Ray (comics)
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The Ray is the name of three fictional characters, all superheroes in the DC Comics universe.
The first Ray was a Quality Comics character who was one of those purchased by DC Comics. He was later retconned as a member of the Freedom Fighters. His son, the second Ray, was created by DC.
It's a common misconception that Ray Terrill was created by Christopher Priest and Howard Porter, who were the long-standing creative team on his solo book. While Priest did have a hand in Ray's creation as editor Jim Owsley, Ray's debut mini-series was created by Jack C. Harris and Joe Quesada.[1]
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[edit] Character biography
[edit] Langford Terrill
Before World War II, the government established a secret group known as RONOL (Research on the Nature of Light). One RONOL member, Dr. Dayzl, theorized that the light that originated millennia ago where Earth now orbits would eventually circumnavigate the universe and return as a dangerous, conscious entity.
The only way to stop the "Light Entity," Dayzl believed, was to talk to it. Tricking a reporter named "Happy" Terrill into joining them, Dayzl and his assistants staged an upper atmosphere ballooning "accident," making certain Terrill was exposed to a genetic "light bomb." Dayzl calculated that Terrill's offspring would be a unification of human and light energy, a potential liaison to the Light Entity. Unaware of the truth, Terrill used his resulting powers to become the super-heroic Ray. Simultaneously, RONOL lost government backing due to Dayzl's unorthodox beliefs. Dayzl's fate remains unknown.
In 1950, after learning the truth, Terrill vowed to quit his Ray identity. After a brief association with his old team, the Freedom Fighters in the 70s, he had married and settled down. Everything seemed normal until "Happy" saw his newborn son glowing with crackling energy in the hospital nursery. "Happy" was convinced Dayzl's theories were correct. He now knew his son would one day have the power to confront the Light Entity. Not wanting to put his wife through torment, "Happy" told her that the baby had died and then set up his son with a foster father ("Happy's" brother Thomas).
[edit] Ray Terrill
Ray Terrill was told he was hyper-sensitive to light and exposure to sunlight would kill him. Privately tutored in his window-darkened home, Ray's most earnest wish was for normalcy. The media called him Night Boy. His only friend during his formative years was his neighbor, Jennifer Jurden. At eighteen, by his supposed father's deathbed, Ray learned his life was a lie. He was not allergic to light, nor did he have to live in darkness. Most disturbing of all, he discovered his true father was the 40s war-time super-hero, the Golden Age Ray.
[edit] Stan Silver
The reformed Freedom Fighters have a member called the Ray, who has similar powers to Terrill. DC Comics Executive Editor Dan Didio has confirmed that this The Ray is not Ray Terrill. In a recent interview, Justin Gray revealed that the new Ray is Stan Silver, "capable of turning his body into a living laser light". Stan likes to show off in front of the media.
Working as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Sun, Silver got exposed to radiation while covering a story, thus explaining how he got his powers. Currently he works for S.H.A.D.E..
[edit] Powers and abilities
- All versions of the Ray can absorb, store and process light and use the energy to fly and create bursts of light.
- The Terrills were also capable of manipulating light externally to create illusions and even solid light constructs, as well as render themselves invisible.
- Later in Happy's career (while mentoring/antagonising his son), he was shown to have a greater mastery of his abilities. For example, by using "solid light vibrations," essentially resonating the target's inner ear, he was able to approximate telepathic communication.
- Ray Terrill is capable of converting his body completely into light energy. No physical harm can come to him in this form (as demonstrated when Lobo punched Ray Terrill through his skull[2]). This process can also be used to heal damage that his physical form has already sustained (seen in the story "Ray Gets Shot In The Head[3]" where a bullet was lodged at the base of his skull and he was told by doctors he would paralyzed from the neck down. After turning to his energy form the damage was healed instantly).
- In addition to his super powers, Ray Terrill is also one of the most skilled computer programmers in the DCU, and stories set in the future of the DC universe suggest he has the ability to develop into an accomplished businessman.
- Stan Silver's abilities are, as of July 2006, largely undocumented. As noted above, he is apparently "capable of turning his body into a living laser light."
[edit] Other Media
The second Ray has made background appearances in Justice League Unlimited
[edit] References
- ^ As detailed on Priest's website - http://www.digital-priest.com/comics/the_ray.htm
- ^ The Ray vol 2, #8
- ^ The Ray vol 2, #16
