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The Elite is a team of metahuman vigilantes in the DC Comics universe, created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, first appearing in Action Comics #775 in March 2001. The team was formed by Manchester Black, a British telekinetic vigilante who gathered a group of powerful individuals to enforce their own brutal form of justice, often through lethal means. Their philosophy was that the ends justified the means, which put them in direct conflict with Superman, who operates with a strict no-kill code.[1]
The Elite’s initial mission took them to Tripoli, Libya, where they eliminated a giant ape rogue threat but also caused massive collateral damage, including killing thousands of soldiers. They quickly defeated Superman, but he later challenged and defeated them on Jupiter's moon Io by exploiting weaknesses in their powers. Superman feigned killing the Elite to expose the danger of their approach and to show that heroes who kill become terrifying rather than inspirational.[1]
Afterwards, the team was reformed by Vera Black, Manchester Black’s sister, who led a new iteration of the Elite called the Justice League Elite. This version aimed to atone for past actions and dealt with covert threats, working alongside but distinct from the main Justice League.[1]
Members of the Elite have included:
Manchester Black, the original leader.
Vera Black, his sister and second leader.
Coldcast, an African-American electromagnetism manipulator who later turned hero.
Menagerie, a Puerto Rican woman with symbiotic armor allowing transformation into a chimeric creature.
Hat, a young Asian Earth elemental with magical abilities.
Bunny, a bacterial colony turned floating fortress serving as their base.
The Elite was DC Comics' response to the more extremist and violent superhero teams such as Wildstorm's The Authority, representing a darker take on superhero justice and morality.
This summary is based on information from the Multiversal Omnipedia, Comic Vine, and DC Database, which provide detailed histories and analyses of DC Comics characters and teams.[1]
Manchester Black 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.[2]
Vera Black is a British psionic cyborg, sister of Manchester Black, and the second leader of the Elite.[3]
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 Superman to fight on the side of heroes.[4]
The first Menagerie 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.[5]
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 prison facility.
The Hat 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 and the skeleton of Pegasus.
Collected editions
The Elite made their second appearance in the event story Ending Battle which was collected into a trade paperbacks 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)[6][7][8]
Volume 2 (collects Justice League Elite #5–12, 192 pages, 2007)[9][10][11]
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