(JLA #66, 67, 70, 72-75) - <1004 BC> Rama Khan saw a prophecy of a “seven-headed hydra” that would bring about destruction. He found Gamemnae, and proposed to form a league of heroes from around the world to combat the threat, not realizing it was she who sent him the prophecy. She knew the JLA would arrive in their era and try to stop her schemes of conquering Atlantis, and wanted them dead. With the additions of Manitou Raven, Tezumak, Sela, Whaler and the Anointed One the Ancients were formed and went on to become the greatest hero team of their era. They ruled Atlantis after Gamemnae had raised it from the sea. The Ancients sent Manitou Raven and Tezumak thousands of years into the future to kill the JLA because the Ancients believed the heroes to be destroyers. Tezumak lured the JLA into a fight and held his own against them until Raven joined him, and they temporarily took the heroes out of commission. Green Lantern freed his teammates as Manitou prepared to sacrifice Wonder Woman. With the tide turning against them Manitou and Tezumak returned to Atlantis in the past after Manitou siphoned the magic in the Atlantic Trench where Atlantis once stood to complete the spell. The JLA followed them into the past, and the Ancients confronted them, although Raven was starting to distrust the prophecy that called them evil. The JLA was slain in battle, and Manitou Raven had realized that Gamemnae was evil, not the JLA, and cast a spell to preserve them. Gamemnae confronted him, revealing that she was going to kill the Ancients so they couldn’t oppose her bid for Atlantis to conquer the world. She’d absorbed Rama Khan into her body and was about to do the same to Manitou when he fled, so she turned her attention to her other teammates. She killed Tezumak and the Anointed One, and absorbed the rest into her body. Manitou cast a containment spell that sealed off Atlantis from the rest of the world, so that Gamemnae could not conquer it. Thousands of years later in the present day the spell was broken and Gamemnae tried to siphon off the world’s water, but Manitou tricked her into resurrecting the JLA members she killed, and then Zatanna and members of the new JLA went to 1,000 B.C. where they freed Aquaman from the enchanted pool Gamemnae had placed him in, and he merged with the ocean, sank Gamemnae’s Atlantis, and Zatanna cast a spell that returned Aquaman’s Atlantis to the present day. Gamemnae, weakened by this change in history, was easy prey for Manitou Raven, and he sacrificed himself to destroy her. The young Manitou of 1,000 B.C. and his wife Dawn returned to the present along with Atlantis and joined the JLA.

(JLA #76) - Manitou and Dawn were brought to the JLA Watchtower and given a holographic simulation of ancient North America to ease their transition to the modern day. Jason Blood told Manitou to think about staying on with the JLA because they’d need a mystical presence after Blood left.

(JLA #77) - Manitou was aboard the JLA Watchtower when the team dealt with Mnemon, a synthetic lifeform that recorded history by draining the memories of others.

(JLA #78, 79) - A large mass of Mirror Matter, previously thought to be only theoretical, was headed toward Earth, and Manitou and the JLA disposed of it by having Firestorm transform it into marshmallow fluff. The JLA received an extraterrestrial video feed from Kylaq sent to them by Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, who was in deep space. The Peacemaker and his Paciforce decreed that Kylaq would join his forces or perish. The JLA debated handling a political situation so far from Earth that they didn’t know all the details about. Wonder Woman said the JLA had a responsibility to nay innocents in danger, and Superman said that handling the Peacemaker was a preemptive measure, because he could eventually target Earth, so the JLA traveled to Kylaq. On Kylaq the JLA defeated the Paciforce and arranged peace talks between the Kylaq and the Peacemaker. The Kylaq introduced the JLA to their minister of defense Kanjar Ro. Peace talks broke down and the JLA fended off another assault by the Paciforce, but the JLA had to deal with the ruthless Kanjar Ro’s plan to enact a coup. They spread video footage of him torturing captured Paciforce members, and the Kylaq rejected his place in their government. The JLA sent Kanjar offworld.

(JLA #80-82) - The commune Safe Haven, an organization protected by metahumans, was at a standoff with government forces A.T.F. and D.E.O. that wanted to investigate the commune when the JLA intervened. Manitou and the JLA heard the case of Shepherd, who ran the Haven, and wanted to act as intermediaries. This went south when tensions led Haven members and government agents to fire at each other. An explosion seemingly killed everyone at the Haven, and the JLA were blamed. Superman, Major Disaster and Faith were all convinced that they were responsible, but Batman later examined the scene and found that no one had died. Axis America, led by Shepherd, aka Ubermensch, appeared to battle the JLA and revealed themselves as agents of Mr. Manson, the government operative behind Safe Haven who sacrificed it and used the metahuman the Mouth to convince the JLA they were responsible for hundreds of deaths. All this was so Manson could reclaim Faith for the U.S. government. Faith recognized the setup and forced Manson to leave her alone for the time being, and Axis America retreated.

