Killraven

Killraven is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Jonathan Raven was a male human born on a version of Earth in the Multiverse. He was noted to had been born in the year 2000 when his world was invaded by the Martians. (Amazing Adventures v2 #18)

The Freemen made their way to Florida, and Killraven discovered his ability to project his consciousness into Martian minds. At Cape Canaveral, Jonathan was reunited with his brother, whom the Martians had transformed into the living psychotronic weapon Deathraven. His purpose: to destroy his brother and the Freemen. Using his psionic mind-control ability for the first time, Killraven took possession of a Martian commander's body and killed Deathraven. Following his success, Jonathan gained conscious access to the storehouse of information implanted years before by Whitman. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #7)

Notes

• Killraven was created by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams and Gerry Conway where he made his first appearance in Amazing Adventures v2 #18 (May, 1973).
• As noted by comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that: "It was writer Don McGregor who transformed the Killraven saga ... into a classic. Of all of Marvel's writers, McGregor has the most romantic view of heroism. Killraven and his warrior band were also a community of friends and lovers motivated by a poetic vision of freedom and of humanity's potential greatness. McGregor's finest artistic collaborator on the series was P. Craig Russell, whose sensitive, elaborate artwork, evocative of Art Nouveau illustration, gave the landscape of Killraven's America a nostalgic, pastoral feel, and the Martian architecture the look of futuristic castles."
• In Comic Book Urban Legends, it was detailed that writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar once considered tying Killraven's future to [[Marvel 2099], "Our idea was that the Killraven stories had actually happened, but Earth somehow got itself back together. It's now one hundred years later, and the Martians are attacking again, meaning that all the superheroes were going to have to deal with them". Galactus then arrives, and devours Mars along with the Martians."
• In Comics Interview, artist P. Craig Russell described the characters abilities, "Killraven has a sort of extrasensory ability to counterbalance his gladiatorial skills. He is very much the barbarian type, yet at the same time he has this seed planted in his brain that is the history of the human race — a racial memory of everything that has been obliterated by the Martians. It's almost a magical ability.... It was what removed him from being just another sword-wielding gladiator type."

Alternate Versions

• In Avengers: Forever v1 #4 (1999), an alternate version of Killraven appeared in a reality designated as Earth-9930 in the Multiverse.
• In Killraven v2 #1 (2002), an alternate version of Killraven appeared in a reality designated as Earth-2120 in the Multiverse.
• In Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther v1 #1 (2018), an alternate amalgam version of the character appeared in the Warp World reality that existed in the Multiverse. This version was a merger between Killraven and Erik Killmonger with him being known as Erik Killraven. In a Martian-conquered Earth from a possible future, Wakanda was the last stronghold of humanity. When he was a child, Erik Killraven and his mother were exiled from the secluded nation, and were left at the mercy of the Martians. In captivity, Erik's mother told her son stories about Wakanda with the intention to kindle his heart with the flames of liberty. Erik grew up rebellious, but also became hateful towards Wakanda, coming to resent their freedom. Killraven was a gladiator in the Martian arena, and was experimented on, being granted the power of clairsentience. When he escaped with M'Bakshulla, his powers led him to the Time Diamonds. Killraven and M'Bakshulla, the Freemen, travelled back in time with the intention to debilitate Wakanda so it would fall with the rest of the world against the Martian invaders when the time came. They first attacked the garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb, the power-bestowing plant the legacy of the Black Panther hinged on. They were confronted by the king T'Chaka. While T'Chaka managed to fend off the intruders, he was distracted by the explosion that destroyed the garden, and was killed. The Freemen retreated to the outskirts of Wakanda, where they were confronted by the returning prince T'Challa. T'Challa was briefly possessed by the demonic entity Zarathos and killed M'Bakshulla, but rejected Zarathos' power after snapping out of a thirst for souls. Killraven impaled T'Challa from behind, killing him in retaliation for M'Bakshulla's death. Killraven returned to Wakanda and interrupted a conference between princess Shuriri and the delegates of the nation, planting bombs with the intention to further destabilize the nation. He was intercepted by the revenant T'Challa, empowered once again by Zarathos and becoming the Ghost Panther. T'Challa battled Killraven while Shuriri disarmed the bombs. Despite's the Ghost Panther's power, Killraven got the upper hand due to years of fighting experience. In the afterlife, T'Chaka persuaded Zarathos into accepting his service in exchange for aiding T'Challa. Zarathos returned T'Chaka to life in the form of a demonic panther. With his clairsentience thrown off-balance by T'Chaka's return, Erik attempted to escape, but his soul was consumed by Ghost Panther.

Appearances

• Amazing Adventures v2: (1973)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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