Department of Extranormal Operations

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). The agency was the focus of the Chase series. It is featured in the Supergirl television series. The agency has a complicated relationship with the depiction of law and constitutional rights in the DC Universe. Fictional organization history The role of the DEO is to monitor those with extranormal superpowers and to prevent any threat to the general public. However, in Action Comics #775 there are a couple of rogue agents 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." The DEO was responsible for the "orphanage" seen in Young Justice in which Secret was kept, although a later conversation between Director Bones and Agent Chase suggested the conditions in which she was kept were not official policy. Another such orphanage was seen in the 1999 Titans series. The DEO has protected important aspects of Washington, D.C., from telepathic intrusion.