Manitou Raven
Encyclopedia
Manitou Raven is a fictional character
and superhero
from DC Comics
. Manitou Raven was known to shout "Inukchuk!" when he cast spells. This is a reference by writer Joe Kelly to Apache Chief
from the Super Friends
animated series. Like Apache Chief, Manitou would shout this phrase in order to grow to enormous size. A sign in JLA #67 which read "Apache Land" gave the first clue to Manitou Raven's link to Apache Chief. Despite the intent of the reference, however, "Manitou" is an Algonquian
word, not Apache.
hail from the Obsidian Age of Atlantis
, circa 1000 BCE. They were born in North America, from a tribe which would one day become the Apache Tribe. Few details are known about Raven's early life. It is also unclear whether his command of mystical forces was learned or innate.
Raven was recruited by the rulers of Atlantis — Rama Khan
and Gamemnae
— to join heroes from across the globe (and from rival societies) and form a multicultural "League of Ancients."
When Gamemnae had a prophetic vision of a "seven-headed hydra" from the future that would threaten Atlantis, Raven and a super-powered Aztec
warrior called Tezumak journeyed to the 21st century to battle the threat. While there, they concluded that the "hydra" was the Justice League
, but they were unable to defeat the League and barely managed to return to Atlantis to alert the Ancients that the JLA were en route. The JLA ultimately traveled back to the Ancients' time and were slain. During the fight, Raven witnessed Green Lantern
Kyle Rayner's
bravery; Rayner turned his attention from the fight to save innocent Atlanteans simply because they were in danger, even after they had shown him and his friends nothing but fear. Raven also tested Batman
with his father's tomahawk, which has an enchantment that prevents it from piercing the skin of a good man. These events caused Raven to question the prophecy condemning the Justice League. Confronting Gamemnae, he learned that her vision was a lie; an Atlantean outcast, she had raised the city to the surface and restored the inhabitants' ability to breath air with the intention of turning them into a world-conquering empire with herself as ruler, but when Aquaman
and his people arrived from the future, she learned that her plans were destined to fail, and resolved to kill the Justice League when they came to rescue Aquaman in order to prevent their future.
Using Rayner's heart (Kyle having willingly sacrificed himself for the plan to work) and the souls of the slain JLA members, Raven cast a powerful containment spell around Atlantis that effectively trapped the evil Gamemnae. Eventually another team of Leaguers- consisting of Nightwing
, Zatanna
, Firestorm and Hawkgirl- arrived from the future, helping Aquaman to sink Atlantis to disrupt Gamemnae's bond with the city in the past, while the other League members in the future- the future Raven, Green Arrow
, the Atom, Jason Blood, Major Disaster
, Garth
, and Faith
- vanquished Gamemnae by tricking her into resurrecting the original League (Raven had reanimated them as corpses to fight the flesh-absorbing Gamemnae, forcing Gamemnae to bring them back to life so she could effectively kill them). Afterwards, Raven and Dawn chose to accompany the Justice League and the returning Atlanteans into the future. Following this, Jason Blood left the JLA and suggested Manitou Raven as his replacement. Superman
formally admitted him soon thereafter.
Being a man over three thousand years out of time, Raven suffered from culture shock, but eventually grew accustomed to the 21st century, respecting the Justice League as warriors and friends; he even told Aquaman that the League were the bravest people he had ever met. His powerful command of magic played an important role during his time on the team; most notably, when the League faced the Burning, an enraged Burning Martian unleashed when J'onn J'onzz broke his genetic lock against fire and unlocked his racial memories of the ancient Martians, he led teammates Major Disaster
and the Atom on a spiritual walk to make contact with the Manhunter's true self on the spiritual plane. Meanwhile the Manitou continued to immerse himself in his work. He even visited a reservation casino built on what was once his tribe's land. Its location was not specified, but he called it gontee ni, "ground of four fingers."
by Vera Black, who approached the JLA with a proposition. It seemed that a powerful chaos was emanating from the Earth's very being. The mother goddess, Gaea, was awakening and in her anger she threatened to destroy humanity. Though Superman was understandably hesitant to ally with Vera's new Elite, Raven confirmed Vera's prophesies. The JLA and the Elite subsequently staged an elaborate battle and convinced Gaea that humans were worthy of inheriting the planet.
After this, Vera boldly proposed the formation of the Justice League Elite
: a black ops team organized to fight extranormal threats before they reach the public. Superman and Batman
denied Vera membership in the League, which angered several of their teammates, including Raven, the Flash
and Major Disaster
, who all believed that Black had proved herself worthy. These members left the main JLA and allied with her in this new venture. Thus the Justice League Elite became a sort of "not-exactly-sanctioned don't-ask-don't-tell" covert operations unit. Their mission was to hunt and eliminate extranormal threats to the Earth before they went public.
