raul grau
Jun 24, 2004, 07:46 am
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/headshots/dc/nopic.jpg" align=left alt="No Image Available">Real Name: Langford 'Happy' Terrill
Former Aliases: None
First Appearance: Smash Comics (1st series) #14
Known Relatives: Joshua Terrill (Spitfire, son), Raymond Terrill (Ray II, son), Gayle Terrill (ex-wife, deceased), Nadine Terrill (ex-wife), Thomas Terrill (brother, deceased), Henry 'Hank' Terrill (nephew)
Group Affiliation: formerly Freedom Fighters I, All-Star Squadron
Known Allies: Ray II, Black Condor I, Spitfire
Major Enemies: Vandal Savage, formerly Baron Blitzkrieg, Dr. Spectron, Death Masque
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
On December 6, 1941, cub reporter Happy Terrill was rushing to cover a weather balloon launch, when a flying red-haired teenager swooped down, saving him from a speeding trolley. He was instantly more interested in the mysterious youth than in the science piece, but the boy insisted that it was his destiny to be onboard that balloon. The next morning, Happy drove alone to the Jersey Palisades Observatory, and managed to cajole his way onto the test craft. The pretense of the launch was to conduct a study of the upper atmosphere, but in truth, the scientists were attempting to communicate with an eons old, sentient Light Entity. When Happy exposed himself to a radiant flare around the balloon, he became transformed into a being of light.
Exercising his new abilities, Happy flew to Pearl Harbor, where, hours earlier, Japanese forces had launched a military attack on America. He protected soldiers from falling debris, and even rescued men trapped inside crushed bulkheads, before again meeting with the empowered youth, whom he deduced was his son, briefly visiting the future. Happy designed a costume made from the solid-light he found he could manipulate, and dubbed himself 'The Ray'. After volunteering his services to President Roosevelt, the Ray tracked the Japanese fleet, and destroyed them before they could return to their homeland.
As the Ray, Happy continued battling both ordinary criminals and forces conspiring to attack his country. He became part of the All-Star Squadron, a government sponsored assemblage of heroes, and volunteered to join a splinter group of the Squadron, who called themselves the Freedom Fighters. The Fighters soon separated entirely from the larger team, and began acting on their own, in the Washington, DC area. With the close of World War II, the Freedom Fighters disbanded, but Ray continued his heroic career. As Happy, he also became more acclaimed in his career, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his war coverage.
Happy married his sweetheart, Gayle, and in February of 1946, they had a son, who they named Joshua. Seeing that Joshua was born with brown hair, Happy immediately concluded that he would not become the son who had visited him years earlier. Joshua developed abilities even more powerful than those of his father, so Happy chose to take his son on as his sidekick, Spitfire, in order to monitor his behavior. This power overwhelmed the boy, and he began regressing mentally, possessing the mental function of a child half his age. On the night of Joshua's eighth birthday, Happy arrived late, only to find that his son, in a rage of disappointment, had destroyed their home, accidentally killing Gayle in the process. The next morning, Happy drugged his son, sealed Joshua within a cryogenic chamber, and quietly retired from costumed life.
During this period, Happy learned the true objective behind the experiment that had transformed him into the Ray. Dr. Dayzl, the scientist in charge of the project, knew that the Light Entity would one day arrive at the Earth, and would inadvertently annihilate the planet, so he wanted to create a champion of pure light, who could communicate with the Entity, dissuading it from its path. Dayzl had monitored Happy throughout his heroic career, before vanishing in 1950. With the doctor presumed deceased, his files were unsealed, and Happy learned that the radiant flare had actually been intentionally formed by the doctor.
Twenty years later, Happy met Nadine, who soon became his second wife. His abilities had retarded his aging process, but he informed Nadine of the details of his past, excluding any mention of Joshua. Fearing another Joshua, he repeatedly insisted on not having children, and when Nadine became pregnant, he forcefully requested that she not keep it. She refused, and Raymond Terrill was born, though complications from the delivery left Nadine near death. Due to his flaring powers, the doctors did not expect Ray to survive for more than a few weeks, so Happy placed him with his brother, Thomas, hoping to provide him with a normal home, for the duration of his brief life. Surprisingly, Nadine recovered, but Happy let her believe that Ray had died, and the two divorced soon after.
