Red Raven (Earth-616)

Red Raven
Name	Unrevealed
Current Alias	Red Raven
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	A.R.M.O.R, Ducky Dozen, formerly Liberty Legion, ally of the Invaders
Relatives	Dania (daughter, deceased)
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6′ (1.83 m)
Weight	180 lbs (81.65 kg) (82 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Red
Unusual Features	Wings
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human child raised by the Bird People
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	United States of America
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Bird-People
Occupation	Leader of the Bird-People, former adventurer
Education	Trained and Educated by the Bird People.
Base of Operations	Aerie, Sky Island, North Atlantic
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Joe Simon, Louis Cazeneuve
First	Red Raven Comics #1 (May, 1940)
First	Red Raven Comics #1 (May, 1940)
Death	Marvel Zombies Destroy! #2 (May, 2012)
Death	Marvel Zombies Destroy! #2 (May, 2012)

History

Origins

File:Red Raven (Earth-616).jpg

Original costume

The small child who was to become the Red Raven was riding with his parents aboard one of the first airplanes to cross the Atlantic Ocean when the plane entered a dense fog bank and struck the island of the Bird-People which was concealed within. The Bird-People were originally Inhumans who had seceded from their race's city of Attilan. The Bird-People instead lived in a city built atop an "island," which, due to powerful anti-gravity drives, floated high above the Earth's surface. Whereas most Inhumans have different powers than the others, all of the Bird-People resembled ordinary humans, except for their large, feathered wings, which made them capable of flight. The child who was to become the Red Raven was the only human to survive the plane crash, and the Bird-People, who are also known as the Winged Ones, decided to raise him as one of their own.

The Bird-People named the child Red Raven because of his flaming red hair, and, as he grew older, gave him a costume that would enable him to fly. The costume contained miniature anti-gravity mechanisms and included large artificial wings which would help him steer himself and negotiate air currents while in flight.

Early Adventures

On becoming an adult, the Red Raven decided to explore the world of the human race in the 1940's. His first activities among regular humans was stopping the machinations of gold thieves that were causing a second great depression.

Liberty Legion

In 1942, when the Invaders were captured and brainwashed by the Red Skull, Bucky gathered a the Red Raven and other heroes forming the group known as the Liberty Legion. When the Red Skull unleashed members of the Invaders to destroy American national landmarks, the Red Raven teamed with the Whizzer to prevent the Human Torch and Toro from destroying the Lincoln Memorial. Although the Torch escaped, the pair managed to capture Toro, which ended up being their key to victory. Red Raven and the other members of the Liberty Legion battled the brainwashed Invaders at Yankees Stadium until Bucky, with the aid of Toro and Fred Davis Jr. managed to destroy the Red Skull's mind control device. With the Invaders free from the Red Skull's control and their return to Europe, the Liberty Legion decided to remain together and battle crime on the home front.

Next the Red Raven and the other members of the Liberty Legion attempted to prevent armored Nazi operative Iron Cross from capturing Professor Schultz but were captured in the process. The group was taken prisoner aboard a Nazi U-Boat and were rescued by the Invaders. Together the two teams prevented Iron Cross from escaping with Professor Schultz. Red Raven and the Liberty Legion next defended New York City from an air raid led by Sky Shark meeting the time displaced Thing who was in the past trying to recover a time lost canister of Vibranium. Red Raven and the others were then called off to try and prevent other Axis agents from stealing new experimental equipment from secret government labs but failed. They group learned that these were all being used to complete Brain Drain's Swastika shaped battle ship and assisted the Thing in destroying it and recovering the Vibranium.

In December 1943, the Red Raven was among a number of heroes who were slain by the Cosmic Cube wielding Red Skull and impaled on a massive wall. However, the Cube was recovered by Private Paul Anslen who resurrected all the slain heroes who aided the combined efforts of the Invaders and the time displaced New Avengers and Might Avengers. When the Skull was defeated the heroes used the Cube to wipe out the Red Raven's memories of the event to preserve history.

In April 1945 following a battle with the Lava Men, the Liberty Legion decided to disband with little by was of Axis spies and other threats in North America. Red Raven migrated to Europe where he joined with the United States military in fighting the Nazis there. On April 25 of that year he was one of many super-heroes involved in an invasion of Berlin.

Post-War

But what the Red Raven saw of mankind's inhumanity towards others during the war years eventually embittered him towards the human race, and he returned to the island of the Bird-People.

There he discovered that the Bird-People, who believed the ordinary humans to be their inferiors, intended to conquer the human race while it was still wearied from the tumult of World War Two. The Red Raven argued in vain with the ruler of the Bird-People that the humans still vastly outnumbered them and would wipe the winged race out if they went to war. To save the Bird-People's lives, the Red Raven released a gas which placed all of them in suspended animation. He then put the Bird-People in special individual capsules designed to keep them alive, and sank the island beneath the Atlantic Ocean. He put himself into suspended animation in a capsule, too, after setting a device that would return the island to the ocean surface years later and awaken him.

Modern Age

The island rose again on schedule, and was discovered by the mutant Angel. After fighting the Angel, the awakened Red Raven again sank the island and returned to suspended animation. But some months later, an undersea earthquake tore his own capsule loose. It floated to the ocean surface, and the Red Raven regained consciousness, but was unable to move. He was revived by his former ally, Namor the Sub-Mariner. However, the suspended animation methods the Red Raven had used had adversely affected his sanity: the Red Raven now intended to revive the rest of the Bird-People, destroy humanity, and take over the Earth. But when the Red Raven tried to awaken the Bird-People, he discovered that the suspended animation capsules had malfunctioned, and that the entire race had died. Totally insane now from anguish, the Red Raven lashed out at a main control panel with his metal wings without realizing what he was doing. A fire erupted and the island of the Bird-People was obliterated by a tremendous explosion, seemingly killing the Red Raven.

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

Most recently, the Red Raven was recruited by Howard the Duck to be a member of his Ducky Dozen on a mission for ARMOR to stop a zombie plague from spreading from Earth-12591 a world where the Nazis won World War II by unleashing the zombie plague. Red Raven earned the ire of his teammate Taxi Taylor because of his opinion that she was nothing more than a glorified chauffeur as they would be using her reality jumping powers to travel to Earth-12591. Arriving on Earth-12591 in the thick of a battle against the Nazi zombie forces, the Ducky Dozen were attacked by the zombified members of the Invaders. During the fight Taxi Taylor was attacked by Golden Girl. Red Raven came to her aid, fighting off Golden Girl but getting bitten in the processed. Infected with the zombie virus, Red Raven was about to attack his teammates if not for the timely arrival of the Suffragists whose member Columbia slew him.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

Template:New Power Grid

Weaknesses

Red Raven was infected with a variant strain of a pathogen that creates Zombies, having turned him into an undead corpse. Red Raven was then driven by an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Those who were bit by him, but not killed would also become infected and eventually turn into a zombie as well. As a zombie Red Raven's body was frail but the only way to stop him was to destroy his brain, effectively killing him again.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Red Raven wears artificial wings which enable him to fly. Occasionally he wears body armor.

Weapons

Mace.

See Also

• 35 appearance(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 9 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 3 minor appearance(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 11 image(s) of Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 1 victim(s) killed by Red Raven (Earth-616)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Red Raven (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Golden Age 2004