First appearing in Archie Goodwin's 1970s Manhunter backup series in Detective Comics, this Council is a secret organization bent on world domination, similar to those in the James Bond series. Their leader is a scientist named Dr. Anatol Mykros. The Council resurrects and enhances the wounded 1940s superhero Manhunter and clones him to create an army. When Kirk learns of their true intentions, he rebels and dedicates himself to their downfall. He is aided by Interpol agent Christine St. Clair and martial artist Asano Nitobe, a former agent of the Council. Kirk eventually gives his life destroying the Council's headquarters. The Council resurfaces years later in the JSA series, having apparently rebuilt their operation. They are now using the supervillainSportsmaster as the template for their clones. In JSA Annual #1, the Council's new foe is revealed to be Dr. Mykros' daughter Soseh who assumes the identity of Nemesis. The JSA help Soseh battle her father's empire and even recruit her as a member of the JSA Reserves. Dr. Mykros is finally slain by Black Adam who uses his death as motivation to recruit Nemesis to his own offshoot super-team. The Council has not returned since.
Second Council
A second Council appears in the "Nemesis" backup in The Brave and the Bold #166-192, starting in 1980. Tom Tresser was an applicant to an unnamed government agency whose brother Craig was an undercover agent infiltrating a criminal syndicate called "the Council". Craig was brainwashed into killing their family friend Ben Williams and was subsequently killed in self-defense by fellow agents. Tom thus became "Nemesis", preferring to use an alias instead of his dishonored family name. With the assistance of Batman, he cleared his brother's name and saw the men responsible for his brother's death brought to justice. Nemesis was apparently killed in the helicopter crash that killed the Council's leader, though Tresser was later revealed to have survived. The Council seems to return in the miniseriesNemesis: The Imposters in 2010.
Third Council
Still another criminal organization called the Council debuts in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #3, as a group of supervillains. The Council maintains a hidden headquarters in Chicago from which they are able to fight the business world. The Director, Matrix-Prime, and some super-powered humans known as the Gang are members of the Council. Supergirl finds their underwater complex hidden in Lake Michigan. They appeared a few times in Supergirl comics. While this version of Supergirl is no longer part of current DC continuity, some of the Council's agents such as Matrix-Prime and the Gang have appeared in current canon, in titles like Grant Morrison's JLA and Phil Jimenez' Wonder Woman, so it seems that some of their history is still intact.
One or three Councils?
Although it has been speculated that the three Councils are in fact different parts of one and the same organization, there has been no evidence to support that theory.
In other media
Television
The first Council appears in Beware the Batman, with Anatol Mykros voiced by Bruce Thomas. As in the comics, they capture Paul Kirk and put him in suspended animation, using his DNA to create an army of robot Manhunter clones to take over the world. After Kirk's escape, Mykros and the clones kidnap his daughter Ava Kirk in Gotham City. However, they are eventually stopped by Kirk, Batman, Katana, and a disguised Alfred Pennyworth. The Council is still out there however with Kirk swearing to take them all down.
