Name: Checkmate
Universe: Post-Crisis
First Appearance: Action Comics #598

History:
The covert action group code named Checkmate was created from the ashes of its predecessor group, the Agency, which was originally set up by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independent branch of Task Force X under the command of Colonel Valentina Vostok to perform operations worldwide considered vital to the security of American interests. While the Agency utilized mostly plainclothes operatives, Colonel Vostok later employed two costumed operatives, Vigilante and Peacemaker.

Vigilante and Peacemaker were highly unstable personalities who liked to embark on unauthorized operations that led to high-profile exposure of the Agency's secret business; Vostok brought former New York Police Lieutenant Harry Stein into the Agency to oversee their activities. Stein soon replaced Vostok in the Agency's command position.

Stein sought out the most stable personnel available from the American and international intelligence and law enforcement communities. His agency would field only the best-trained and well-equipped of agents, working under the strictest rules of secrecy.

For the hierarchical structure of his new organization, Stein chose the game of chess as his model and so, Checkmate was born. At the top is the Queen, a position originally filled by Amanda Waller, who determines agency policy and acts as liaison to the President. The Queen, in turn, oversees the activities of the King, Harry Stein, who is in control of Checkmate's day-to-day operations. Beneath him are the Bishops, or administrative assistants, Harvey Bullock (who also serves as Stein's second-in-command), Kalia Campbell, Philip Kramer, and Scott Jameson, each charged with the supervision of a specific area of operation.

The next level down on the chain of command are the Rooks, field directors responsible for the running of the agency's missions and who are in direct control of the Knights, the thirty costumed field agents who make up the real heart of Checkmate. (In addition to the Knights, Peacemaker is sometimes utilized in a semi-official capacity. The freelance operative Black Thorn, former partner and lover of Vigilante, has also been known to cooperate with Checkmate.) Under the command of the Rooks are the Pawns, non-costumed support agents-in-the-field.

Checkmate was headquartered in Shelby, Virginia, eighteen miles outside of Washington, D.C., under the cover of Konig Industries, a small, privately held consumer electronics company. Konig was destroyed during the events of the Janus Directive, and Checkmate was relocated to a more secure location in an abandoned Norad facility in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

In the course of the inter-agency warfare caused by the Janus Directive and the final confrontation with Kobra and his followers, almost four-fifths of the Knight force and several dozen Pawns were killed. One of the surviving Knights, former French secret service agent Jacques Reynard, felt Checkmate had betrayed him by leaving him for dead and became the armored assassin-for-hire called Bishop. As a result of her poor handling of the matter, Amanda Waller was fired as Checkmate's Queen and replaced with Sarge Steel.

While plans call for the eventual replacement of a number of slain Knights, Checkmate currently maintains full operations.

Powers:
The Knights are some of the best-trained espionage agents in the world, any one of whom is capable of completing his mission with nothing more than the shirt on his back. Checkmate has considerably increased the odds in their favor by outfitting them with specialized equipment, including bullet-resistant black uniforms and visors resembling a knight's helmet. The gold left sleeve of the suit is made of a special latex material that hardens with impact, and the gauntlet they wear on their right hand contains a spring-loaded knife and pistol plus compartments for miniaturized explosive and concussive devices. The leg harnesses hold a baton that can be telescoped to a full-length lance, as well as their communication device (called comm-links) and a spare holster. For combat operations, Knights wear "battle vests", heavy-duty flak jackets with pouches for ammunition and grenades. They also use a specially modified M16A1 assault rifle for these operations.

Checkmate maintains a small fleet of air, sea, and land transportation, including supersonic troop carriers, Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk combat assault helicopters, speedboats, tractor trailers, vans, and high-performance chase cars.