Peia Mannheim was the wife of the leader of Intergang, Bruno Mannheim, and his chief enforcer. She was a metahuman with the power to control and even weaponise sound.
History
Origins
Peia grew up in Hob's Bay, an impoverished area of Metropolis largely controlled by Intergang. She lived in the same neighbourhood as Bruno and knew him since they were children. She was cheerful and friendly when she was younger, often volunteering to babysit her neighbour's daughter, but in high school she became quiet and withdrawn.[2]
Like many in the Suicide Slum, Peia turned to crime and joined Intergang to survive. Peia's secret metahuman abilities allowed her to quickly rise through the ranks of Intergang and become one of Boss Moxie's lieutenants. Bruno had loved Peia since they were kids and tried to pursue a romantic relationship with her. Peia also had feelings for Bruno but tried to keep him at arm's length, as she knew Moxie would assume they were plotting to overthrow him if they became a couple. They did eventually begin dating.
A few months later, Lex Luthor began to encroach on Hob's Bay and economically exploit the people living these. Bruno suggested to Moxie that Luthor and Intergang make a deal to split the city between them, leaving Intergang in sole control of Hob's Bay and withdrawing their activities from Metropolis proper. He revealed that he and others within Intergang known as the '86ers had plans to rejuvenate Hob's Bay and wanted Luthor out to give them a free hand.
As Peia feared, Moxie saw this display of independence as a threat and decided to murder Bruno and his supporters. He and Peia met with Bruno and the '86ers at "Little Ace's", an Italian restaurant in Hob's Bay that Moxie conducted business out of. At Moxie's order, Peia used her powers to kill the other '86ers. However, she was unable to kill Bruno when he told her that he knew her for who she really was and told her that they could make a life and rebuild their city together. Peia killed Moxie and embraced Bruno, admitting that she loved him.[3]
Peia used her powers to mimic Luthor's voice on a phone line they knew was being monitored by the police, making it appear like he had confessed to killing Moxie and the '86ers. Luthor went to prison for Moxie's murder and his people withdrew from Hob's Bay, giving Bruno the freedom he needed to execute his vision. Bruno and Peia got married and Bruno became the head of Intergang within weeks, with Peia as his chief enforcer. After they got married, Peia returned to her original outgoing personality.[2] Bruno used Intergang's resources to make his vision for Hob's Bay a reality. They also regularly visited Little Ace's. Fifteen years ago, Bruno and Peia had a son who they named Matteo.
Terminal Illness
Peia in her treatment in Hobbs Bay
In 2015, Peia killed a gunrunner named John Henry Irons on Bruno's orders.[4]
Five years ago, Peia developed cancer. She went through the standard treatments which put it into remission, but it later came back. Bruno devoted Intergang's resources to find a cure for her by any means necessary, legal or otherwise. He bankrolled Hob's Bay Medical Centre, a first-class research hospital, to provide the best possible care for her and others, as well as enlisting criminal scientists to work on treatments outside the medical regulatory framework.[5][1]
Dr Aleister Hook, one of Bruno's doctors, developed a serum based on X-Kryptonite and Superman's blood which slowed the progression of cancer and also granted superpowers to the test subjects. Bruno arranged for the terminally ill supervillain Henry Miller, aka Atom-Man, to be released from prison to act as another test subject for the serum. The serum gave Miller superpowers similar to Superman and he went rogue,[4] launching another attack in Metropolis. He fought an aerial battle across the city with Superman which ended in an alley, but before Miller could land the final blow he was seemingly shot with a machine gun and collapsed to the floor dead. Superman X-rayed the body and saw that there were no bullets, then noticed Peia in costume nearby. He went to confront her, but he suddenly heard multiple emergencies around the city and was forced to leave. However, he could not see any of the carnage that he could hear and the sounds suddenly stopped. Realising he had been tricked, Superman returned to the alley, only to find Peia and Miller's body gone. She took Miller's body back to Bruno, and the scientists were able to restore him to life using the serum.[6]
Lana Lang, the new mayor of Smallville, Kansas made some changes to the municipal budget which for some reason angered Intergang. Peia travelled to Smallville and attacked the previous mayor George Dean, who appears to have been in Intergang's pocket. Before Peia killed him, Dean was able to call Lana and direct her to a thumb drive hidden in the mayor's office. Peia tracked Lana down, easily overpowered her with her sonic abilities and stole the drive. There was a man with Lana who was identical to John Henry Irons, and so Peia returned to Metropolis and told Bruno that Irons was alive.[4]
Lois Lane, a reporter who had been attempting to find incriminating evidence on Bruno for years, developed breast cancer and started receiving care at Hob's Bay. She was placed in the same treatment room as Peia, who used their proximity to befriend Lois and her husband Clark Kent without telling them her last name or connection to Bruno. She counselled Clark that Lois should devote all her energy to fighting her cancer, and if she didn't she may one day decide to give up treatment and allow herself to die.[5]
At their next chemotherapy treatment, Peia offered to help Lois with the article she was writing on Hob's Bay. She invited Lois out to lunch before the chemotherapy damaged her tastebuds and took her to Little Ace's. She commiserated with Lois over her frustration at Clark's relentless optimism and denial over the possibility she may not survive. Peia also defended Bruno, telling Lois that he had done a lot of good for Hob's Bay and the people living there. When Lois told her that she believed that Hob's Bay Medical Centre was a cover for something, she told Lois that the doctors at the hospital were good people and she couldn't imagine them hurting anyone.
