Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character has been depicted as a freedom fighter in several

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; as ...

alternate futures. Created by co-plotters

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possib ...

and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

, scriptwriter

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

, and penciller Adams, the character

first appeared In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interes ...

in ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' vol. 2, #18 (May 1973). The series featured the first dramatic interracial kiss in American color comic books.

Publishing history

Co-creator Neal Adams' early ideas for Killraven involved the character being the son of a

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that o ...

. This conception had been reworked by the first issue, a multiple-creator goulash in which the two originators and co-plotters turned the scripting over to another writer, and in which artist co-creator Adams penciled only the first 11 pages and

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

the remaining nine. The second issue was fully written by the debut's scripter, Gerry Conway, followed in the third by

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New ...

. After this, the book became the province of writer

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

for an acclaimed run from #21 (Nov. 1973) to the final issue, #39 (Nov. 1976). Pencillers were

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wol ...

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the P. Craig Russell from issue #27 on. Two of its characters, Carmilla Frost and the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

M'Shulla Scott, shared color comic books' earliest known dramatic interracial kiss, in issue #31 (July 1975), page nine, final panel. Aside from McGregor, with whom the character became associated, other writers include Bill Mantlo (a fill-in ''Amazing Adventures'' and a ''Marvel Team-Up'' with Killraven and a future-flung

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

); Joe Linsner (a 2001

Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles ('' Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredev ...

one-shot, ''Killraven'', set in 2020

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, at odds with the original series' locale by that fictional year); and

Alan Davis Alan Davis (born 18 June 1956) is an English artist and writer of comic books, known for his work on titles such as '' Captain Britain'', ''The Uncanny X-Men'', '' ClanDestine'', ''Detective Comics'', '' Excalibur'', '' JLA: The Nail'' and '' J ...

(also artist), in a 2002 parallel universe miniseries, ''Killraven'' vol. 2. An Essential Marvel volume in 2005 reprinted all the character's appearances except that Davis story. McGregor and Russell, however, remain the series' signature creative team; more than two decades after the original series' end, comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that: Some planned elements of the "Killraven" saga were incorporated into the

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

series ''

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

'', McGregor and RussellP. Craig Russell interview, ''Comics Interview'' #3 (May 1983), p. 10: "Don always had a very strong structure worked out several years in advance, but when he didn't think he'd be doing 'Killraven' again, he used some of the ideas and settings in other stories — such as the Disney World setting used in ''Sabre''...." each said in 1983. The character made latter-day appearances in '' Marvel Zombies 5'' #2 (April 2010) where the war against the Martians is concluded, and in '' The Avengers'' vol. 4, #4-6 (Aug.-Oct. 2010), the latter in the present day after time-traveling. Killraven appears in ''Claws II'' (Aug. 2011), in which the superheroes Wolverine and Black Cat meet him in the future fighting Martians. In 2014, Killraven also makes a cameo appearance in '' All-New Invaders'' Issue # 12 in a modern retelling of the War of the Worlds.

Unrealized projects

In the late 1980s, Don McGregor wrote 50 to 60 pages and P. Craig Russell began illustrating a final story, "Killraven: Final Battles, Final Lies, Final Truths" (also referred to as "Final Lies, Final Truths, Final Battles"). The story never saw print, according to McGregor, because Marvel would not assure Russell the company would print the story in Marvel's best format at the time. In this intended finale to McGregor's story, "Killraven would take that war back to the intruders" on Mars itself."A 2005/2006 Interview with Don McGregor!" Additional . In the mid-1990s,

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for t ...

and Mark Millar considered tying in Marvel's 2099 imprint, making Ravage a descendant of Killraven: "Our idea was that the Killraven stories had actually happened, but Earth somehow got itself back together. It's now one hundred years later, and the Martians are attacking again, meaning that all the superheroes were going to have to deal with them".

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role ...

then arrives, and devours Mars along with the Martians. In 2005, writer Jim Valentino said his aborted plans for the Marvel comic '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' involved Killraven, in his 50s, joining the team and forming an attraction to Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara). Valentino said he would have established Franklin Richards as Killraven's father. Writer

Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...

and artist

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with writer Fabian Nici ...

announced in August 2007 they were creating a five-issue alternate universe Killraven

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries forma ...

planned for release in 2008, but the project never went into production.

Fictional character biography

On the alternate-future Earth designated Earth-691 by Marvel Comics, the

Martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pre ...

from

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' return in 2001 for another attempt at conquering the planet (they were later

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

as extrasolar aliens using

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atm ...

as a staging area). After humanity's enslavement, men not used as breeders or collaborators are trained and forced to battle gladiator-style for the Martians' amusement; women are used as breeders to supply infants, eaten by the Martians as a delicacy. Jonathan Raven, dubbed Killraven as his gladiatorial ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

'', escaped with the help of the gladiatorial "keeper", but without his brother, Deathraven. Killraven joined the Freemen, a group of freedom fighters against Martian oppression. From 2018 to 2020, Killraven and his companions travel across the eastern portion of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...

