Black Condor is the name of three DC Comics superheroes who have all been members of the Freedom Fighters. He was originally a Quality Comics character.
| Black Condor | |
|---|---|
 The new Black Condor, art by Daniel Acuña | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (1) Crack Comics #1, (May 1940) (2) Black Condor #1, (June 1992) (3) Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #3, (September 2006) |
| Created by | (1) Will Eisner (writer) Lou Fine (artist) (2) Brian Augustyn (writer) Rags Morales (artist) (3) Jimmy Palmiotti (writer) Justin Gray (writer) Daniel Acuña (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | (1) Richard Grey Jr. (2) Ryan Kendall (3) Joh Trujillo |
| Team affiliations | Freedom Fighters All-Star Squadron |
| Abilities | Flight. |
Richard Grey, Jr.
Quality Comics
A Golden Age mystery man who possessed the power of flight, Black Condor was a member of the Freedom Fighters, a group that operated from World War II on. Richard Grey, Jr. (alias Tom Wright) was the first Black Condor.
His story inspired by Tarzan, he was born on a caravan conducting a scientific expedtion through 1940's Mongolia,. The caravan was later attacked by bandits and everyone was killed except for the newly born Ricard. The child was rescued by a mysterious local race of super-intelligent Condors which took in and raised the boy.
A mountain hermit named "Father Pierre" eventually discovered the boy, and with much effort eventually civilized the feral child and taught him how to speak english. Young Richard trackked down and killed the Mongolian bandits who had killed his parents and then departed for America where he uncovered a plot to kill United States Senator Thomas Wright. He was too late to save Wright from assassination, and so decided to adopt his identity. He adopted the identity of Black Condor to fight crooked politicians, bootleggers and racketeers.
DC Comics
In the DC Comics universe his power was retconned to being caused by exposure to a radioactive meteor. here he met Uncle Sam and joined his group the Freedom Fighters, and later the All-Star Squadron.
He was among a group of Golden and Silver Age heroes who helped the JLA repel an Appelaxian invasion in the JLA: Year One mini-series by Mark Waid. He appeared more recently as a ethereal 'spirit guide' in the pages of Ryan Kendall's Black Condor series.
Ryan Kendall
A mysterious Telekinetic who pretty much kept to himself, Ryan Kendall was adamant when he first appeared as the Black Condor that he was not a super-hero. However, time was to prove differently, and he fought the good fight alongside others, notably Primal Force, and alone. Eventually, he went to Opal City, where he felt very much at home.
In Infinite Crisis #1, Kendall was killed by a powerful beam (apparently fired by Sinestro; he said "let's see if the old man is as soft as the bird" indicating he was responsible) in an attack by the Secret Society of Super Villains his team was sent to investigate a sighting of the Secret Society. There was a mini-series starring this character. He was a member of the Justice League for a brief time.
John Trujillo
Template:Spoilers Solicitations for Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #3 mention a new Black Condor named John Trujillo whose home turf is the Arizona desert. According to the preview John was given the hereditary powers of the Black Condor by Tocotl a Mayan Spider Goddess.[1][2]
Bibliography
Black Condor I
- Crack Comics #1 - 31
- Freedom Fighters #1 - 15
- DC Comics Presents #62
- All-Star Squadron #31 - 35, 50, 60
- Crisis on Infinite Earths #5, 6, 9, 12
- Secret Origins vol. 2 #21
- Justice League of America #107, 108
- Black Condor #4,10
- Ray vol. 2 #20, 21
Black Condor II
- Black Condor #1 - 12
- Justice League of America #70 - 75
- Showcase '94 #10 - 11
- Guy Gardner: Warrior #29
- Hawkman vol. 3 #20
- Ray vol. 2 #13, 20, 21
- Primal Force #8 - 14
- Starman vol. 2 #56, 61-63, 67, 69 - 73, 75, 80
- Justice Leagues: Justice League of Aliens #1
- JSA: Our Worlds at War #1
- JSA #35, 49 - 51
- Identity Crisis #1
- OMAC Project #6
- Infinite Crisis #1