Peia and a group of Intergang mercenaries armed with Kryptonite guns set a trap for Superman. Peia used her powers to imitate Lois' voice and make it sound like she was calling for help. When he responded she blasted him with a burst of sound to knock him down and the mercenaries bombarded him with Kryptonite lasers. When Superman was able to fight through the pain and get up, she hit him with a continuous burst of sound to keep him down. A mysterious teenaged Kryptonian flew in to save Superman and took them by surprise, but Peia was able to knock him down with a sonic blast and one of her men shot the boy with a concentrated burst of Kryptonite. Enraged, Superman fought through her sonic attack and punched her away, but checked on the superboy rather than follow up his attack. Peia slipped away and returned to Bruno. She told him that her powers were fading and she didn't have much longer to live. He promised her that Hook was close to a cure and swore he would save her.[1]
Peia came to like Lois in spite of herself and, on their last chemotherapy session together, pretended to be offended by Lois asking her about Hob's Bay so she would have an excuse to stay away from her. Lois apologised and told Peia that she valued her as a friend and her support through her treatment. Peia felt guilty about deceiving Lois, and revealed that she was Bruno Mannheim's wife. Bruno came to the hospital with Lois' husband Clark, and told Lois that she now knew the truth and could do whatever she wanted with it. Lois and Clark joined them for a celebration of Peia completing her course of chemotherapy on the roof. That night Matteo, who had been visiting his new girlfriend in Smallville, came home and told his parents that he believed she was "the one" and couldn't wait for them to meet her.[3]
Peia's condition continued to deteriorate, but she insisted on going to lunch at Little Ace's with her family to meet Matteo's girlfriend "Natalie Johnson". They got along well, but during the meal Peia momentarily lost control of her powers. Bruno wanted to end it then but Peia insisted on staying. Later, John Henry Irons burst into the restaurant, and both Matteo and Natalie identified him as Natalie's father. The other patrons, who were all members of Intergang, dragged Natalie and Matteo out, and held John Henry down as Bruno beat him despite Peia pleading with him not to. John Henry begged Mannehim not to kill him for Natalie's sake, and Peia tried to get Bruno to stop, but this turned out to be John Henry stalling for time long enough for his warsuit to reach them.
The warsuit tried to attack Bruno, but Peia forced it away with her sonic powers. The suit flew onto John Henry and she blasted him away again. She continued to attack him outside, but Superman flew in and protected him. Peia eventually collapsed, leaving John Henry and Superman injured but alive. Superman x-rayed Peia's body and saw that her cancer had grown and she was close to death. Realising he had no other choice, Bruno allowed Superman to carry her to a hospital. She was imprisoned by the Department of Defence in a cell that countered her powers.[2] The DoD's doctors gave her a prognosis of only weeks to live. John Henry, who was put in charge of the DoD's operations against Intergang, refused to allow Bruno or Matteo to see her until Mannheim turned over materials that Intergang had stolen from the military's secret bases.[7]
General Lane eventually allowed Matteo to visit Peia, as she had a prognosis of only days to live. Before Matteo was allowed in, Lois came to speak with her for what she believed would be the last time. Lois offered her a chance to give her side of the story, now that her identity was public knowledge. Peia agreed and told Lois her life story, but repeatedly denied killing Moxie and insisted Luthor had done it. She told Lois that Luthor was a monster who had done far worse than killing Moxie and the others and belonged in prison; and that after fifteen years of incarceration he would be far worse.