Ray also survived, and Happy occasionally visited his son during his childhood years, though he disguised himself to do so. When Thomas passed away, Happy came to the now nineteen year old Ray for assistance with the Light Entity, which was swiftly approaching the Earth. He knew that Ray possessed the power to become a purer form of light than he could, and sent his son to communicate with it directly. Ray saved the planet from both the Entity and its later offspring, but Happy still regarded him as brash and reckless, realizing that he was the youth who had interfered with his past.
The two eventually came to an understanding, but Happy again disappointed his son, when he refused to tell Nadine the truth of his existence. Soon after, in an effort to apologize, Happy flew to Ray's home, finding the apartment vacant, save for a murdered burglar on his floor. Investigating, he was savagely attacked by Death Masque, a sentient computer program, who abducted Happy and assumed his identity for several months. After defeating Death Masque, Ray found and freed the real Happy from the underground dungeon he had been placed in.
Happy was astonished to learn that, during his imprisonment, Joshua had escaped from his chamber, and he rushed to Colorado, where Joshua had been left in Nadine's care. Ray and Happy arrived in time to find that Joshua had again become destructive, injuring Nadine and killing a close friend of hers. He saw to the wounds of his ex-wife, and finally admitted the full truth to her, including the history of Joshua and her real connection to Ray. Nadine was quite angry with his prolonged deception, and Happy flew off to Philadelphia, where he informed Ray that she now knew.
The Ray possesses the ability to generate solar radiation across a wide range of wavelengths and frequencies. He can create constructs made from solid-light, and fire blasts of heated energy. Ray can fly at roughly the speed of light, using the fin on his helmet and his ability to perceive magnetic lines to navigate. Unlike his sons, he cannot transform into a pure form of energy, and is forced to trap air within his shield to breathe at high speeds. By bending light around himself, he can appear to be invisible. He simulates telepathy by pulsing solid-light energy on a low frequency, which causes his subject's bones to resonate in a manner that reproduces the sound of his voice.
APPEARANCES:
All-Star Squadron #31-35, 50
Black Condor #10
Black Lightning (1st series) #11
Crisis on Infinite Earths #5-7, 10, 12
DC Comics Presents #62
DC Super-Stars #10
Freedom Fighters #1-15
JLA: Year One #11-12
Justice League of America #107-108
The Ray (1st series) #1-6
The Ray (2nd series) #3-5, 0, 9-11, 18, 24, 27-28
Smash Comics (1st series) #14-40
Uncle Sam Quarterly #2
Former Aliases: None
First Appearance: Smash Comics (1st series) #14
Known Relatives: Joshua Terrill (Spitfire, son), Raymond Terrill (Ray II, son), Gayle Terrill (ex-wife, deceased), Nadine Terrill (ex-wife), Thomas Terrill (brother, deceased), Henry 'Hank' Terrill (nephew)
Group Affiliation: formerly Freedom Fighters I, All-Star Squadron
Known Allies: Ray II, Black Condor I, Spitfire
Major Enemies: Vandal Savage, formerly Baron Blitzkrieg, Dr. Spectron, Death Masque
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
On December 6, 1941, cub reporter Happy Terrill was rushing to cover a weather balloon launch, when a flying red-haired teenager swooped down, saving him from a speeding trolley. He was instantly more interested in the mysterious youth than in the science piece, but the boy insisted that it was his destiny to be onboard that balloon. The next morning, Happy drove alone to the Jersey Palisades Observatory, and managed to cajole his way onto the test craft. The pretense of the launch was to conduct a study of the upper atmosphere, but in truth, the scientists were attempting to communicate with an eons old, sentient Light Entity. When Happy exposed himself to a radiant flare around the balloon, he became transformed into a being of light.
Exercising his new abilities, Happy flew to Pearl Harbor, where, hours earlier, Japanese forces had launched a military attack on America. He protected soldiers from falling debris, and even rescued men trapped inside crushed bulkheads, before again meeting with the empowered youth, whom he deduced was his son, briefly visiting the future. Happy designed a costume made from the solid-light he found he could manipulate, and dubbed himself 'The Ray'. After volunteering his services to President Roosevelt, the Ray tracked the Japanese fleet, and destroyed them before they could return to their homeland.
As the Ray, Happy continued battling both ordinary criminals and forces conspiring to attack his country. He became part of the All-Star Squadron, a government sponsored assemblage of heroes, and volunteered to join a splinter group of the Squadron, who called themselves the Freedom Fighters. The Fighters soon separated entirely from the larger team, and began acting on their own, in the Washington, DC area. With the close of World War II, the Freedom Fighters disbanded, but Ray continued his heroic career. As Happy, he also became more acclaimed in his career, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his war coverage.
