Corto Maltese is a small island off the coast of South America.
History
Earth-31
Corto Maltese was the site of a rebel uprising against the government, which was backed by the United States.[1] Due to rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, which supported the rebels, Superman was dispatched by the U.S. President to intervene in subduing the uprising. However, once Superman's presence in Corto Maltese was confirmed, the Soviets retaliated by launching a nuclear missile at the U.S. Though Superman managed to divert the missile to an empty desert before it detonated, the warhead served its purpose: to disrupt all electronics and communications in the Western Hemisphere, and to cause mass chaos in the aftermath.[2]
DCEU
Corto Maltese was a tropical island nation which spent most of the 20th century under the control of a string of anti-communist dictators supported by the United States. This support came with an agreement to host a research base, codenamed "Jotunheim", which did unethical scientific programs. In 2021, a new dictator, vocally opposed to the United States, took power. Coincidentally, Corto Maltese popular culture favored Harley Quinn, a charismatic villain who opposed the GCPD and other servants of the United States. A collection of American agents were sent into the country to decommission Jotunheim, to prevent its data from falling into the hands of the new government.[3]
Notes
- Corto Maltese was originally created for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Its first mention in the mainstream DCU was in Time Masters #4 (1990), and its first appearance was in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #31 (1992).
- The island is named after the fictional adventurer created by Italian comic book writer, Hugo Pratt.
See Also
- Appearances of Corto Maltese
- Location Gallery: Corto Maltese
- Catalogued images related to Corto Maltese