(JLA #84-89) - A wave of fear and remorse washed over the inmates of Arkham Asylum, the prisoners of Blackgate and President Luthor. Manitou and the JLA investigated, and when Martian Manhunter, who’d rejoined the team after Scorch healed him of his fear of fire, tried to fix Luthor’s mind, he was assaulted by a powerful psychic force. Hostile nations and hate groups started feeling remorse and killing themselves. Firestorm’s powers were taken away, and realizing it was connected to world events, Manitou Raven guided the JLA to Vandal Savage’s mountain stronghold. Vandal recognized the world events as the attack of the Burning, a Martian he killed 20,000 years ago. He presented the Burning’s head to the JLA, and they brought Savage and the head to the Watchtower, only to discover Superman, who’d been attacked and bonded to the JLA meeting table. They freed Superman, but the revived Burning defeated the JLA and would have killed them if Major Disaster didn’t use evac protocols to teleport them to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Superman suspected that the Burning was actually Martian Manhunter, and in preparation of combating him they entered the Phantom Zone to ask the White Martians for aid. The Burning was already in the Zone and had slaughtered the Martians. The Burning again defeated the JLA, but they were saved and spirited away by Green Lantern John Stewart, who’d been brief on the Burning and how to deal with it by the Guardians of the Universe. The Burning was a dangerous, chaotic race that the Guardians genetically modified to become Martians, and gave them an innate fear of fire so they couldn’t access the powers of the Burning. When Manhunter overcame his fear of fire, his race memory turned him into the Burning, who needed fear and fire in multitude to asexually reproduce. Batman contacted the amnesiac Plas as his backup plan and convinced him to confront the Burning while Manitou contacted Martian Manhunter on the spiritual plane and found his soul dominated by the Burning. Burning unleashed nuclear attack to create the chaos and flames he’d need to asexually reproduce, but the JLA stopped the bombs, except for one that hit Chongjin, North Korea, but Flash evacuated the population. Plas fought Burning to a deadlock because his mind was non-organic and not vulnerable to telepathy. Thanks to Manitou Martian Manhunter separated himself from the Burning, and Scorch sacrificed herself to sap the Burning’s flame. Manhunter confronted the Burning and destroyed him with his Martian-vision.

(JLA #90) - Manitou worried about Dawn’s safety after the JLA’s encounter with the Burning, and she reminded him that their time was no safer. The wonder of living in the future was worth the risk for her.

(JLA #94, 97-99) - Manitou cast his telling stones and saw the coming of great evil. Crucifer and the Tenth Circle didn’t want him warning the JLA, so they sent vampire bats after him and enveloped him in darkness. Manitou reached out with his mind to Crucifer’s mind controlled servant Nudge, and she gave them enough information to help the JLA destroy the Tenth Circle.

(JLA #100) - Manitou Raven sensed a disturbance in the Earth, and there were several volcanic eruptions, the hole in the ozone layer opened further, and other geothermal events signaled an extinction level event. Gaea, speaking through the earth-powered Major Disaster damned humanity for their abuse of her and their failure to get along. Sister Superior of the Elite v.2 had also realized that Gaea was ready to destroy humanity, and proposed a plan to the JLA, and alhough they doubted her trustworthiness they agreed. The Elite stormed Washington, demanded all governments dissolve and declared themselves rulers of Earth because humanity had proved themselves unfit to rule. After UN meetings and a staged defeat of the JLA by the Elite, every nation on Earth put aside their differences to tackle the Eelite. Gaea once again believed in humanity, seeing them unite against a common enemy, and held back her wrath. The Elite allowed themselves to be defeated, and the cover story was that the JLA had them imprisoned on the moon. Sister Superior discussed forming a Justice League Elite, a black op force to make preemptive strikes. Batman had long considered the possibility, but didn’t trust Superior, and neither did Superman, who was an archenemy of her brother Manchester. Flash spoke out, saying she deserved a chance to be heard out.

(JLA #121, 124, 125) - Dawn met Manitou on the astral plane, and he warned her of the Key’s new power and bad intentions for the JLA. He also prophesized that she would kill Green Arrow, the man she cuckolded him with. When Key kidnapped Dawn, Manitou appeared to Green Arrow and Black Canary and opened a mystic portal for them so they could follow Key to Gotham. They were victorious and Dawn brought the Key to the astral plane, the only place his mind would be at peace, the only place he wouldn’t be a danger. Raven appeared to Dawn and told her how proud he was, and that she would always be his heart.

Comments: Created by Joe Kelly & Doug Mahrke

Manitou received a profile in JLA / JSA Secret Files & Origins #1 under the Ancients entry. He received a profile in JLA-Z #2 under the JLA (Current) entry.

Manitou had a cameo in JLA #68.

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