Origin
Very little is known about Black’s background; what little that is known include insinuations that he was abused both physically and sexually by his parents while growing up. Manchester later says that he grew up hating traditional heroes, especially those who believed in high moral concepts such as never killing under any circumstances, personally feeling that the only way to truly stop the villains was to kill them. After an accident that cost his sister her arms, Manchester was reportedly the only person who would still hug her.
Story Arcs
The Elite
Black’s team, the Elite, gained worldwide popularity for viciously killing their foes and thus preventing them coming back to cause more problems.When Black and his Elite came to Metropolis, they were opposed by Superman, the city’s protector , who disagreed with their tactic of wanton violence, leading to a showdown on Jupiter’s moon Io that was videotaped for the Earth’s media. Black used his powers to give Superman a stroke, and his teammate Coldcast apparently was able to destroy Superman using a giant explosion. While the Elite were gloating, however, Superman used his superspeed to seemingly kill all the team members, except for Black; After fleeing back to Earth and being pursued by Superman, the Man of Steel disabled the Englishman by using his x-ray vision to locate an unusual growth on Black’s brain. He identified the growth as the source of Black’s powers, and then carefully fired a thin burst of heat vision through Black’s retinas and told Black that he had cut out the growth (he had actually given Black a micro-concussion that left him temporarily powerless).
Faced with the apparent loss of his powers, Black actually wept, hypocritically appalled that Superman had seemingly adopted the lethal tactics he and the Elite had spent so much time advocating. Superman then revealed to the powerless Black that the rest of the Elite were only unconscious, he had not removed anything from Black’s brain, and that murdering opponents makes a hero no better than his enemies. Furious, Black declared that by not killing him, Superman had guaranteed that as long as Black was alive, he would come after Superman again and again, but Superman calmly replied that he wouldn’t want it any other way, and that dreams like the ones he gave to Earth were what made life worth living.
Suicide Squad
A temporarily beaten Black was taken into custody, and his mental powers restored themselves over the next few months. During the events of Our Worlds At War, Black was hired by the American government and President Lex Luthor to lead a new Suicide Squad featuring Chemo, Plasmus, Shrapnel and Steel. The Squad’s mission was to release the monster Doomsday against the threat of the galactic conqueror Imperiex’s. However, Doomsday apparently killed the Squad upon his release, with the exception of Black, who escaped after ‘reprogramming’ Doomsday’s mind so that Doomsday’s hatred for Superman was redirected towards the Imperiex probes for a time.
Death
After the war, Black mentally controlled dozens of super-villains by revealing Superman’s secret identity and sending them in mass 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 taunted Superman and goaded 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 was stunned at Superman’s fortitude, and as his spirit wavers, his mental spell crumbles, and it is revealed that Lois is still alive; Black was trying to force Superman into a position where he would have to kill a man, but his plan failed despite all the lengths Black went to. Distraught at the revelation that he had become a villain himself, Black made the supervillains forget that Superman is really Clark Kent, and then used his telekinetic powers to take his own life.
From The Grave
Manchester’s sister, Vera Lynn Black (a.k.a. Sister Superior) is currently the leader of the Justice League Elite, the covert missions arm of the Justice League. For a time, she believed she was possessed by the spirit of her dead brother, but it turned out to merely be a manifestation of her own distressed psyche. A plaque over a toilet in the men’s room of the World’s End bar reads, “The World’s Most Magnificent Bastard, MANCHESTER BLACK. REST IN P.”
New 52
Manchester Black has reappeared in the New 52 universe as a high-ranking S.T.A.R. Labs executive. He forms a partnership with the Teen Titans after luring them to S.T.A.R. Labs by using Algorithm (an A.I. that commits terrorism throughout New York City) and staging an attack on himself to gain their trust.
He is currently working with the Teen Titans and has formed The Elite with Manchester Black and Wonder Girl (Cassandra Smarks) as leaders for the team and the members consisting of Power Girl (Tanya Spears), Klarion, Guardian, Kid Flash (Bar Torr), and Trinity.
Rebirth
Black Dawn
Manchester Black only appears halfway through the arc, where we learn that he orchestrated this grand plan where Kathy and her dad (Cobb) turn evil and threathen Clark, Lois and Jon. He eventually manages to imprison Jon for a while, only to make him “Superboy Black”, thus being evil. Lois and Clark eventually restore Jon back to normal. Subsequently, Clark, Jon and Kathy beat Manchester Black.
Other Media
Manchester appeared in the animated film Superman vs. The Elite.