| “ | You know those alien-hating racists been comin’ out their hidey holes? We’re gonna make them dead. | „ |
| ~ Manchester introducing his new team, the Elite and their mission. |
| “ | If you don't stand up and fight, you’ll lose everything. | „ |
| ~ Manchester to J’onn. |
| “ | You’re beautiful. | „ |
| ~ Manchester’s last words upon having successfully provoked J’onn into dropping his pacifist oath and becoming a ruthless vigilante, accepting his death with dignity. |
Manchester "Chess" Black is a major antagonist in season four of the Arrowverse series Supergirl.
A British native, Manchester was a former football hooligan who moved to National City with his fiancée, Fiona Byrne. After Fiona, an alien empath, was brutally murdered by the anti-alien hate group the Children of Liberty, he became a ruthless vigilante, seeking justice through violent means, often clashing with Supergirl and Martian Manhunter.
He was played by David Ajala.
History[]
In "Ahimsa", Manchester worked with Martian Manhunter to find Fiona after she was captured by the Children of Liberty. When they find a badly-wounded Fiona in Mercy and Otis Graves' van, Manchester had his final moments with a dying Fiona as Martian Manhunter tries to take away her pain. Following Fiona's death, Manchester went to buy guns in order to get revenge on those responsible for Fiona's death.
In "Call to Action", Manchester begins his revenge by targeting some members of the Children of Liberty. After shooting most of them, Manchester interrogated a surviving member on the identity of his supervisor. After getting the name of Caldwell from the Children of Liberty member, Manchester shoots him. In the episode "Rather the Fallen Angel", Manchester helps Jimmy Olsen fight the Children of Liberty. Afterwards, he goes after Ben Lockwood.
In "Bunker Hill", Manchester makes use of the Lockwood Factory to confront Ben in his Agent Liberty alias where Manchester has his wife Lydia as a hostage. Despite some obstacles, Supergirl and Nia Nal thwart Manchester's attempts and Agent Liberty taking revenge. Both Manchester and Ben are arrested by the police. After being visited by Martian Manhunter at National City Men's Central Jail, Manchester watches from the windows as Ben is brought into the prison as the protesters chant "Liberty".
In "Menagerie", Manchester sends Menagerie a letter that pleases her. In the episode "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?", Manchester, now with dyed purple hair (like his comic counterpart), escapes from prison and forms the Elite with Menagerie, a fifth-dimensional alien called The Hat, and an unnamed Morae, in response to the bigotry of Agent Liberty and the Children of Liberty as well as the ineffectiveness of the government and D.E.O. Black led his team to hijack a government satellite (Project Claymore) and reprogrammed it to target and destroy the White House, an act of domestic terrorism. The weapon was successfully stopped and destroyed by Supergirl.
In "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", Black uses a rare Martian artifact that grants telepathic powers to its user called the Staff of H'ronmeer. He also used a psychic link with J'onn J'onzz to project torturous visions of dead loved ones (Alex and Kara) to torment him mentally. Later. Manchester orchestrated an attack on the National City Dam, threatening to flood the entire city to provoke J'onn J'onzz into fighting him. He was killed by a vengeful Martian Manhunter after the latter believed that he was the one who shot his friend Jimmy Olsen when it was actually Eve Tessmacher on Lex Luthor's orders.
J'onn absorbed Manchester Black's essence into the Staff of H'ronmeer, disintegrating Manchester, who, in his last moments, found J'onn's unleashed rage "beautiful".
Personality[]
After his fiancée Fiona's murder, Manchester Black lost all faith in the system and believed that the only way to stop evil people (like the Children of Liberty) was to hunt and kill them. He was an expert at deception and initially pretended to adopt J'onn's non-violent philosophy of "Ahimsa" to gain the heroes' trust and use them as a means to find his targets, all the while intending to seek bloody vengeance. When Black's violent intentions became clear (torturing and killing people for information, attempting to murder Agent Liberty in cold blood), Supergirl and J'onn actively tried to stop him. He viewed their interference as a betrayal of his cause and an obstacle to true justice. He specifically targeted J'onn J'onzz, believing J'onn was a powerful warrior who was "betraying his Martian roots" by embracing peace. Black continuously tormented J'onn, even with psychic visions, to force him to return to his violent "Manhunter" persona.
External Links[]
- Manchester Black on the Arrowverse Wiki.
- Manchester Black on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki.
