Jim Raynor

James "Jim" Eugene Raynor is a fictional character in Blizzard Entertainment's science fiction StarCraft series. A Terran in his thirties, Raynor is a former soldier and outlaw who eventually becomes a marshal in a backwater colony world. A prominent character in the science fiction real-time strategy video games StarCraft and Brood War, Raynor joins Arcturus Mengsk's revolution against the oppressive Terran Confederacy but becomes disillusioned with Mengsk's genocidal tactics, forming his own paramilitary group to challenge Mengsk's tyranny. For the sequel StarCraft II, Raynor is framed as the viewpoint character of its Terran campaign Wings of Liberty; his opposition to Mengsk and his attachment to his former cohort Sarah Kerrigan serves as the main emotional throughline of StarCraft II. He also appears as a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm. Outside video games, Raynor appears in the novels Liberty's Crusade and Queen of Blades, while his backstory is explored in the novels Heaven's Devils and Devil's Due.

Created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, Raynor is loosely based on a character of the same name in the 1991 film Rush. Metzen conceived Raynor to represent the ordinary man in a series populated with politically motivated characters. Raynor's physical appearance was designed by Metzen himself. During the development of StarCraft II, Blizzard described Wings of Liberty as being structured around Raynor's story, with production director Chris Sigaty saying that the team needed a full campaign to tell "the Jim Raynor story" in the way it wanted. Robert Clotworthy voices the character in all video game appearances.

Reception to Raynor has been generally positive, with commentary emphasizing his persistence, loyalty, and willingness to keep fighting despite repeated betrayal and loss. Some critics were less enthusiastic, regarding him as a comparatively conventional heroic lead.