The Red Raven: Modern Age

The Return of the Red Raven

Not much later Nova, now a little more experienced, again ran afoul of the Condor. Over the years Condor had found a way to regain some semblance of his old form, but was left with an inhuman looking body. Nova, with the aid of the Fantastic Four, was able to capture him, but they also captured some of his Avian technology, forbidden by ancient law from coming into the hands of mankind. This event provided a catalyst for the original Red Raven. He saw the capture of an Avian citizen, even an evil one, as the last straw, and chose this moment to strike back at mankind. (as seen in Nova Vol. 3 #3, 4 and 7)

Mounting a massive attack on the a New York jail in an effort to retake the villain Condor, Red Raven and the avians revialed their existance to the world. Their warriors were armed with avian technology, and a growing hatred for the ones responsible for filling their skies with smog. Alerted to the danger, Nova went to stop them, only to confront Red Raven himself, and his protector, the Bi-Beast. Before the situation could escalate any further, Nova convinced the bird-king to call off his attack, and rethink his methods of dealing with mankind. The Red Raven returned to his hidden home, and the Condor remained to rot in a human jail. (as seen in Nova Vol. 3 #4-5 and 7)

Returning home, the Red Raven realized that he had been manipulated into trying to conquer the surface world. With the help of avian science, the source was traced to the Mad Merlin Demonspawn, who was at this point operating the Comic Book Castle Comics Shop in Los Angeles (this is alluded to in Captain Marvel Vol. 3 #16)

Donning battle-armor, the Red Raven confronted his tormentor, only to find that the wizard had learned a few true magic tricks over the years. Mad Merlin turned the hero into a real red raven. Stuck in this new form, the Raven flew away, only to be hit by an 18-wheeler. Luckily, he was found and cared for by Marlo Jones (the estranged wife of Rick Jones who was the alter-ego of Captain Marvel). Marlo named him "Red."(this was seen in Captain Marvel VOl. 3 #16) Marlo, owning the Golden Orange Comic Book Store, visited her competitor Comic Book Castle only to discover that Mad Merlin founded a comic book store because he believed it was the only way to gather 100 virgins in L.A. on a Saturday night. He drugged the comic book geeks, had them spill their own blood and summon Grendel's Mother. A fight ensued. (as seen in Captain Marvel Vol. 3 #20)

As it turns out, Marlo's employee Al had found the battlearmor and used it to save the day (for more images of Al as Red Raven, click here). Captain Marvel shows up to stop Mad Merlin and Grendel's Mother becomes a professional wrestler (no really). Mad Merlin became traped in a red crystal ball that once held Grendel's mother and the Red Raven was human once more! (all of that from Captain Marvel Vol. 3 #21)

A quick sidenote, Al (short for Alice believe it or don't), was the human guise of Eulogy, one of the Seven Friendless, a group of cosmic beings that represent basic concepts of the universe. (revealed in Captain Marvel Vol. 4 #25)

Unfortunately, the last distraction by Mad Merlin was enough to distract the Red Raven away from what was truly important. The Bloodraven Cult, the warmongering zealots that he had outlawed decades earlier had returned, intend on unleashing the other-worldly Wayfinder on the Earth. Even if the Red Raven was unaware, the curse that bound the Defenders to protect the planet knew something was wrong. Against their will, the Defenders were summoned to the sky-city. (this is the last page of Defenders #5)

MAD MERLIN Demonspawn (also known as "Maha Yogi"): This is an old Marvel villain that has had many different incarnations and has been defeated at least once by the "real" Merlyn. He's thousands of years old, so he could have met the bird-people before (though he was asleep during World War II). When he appears in Captain Marvel the Red Raven is not specifically named, but all circumstantial evidence suggests that it was him. In interviews, writer Peter David and artist Chris Cross confirm that it is the Red Raven that appeared in those issues.