prehensile; it would have to be if the creature is to aim the volley with any degree of accuracy.
Clearly, no real-world creature does anything quite like this, at least over any sort of range. Except for 4E, there is agreement between editions that manticore tails have twelve spikes, and that these can regrow in about 12 to 24 hours. The spikes are typically said to be made of iron, and do similar damage to an arrow, and so are likely about the same size. The range is shorter than most bows, though, so they may not travel with quite the same velocity.
The most logical interpretation is that the spikes are not physically attached to the manticore, being formed by some sort of secretion in deep crypts in the base of the tail. Magic would be required to grow them as quickly as is apparently the case, although it may be that the creature has to eat a source of iron to provide the raw materials. Not necessarily pure iron, of course, although it might make sense to re-consume its own discarded spikes, but a haematite mineral lick or the like might do the trick.
Once the spikes have formed inside this crypt, they could be expelled by the action of a powerful, fast-twitch muscle connected to some kind of bony spring mechanism. This could create an almost explosive force much more quickly than muscle alone could, and, in the real world, is similar to the method used by mantis shrimps to propel their claws at accelerations of around 80 km/s2 (260,000 feet per square second) for a fraction of a second. That might be tricky to achieve on a larger scale, what with the weight of the spike, but a strong flick of the muscular tail could aid the propulsion.
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