Bruno Mannheim

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Bruno Mannheim
Bruno Mannheim as depicted in Who's Who in the DC Universe #12 (September 1991).
Art by Paris Cullins.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #139 (July 1971)
Created byJack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoBruno "Ugly" Mannheim
SpeciesHuman

Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim is a supervillain appearing American comic books published by DC Comics. He is an Intergang crime boss who is the son of Moxie Mannheim and one of Superman's enemies.[1]

Chad L. Coleman portrays Mannheim in the third season of Superman & Lois.

Publication history

The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #139 (July 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.[2]

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Bruno Mannheim is a member of Intergang working under the clone of Morgan Edge. He is also the son of Moxie "Boss" Mannheim. Mannheim and his minions kidnap Guardian, Goody Rickels, and the Newsboy Legion and has them eat a meal laced with pyro-granulate. After letting them go, Mannheim states that they will burn up in 24 hours. Guardian forces Mannheim into giving up the antidote for the pyro-granulate enabling him to save himself, Jimmy Olsen, and Goody Rickels as well as the Newsboy Legion.[3]

Post-Crisis

In the Post-Crisis, Bruno Mannheim is a member of Intergang. While Superman was dealing with a storm, Mannheim called a meeting with the Intergang council of war where they need to find a way to discredit Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Cat Grant before Morgan Edge's trial.[4]

Mannheim and Intergang collaborate with Toyman when using Apokoliptian technology in his revenge on Lex Luthor. When Mannheim complains that Toyman is going to attract attention to him, Toyman urges Mannheim to stay out of his affairs.[5]

During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Mannheim becomes one of Metropolis' most powerful gangsters and the leader of Intergang.[6]

Since his return in the miniseries 52, he claims now to have been "reborn" thanks to the New God Darkseid, and to have become a psychopath. During Week 25, now a devoted worshipper of crime itself, he has Intergang follow "The Crime Bible" of which the original copy is bound by the stone with which Cain killed Abel. He is also shown to now be a cannibal, killing and then eating those whom do not submit to (or simply do not immediately join) Intergang like he did with Mirage. Mannheim later abducts Kite Man, Lamelle, Rawson, Sewer King, and Squid in order to get them to join Intergang. Some of them turn him down and are killed as a result.[7]

Over the course of the series, he comes into conflict with Renee Montoya, Nightwing and the new Batwoman, whom he wishes to sacrifice. As of Week 48, Mannheim has captured Batwoman and has her bound and gagged to a sacrificial altar, stabbing her through the heart shortly thereafter. When Montoya arrives and rescues her lover, Batwoman rips Mannheim's knife out of her own chest and impales him in the back, seemingly fatally. This is during Mannheim's attempt to turn Gotham City into a miniature replica of Apokolips. Batwoman survives her injuries.[8]

Superman encounters him several weeks later, mutated to be several stories tall. Before teleporting away, he states that Darkseid is not his master anymore. Based on that comment, someone else is behind Intergang's recent activity.[9]

In Gotham Underground, Bruno Mannheim and Intergang are involved in a gang war with Tobias Whale.[10]

The New 52

In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Bruno Mannheim was seen as a member of Intergang at the time when Gotham City fell to the Religion of Crime.[11]

DC Rebirth

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called DC Rebirth which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Bruno Mannheim was informed by two of his men that the attack on "Author X" has failed. He throws the two men into the swimming pool and electrifies it.[12] Lois and Jon visit Cora Benning's office and find a note stating that she was taken by Intergang. While leaving the office, the three of them encounter Bruno Mannheim in the hall who claims that he is asking for directions. Lois thinks to herself that Mannheim is trying to get her to lower her guard.[13]

In other media

Television

  • Bruno Mannheim appears in Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by Bruce Weitz. Following a minor appearance in the episode "Fun and Games", in which he indirectly contributed to Toyman becoming a supervillain, Mannheim and Intergang receive high-tech weapons from Kanto in "Tools of the Trade". After Superman defeats him, Mannheim flees with Kanto and meets the latter's boss Darkseid, who Mannheim agrees to work for in exchange for power. However, in "Father's Day", Darkseid has Mannheim teleported to Apokolips' fire pits and put to work. Sometime later, in "Apokolips....Now!", Darkseid teleports Mannheim back to Earth to cause a nuclear meltdown on a small island in preparation for an Apokoliptian invasion with the promise of political power. While Mannheim succeeds in overloading the reactor, Darkseid reneges and leaves him on the island. Mannheim attempts to flee by speedboat, but is killed in the ensuing explosion. Following this, Granny Goodness takes over Intergang.
  • Bruno Mannheim appears in the Smallville episode "Stiletto", portrayed by Dominic Zamprogna. This version is initially an underling of the Ace o' Clubs' owner and mob boss Ron Milano, who oversees a money counterfeiting operation. Mannheim and his associate A.J. mug Chloe Sullivan, though they are driven off by Lois Lane. After Milano mocks him for what happened, Mannheim kills him, takes over his operation, and begins plotting to eliminate all superheroes, starting with the vigilante Stiletto. Upon discovering the bartender Jimmy Olsen was taking pictures of them, Mannheim and his gang take him captive and beat him for information on Stiletto. Clark Kent attempts to rescue Olsen, but is affected by the Kryptonite used in the counterfeit money before Stiletto defeats Mannheim and his men and rescues her friends.
  • Bruno Mannheim appears in Young Justice, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
  • Bruno Mannheim appears in the third season of Superman & Lois, portrayed by Chad L. Coleman.[14] This version is the dopplegänger of Earth-Prime's Tobias Church, an African-American criminal operating in Hob's Bay, the husband of the late Peia Mannheim, and the father of Matteo Mannheim.

Film

Bruno Mannheim appears in The Death of Superman, voiced by Trevor Devall.

Video games

  • Bruno Mannheim appears in Superman: Countdown to Apokolips.
  • Bruno Mannheim appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Bruce Carey. In both the hero and villain campaigns, the players are sent by the Question and Deathstroke respectively to infiltrate Intergang and steal the Crime Bible from Mannheim. They arrive just as he sacrifices Batwoman to gain infinite power, though the players are able to defeat him with assistance from their respective benefactors. Following this, the hero players use the Crime Bible to revive Batwoman.

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  3. ^ Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1139-41. DC Comics.
  4. ^ Action Comics #653. DC Comics.
  5. ^ Action Comics #657. DC Comics.
  6. ^ Infinite Crisis #7 (2005). DC Comics.
  7. ^ 52 Week Twenty-Five. DC Comics.
  8. ^ 52 Week Forty-Eight. DC Comics.
  9. ^ Superman #654. DC Comics.
  10. ^ Gotham Underground #4-5. DC Comics.
  11. ^ Batwoman (vol. 2) #0. DC Comics.
  12. ^ Superman: Lois and Clark #3. DC Comics.
  13. ^ Superman: Lois and Clark #4. DC Comics.
  14. ^ Andy Swift (September 14, 2022). "Superman & Lois Casts The Orville's Chad L. Coleman as Intergang Head Bruno Mannheim for Season 3". TVLine.
  15. ^ The Batman Strikes! Vol 1 #44
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