Rainbow Raiders
Encyclopedia
The Rainbow Raiders are a group of characters in the Flash
comic book
.
, a funeral was held that every villain ever to face the Flash attended. Among the large crowd was an eclectic group of metahumans calling themselves the "Rainbow Raiders," in honor of the late Flash villain, the Rainbow Raider
. Their sentiments, expressed during the service, seemed to denote that the group was relatively new to the scene, had little exposure, standing, or experience working together.
It was during the Crime Syndicate's second invasion of Earth that the Raiders got to see some heavy action. In JLA #110 (2004), they attack the Missoula County, Montana
S.T.A.R. Labs
facility. Johnny Quick
and Power Ring who are disguised as the Flash
and Green Lantern
for an undercover mission, fight the group on the grounds of the facility. The battle goes badly for the two. Nearby civilians, believing that their beloved heroes are in trouble, attack the villains, allowing Power Ring and Johnny Quick time to rally and subdue the group.
A deleted page from Blackest Night: Director's Cut- later released in Untold Tales of the Blackest Night- revealed that the Raiders committed mass suicide in order to join the Black Lantern Corps
, believing that, with the dead attacking, it was best to be on the 'winning side'. However, they lacked any emotional ties sufficient enough to draw the attention of the black rings- which focused on resurrecting people who would inspire certain emotions in Earth's heroes and villains, such as Lex Luthor
's various murder victims, or fallen heroes and villains like Maxwell Lord
and Elongated Man
-, and therefore remained dead.
, each one having powers and appearance symbolically linked to their color.
The group also seemed to work with a floating head named "Computron," an updated version of the Flash villain Colonel Computron. Computron was killed in Santa Prisca
by the Brazilian superhero Fire
during a Checkmate
mission.
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
.
History
After the death of the first Captain BoomerangCaptain Boomerang
Captain Boomerang is a fictional character in the . A supervillain traditionally portrayed as an enemy of the Flash...
, a funeral was held that every villain ever to face the Flash attended. Among the large crowd was an eclectic group of metahumans calling themselves the "Rainbow Raiders," in honor of the late Flash villain, the Rainbow Raider
Rainbow Raider
Rainbow Raider is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe. His real name is a pun based on the acronym "ROYGBIV" , a mnemonic for the colors of a rainbow.He first appeared in The Flash vol...
. Their sentiments, expressed during the service, seemed to denote that the group was relatively new to the scene, had little exposure, standing, or experience working together.
It was during the Crime Syndicate's second invasion of Earth that the Raiders got to see some heavy action. In JLA #110 (2004), they attack the Missoula County, Montana
Missoula County, Montana
-National protected areas:*Bitterroot National Forest *Flathead National Forest *Lolo National Forest *Rattlesnake National Recreation Area-Demographics:...
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
facility. Johnny Quick
Johnny Quick
Johnny Quick is the name of two DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. The first was a superhero who appeared mostly in More Fun Comics during the Golden Age...
and Power Ring who are disguised as the Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
and Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
for an undercover mission, fight the group on the grounds of the facility. The battle goes badly for the two. Nearby civilians, believing that their beloved heroes are in trouble, attack the villains, allowing Power Ring and Johnny Quick time to rally and subdue the group.
A deleted page from Blackest Night: Director's Cut- later released in Untold Tales of the Blackest Night- revealed that the Raiders committed mass suicide in order to join the Black Lantern Corps
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
, believing that, with the dead attacking, it was best to be on the 'winning side'. However, they lacked any emotional ties sufficient enough to draw the attention of the black rings- which focused on resurrecting people who would inspire certain emotions in Earth's heroes and villains, such as Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
's various murder victims, or fallen heroes and villains like Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.-Before the League:...
and Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
-, and therefore remained dead.
Members
Like the original Rainbow Raider, the team's members are named after the colors of the visible spectrumVisible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm. In terms of...
, each one having powers and appearance symbolically linked to their color.
- Red: a super strong brawler.
- Orange: a fire-wielder.
- Yellow: an electricity-wielding speedster.
- Green: a plant manipulator.
- Blue: a water-based shapeshifter.
- Indigo: a shadow-wielder.
- Violet: a wind manipulator.
The group also seemed to work with a floating head named "Computron," an updated version of the Flash villain Colonel Computron. Computron was killed in Santa Prisca
Santa Prisca (DC Comics)
Santa Prisca is a fictional country appearing in DC Comics, and is best known as the birthplace of the Batman villain Bane. It was created by Denny O'Neil in the pages of The Question, and was used repeatedly throughout O'Neil's tenure as Group Editor for the Batman family of books.-Fictional...
by the Brazilian superhero Fire
Fire (comics)
Fire is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from the DC Comics universe. A version of her first appeared in Super Friends #25, , and was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon...
during a Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
mission.