Casual comic book fans may not be too familiar with the organized crime group of villains known as Intergang in DC Comics. Understandable, considering they’re not as popular as the Rogues or the Sinister Six, but these criminals are dangerous. Why? Well, guess who they’re employer is? The dark lord of Apokolips and one of Superman’s most dangerous archenemies, Darkseid. You might think that Darkseid is far beyond needing a group of criminals to do his bidding, but I always liked how DC handled fitting in Intergang. In short, they’re an organized crime group armed with advanced alien technology supplied to them by the New Gods of Apokolips. Given their connection to Darkseid, these guys have used their alien weapons to fight Superman. Of course, it never ends well for them, but it does give them an edge.
Speaking of Superman, one of his minor villains was usually the leader of Intergang. Bruno Mannheim, a powerful mob boss in Metropolis, has often been overlooked among the popular rogues gallery of the big blue boy scout. I get why, considering he’s not a super-powered being and isn’t nearly as wealthy or intelligent as Lex Luthor. However, Bruno “Ugly” Mannheim has proven to be a rather nasty thorn in Superman’s side for quite some time. The first time I saw the character was in the Superman animated series, where he was a recurring foe for the hero.
His biggest arc in the show was when he was given high-tech weapons by Kanto, a lieutenant under Darkseid. Mannheim believed these weapons could help him defeat Superman, but of course, it failed. When Kanto used a boom tube to escape to Apokolips, Mannheim followed him and was introduced to Darkseid. Once he did, Darkseid offered him a place in Intergang. Bruno Mannheim was often the leader of Intergang, using his mob connections and the advanced weaponry to try kill to Superman. In the animated series, Darkseid would eventually abandon Mannheim and put Granny Goodness in charge of Intergang.
If casual fans aren’t aware of Intergang, they’re going to get a proper introduction very soon. With Black Adam reaching its final week of production, it has finally been revealed that Intergang will be the villains of the movie. But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll still be getting that Black Adam vs. Hawkman fight. That’s a fight that we need, but having Hawkman and other Justice Society members as villains wouldn’t seem right. Well, we can put that confusion to rest, because Black Adam will have to contend with more than just the JSA.
Sarah Shahi recently gave us details on the character she’ll be playing and mentioned Intergang. According to her, she’ll be playing a character named Adrianna Tomaz, who is actually Isis, the wife of Black Adam. But this is the beginning stages of the DCEU’s Black Adam, so before this Isis marries Black Adam, she’ll be a resistance fighter in Kahndaq. Shahi confirmed that Adrianna will come into conflict with Intergang, and that sparks a lot of curiosity.
Since Intergang is under the employment of Darkseid, one of the biggest villains in DC, does that mean Black Adam could eventually meet him? Now that would be the fight to make. As of now, we don’t know what kind of role Intergang will be playing, but if they’re villains, I’m guessing Darkseid sent them to invade Kahndaq. Is that the same Darkseid we saw in the Snyder cut of Justice League? Zack Snyder has openly explained that Warner Bros. isn’t very interested in expanding the Snyderverse, so I wouldn’t count on it. I’m honestly cool with any version of Darkseid, but I have a feeling he’ll just be mentioned in Black Adam. You know, kind of like how Steppenwolf briefly dropped his name in Joss Whedon’s Justice League.
But maybe Darkseid doesn’t really need to have a physical presence in Black Adam. I’m just wondering who will be the leader of Intergang in the DCEU. Bruno Mannheim did come to mind, but given that he’s more of a Superman villain, I just don’t see him posing much of a threat to a more violent anti-hero like Black Adam. But if the JSA are more of the physical threats to Black Adam in the movie, I can see a more scheming villain leading Intergang.
The villain that comes to mind is Kanto, the villain who introduced Bruno Mannheim to Intergang in the animated series. He’s a rather minor villain in the DC Universe, but he’s one of Darkseid’s top minions. He’s actually part of Darkseid’s Elite; his powers and abilities include immortality, super strength, is a master assassin and weapons master. Kanto is powerful physically, but Darkseid keeps him around due to his masterful cunning strategic skills as an assassin.
What makes him stand out is his flamboyant attire, as he dresses like an Italian Renaissance nobleman. When he was exiled from Apokolips, he spent a lot of time in the Renaissance era of Italy and even fell in love. When his original mentor (Kanto 13) came to Earth and killed his lover, Iluthin (his original name) killed him and returned to Apokolips as his top assassin. He then adopted the name Kanto and dressed in a quasi-Renaissance fashion. The man takes some sort of artistic pride in his killings and hey, he probably just likes the style. If he’s the leader of Intergang in the Black Adam movie, I think that would make the most sense.
Having Intergang in the Black Adam movie did come off as a surprise, but I’ll take it. I think it fits, especially since it could lead to Black Adam fighting Darkseid later down the road. Maybe he’ll even become a reluctant ally to the Justice League and invade Apokolips with them? That sounds like an Endgame-level event, but we first need that Black Adam vs. Superman battle.
So what are your thoughts, DC fans? With Black Adam wrapping up production this week, I’m excited to hear more news about it.
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