Red Raven

Red Raven
Art By Louis Cazeneuve
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(historic) Red Raven Comics #1 (Aug. 1940); (modern) X-Men #44 (May 1968)
Created by	Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve
In-story information
Team affiliations	Liberty Legion
Abilities	Flight using mechanical wings. Access to alien technology.

Red Raven is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve in Red Raven Comics #1 (Aug. 1940), published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books.

He is the first Timely/Marvel character to star in a self-titled series, predating by several months Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). He is not to be confused with the Old West villain of the same name created for the Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The superhero Red Raven, created by writer Joe Simon and artist Louis Cazeneuve, first appeared in Red Raven Comics #1 (cover-dated Aug. 1940), published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title was canceled after its premiere issue, becoming The Human Torch with #2, dropping all features from the debut.^[1][2] The Grand Comics Database notes of the first and only issue, "No blurbs at the end of the stories in this issue indicate that there will be a Red Raven Comics #2. Instead they all advertise either Marvel Mystery Comics or in one case Mystic Comics, suggesting that perhaps Red Raven Comics was cancelled even before it went to press."^[3]

The character remained unused for more than two decades before being revived in the modern day as an antagonist in X-Men #44 (May 1968). The Red Raven then battled Namor, the Sub-Mariner in Sub-Mariner #26 (June 1970). Although presumed dead for years, he eventually returned in Nova vol. 3, #4-5 (Aug.-Sept. 1999), and guest-starred in Defenders #6-7 (Aug. - Sept. 2001) and The Order #2 (May 2002)^[4]

In Marvel Premiere #29 (April 1976), Red Raven was retconned to have been a member of the stateside World War II-era superhero team the Liberty Legion. In that capacity he and his teammates guest-starred in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 (1976) and The Invaders #6 (May 1976). He appeared in flashback cameos in Thor Annual #12 (1984) and Fantastic Four #405 (Oct. 1995).^[4]

Fictional character biography

The boy who would become Red Raven was a child from Europe, and the only survivor of a trans-Atlantic airplane crash. As an infant, he was adopted by a civilization of winged people who lived on a floating island in the sky, the Aerie, one kept aloft by antigravity drives and hidden from human civilization by artificial clouds. As he grew, he learned they were an avian offshoot of a human-alien hybrid race known as the Inhumans, who had long ago left the hidden Inhuman city Attilan, built their own abode, and learned to stabilize their genetics to reproduce only in this winged form.^[5] Calling themselves both The Bird-People and The Winged Ones, they made their adopted son a uniform outfitted with anti-gravitons for flight and metal wings for navigation. During World War II, fearing an escalation of Nazi Germany's efforts that would encompass his adopted people, the now-grown human wore a costume with large metal wings that enabled him to fly, and called himself Red Raven and joined the United States superhero team the Liberty Legion, battling foes such as the Red Skull.^[6]

The Bird-People, however, planned to invade human civilization after the war. Red Raven foiled their plot by using gas to place the tribe, including himself, in suspended animation, and sank their domed island to the bottom of the ocean, setting a timer to return them to the surface and reawaken them after several years. When the island eventually resurfaced near the end of the suspended-animation cycle, the superhero Angel of the X-Men stumbled upon the island. Angel and Red Raven clashed when the latter was startled by the former. Angel believed it would be more humane to revive the Bird-People, but Red Raven disagreed. He again sank the island to protect the secret of the Bird-People, continuing the suspended animation process, and set Angel adrift on a raft.^[7]

Sometime later, following an undersea earthquake, the Red Raven's suspended-animation capsule broke loose. It floated to the surface, where Red Raven was found by his old wartime ally the Sub-Mariner. The imperfect suspended-animation technology that he had used, however, had begun to drive Red Raven insane. He tried to awaken the Bird-People to join their crusade against humanity, but was thwarted by Namor. His condition worsened when he discovered that the Bird-People had all died. In a mad rage, he accidentally caused an explosion that engulfed him and the entire island.^[8]

Sometime throughout all this, Red Raven had a daughter who, under the same name, became a superhero.^[9]

Red Raven eventually reappeared alive, and revealed that he'd faked his own death, that of the Bird People, and the sinking of the island.^[10] The Defenders are later brought to the Red Raven's sky-island and clash with the Raven.^[11] The Red Raven also encounters The Order on his island.^[12]

Powers and abilities

Red Raven costume was reinforced synthetic stretch fabric containing miniature anti-gravity mechanisms, as well as large artificial wings which allowed the Red Raven to fly. He was armed with the birdmen's advanced weaponry, including a ray gun and an anti-gravity gun. He was proficient in basic hand-to-hand combat techniques uniquely styled to make use of his advantage of flight.

References

External links

• Red Raven at MarvelDirectory.com
• Red Raven at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Nevins, Jess. Red Raven at A Guide To Marvel's Golden Age Characters
• Diamond Galleries Scoop: "Did You Know...?" (column of Oct. 25, 2002): "The Short Run of the Red Raven"