Lois asked Peia to confess to everything to set an example for her son, and Peia finally agreed, but only if she could see Matteo first. Lois let Matteo into Peia's cell and left them alone. Peia tried to tell Matteo the truth but he told her that Bruno had already told him everything and he had successfully found a cure. Matteo injected her with the cure, which was hidden in his cufflinks, and told her to come and meet him and Bruno at "the place where it all started" after it took effect.
Matteo left and Lois came back in to talk to her. Lois asked her for the truth about Luthor, but Peia was back to full health and she broke out of the cell, taking Lois hostage and forcing her to lead her out. Peia fought her way out of the facility, but told Lois she was sorry for how things had gone and they could have been friends. She returned to the lab and reunited with Bruno and Matteo.[8]
Death
Bruno's drug not only seemed to cure Peia's cancer, it also significantly augmented her powers. She used her expanded powers to create false sounds of emergencies around the city in order to keep Superman and the police distracted and unable to track her family down. The Mannheims made plans to flee the US for an island nation with no extradition treaty. Peia apologised to Matteo for getting him involved in their family's crimes and making him a fugitive, as she had only ever wanted a normal life for him, but he told her that it was worth it to save her.
Just as they were about to leave, Peia's powers suddenly spiked beyond her ability to control, creating massive sonic waves which destroyed the lab and blacked out power to the city. Bruno gave her another dose of the cure, and for a moment her powers calmed, but they then suddenly spiked again, even worse, accidentally killing Bruno's assistant. Bruno tried to administer more of the cure, but she told him that he couldn't save her and needed to let her go, then fled into nearby subway tunnels. She emerged into the city, creating devastation wherever she went. Superman flew in to try and help her, but she told him nobody could and blasted him away.
Superman flew back in and told Peia told him she couldn't leave Bruno and Matteo, but Superman realised how much pain she was in and told her it was okay to let go and her family wouldn't want her to suffer. She asked Superman to tell her family that she loved them and he flew her up into the atmosphere. She stopped trying to hold her powers in, releasing them in a single, final blast and died.[9]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Sound Manipulation: Peia is a metahuman with the power to control sound.[3] She has demonstrated the ability to generate "sound effects" such as screams, explosions and sirens. She can make these noises appear to emanate from a source at a great distance from herself. The sounds she generates are convincing enough to fool Kryptonian super-hearing.[6]
- Aerokinesis: Peia can use her control over sound waves to create a localised whirlwind around herself.[4]
- Energy Construct Creation: The sounds Peia generates affect the world as if they were the physical objects associated with that sound. For example she can: hit someone with an impact like a train, stab them like a blade or cut them to pieces like a chainsaw; by creating the appropriate sounds.[1][2]
- Energy Projection: By creating the sound of gunshots, Peia can fire concentrated bursts of sound which hit with an impact similar to actual bullets[6] or shotgun blasts.[4]
- Mimicry: Peia can perfectly mimic the sound of another person's voice with her powers.[1][2]
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Power Instability: Peia had difficulty controlling her powers as her cancer progressed.[2] The cure augmented her powers beyond her ability to control, eventually killing her.[9]
- Cancer
Other Characteristics
- Restricted Senses: Peia had no sense of taste as a result of her chemotherapy.[1]
Notes
- This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the television series Superman & Lois and is an adaptation of Onomatopoeia. The original character was created by Kevin Smith and Phil Hester and first appeared in Green Arrow (Volume 3) #12.
- Peia Mannheim is never referred to as Onomatopoeia onscreen. However; her name, costume and sound-based abilities are clearly inspired by the comics character.
- Peia Mannheim is portrayed by Daya Vaidya.
- Peia is the first human seen on Superman's world with powers that do not appear to be in some way derived from X-Kryptonite. It is unclear how she obtained them, as the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion did not occur on her world.[10] She may have been born with them or gained them via some other means.
Related
- Appearances of Peia Mannheim (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Images featuring Peia Mannheim (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Quotations by or about Peia Mannheim (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Character Gallery: Peia Mannheim (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Superman & Lois: "Of Sound Mind"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Superman & Lois: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Superman & Lois: "Forever and Always"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Superman & Lois: "Uncontrollable Forces"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Superman & Lois: "Head On"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Superman & Lois: "Closer"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Dress"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Collision Course"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Superman & Lois: "Complications"
- ↑ https://www.looper.com/911686/superman-lois-producer-todd-helbing-on-the-game-changing-season-3-finale-and-future-teases-exclusive-interview/
  This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |
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