Loading AI tools
Fictional government agency in the DC Universe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO) is a government agency in the DC Universe appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was co-created by Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III and first appeared in Batman #550 (1998).[3] The agency was the focus of the Chase series. It is featured in the Supergirl television series.[4] The agency has a complicated relationship with the depiction of law and constitutional rights in the DC Universe.[5]
Department of Extranormal Operations | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Batman #550 (1998) |
Created by | Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III |
In-story information | |
Type of organization | Federal Law Enforcement Agency |
Leader(s) | |
Agent(s) |
|
The role of the DEO is to monitor those with extranormal superpowers and to prevent any threat to the general public.[citation needed] However, in Action Comics #775 there are a couple of rogue agents[original research?] defeated by Superman. Manchester Black, the leader of The Elite, suggests they are responsible for the creation of fellow team member Menagerie, saying that "These guys run a triple black alien immigration service that takes the galaxies' cast-offs an' turns them into weapons for the highest bidder. The West Nile glop in New York is one of theirs from the Microbio Division."[citation needed]
The DEO was responsible for the "orphanage" seen in Young Justice in which Secret was kept,[citation needed] although a later conversation between Director Bones and Agent Chase suggested the conditions in which she was kept were not official policy.[citation needed] Another such orphanage was seen in the 1999 Titans series.[citation needed]
The DEO has protected important aspects of Washington, D.C., from telepathic intrusion.[6]
A rogue department of the DEO manages to convince Green Lantern to scan various heroes, presumably to detect a body-hopping supervillain. Instead, the data is used to create a new version of Amazo. Chase, Mr. Bones, Green Lantern and other heroes shut down the division. Amazo is destroyed and Green Lantern deletes the relevant information.[7]
Batwoman becomes a reluctant agent of the DEO after the agency learns her identity. Mister Bones, director of the DEO, believes himself to be the illegitimate son of Col. Jacob Kane, Batwoman's father.[8][9] DEO agents discover that Beth Kane, Batwoman's identical twin sister, is alive and capture her. Bones blackmails Batwoman into helping the DEO uncover the secret identity of Batman in exchange for Beth.[10] Batwoman and her allies are unable to rescue Beth and Bones attempts to kill her. Agent Asaf, suborned by Batwoman, shoots Bones in the head and frees Beth. Asaf then claims that Bones was mentally unbalanced (Bones is brain-damaged but survives)[9]
In the 2011 film Green Lantern, the DEO appears as an agency under the secret support of Sen. Robert Hammond. His son, Hector Hammond, is given the assignment of doing the autopsy of Abin Sur by one of the main heads, Amanda Waller.
It was revealed in the Peacemaker episode "Better Goff Dead" that Emilia Harcourt was a DEO agent before joining A.R.G.U.S. as an agent.
The DEO appears in several series set in the Arrowverse, mainly Supergirl.
The DEO had a brief appearance in the intro level to Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, where they acted as adversaries to both Batman and Catwoman, the former due to mistaken association with the latter, and the latter due to stealing classified data.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.