Manchester Black

Manchester Black
Manchester Black
	Manchester Black in Action Comics #775, art by Doug Mahnke.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #775 (March 2001)
Created by	Joe Kelly; Doug Mahnke
In-story information
Alter ego	Manchester Black
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	The Elite; Suicide Squad; S.T.A.R. Labs ; The Authority
Abilities	Telekinesis; Mind reading; Mind control; Thought projection; Illusion generation; Dream manipulation; Memory manipulation; Lie detection;

Manchester Black is a fictional character in American comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those featuring Superman. He was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke in Action Comics #775 (March 2001).^[1] Introduced as an antihero, the character later becomes a supervillain.

David Ajala portrays Manchester Black in Supergirl.

Fictional character biography

Manchester Black is the leader of a team of super-powered antiheroes called the Elite, who gain popularity for viciously killing their foes. Superman battles the Elite before killing their members and temporarily depowering Black by damaging his brain. Following this, Black's sister Vera assumes leadership of the Elite's remants.^[2]

In Our Worlds at War, Black regains his powers and joins the Suicide Squad to recruit Doomsday and battle Imperiex. Later, Black battles Superman before realizing the error of his ways and committing suicide.^[3]

Black is resurrected in The New 52 continuity reboot and depicted as a high-ranking S.T.A.R. Labs executive.^[4]^[5] He later works with Superman to save Earth from the Phantom Zone criminals and uses his powers to erase the public's knowledge of Superman's identity, killing him in the process.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Powers and abilities

Black is a powerful telekinetic and telepath. He can create detailed illusions on a vast scale, erase memories, and could telepathically control thousands of minds at the same time. While controlling Bizarro and Silver Banshee, he was able to temporarily grant them enough sanity to enable them to communicate and form plans.

David Ajala as Manchester "Ches" Black in *Supergirl*.

In other media

Manchester Black appears in Supergirl, portrayed by David Ajala.^[9] This version is a Black British man who fell in love with an Empath from Ikthanol named Fiona Byrne (portrayed by Tiya Sircar). After the Children of Liberty capture and kill Byrne, Black seeks revenge by forming the Elite and using a Martian artifact called the Staff of H'ronmeer that grants telepathic powers, only to be killed by Martian Manhunter.
Manchester Black appears in Superman vs. The Elite, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes as an adult and Grey DeLisle as a child.^[10]^[11]
Manchester Black appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced again by Robin Atkin Downes.^[12]
Manchester Black appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[13]

Collected editions

Some of Black's appearances have been reprinted in trade paperbacks:

Justice League Elite (reprints: Action Comics #775, JLA #100, JLA Secret Files 2004 (lead story), and Justice League Elite #1-4, tpb, 208 pages, 2005, Titan ISBN 1-84576-191-X DC, ISBN 1-4012-0481-3)
Superman: Ending Battle (reprints 2002's Superman (1986 series) #186-87, Adventures Of Superman #608-09, Superman: Man Of Steel #130-31, and Action Comics #795-96, tpb, 192 pages, 2009, DC, ISBN 1-4012-2259-5)

References

^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
^ Justice League Elite #1-8 (2004–2005)
^ Action Comics #796 (December 2002)
^ Superman (vol. 4) #24.
^ Superman (vol. 4) #25.
^ Superman and the Authority #1.
^ Superman and the Authority #2.
^ "Action Comics #1050 Review". Comic Book Dispatch. January 25, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
^ Petski, Denise (July 21, 2018). "'Supergirl' Adds Nicole Maines As Transgender Superhero; April Parker Jones & David Ajala Also Cast – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
^ "Manchester Black Voice - Superman vs. The Elite (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^ "Manchester (Young) Voice - Superman vs. The Elite (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^ Eisen, Andrew (June 9, 2014). "Characters - LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2024.

The DC Comics Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2004. p. 194. ISBN 0-7566-0592-X.

External links

Manchester Black at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
DCU Guide entry
The Captain's unofficial JLA Homepage entry
Superman homepage
GCD Project: Action Comics #775
Comparisons between Manchester Black and The Mad Mod

[1] Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.

[2] Justice League Elite #1-8 (2004–2005)

[3] Action Comics #796 (December 2002)

[4] Superman (vol. 4) #24.

[5] Superman (vol. 4) #25.

[6] Superman and the Authority #1.

[7] Superman and the Authority #2.

[8] "Action Comics #1050 Review". Comic Book Dispatch. January 25, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2024.

[9] Petski, Denise (July 21, 2018). "'Supergirl' Adds Nicole Maines As Transgender Superhero; April Parker Jones & David Ajala Also Cast – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2018.

[btva-10] "Manchester Black Voice - Superman vs. The Elite (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

[btva2-11] "Manchester (Young) Voice - Superman vs. The Elite (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

[12] Eisen, Andrew (June 9, 2014). "Characters - LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2024.

[13] Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2024.

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