Manitou Raven - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Manitou Raven and his wife Dawn hail from the Obsidian Age of Atlantis, circa 1000 BCE. They were born in North America, from a tribe which would one day become the Apache Tribe. Few details are known about Raven's early life. It is also unclear whether his command of mystical forces was learned or innate.

Raven was recruited by the rulers of Atlantis — Rama Khan and Gamemnae — to join heroes from across the globe (and from rival societies) and form a multicultural "League of Ancients."

When Gamemnae had a prophetic vision of a "seven-headed hydra" from the future that would threaten Atlantis, Raven and a super-powered Aztec warrior called Tezumak journeyed to the 21st century to battle the threat. While there, they concluded that the "hydra" was the Justice League, but they were unable to defeat the League and barely managed to return to Atlantis to alert the Ancients that the JLA were en route. The JLA ultimately traveled back to the Ancients' time and were slain. During the fight, Raven witnessed Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's bravery; Rayner turned his attention from the fight to save innocent Atlanteans simply because they were in danger, even after they had shown him and his friends nothing but fear. Raven also tested Batman with his father's tomahawk, which has an enchantment that prevents it from piercing the skin of a good man. These events caused Raven to question the prophecy condemning the Justice League. Confronting Gamemnae, he learned that her vision was a lie; an Atlantean outcast, she had raised the city to the surface and restored the inhabitants' ability to breathe air with the intention of turning them into a world-conquering empire with herself as ruler, but when Aquaman and his people arrived from the future, she learned that her plans were destined to fail, and resolved to kill the Justice League when they came to rescue Aquaman in order to prevent their future.

Using Rayner's heart (Kyle having willingly sacrificed himself for the plan to work) and the souls of the slain JLA members, Raven cast a powerful containment spell around Atlantis that effectively trapped the evil Gamemnae. Eventually another team of Leaguers- consisting of Nightwing, Zatanna, Firestorm and Hawkgirl- arrived from the future, helping Aquaman to sink Atlantis to disrupt Gamemnae's bond with the city in the past, while the other League members in the future- the future Raven, Green Arrow, the Atom, Jason Blood, Major Disaster, Garth, and Faith- vanquished Gamemnae by tricking her into resurrecting the original League (Raven had reanimated them as corpses to fight the flesh-absorbing Gamemnae, forcing Gamemnae to bring them back to life so she could effectively kill them). Afterwards, with his alternate future self having sacrificed himself to defeat Gamemnae, the past versions of Raven and Dawn chose to accompany the Justice League and the returning Atlanteans into the future. Following this, Jason Blood left the JLA and suggested Manitou Raven as his replacement. Superman formally admitted him soon thereafter.

Being a man over three thousand years out of time, Raven suffered from culture shock, but eventually grew accustomed to the 21st century, respecting the Justice League as warriors and friends; he even told Aquaman that the League were the bravest people he had ever met. His powerful command of magic played an important role during his time on the team; most notably, when the League faced the Burning, an enraged Burning Martian unleashed when J'onn J'onzz broke his genetic lock against fire and unlocked his racial memories of the ancient Martians, he led teammates Major Disaster and the Atom on a spiritual walk to make contact with the Manhunter's true self on the spiritual plane. Meanwhile the Manitou continued to immerse himself in his work. He even visited a reservation casino built on what was once his tribe's land. Its location was not specified, but he called it gontee ni, "ground of four fingers."