The Elite
Encyclopedia
The Elite is a team of super-powered anti-hero
es appearing in stories published by DC Comics
. The team took early influences from The Authority.
They made their first appearance in the story "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?
", published in Action Comics
#775 (March 2001
). The story, which was voted number 1 in Wizard Magazine's Top Ten Comics of the Decade. was written by Joe Kelly
, pencilled by Doug Mahnke
and Lee Bermejo, inked by Tom Nguyen. They appeared in a number of stories as antagonist
s, before some of them merged with members of the Justice League
, to form Justice League Elite
.
:
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
es appearing in stories published by 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...
. The team took early influences from The Authority.
They made their first appearance in the story "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?
What's so funny about Truth, Justice & the American Way?
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" is a story that appeared in Action Comics #775 as published by DC Comics in March 2001....
", published in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#775 (March 2001
2001 in comics
-Year overall:* Marvel Comics withdraws from the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system for its publications.- January :* January 23: Fred Ray, Superman's primary cover artist of the 1940s, passes away at age 80.- September :...
). The story, which was voted number 1 in Wizard Magazine's Top Ten Comics of the Decade. was written by Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly (comics)
Joseph "Joe" Kelly is an American comic book writer, penciler and editor who has written such titles as Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics, and JLA...
, pencilled by Doug Mahnke
Doug Mahnke
Douglas "Doug" Mahnke is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Mahnke's first prominent work was for The Mask, and he has since worked for DC Comics on JLA, Batman with writer Judd Winick, and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein with Grant Morrison...
and Lee Bermejo, inked by Tom Nguyen. They appeared in a number of stories as antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s, before some of them merged with members of 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....
, to form 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....
.
Team Members
- Manchester BlackManchester BlackManchester Black is a fictional character, and an antihero in the DC Comics universe. He was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke in Action Comics #775, .-Fictional character biography:...
, the team's first leader, currently dead after he realized that he'd become as bad as the villains he wanted to fight. - Vera BlackVera BlackSister Superior is a fictional character from DC Comics. She is the sister of British anti-hero Manchester Black, and a member of the JLA offshoot known as Justice League Elite.-Fictional character biography:...
, his sister and the second leader of The Elite - ColdcastColdcastColdcast is a fictional anti-hero that as appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. He was a member of both incarnations of the The Elite before joining Justice League Elite...
, capable of manipulating electromagnetismElectromagnetismElectromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
, he was eventually inspired by Superman to fight on the right side - Menagerie I, joined with an alien weapon crèche, lobotomized and placed in a coma.
- Menagerie II, joined with an alien weapon crèche which drove her insane, now in a metahumanMetahumanMetahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
prison facility. - Hat, armed with a magic hat, he quit the team shortly after Vera took over
- Bunny, a bacterial colony that became a floating fortress before The Elite brought her to their universe to use as a base of operations. It is the equivalent to The Carrier. On the rare glimpse inside it appears to contain many wonders including ExcaliburExcaliburExcalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
and the skeleton of PegasusPegasusPegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
.
Publication
They have appeared in a number of titles and all but Action Comics #795 have been reprinted in trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Justice League Elite:
- Volume 1 (collects: Action Comics #775, JLA #100, JLA Secret Files 2004, and Justice League Elite #1-4, 208 pages, 20052005 in comics- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
, TitanTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
ISBN 1-84576-191-X, DCDC ComicsDC 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...
ISBN 1-4012-0481-3) - Volume 2 (collects Justice League Elite #5-12, 192 pages, 20072007 in comics-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
, TitanTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
ISBN 1-84576-632-6, DCDC ComicsDC 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...
ISBN 1-4012-1556-4)
- Volume 1 (collects: Action Comics #775, JLA #100, JLA Secret Files 2004, and Justice League Elite #1-4, 208 pages, 2005
- Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Volume 1 (includes Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#775, 192 pages, TitanTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, 20062006 in comics-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
ISBN 1-84576-399-8 DCDC ComicsDC 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...
, 20042004 in comics-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
ISBN 1-4012-0339-6)
External links
- Review of Action Comics #775, Comics BulletinComics BulletinComics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
- Review of Action Comics #775, Comics BulletinComics BulletinComics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
- Review of What's so funny about Truth, Justice & the American Way?
- Review of JLA #100