Intergang
Intergang is a fictional
organized crime organization in
Superman comics. It was created by
Jack Kirby and first appeared in
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970).
Intergang was run by a gangster named
"Ugly" Mannheim, as revealed in
Jimmy Olsen #139. He was, however, getting orders and weaponry from
Darkseid, who was using Intergang to help track down the
Anti-Life Equation.
Intergang also worked with
Morgan Edge, the head of the Galaxy Broadcasting System
television network (which had recently purchased the
Daily Planet and had
Clark Kent transferred to its Metropolis affiliate WGBS-TV as its
anchorman). It was later revealed that this was not the real Morgan Edge, but a
clone from the "Evil Factory". The real Edge was soon free to resume his role as Galaxy's president.
Post Crisis
In the post-
Crisis DC Universe, Edge was the leader of Intergang, until he suffered a heart attack due to stress. While he believed he was working for Darkseid, his
Apokoliptian contact was actually
Desaad, whose only aim in supplying him with weaponry was to cause suffering. While he was in hospital his legitimate businesses were taken over by his father,
Vinnie Edge, and Intergang was taken over by Ugly Mannheim, who trained on Apokolips with
Granny Goodness. (A later
retcon would say that Mannheim was the original leader of Intergang, dealing knowingly with Desaad. How Edge took over is unrevealed.)
Eventually Intergang was brought down by
Clark Kent and
Cat Grant, Mannheim was arrested, but managed to escape. He attempted to disappear through a "Boom Tube" (a
New Gods transporter), but it collapsed when he was halfway through.
Some time later, Mannheim's father,
Boss Moxie, a gangster who had been in prison since the 1940s, after being captured by the
Newsboy Legion, was released. Discovering that the Newsboys were, seemingly, the same age as when he first fought them, he determined to find out how such a thing could be. Meeting rengade
Project Cadmus geneticist Dabney Donovan, he arranged for himself and his former gang members from the 1940s to be cloned into youthful bodies with superpowers. Using Vinnie Edge to arrange a meeting between Metropolis' gang-leaders, he killed them all, and declared himself the new head of Intergang. The new Intergang spent much of their time tracking down
Jimmy Olsen, whom Moxie believed knew Superman's
secret identity.
Following a short-lived attempt by Morgan Edge to regain control,
Lex Luthor gained control of Intergang, retaining Moxie as a figurehead. Moxie and his lieutenants were later captured by Superman. When last seen, Intergang was run by a criminal cyberneticist named
Frank Sixty.
Current Status
Boss Moxie was apparently slain during the
miniseries Infinite Crisis. In week 9 of the ongoing 2006 monthly series,
52,
the Question tells
Renee Montoya that Intergang is preparing for an invasion of
Gotham City. Two weeks later, the pair finally have a confrontation with the two operatives of Intergang in Gotham,
Whisper A'Daire and
Kyle Abbot, known in the public eye as the manager of
HSC International Banking, an holding connected to Intergang itself, and her
bodyguard. In
Superman #654, "Ugly" Mannheim returns as a giant wielding alien technology, claiming that someone other than Darkseid is behind Intergang's current activities.
Lois & Clark
Intergang appeared in several episodes of
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Some names were changed, Vinnie and Morgan Edge became Bill Church, Sr., and Bill Church, Jr., Galaxy Broadcasting became Multiworld Communications, etc. The Churches were played by
Peter Boyle and
Bruce Campbell respecively. By the end of the series, both Churches were in prison and Intergang was being run by Bill, Sr.'s young wife, Mindy (
Jessica Collins), who appeared to be an airhead but was actually a ruthless mastermind.
Smallville
Morgan Edge has appeared as a Metropolis gang boss in
Smallville, initially played by
Rutger Hauer, and later by
Patrick Bergin.
Superman: The Animated Series
In
Superman: The Animated Series, Intergang was run by Bruno Mannheim, voiced by
Bruce Weitz. He was later killed when helping
Darkseid.
In a later episode, Intergang was reorganized under the leadership of
Granny Goodness.
Justice League
In
Justice League, Morgan Edge was portrayed as living on an island with his own personal army and then is killed by
Killer Frost as the
Secret Society (
Gorilla Grodd,
Parasite,
Sinestro,
Giganta,
The Shade and Frost) freed
Clayface, who was being held by Edge.
Justice League Unlimited
Intergang received a brief mention in the
Justice League Unlimited episode "This Little Piggy." During a
stakeout, an impatient
Wonder Woman asked
Batman what the criminal organization would want with the
Rosetta Stone. Batman replied with the remark, "Intergang moves in mysterious ways."
