Checkmate (DC)
Checkmate is an organization that features in DC Comics.
Contents[hide] |
History
Origin
Checkmate
The government intelligence community had invested much in the creation of Checkmate with Harry Stein reorganising the Agency over the course of two months. (Checkmate v1 #1)
Sarge Steel came to reactivate Checkmate in order to find the comatose body of the assassin Deathstroke. Phil Kramer was promoted to King and Kalia Campbell to Queen whilst Harry Stein was put on a indefinite leave of absence after his son was shot. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #17)
For months, the Martian Manhunter had infiltrated the remnants of Checkmate and undermined their efforts. He later came to convince the President of the United States to disband the organization. (52 v1 #24) However, within days, Checkmate was reconstituted as a United Nation's agency where under UN Security Council Resolution 1696 it was reorganised as the UN's Chartered Metahuman Monitoring Force. (52 v1 #25)
Members of the League of Assassins were among the many threats that struck at the Castle alongside the Mawzir. Carl Draper defeated these dangers by using a Boom Tube by creating a loop that trapped the targets within it. (Checkmate v2 #17)
Afterwards, Khalid-isr was brought before the United Nation's Security Council to answer for the unauthorized activities. This led to them revoking their charter and no longer under their authority. As a result, the Castle was seized whilst agents were being recalled and all operations were aborted. (Justice League: Generation Lost v1 #17) Checkmate lost their U.N. sanctions due to the machinations of Maxwell Lord using the Justice League International which allowed him to take control of the organization. (Justice League: Generation Lost v1 #22)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of history was created with a different series of events.
Seeking aid against Spyral, Dick Grayson approached Maxwell Lord and Checkmate in seeking their aid against the shadow intelligence agency. (Grayson v1 #17)
Overview
It was later turned into a U.N. agency and re-organised as its Chartered Metahuman Monitoring Force. (52 v1 #25)
One position in the organization was that of Castellan that was the call sign for the head of physical security of the Castle and the one in ensuring enemies did not penetrate its walls. (Checkmate v2 #17) The organization was divided into a hierarchy with terms used from chess pieces. At headquarters were the Bishops who operated as Chiefs within the organization. Knights were field operatives that consisted of trained agents sent into the field. Rooks were field directors who planned and executed missions. Meanwhile, Pawns were clean-up support personnel in the field who provided everything from transportation to the delivery of supplies as well as supported a Knight in the completion of their mission. (Checkmate v1 #1)
The organisation recruited the best people they could find from government agencies and police forces. They were then put through a training program where they had to best an obstacle course after which they were allowed into the field. (Checkmate v1 #1) In the field, agents were supposed to rely first and foremost on their training and abilities. (Action Comics v1 #598) Regulations stated that operatives were supposed to maintain silence during operations so as to not offer any means of identification to outsiders. (Checkmate v1 #1)
Agents were known to wear a suit that included a knights visor that masked their identity. Their armour had a blade that could extend from above the arm. A common equipment available to operatives was a lance that was an extendable baton. (Action Comics v1 #598)
At the Castle, they maintained the Intelhub that was a database containing nearly every secret on the planet. (Checkmate v2 #17)
One operation conducted by the agency was capturing enemy targets whereupon a failsafe protocol was implanted in their minds through hypnosis and gentle biochemical persuasion. The target was then released back into their terrorist networks and through a command word could be activated to reveal anything they had learnt. This made these individuals perfect intelligence sources with the code words leaving the target in a fugue state and them reporting everything to the Checkmate operatives. (JSA vs. Kobra v1 #1)
For a time, one tool used by the agency was a drug called Apocritic that was derived from the DNA of Starro the Star Conqueror. Once ingested, it allowed operatives to maintain telepathic contact with one another. These agents felt pain in unison and had unified thoughts but it was believed the alien infection influenced the host bodies. (Checkmate v2 #25)
Code Zoo was a facility maintained by Checkmate was a repository for artificial intelligences that were captured by organization. Within the Zoo, the A.I.s were either trapped as complete self-aware constructs or as captured fragments of code. It was safe from network links and thus theoretically making it impossible to hack. (Checkmate v2 #17)
Members
- Harry Stein :
- Maxwell Lord :
- Michal Holt :
- Amanda Waller :
- King Faraday :
- John Dalesko :
- Veronica Lopez :
- Phil Kramer :
- Kalia Campbell :
- David Said :
- Black Thorn :
- Sasha Bordeaux :
- Jessica Midnight :
- Maxwell Lord :
Notes
- Checkmate was created by Paul Kupperberg and Steve Erwin where it made its first appearance in Action Comics v1 #598 (March, 1988).
Alternate Versions
- In Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis v1 #1 (2019), an alternate version of Checkmate was shown to inhabit a world in the Dark Multiverse. On this Earth, Ted Kord killed Maxwell Lord where he came to use the A.I. to help him stop threats to the world. With Checkmate under his control, Kord proactively eliminated a number of threats to the planet but they were devastated when the true villainous masterminds were revealed to be Alexander Luthor, Jr. and Superboy Prime. Afterwards, Kord was convinced by Brother Eye that the greater threat to the world was its superpowered population and merged with the A.I. as it began assimilating the Earth's populace.
In other media
Television
- In Smallville, Checkmate appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where it was seen in the episode "Absolute Justice". It makes added appearances in season 9 where Amanda Waller is shown to be a high ranking agent designated White Queen. Checkmate was responsible for the persecution of the Justice Society of America at some point with these chain of events leading to it being disbanded. By the time of the show, Waller was responsible for recruiting Icicle in attacking the JSA members though unknown to the villain this was with the intention of reforming them in order to prepare them for the "coming Apokolips". Amanda Waller was later responsible for manipulating Lois Lane into revealing the JSA in a positive form and makes Tess Mercer one of her agents. She attempted to forcibly recruit Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and 'the Blur' by threatening the Watchtower in response to the 'alien invasion' from Kandor. However, Green Arrow manages to cause a powercut which allows 'the Blur' to save the Watchtower whereupon he escapes whilst the Martian Manhunter erases their identities from Waller's mind. In "Charade", a wealthy business man by the name of Maxwell Lord is introduced who holds the rank of Black King in Checkmate.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Checkmate made a minor appearance in the backstory of the MMORPG video game.
Appearances
- Action Comics v1: (1988)
- Checkmate v1:
- Deathstroke the Terminator v1:
- Checkmate v2:
- Justice League: Generation Lost v1 #22: (2010)
External Link
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