Super-Chief is the name of several fictional characters, including three superheroes and one supervillain, in the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

universe. Created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and Carmine Infantino, the first Super-Chief debuted in ''

All-Star Western ''All-Star Western'' was the name of three American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second from 1970 to 1 ...

'' #117 (March 1961). The second (villainous) Super-Chief debuted in '' The Adventures of Superman Annual #9'' (1997) in a story by Mike W. Barr (writer) and

Dale Eaglesham Dale Eaglesham (born 1962) is a Canadian comic book illustrator who has been working in the American industry since 1986. He is best known for his work on titles like '' Conan'', ''Punisher'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Villains United'', ''Justice Soc ...

(artist). The third Super-Chief debuted in '' 52'' Week 22 (October 2006), which was written by the writers' consortium of

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

and Mark Waid, and artist

Eddy Barrows Eduardo Barros (born August 18, 1967) is a Brazilian comic book artist, better known by his pen name of Eddy Barrows. He is best known for his work at DC Comics on such titles as ''Birds of Prey'', ''Countdown to Adventure'', ''Action Comics'', '' ...

. The fourth debuted in '' Superman'' #709 (May 2011) and was created by writer Chris Roberson and artist Eddy Barrows.

Fictional character biography

Flying Stag

Flying Stag was a member of the Wolf Clan in the 15th century. He was by far their best warrior and knew he would be able to win the contest to become Royaneh, or Supreme Chief, of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

. Out of jealousy, Flying Stag's rivals trapped him in a pit where he prayed to the Great Spirit

Manitou Manitou (), akin to the Iroquois '' orenda'', is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aasha ...

for help (the term "

" is Algonquian). A meteorite fell from the sky and when Flying Stag wore it he gained incredible powers. He honored Manitou and called himself Saganowhana, or Super-Chief. He became a hero and married White Fawn. The powers of the mystical meteorite caused him to outlive everyone he knew. Super-Chief experienced a couple of time jumps into the 20th century during the event known as ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...

''. He allied himself with several Western heroes along with the superhero Firebrand and her former lover

Cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Jan ...

at one point during the Crisis. Super Chief is one of the reanimated Black Lanterns in ''

Weird Western Tales ''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to hi ...

'' #71.

Villainous Super-Chief of Dry Gulch

In ''Adventures of Superman Annual'' #9 (1997), a young Native American is revealed to be in possession of the meteorite amulet and has agreed to use the powers of Super-Chief to clear out the town of Dry Gulch to make way for a gambling resort. He is defeated by Superman.

Jon Standing Bear

A new Super-Chief is introduced in '' 52'' Week 22. A young Native American veteran and ex-con named Jon Standing Bear travels to Metropolis. He saves a young girl named Sierra from sexual assault by throwing a sleazeball through the window of their bus. No charges are pressed because the man already had a rape conviction.''52'' Week 22 (October 2006) Jon attends the funeral of his estranged father. Before his death of a liver disease, Jon's father had been caring for Jon's grandfather. Both had been upset with Jon, claiming he'd neglected his heritage and his obligations. Saying Jon is the last of the line, Jon's grandfather charges him with the duty of becoming Super-Chief. Per the old man's request, Jon suffocates his grandfather, releasing him from life, and takes the meteorite fragment. Super-Chief joins an effort by

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

to found a new

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

.''52'' Week 24 (October 2006) In its first mission, the "JLA" attempt to settle a chronal disruption created by the now-villainous robot majordomo of Booster Gold, Skeets. Skeets kills Super-Chief, and Jon ends up in an otherworldly location. An elder named Flying Stag, apparently the original Super-Chief, indicates that Jon is no longer among the living and repossesses the amulet. Flying Stag admonishes Jon's ignorance of the price that must be paid for magic. Railing about his failures, Jon disappears into a vortex of clouds. Super-Chief's corpse appears as a Black Lantern in the ''Blackest Night'' series. After the ''52'' series was over, writer

stated: "If there had been space in the last issue I would have included a coda to the Super-Chief story. I had plans for Jon Standing Bear's return but we couldn't fit them in when issue #52 went from 52 pages to 40. I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere else".

Saganowahna of Wisconsin

At the beginning of '' Superman'' #709, a new young Super-Chief is seen thanking Superman for an assist on capturing runaway supervillains in the Colorado desert. Superman refers to him as "Saganowahna" and the young man claims that he gains his powers from a "manitou stone" he wears around his wrist; he claims that some believe the stone to be Kryptonian in origin, though Superman is skeptical of the idea. Evidently, the powers have a set time limit for daily use. The stone later proves to be a fragment of a Kryptonian sunstone that Superman scattered through time. Saganowahna wears a uniform consisting of a red jacket with a yellow symbol on the back, a white shirt, black tights, and red boots. He is a Native American man who wears a mohawk. It is insinuated that Saganowahna is a

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

native, because he invites Superman to visit Green Bay the next time the Metropolis Meteors play against the Green Bay Packers. This new Super-Chief later accepts membership in Superman's new team, the Supermen of America.'' Superman'' #714 (October 2011)

Powers and abilities

* A radioactive meteorite fragment, worn in a necklace, grants Super-Chief super-strength, super-speed, and flight for one hour. * Prolonged use of the meteor fragment apparently grants its users an extended lifespan. * The newer Super-Chiefs may have slightly different powers than the original, since mention is made of super-senses but not flying. The third Super-Chief's powers are specified as "the strength of a thousand bears, the speed of a thousand running deer, the keen senses of the wolf nation, and the power in his legs to leap higher than the tallest trees in the forest".

References

External links

DCU Guide: Super Chief
{{Grant Morrison Articles about multiple fictional characters DC Comics characters with superhuman strength Comics characters introduced in 2011 Comics characters introduced in 2006 Comics characters introduced in 1997 Comics characters introduced in 1961 DC Comics superheroes DC Comics Western (genre) characters DC Comics fantasy characters DC Comics characters who use magic Mythology in DC Comics Fictional Native American people Fictional Iroquois people Characters created by Gardner Fox Characters created by Carmine Infantino Characters created by Grant Morrison Characters created by Geoff Johns Characters created by Greg Rucka Characters created by Mark Waid Characters created by Mike W. Barr DC Comics male superheroes