The Elite is a team of fictional super-powered

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

es appearing in American comic books published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, in particular those featuring

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and The Justice League. They are DC's response to Wildstorm's The Authority. The Elite made their first appearance in the story " What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?", published in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #775 (March

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

). The story, which was voted number 1 in ''Wizard'' magazine's "Top Ten Comics of the Decade", was written by Joe Kelly, inked by Tom Nguyen and penciled by

Doug Mahnke Douglas Mahnke () is an American comic book artist, known for his work and penciller, penciling books including ''The Mask (comics), The Mask'', ''JLA (comic book), JLA'', ''Batman (comic book), Batman'', ''Final Crisis'', and ''Green Lantern (co ...

and Lee Bermejo. They appeared as antagonists before some of the characters merged with members of the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

to form the

Justice League Elite ''Justice League Elite'' was a twelve-issue comic book limited series published monthly by DC Comics in 2004 and 2005. The title was created by writer Joe Kelly and penciller Doug Mahnke. The limited series is a spin-off from the JLA title. Th ...

Fictional team history

Team members

Manchester Black 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). Introduced as an antihero, the ch ...

is the team's first leader. A British telekinetic vigilante, currently inactive after realizing that he had become as bad as the villains that he wanted to fight. His Union Jack tattoo echoes the Authority's Jenny Sparks' t-shirt. * Vera Black is a British psionic

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Coldcast is a very large and muscular African-American man who wore dreadlocks and chains and manacles around his neck and wrists. He is capable of manipulating electromagnetism. Coldcast was eventually inspired by

to fight on the side of heroes. * The first

Menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...

is a Puerto Rican woman with a symbiotic suit of armor that allows her to transform into a chimeric creature. She was lobotomized and rendered comatose. * The second Menagerie is the sister of Menagerie I. She joins with an alien weapon cache that drives her insane, and later is incarcerated in a

metahuman In the DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with the terms '' mutant'', '' inhuman'' and '' mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and '' posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In ...

prison facility. * The

Hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

is a young and powerful Asian Earth elemental with a measure of invulnerability and an ability to breathe fire. He is armed with a magic hat from which he can pull any item he desires, summon demons, and wield magic. He quits the team shortly after Vera Black takes over. * Bunny is a bacterial colony that became a floating fortress before the Elite brought her to their universe to use as a base of operations. It contains many wonders such as

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

and the skeleton of

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

Collected editions

The Elite made their second appearance in the event story ''Ending Battle'' which was collected into a

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

of the same name: * ''Justice League Elite'': ** ''Volume 1'' (collects: ''Action Comics'' #775, ''JLA'' #100, ''JLA Secret Files 2004'', and ''Justice League Elite'' #1–4, 208 pages,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

) ** ''Volume 2'' (collects ''Justice League Elite'' #5–12, 192 pages,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

) * ''Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Volume 1'' (includes ''

'' #775, 192 pages)

In other media

* The Elite appears in '' Superman vs. The Elite'', consisting of Manchester Black, Vera Black, Coldcast, Menagerie, and the Hat. * The Elite appears in the fourth season of ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'', consisting of Manchester Black, Menagerie, the Hat, and a Morae. This version of the group comes together in response to

Agent Liberty Agent Liberty (Benjamin Lockwood) is a fictional character appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, he made his debut in ''Superman'' vol. 2 #60 (Oct. 1991), and was later given his own ...

and the Children of Liberty's bigotry towards aliens and the U.S. government and the

Department of Extranormal Operations Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(D.E.O.)'s perceived ineffectiveness against those who kill aliens.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elite, The 2001 comics debuts DC Comics superhero teams Characters created by Joe Kelly DC Comics supervillain teams