The Hat
28 years ago - Haruto Satou is born in a slum in Osaka, Japan.
12 years ago - 16-year-old Haruto Satou first becomes a street magician, feeding his growing alcoholism, always looking for more magical power.
6 years ago - 22-year-old Haruto Satou inadvertently releases Rampotatek, a powerful chaotic earth elemental that dominates Haruto & takes control of his body.
5 years ago - 23-year-old Haruto Satou (Rampotratek) is found by Manchester Black, his magic used to help reactivate the Voidship Bunny. He joins their superhuman collective the Elite, a superhero team dedicated to making real change in the world.
4 years ago - 24-year-old Haruto Satou (Rampotratek) and the Elite come into conflict with Superman. They fight on the moon, where Superman temporarily severs the elemental's control of Satou. He is taken into custody by Checkmate.
3 years ago - 25-year-old Haruto Satou (Rampotratek) is freed from prison by Manchester Black as he rebuilds the Elite. They are fractured when Jenny Sparks begins building a new Stormwatch, and he is ultimately the only member of the Elite to stay with Black. He is killed by Paul Booker.
Of the four original members of the Elite, the Hat is definitely the one with the most limited lasting effect and is probably the weirdest. He's not really a character in and of himself so much as a unique visual element that provides flavor for the larger story. Almost everything we know about him comes from quick throwaway lines meant more to just be enticingly vague and fun rather than to give them any sort of story of their own, but sometimes that's a fun utility for a character; to just serve as a garnish for the larger meal.
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The Hat's StoryThe Hat was one of the four original members of the Elite in 2001's Action Comics #775. He was a a magic user who themed himself around taking things in and out of his hat, and was also clearly a drunk. I don't know if he was meant to emulate a specific Wildstorm character, but he does echo the Doctor, both in his powers and his substance abuse. (No, not that Doctor. A different Doctor.)
After his role in this generationally relevant story, The Hat made a second appearance in Action Comics as part of a crossover story called Ending Battle, when the Elite were featured as part of that story's parade of Superman's greatest enemies. In JLA #100, when Joe Kelley told a story setting up his upcoming series Justice League Elite, He makes one final appearance, this time no longer disguised a a human being but instead looking like a giant Chinese Dragon wearing a suit. V This is where Manitou Raven calls out his true name, Rampotratek. Vera Black clearly says that he can be the Hat "one more time", and sure enough, he is the one member of the Elite to not appear in Justice League Elite. The Hat is a pretty fantastic utility character for us as we flesh out our version of the Elite. He does a lot to convey the tone of that group, and is singularly useful to us, since other than Manchester Black himself, he's the only original member we're actually using. |