Black Condor is the superhero name used by three different fictional characters in the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

universe. All three incarnations of Black Condor have been members of the Freedom Fighters and each has been featured in Freedom Fighters comic books published by DC Comics. The first Black Condor, Richard Grey Jr., was created by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

writer

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

and artist

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States

Crack Comics'' #1 (May 1940), and continued through issue #31 (Oct 1943). He also appeared in ''

Uncle Sam Quarterly Uncle Sam is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Based on the national personification of the United States, Uncle Sam, the character first appeared in '' National Comics'' #1 (July 1940) and was created by Will E ...

'' #2 (Dec 1941). He moved to the DC universe when DC Comics bought the rights to Quality Comics characters. The first Black Condor was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era super hero along with the rest of the Freedom Fighters. The second Black Condor, Ryan Kendall, gained the power of flight due to genetic manipulation and initially did not believe he was a super hero. He would later join the Freedom Fighters, but was killed at the beginning of the ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' storyline. The third Black Condor, John Trujillo, is of Mayan descent and was given his powers by the

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

Spider Goddess Tocotl. Seeing himself as a protector of the universe, he joins forces with the Freedom Fighters.

Fictional character biography

Richard Grey Jr.

Quality Comics

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

superhero who possessed the power of flight, the Black Condor was created by writer

under the pseudonym Kenneth Lewis, and artist

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States

Crack Comics'' #1 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d May 1940). Initially alternating with the

Clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

as the cover-featured character, he became the solo cover feature from issues #20-26 (Jan.-Nov. 1942). Fine drew the first 24 stories, and his feature continued to run through issue #31. As an infant traveling with his parents on an archaeological expedition thorough Outer Mongolia, Richard Grey Jr. survived after his family was killed by the bandit Gali Kan and his men. Rescued by a

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

who raised him as her own, he learned to fly, as the origin story stated, by "studying the movement of wings, the body motions, air currents, balance and levitation" of his avian siblings. A mountain

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, Father Pierre, eventually discovered and civilized the feral child, and taught him to speak English. Richard tracked down and killed the Mongolian bandits who had killed his parents and then departed for the United States where he uncovered a plot to kill

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Thomas Wright. He was too late to save Wright from assassination, and so began to use his identity.The Black Condor
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on August 27, 2015. He adopted the guise of Black Condor to fight crooked politicians, rum-running bootleggers, and racketeers. The strip was popular, and became ''Crack Comics featured story starting in issue #3. In ''American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944'', Kurt Mitchell writes: "The Asian backdrop was deemphasized by the end of the year in favor of urban settings or ornately rendered lost cities, bandits and jewel thieves giving ground to mad scientists, living statues, and sentient weapons of mass destruction. Scene after scene of the Condor in flight, his lithe figure soaring across backgrounds seen from dizzying perspectives with a grace

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

's barrel-chested Superman could not hope to match, made the series irresistible". According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "Black Condor fights femmes fatale, the Eagle Battalion,

Yellow Peril The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror and the Yellow Specter) is a racial color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the Western world. As a psychocultural menace from the Eastern world ...

s, Kite-Men (Japanese agents on flying kites), a Chinese mad scientist, a golem, and killer robots known as the Spinning Deaths".

DC Comics

In the DC Universe, his power was

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 ...

to being caused by exposure to a radioactive meteor (a story which was slightly touched upon in his Quality origin). Here he met

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

and joined his group, the Freedom Fighters, and later the

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its self-titled serie ...

. He was among a group of Golden and Silver Age heroes who helped the JLA repel an Appellaxian invasion in the ''JLA: Year One'' miniseries by Mark Waid. He appeared more recently as an ethereal "

spirit guide A spirit guide, in Western spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnated human being. Description In traditional African belief systems, well before the spread of Christ ...

" in the pages of Ryan Kendall's ''Black Condor'' series.

Ryan Kendall

The second Black Condor, Ryan Kendall, derived his powers of flight, telekinesis, and healing from the genetic experiments of his grandfather, Creighton. A member of an organization called the Society of the Golden Wing, Creighton and his allies had been attempting to create a man who could fly. After numerous attempts, Kendall was the only success. Kendall eventually rebelled and escaped from his grandfather, who made frequent attempts to recapture the youth in order to study and reproduce his abilities. A mysterious telekinetic who kept to himself, Ryan Kendall was adamant when he first appeared as the Black Condor that he was not a superhero. However, time proved him wrong, and he fought alongside other superheroes, notably Primal Force and

Justice League International Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...