, from

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral ( es, Cabo Cañaveral) is a cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the B ...

while searching for Killraven's lost brother. Pursued by the

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

Skar, the Freemen encounter various victims of Martian transhuman experiments, as well as emotionally and psychologically scarred survivors. Fugitives from the Martians, Killraven and his Freemen — his

"mud-brother" M'Shulla Scott, the cynical and bitter Native American Hawk, and the slow-witted strongman Old Skull — meet and incorporate into their group the feisty scientist Carmilla Frost and Grok, her deformed, apelike clone. The Freemen ally with the human/plant hybrid Mint Julep, and battle Abraxas, Rattack and his rats, the High Overlord, and Skar. Killraven tames a mutated serpent-horse to use as his mount, and his Freemen battle Pstun-Rage in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

. In this encounter, the antagonists' names are anagrams of the Battle Creek-based

Kellogg Company The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toast ...

's breakfast cereals. The Freemen meet the flirty and sensual Volcana Ash, who helps them battle Atalon and the Death-Breeders. After learning that his brother Joshua (Deathraven) is still alive, Killraven fights Martian slaves alongside a time-traveling

, The Freemen eventually reach the Everglades, where they encounter a military cadre of survivors and the butterfly-like Mourning Prey. Still later, the Freemen encounter Killraven's brother, Deathraven, and discover he has become a Martian collaborator. In November 2020, the Martian occupation is over when Killraven unleashes a zombie plague on the Martians' food supply (humans and human infants).

Powers and abilities

As a youth, gladiator-in-training Jonathan Raven's physical prowess was heightened thanks to injections of experimental chemicals by Keeper Whitman. He was later given mental powers through Whitman's psycho-electric experiments, including the psionic ability to project his consciousness into and take over a Martian's mind, and the psychic ability to resist mental assaults and to mask his presence from robot scanners. Killraven is also a superb hand-to-hand combatant, and a highly skilled swordsman, wrestler, and martial artist. He is a master of most hand weaponry, especially shuriken. He is a master strategist in guerrilla warfare. Killraven possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of human history, art, and science predating the Martian invasion of A.D. 2001, implanted in his mind by Keeper Whitman. As artist P. Craig Russell described, "Killraven has a sort of extrasensory ability to counterbalance his gladiatorial skills. He is very much the barbarian type, yet at the same time he has this seed planted in his brain that is the history of the human race — a racial memory of everything that has been obliterated by the Martians. It's almost a magical ability.... It was what removed him from being just another sword-wielding gladiator type." Killraven wears bulletproof fabrics and leather. He is armed with various weapons as needed, and usually carried a sword and shuriken. He sometimes rides a mutated serpent-horse, or appropriated Martian vehicles and aircraft.

Other versions

There have been counterparts of Killraven in several stories: * Following minor controversy among fans whether the Killraven of ''Amazing Adventures'' is the same as that depicted in the past of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005'' states that Killraven and the Guardians share the same timeline, set on the parallel universe Marvel Comics designates "Earth-691". * The

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Avengers Forever ''Avengers Forever'' is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. It follows the storyline of Rick Jones and his quest to build a team of Avengers from the past, present, and future ...

'' depicts Killraven as a member of an alternate future Avengers (Earth-9930) led by the

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

. * Alan Davis' 2002 miniseries ''Killraven'' depicted an alternate-future variation of the original series, set on the parallel universe Marvel Comics designates "Earth-2120". * Jon Raven is Will of the People in Earth-7305 a

Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur (comics), Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekl ...

member who featured in ''Excalibur'' #50. *In an alternate future shown in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #18 (2009), Killraven leads the Guardians against the Martians in the year 3009. * In 1975,

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

's ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' comic reprinted Killraven as " Apeslayer", with alterations to substitute the Martians for apes and place the strip in the ''Planet of the Apes'' universe.

Mainstream Marvel continuity

In the mainstream

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

that the company dubs Earth-616, Jonathan Raven appears in the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...

miniseries ''

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

''. He is the son of Wisdom's MI-13 co-worker and lover, Maureen Raven, and the target of a trans-dimensional Martian Invasion because, as the Martian leader states, "On all Earths! Always! Every one of him is dangerous! Ruling council plan to invade all other Earths. So I urged this first expedition now before he is grown". Wisdom is forced to kill Maureen in order to stop the Martian invasion, while Jonathan is taken to an MI-6 safehouse in Prague and trained by martial artist

Shang-Chi Zheng Shang-Chi ( ), also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in '' ...

Parodies

* In Marvel's ''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into Fear'' #19 (cover- ...

'' #2 (March 1976), Howard dreams he is "Killmallard", a freedom fighter battling alien overlords who use tripods identical to those of Killraven's Martian opponents.

In other media

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

trade stories in 2005 reported plans to adapt Killraven for a theatrical motion picture, with Marvel and Sony Pictures in negotiations with Robert Schenkkan to write a script."Sony to Bring Old-School Comic 'Killraven' to the Big Screen"
Rotten Tomatoes: News, March 21, 2005 Those plans were abandoned and the rights of Killraven were reverted to Marvel.

Collected editions

References

External links

* *
Marvel Chronology Project - Killraven & Co.
* {{The War of the Worlds Alien invasions in comics Characters created by Dennis O'Neil Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics based on The War of the Worlds Comics characters introduced in 1973 Fictional characters from New York City Fictional military strategists Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics superheroes Post-apocalyptic comics Sequel novels