This new undercover branch of the League moved to a secret base in New Jersey called The Factory. In their first mission, they infiltrated an organization of assassins that led to the takedown of the despotic dictator, Hi-Shan Bhat. Once Bhat in custody he was mysteriously killed by a member of the Elite. Vera knew this bode poorly for their future; upon their return, she charged Raven with divining the identity of the team's traitor/Bhat's killer. During this time, Dawn became distanced from her husband. His constant attention to work and the trials of the "Stony Path" kept him from satisfying her needs. Dawn became friendly with Green Arrow, who had vowed to quit the team because of Bhat's death.) Soon the two engaged in a sexual relationship — not unbeknownst to Raven. Raven was angered of course, but consumed by his work. He acquired the "Eye of 18 Pupils" in order to divine the truth behind Bhat's death.
But before Raven could reveal the team's killer, he followed the them in pursuit of the villain Aftermath. There Raven invoked his magic one last time and died taking the brunt of a bomb. This would not be the last heard from such a powerful magician. Just after his death, Raven appeared to several members of the Elite. His spirit convinced Major Disaster (who felt responsible for Raven's death) to seek treatment for alcoholism. Dawn entrusted Raven's hatchet to the Elite's coordinator, Naif al-Sheikh
. Then in grief and anger, she too summoned Raven's spirit via the staff and uttered his magic phrase, "Inukchuk!"
It was Raven who implored the Elite to regroup when all seemed lost. Dawn then assumed Manitou Raven's mantle of power (now Manitou Dawn), and she was permanently marked on the face by his spectral touch. During the Elite's final battle, Manitou Raven appeared in both the form of a Raven and as a phantom version of his former self. So far, Raven has remained close to Dawn, in a spiritual form, acting as an unpredictable advisor.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
from DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Manitou Raven was known to shout "Inukchuk!" when he cast spells. This is a reference by writer Joe Kelly to Apache Chief
Apache Chief
Apache Chief is a fictional Native American superhero from the various Super Friends cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera. He was one of the new heroes added to increase the number of non-white characters in the Super Friends ranks...
from the Super Friends
Super Friends
Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup...
animated series. Like Apache Chief, Manitou would shout this phrase in order to grow to enormous size. A sign in JLA #67 which read "Apache Land" gave the first clue to Manitou Raven's link to Apache Chief. Despite the intent of the reference, however, "Manitou" is an Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
word, not Apache.
Fictional character biography
Manitou Raven and his wife DawnManitou Dawn
Manitou Dawn is a fictional superhero character in the DC Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:Dawn and her late husband Manitou Raven hail from the Obsidian Age of Atlantis, circa 1000 BC. They were born in North America, from a tribe which would one day become the Apache Tribe. Few...
hail from the Obsidian Age of Atlantis
Atlantis (DC Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the DC Comics Universe. The very first DC Universe version of Atlantis debuted in Action Comics #18 , and was created by...
, circa 1000 BCE. They were born in North America, from a tribe which would one day become the Apache Tribe. Few details are known about Raven's early life. It is also unclear whether his command of mystical forces was learned or innate.
Raven was recruited by the rulers of Atlantis — Rama Khan
Rama Khan
Rama Khan is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe.-Biography:Rama Khan appeared as earlier than 1,004 BC, with no information of his exact birth date. In the land of Atlantis, he became the joint ruler of Atlantis, sharing the post with Gamemnae...
and Gamemnae
Gamemnae
Gamemnae is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, who was an enemy of the Justice League.-Fictional character biography:Born over three thousand years ago, Gamemnae was an Atlantean, exiled at birth for having blonde hair - considered a curse in Atlantean culture...
— to join heroes from across the globe (and from rival societies) and form a multicultural "League of Ancients."
When Gamemnae had a prophetic vision of a "seven-headed hydra" from the future that would threaten Atlantis, Raven and a super-powered Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
warrior called Tezumak journeyed to the 21st century to battle the threat. While there, they concluded that the "hydra" was the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
, but they were unable to defeat the League and barely managed to return to Atlantis to alert the Ancients that the JLA were en route. The JLA ultimately traveled back to the Ancients' time and were slain. During the fight, Raven witnessed Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
Kyle Rayner's
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
bravery; Rayner turned his attention from the fight to save innocent Atlanteans simply because they were in danger, even after they had shown him and his friends nothing but fear. Raven also tested Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
with his father's tomahawk, which has an enchantment that prevents it from piercing the skin of a good man. These events caused Raven to question the prophecy condemning the Justice League. Confronting Gamemnae, he learned that her vision was a lie; an Atlantean outcast, she had raised the city to the surface and restored the inhabitants' ability to breath air with the intention of turning them into a world-conquering empire with herself as ruler, but when Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
and his people arrived from the future, she learned that her plans were destined to fail, and resolved to kill the Justice League when they came to rescue Aquaman in order to prevent their future.
Using Rayner's heart (Kyle having willingly sacrificed himself for the plan to work) and the souls of the slain JLA members, Raven cast a powerful containment spell around Atlantis that effectively trapped the evil Gamemnae. Eventually another team of Leaguers- consisting of Nightwing
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
, Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...
, Firestorm and Hawkgirl- arrived from the future, helping Aquaman to sink Atlantis to disrupt Gamemnae's bond with the city in the past, while the other League members in the future- the future Raven, Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
, the Atom, Jason Blood, Major Disaster
Major Disaster
Major Disaster is a former DC Comics supervillain and reluctant amoral superhero. He debuted in Green Lantern # 43.-Fictional character biography:Paul Booker was nothing more than a cheap crook...
