Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim was an organized crime boss from Metropolis, the residence city of Superman. He was raised a Metropolis gangster, son of Boss Moxie, and inherited leadership over Intergang, a Metropolis-based crime syndicate. Ruling over Intergang and equipped with high-tech weaponry supplied by Darkseid, Mannheim is one of the most deadly mob bosses on Earth. Most recently, Mannheim has moved his operations to Gotham City, gaining custody of the "Crime Bible", an ancient text that has become his obsession. He first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #139 (July, 1971), and was created by Jack Kirby.
History[]
Bruno Mannheim is one of Metropolis' most powerful gangsters, the leader of the Intergang. He is also the son of Moxie "Boss" Mannheim.
Mannheim claims now to have been "reborn" thanks to the extraterrestrial villain Darkseid.
During Week 25 of the "52" storyline, Bruno Mannheim has his organization Intergang follow "The Crime Bible," of which the original copy is alleged to be bound by the stone that Cain killed Abel with. The brutal Mannheim is shown to be murdering those those whom do not submit to (or simply do not immediately join) Intergang. Mannheim, after meeting with defeat by Superman on several occasions, moved his base of operations to Gotham City. His first plan to seize power in Gotham's underworld is to gather the local crime bosses and minor underworld figures into a meeting and kill all who refuse to join. To that end, he invited the mob bosses Ventriloquist, Lamelle, Rawson, Sewer King, and the Squid as well as low-ranking underworld lackeys Kite Man, Magpie, and Mirage to his headquarters in Gotham. Without discussing the reason for his calling them there, Mannheim called each villain into another room before demanding that they swear allegiance to the Crime Bible or die. His third victim was Mirage, who demanded to know what the Crime Bible was and what Mannheim was talking about. Losing his patience, Mannheim slammed Mirage into the Crime Bible, killing him instantly before ordering the villain dragged away. The ruthless crimeboss regarded any hesitation as a "no" to his offer. He lost his temper with most of the underworld figures, murdering Kite Man, Rawson, and the Sewer King. He snapped Rawson's neck, stabbed the Sewer King in the back, and beat Kite Man brutally to death: "You Gotham bosses work for me, or I make you extinct and wipe your names from the public record. Like you never even existed." Mannheim's remaining candidates included the Ventriloquist, Magpie, Lamelle, and the Squid, who only managed to save their lives by being the only candidates to avoid provoking Mannheim and swearing allegiance to Intergang immediately.
As his next step in his rise to power in Gotham, Mannheim fought a brutal gang war with Tobias Whale, who was also attempting to establish himself in Gotham. Established villains Lock-Up, Ventriloquist II, Killer Moth, and Firefly were swept up in the middle of the gang war while seeking revenge against the Penguin, and were all killed or seriously injured during the fighting.
Mannheim then tasked two of his associates, Whisper A'Daire and Kyle Abbott, with preparing Gotham City for his move there, only to be thwarted by The Question.
Over the course of the 52 series, Mannheim 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 Batwoman, the costumed heroine 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 into a miniature replica of Apokolips. Batwoman survived her injuries, and Mannheim decided to hastily move his operations back to Metropolis, although he maintained obvious connections to Gotham City's underworld.
In the wake of 52, Mannheim has returned to Metropolis, continuing to rule Intergang with an iron fist and remaining an occasional thorn in Superman's side.
In other media[]
The Batman[]
Bruno Manneheim appeared in an issue of The Batman Strikes! (based on the animated series The Batman). He is seen working with Rupert Thorne and created an army of super-villains based on Bane, Man-Bat, and Firefly. He plans to use these villains to take down the Justice League and take over Metropolis. His plans ultimately fail when The Batman and Superman defeat him and his super-thugs.
Young Justice[]
Manheim was also seen in the episode "Disordered" using Apokolipian technology.