Red Raven (Earth-616)

Red Raven
Name	Unrevealed
Current Alias	Red Raven
Aliases	Bat-Wing Man
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Bird People Formerly Liberty Legion, ally of the Invaders
Relatives	Children: Dania (daughter, deceased)
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6′ (1.83 m)
Weight	180 lbs (81.65 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Red
Unusual Features	Wings
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human raised by the Bird People
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	United States of America
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Aerie, unidentified European nation
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)

History

Origins

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 activity 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 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.

Red Raven and the Liberty Legion 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 lost canister of Vibranium. Red Raven and the others were called off to try and prevent other Axis agents from stealing new experimental equipment from secret government labs, but failed. The 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.

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.

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. The Cube, however, was recovered by Private Paul Anselm who resurrected all the slain heroes who then aided the combined efforts of the Invaders and the time displaced New Avengers and Mighty 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 as there now little threat of Axis spies 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

Unfortunately, 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.

In 1959, Red Raven was considered by Jimmy Woo as a possible member for the Agents of Atlas. (Apparently, despite not appearing in public since shortly after WWII, the FBI had reasons to believe Red Raven was still active.)

Modern Age

Red Raven eventually reappeared alive. The Defenders were brought to the Red Raven's sky-island and clashed with the Raven. He also encountered The Order on his island and was temporarily placed in a sorcerous sleep alongside the Bird People until being awakened after The Order's final battle. He briefly encountered Nova, who had made an enemy of one of the Bird People, the renegade called Condor.

Later, while battling a mystic, Red Raven was transformed into an actual bird, and subsequently hit by a truck. Marlo Chandler kept the injured bird in a cage until he reverted to human form.

Inhuman Error

During Thanos' invasion on Earth, the Inhuman king Black Bolt activated a Terrigen Bomb to protect his people, which unleashed a giant cloud of Terrigen Mist that scattered across the world. The Terrigen cloud reached Aerie and had a horrible effect on the Bird People, causing them to either die or suffer from uncontrollable Terrigenesis that turned them into monsters. Due to his nature, Red Raven wasn't affected, and swore revenge on the Inhumans.

He arrived with Aerie to Manhattan, with the objective to destroy New Attilan, the home of the Inhumans. Spider-Man and New Attilan's Inhumans faced him. With the help of the new Captain America, Spider-Man and the Inhumans confronted the Red Raven, and ultimately were able to convince him to stop his plan.

Red Raven was hospitalized for the injuries he sustained in battle against the heroes, under the direct care of Queen Medusa, who promised him to try to find a way to stabilize the Bird People's condition and make Black Bolt pay for what he did. He was visited by Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, and he expressed regret over his actions. Rogers told him that in the end, he decided to do the right thing and was still a hero. Raven asked Cap if he was worried about the world they left behind, but he replied that it was in good hands.

Attributes

Power Grid

Abilities

• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Red Raven is trained in unarmed combat.
• Aerial Combat: Red Raven is particularly adept at maneuvering while in flight.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Red Raven's Wings: He wears artificial bulletproof wings which enable him to fly at 140 mph. Occasionally he wears body armor.

Weapons

Mace.

See Also

• 36 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)