, Garth
Tempest (comics)
Tempest is the name of three different American fictional characters published by DC Comics.-Joshua Clay:The first character with the superhero title, Clay is an African-American member of the second Doom Patrol...
, and Faith
Faith (comics)
Faith is a superhero in the DC Comics universe who first appeared in JLA #69 .-Fictional character biography:Faith is a female hero with tremendous psychic powers...
- vanquished Gamemnae by tricking her into resurrecting the original League (Raven had reanimated them as corpses to fight the flesh-absorbing Gamemnae, forcing Gamemnae to bring them back to life so she could effectively kill them). Afterwards, Raven and Dawn chose to accompany the Justice League and the returning Atlanteans into the future. Following this, Jason Blood left the JLA and suggested Manitou Raven as his replacement. Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
formally admitted him soon thereafter.
Being a man over three thousand years out of time, Raven suffered from culture shock, but eventually grew accustomed to the 21st century, respecting the Justice League as warriors and friends; he even told Aquaman that the League were the bravest people he had ever met. His powerful command of magic played an important role during his time on the team; most notably, when the League faced the Burning, an enraged Burning Martian unleashed when J'onn J'onzz broke his genetic lock against fire and unlocked his racial memories of the ancient Martians, he led teammates Major Disaster
Major Disaster
Major Disaster is a former DC Comics supervillain and reluctant amoral superhero. He debuted in Green Lantern # 43.-Fictional character biography:Paul Booker was nothing more than a cheap crook...
and the Atom on a spiritual walk to make contact with the Manhunter's true self on the spiritual plane. Meanwhile the Manitou continued to immerse himself in his work. He even visited a reservation casino built on what was once his tribe's land. Its location was not specified, but he called it gontee ni, "ground of four fingers."
Justice League Elite
Both he and Dawn were eventually recruited into the Justice League EliteJustice 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....
by Vera Black, who approached the JLA with a proposition. It seemed that a powerful chaos was emanating from the Earth's very being. The mother goddess, Gaea, was awakening and in her anger she threatened to destroy humanity. Though Superman was understandably hesitant to ally with Vera's new Elite, Raven confirmed Vera's prophesies. The JLA and the Elite subsequently staged an elaborate battle and convinced Gaea that humans were worthy of inheriting the planet.
After this, Vera boldly proposed the formation of the Justice League Elite
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....
: a black ops team organized to fight extranormal threats before they reach the public. Superman and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
denied Vera membership in the League, which angered several of their teammates, including Raven, the Flash
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
and Major Disaster
Major Disaster
Major Disaster is a former DC Comics supervillain and reluctant amoral superhero. He debuted in Green Lantern # 43.-Fictional character biography:Paul Booker was nothing more than a cheap crook...
, who all believed that Black had proved herself worthy. These members left the main JLA and allied with her in this new venture. Thus the Justice League Elite became a sort of "not-exactly-sanctioned don't-ask-don't-tell" covert operations unit. Their mission was to hunt and eliminate extranormal threats to the Earth before they went public.
This new undercover branch of the League moved to a secret base in New Jersey called The Factory. In their first mission, they infiltrated an organization of assassins that led to the takedown of the despotic dictator, Hi-Shan Bhat. Once Bhat in custody he was mysteriously killed by a member of the Elite. Vera knew this bode poorly for their future; upon their return, she charged Raven with divining the identity of the team's traitor/Bhat's killer. During this time, Dawn became distanced from her husband. His constant attention to work and the trials of the "Stony Path" kept him from satisfying her needs. Dawn became friendly with Green Arrow, who had vowed to quit the team because of Bhat's death.) Soon the two engaged in a sexual relationship — not unbeknownst to Raven. Raven was angered of course, but consumed by his work. He acquired the "Eye of 18 Pupils" in order to divine the truth behind Bhat's death.
But before Raven could reveal the team's killer, he followed the them in pursuit of the villain Aftermath. There Raven invoked his magic one last time and died taking the brunt of a bomb. This would not be the last heard from such a powerful magician. Just after his death, Raven appeared to several members of the Elite. His spirit convinced Major Disaster (who felt responsible for Raven's death) to seek treatment for alcoholism. Dawn entrusted Raven's hatchet to the Elite's coordinator, Naif al-Sheikh
Naif al-Sheikh
Naif al-Sheikh is a fictional character, a Saudi superhero in the DC Comics universe and a former member of Justice League Elite. Created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, the character first appeared in Justice League Elite #1 ....
. Then in grief and anger, she too summoned Raven's spirit via the staff and uttered his magic phrase, "Inukchuk!"
It was Raven who implored the Elite to regroup when all seemed lost. Dawn then assumed Manitou Raven's mantle of power (now Manitou Dawn), and she was permanently marked on the face by his spectral touch. During the Elite's final battle, Manitou Raven appeared in both the form of a Raven and as a phantom version of his former self. So far, Raven has remained close to Dawn, in a spiritual form, acting as an unpredictable advisor.