Night Raven is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing primarily in

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 Dill ...

Comics, a division of

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 ...

. Night Raven first appeared in ''

Hulk Comic ''Hulk Comic'' (later ''The Incredible Hulk Weekly'') was a black-and-white Marvel UK comics anthology published under the editorship of Dez Skinn starting in 1979. Publication history After starring for many years in the Marvel UK flagship title ...

'' #1 (March 7,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Publication history

Originally created by editors

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

, the early Night Raven stories were written by

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

, with art by David Lloyd. Dez Skinn's immediate superior,

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, did not like David Lloyd's "blocky" artwork, and thus

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...

became Lloyd's replacement artist towards the end of the strip's initial run. The original Night Raven strip was greatly influenced by the pulp characters of the 1930s (the time period in which the strip was set), especially

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

and

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by editor Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of ''The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. A 119th Spider novel manuscrip ...

. Night Raven was one of the few original characters created for Marvel UK in the 1980s, and quickly became a fan favorite, with his appearance in ''Hulk Weekly'' #2 being voted "Favourite Single Story" in the British section of the 1980

Eagle Awards The Eagle Awards were a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by United Kingdom, UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's ''Eagle (British comics), Eagle'' comic, they were l ...

. The character was also nominated for British section Eagle Awards in 1980 for "Favourite Character" and "Character Most Worthy of Own Book." Night Raven was again nominated for favourite British character in the 1981 Eagle Awards. During the decade, Night Raven appeared in various

titles, including a run of text stories beginning in ''Savage Action'' by Alan McKenzie and continued in ''Marvel Super Heroes'' (#382-386) by

Alan McKenzie Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer and editor known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing '' Starburst'', ''Cinema'' and '' Doctor Who Monthly'' magazines. After leaving the ...

and ''

The Daredevils ''The Daredevils'' was a comics magazine and comics anthology, anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983 in comics, 1983. Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, ''The Daredevils'' featured Captain Britain ...

'' (#6-11) by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

and

Jamie Delano Jamie Delano (; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book s ...

, later switching to ''Savage Sword of Conan'' and finally ''Captain Britain'' volume two. His period setting was gradually moved from the 1930s up to contemporary times by the plot device of having him rendered apparently immortal and indestructible but in constant pain and gradually losing his sanity as a result, due to the machinations of his equally immortal arch-foe, the Oriental female crime lord Yi Yang. In the 1990s the character had only a handful of appearances, most prominent of which was a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, ''Night Raven: House of Cards''. The character's first American appearance was in a supporting role in the graphic novel '' Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty''. In ''Death Duty'', it is revealed that he is unable to die. Night Raven's immortality was contradicted later in the 1995 Marvel US miniseries ''Nocturne'', in which it was revealed that the original Night Raven had died after being poisoned in the 1950s. One of his last acts was to create a battlesuit which was later donned by Graham "Gray" Poldark to become a new hero known as Nocturne. It has since been confirmed that the Nocturne story did not take place in the main Marvel comics reality. Night Raven is glimpsed in the first issue of '' The Twelve'', where he is one of many costumed heroes pictured in Berlin in a scene dated April 25, 1945. He plays no part in the subsequent story and it is unclear whether or not the creators realized that this would appear to contradict the character's existing continuity.

Powers and abilities

Upon first appearance, Night Raven had no powers, but was a highly trained fighter and marksman who wielded two guns. He was exposed to a chemical toxin by Yi Yang, which made him nearly indestructible, but deformed him and left him with chronic pain. He has a reputation for immortality, but the accuracy of this belief is unclear.

Bibliography

*''Night Raven'' (by David Lloyd): ** "Night Raven" (with

, in ''

'' #1-20,

, 1979, collected in ''Night Raven: The Collected Stories'', 64 pages, October 1990, ) ** "House Of Cards" (with

, one shot,

, 1991, ) *''Nocturne'' (by

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

, with pencils by Joe Fonteriz and inks by John Stokes (1-2 and 4), 4-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics, 1994)

References

External links

Night Raven
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe

at the International Catalogue of Superheroes *

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

. from the original on March 28, 2016. {{Authority control Fictional characters with immortality Fictional janitors Fictional soldiers Marvel Comics mutates Marvel UK characters Comics characters introduced in 1979 Comics set in the 1930s Vigilante characters in comics