Manchester Black

Manchester Black is a DC Comics character created by Joe Kelly. He was of English descent, as shown by his accent and his omnipresent Union Jack t-shirt. Little else is known about his origin. Black had incredibly powerful telekinetic and telepathic powers that enabled him to move objects with his mind on an incredibly precise level. He was able to give Superman the equivalent of a stroke, for example, by telekinetically moving small parts of Superman's brain. He was also able to create illusions on a vast scale and telepathically control thousands of people at the same time. To help Marvel comics fans understand Black's powers, it is safe to say that has roughly the same powerset as the X-Men villain Exodus.

Black first appeared in Action Comics #775 leading a team of super-powered antiheroes known as the Elite, who gained worldwide popularity for viciously killing their foes. Superman opposed this wanton violence, leading to a showdown on Jupiter that was videotaped for the Earth's media. Black used his powers to give Superman a stroke, and his teammates (Coldcast, Menagerie and the Hat) apparently were able to destroy Superman in a giant explosion. While the Elite were gloating, however, Superman used his superspeed to seemingly kill the team save Black, and Superman then disabled the Englishman by using x-ray vision to locate an unusual growth on Black's brain, identifying the growth as the source of Black's powers, and then using a fine beam of heat vision shot through Black's eyes to surgically disable Black's mental abilities. Superman then revealed to the suddenly powerless Black that the rest of the Elite were only unconscious, and that murdering opponents makes a hero no better than his enemies.

A temporarily beaten Black was taken into custody, as his mental powers recuperated over a few months. His next appearance was part of the "Our Worlds At War" storyline in Adventures of Superman #593. Black was hired by the American government and President Lex Luthor to lead a new Suicide Squad featuring Validus, Plasmus, Shrapnel and Steel (John Henry Irons). The Squad's mission was to release the monster Doomsday against the threat of the galactic conqueror Imperiex. Doomsday killed the Squad upon his release, however, except for Black who escaped.

Black's final appearance was in the "Ending Battle" storyline running through the Superman titles in November and December of 2002. This storyline featured Black mentally controlling dozens of supervillains by revealing Superman's secret identity and sending them en masse after the Man of Steel. Superman manages to hold the villains back, and then finds Black in his apartment, apparently having killed Superman's wife Lois Lane. Black taunts Superman and goads him into killing him, but Superman puts Lois' body first and gives her a proper burial. Despite fantasizing about killing Black, Superman resists temptation and tells Black that he will devote the rest of his life to keeping the villain behind bars, not in the morgue. Black is stunned at Superman's fortitude, and as his spirit wavers, his mental spell crumbles, and it is revealed that Lois is still alive. The supervillains forget that Superman is really Clark Kent, and Black then takes his own life, distraught that he has himself become a villain.

Black's sister Vera is currently the leader of the JLA: Elite team of superheroes.