Happy married his sweetheart, Gayle, and in February of 1946, they had a son, who they named Joshua. Seeing that Joshua was born with brown hair, Happy immediately concluded that he would not become the son who had visited him years earlier. Joshua developed abilities even more powerful than those of his father, so Happy chose to take his son on as his sidekick, Spitfire, in order to monitor his behavior. This power overwhelmed the boy, and he began regressing mentally, possessing the mental function of a child half his age. On the night of Joshua's eighth birthday, Happy arrived late, only to find that his son, in a rage of disappointment, had destroyed their home, accidentally killing Gayle in the process. The next morning, Happy drugged his son, sealed Joshua within a cryogenic chamber, and quietly retired from costumed life.
During this period, Happy learned the true objective behind the experiment that had transformed him into the Ray. Dr. Dayzl, the scientist in charge of the project, knew that the Light Entity would one day arrive at the Earth, and would inadvertently annihilate the planet, so he wanted to create a champion of pure light, who could communicate with the Entity, dissuading it from its path. Dayzl had monitored Happy throughout his heroic career, before vanishing in 1950. With the doctor presumed deceased, his files were unsealed, and Happy learned that the radiant flare had actually been intentionally formed by the doctor.
Twenty years later, Happy met Nadine, who soon became his second wife. His abilities had retarded his aging process, but he informed Nadine of the details of his past, excluding any mention of Joshua. Fearing another Joshua, he repeatedly insisted on not having children, and when Nadine became pregnant, he forcefully requested that she not keep it. She refused, and Raymond Terrill was born, though complications from the delivery left Nadine near death. Due to his flaring powers, the doctors did not expect Ray to survive for more than a few weeks, so Happy placed him with his brother, Thomas, hoping to provide him with a normal home, for the duration of his brief life. Surprisingly, Nadine recovered, but Happy let her believe that Ray had died, and the two divorced soon after.
Ray also survived, and Happy occasionally visited his son during his childhood years, though he disguised himself to do so. When Thomas passed away, Happy came to the now nineteen year old Ray for assistance with the Light Entity, which was swiftly approaching the Earth. He knew that Ray possessed the power to become a purer form of light than he could, and sent his son to communicate with it directly. Ray saved the planet from both the Entity and its later offspring, but Happy still regarded him as brash and reckless, realizing that he was the youth who had interfered with his past.
The two eventually came to an understanding, but Happy again disappointed his son, when he refused to tell Nadine the truth of his existence. Soon after, in an effort to apologize, Happy flew to Ray's home, finding the apartment vacant, save for a murdered burglar on his floor. Investigating, he was savagely attacked by Death Masque, a sentient computer program, who abducted Happy and assumed his identity for several months. After defeating Death Masque, Ray found and freed the real Happy from the underground dungeon he had been placed in.
Happy was astonished to learn that, during his imprisonment, Joshua had escaped from his chamber, and he rushed to Colorado, where Joshua had been left in Nadine's care. Ray and Happy arrived in time to find that Joshua had again become destructive, injuring Nadine and killing a close friend of hers. He saw to the wounds of his ex-wife, and finally admitted the full truth to her, including the history of Joshua and her real connection to Ray. Nadine was quite angry with his prolonged deception, and Happy flew off to Philadelphia, where he informed Ray that she now knew.
The Ray possesses the ability to generate solar radiation across a wide range of wavelengths and frequencies. He can create constructs made from solid-light, and fire blasts of heated energy. Ray can fly at roughly the speed of light, using the fin on his helmet and his ability to perceive magnetic lines to navigate. Unlike his sons, he cannot transform into a pure form of energy, and is forced to trap air within his shield to breathe at high speeds. By bending light around himself, he can appear to be invisible. He simulates telepathy by pulsing solid-light energy on a low frequency, which causes his subject's bones to resonate in a manner that reproduces the sound of his voice.
APPEARANCES:
All-Star Squadron #31-35, 50
Black Condor #10
Black Lightning (1st series) #11
Crisis on Infinite Earths #5-7, 10, 12
DC Comics Presents #62
DC Super-Stars #10
Freedom Fighters #1-15
JLA: Year One #11-12
Justice League of America #107-108
The Ray (1st series) #1-6
The Ray (2nd series) #3-5, 0, 9-11, 18, 24, 27-28
Smash Comics (1st series) #14-40
Uncle Sam Quarterly #2