(for a brief time). Eventually, he went to Opal City, where he felt very much at home. In his solo adventures, Kendall sought out Hawkman in hopes of gaining insight into the role of a superhero. He helps in his battle against Karen Ramis, the Post-''Zero Hour'' Lion-Mane. In ''

'' #1, Kendall, as part of the Freedom Fighters, was killed by a powerful beam fired by Sinestro in an ambush by the Secret Society of Super Villains. In '' Nightwing'' #140, a mystery villain, Creighton Kendall, who gave him his powers, resurfaces in an attempt to resurrect his evil Golden Wing Society, an organization that would dispense "justice" from the skies. In the ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackest Ni ...

'' crossover event, Ryan was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. In the pages of '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'', Ryan is revealed to be entombed in the Valhalla Cemetery. Batman later revived him with a Black Lantern Ring.

John Trujillo

''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' #3 introduced a third Black Condor named John Trujillo whose home turf is the Arizona desert. John was given the hereditary powers of the Black Condor by Tocotl, a

Spider Goddess. Trujillo sees himself as a protector of the universe. He first appears when he single-handedly rescues Uncle Sam and the other Freedom Fighters, who had been defeated by agents of

S.H.A.D.E. The following is a list of fictional government agency, government agencies, comic book organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. A Agency The Agency was formed by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independe ...

Trujillo is very serious and seems somewhat uncomfortable interacting with other people. In issue #6, he rebuffs romantic overtures by the Phantom Lady, correctly (as she realizes later) assuming she does not really mean it. The full extent of the third Black Condor's powers remains unrevealed. He can fly at extremely high speeds, control the wind, and may possess moderate superhuman strength and speed.

Powers and abilities

* The first Black Condor has the mutant ability to fly, although no limits are known as to speed, duration or altitude. Sometime after arriving on Earth-X, it became apparent that his mutant powers also included limited telekinesis abilities, most notably mind-over-matter. At times, the Black Condor carries a ray gun, the origin of which is unknown. When used, it fires a black force beam of adjustable power capable of stunning a man or breaking a brick wall. He is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and an Olympic level athlete. * The second Black Condor possessed a talent for telekinesis which he also used to fly, as well as limited empathic abilities and a rapid healing rate. * The third Black Condor has so far only demonstrated the abilities of flight and wind/air-current control, but has been credited by Tocotl as an elemental of the sky and Earth. He also has a moderate level of superhuman strength and speed, and seems quite ruthless.

Other versions

* In a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

story,

Mister Mxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' '' Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he en ...

shows Superman a gender-reversed Justice League. Amongst its members are the Black Condor, a male equivalent of the Black Canary. * In the final issue of '' 52'', a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10". As a result of

Mister Mind Mister Mind is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, he made a cameo appearance in ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' #22 (March 1943) before making his full f ...

"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the Pre-''Crisis'' Earth-X, including the Quality characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but a character visually similar to the Richard Grey, Jr. Black Condor appears. Based on comments by

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 th ...

, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X. * ''New Super-Man'' features a character named the Blue Condor (an analog of the Black Condor). * ''Multiversity: The Mastermen'' features an African-American Black Condor as one of Uncle Sam's Freedom Fighters.

In other media

Television

* The Richard Grey Jr. version of Black Condor appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Cry Freedom Fighters!", voiced by Jason C. Miller. He appears as a member of the Freedom Fighters and accompanies them, Batman, and

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the fi ...

into freeing

Qward Qward is a fictional world existing within an anti-matter universe that is part of the . It was first mentioned in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #2 (October 1960). Fictional history Krona (comics), Krona, an Oan scientist from the planet Maltus (co ...

from the government oppression caused by the Supreme Chairman of Qward.

Film

* The Black Condor was mentioned in '' Batman and Harley Quinn''.

Web series

* The Earth-X John Trujillo version of the Black Condor appears in '' Freedom Fighters: The Ray'', set partly in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

, voiced by Jason Mitchell. This Black Condor is an outed gay man.''Freedom Fighters: The Ray'' (web series) Episode 206 ** The Earth-One version appears in episodes 3, 4 and 5.

Miscellaneous

The Black Condor appears in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe ...

'' #17.

References

External links

Black Condor I Index

DCU Guide: Black Condor I

DCU Guide: Black Condor II

Comic Treadmill: Black Condor II brief summary of issues #1-8

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