| Rainbow Raider | |
|---|---|
 The Rainbow Raider as depicted inWho's Who in the DC Universe (July 1991). Art byTy Templeton. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Flash #286 (June 1980) |
| Created by | Cary Bates Don Heck |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Roy G. Bivolo |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Rogues Black Lantern Corps Color Queens |
| Notable aliases | Chroma Prism |
| Abilities | Special goggles allow projection of hard-light rainbows for travel or attack Can alter people's emotions by coating them in certain colors |
Rainbow Raider (Roy G. Bivolo) is asupervillain appearing incomic books byDC Comics. His real name is a pun based on the acronym "ROYGBIV", a mnemonic for the colors of arainbow. He is a minor, though recurring, enemy ofthe Flash and other heroes.[1]
Two incarnations of the Rainbow Raider appear inThe Flash, with Roy G. Bivolo appearing in thefirst andninth seasons, portrayed by Paul Anthony, and a female incarnation namedCarrie Bates appearing in theseventh season, portrayed byJona Xiao.
Rainbow Raider first appeared inThe Flash #286 (June 1980), and was created byCary Bates andDon Heck.[2]
Bates said in a 2008 interview that "Rainbow Raider's color-blindness (as well as the color-emotion powers and origin) was an attempt on his part to emulate those classic Rogues' Gallery villain origins Bates enjoyed so much from the sixties".[3]
Bates elaborated on the characters creation stating "Having grown up on a Flash Rogue’s gallery full of villains who were adept at weaponizing things likemirrors,cold,heat,magic,boomerangs, etc.,Julie and I thought the color spectrum gimmick had the potential to be a worthwhile addition."[4]
As a child,Roy G. Bivolo always dreamed of a career as an artist, a lofty goal considering he was completelycolorblind. He would often paint what he thought were beautiful pieces of art, and indeed showed great technical skill only to be told that it was made up of clashing colors. His father, anoptometrist, attempts to cure Roy's condition and creates sophisticated goggles that can produce rainbow light beams.
Roy, now the Rainbow Raider, embarks on a crime spree focused mostly on art galleries, saying that if he could not appreciate the great works of art in them (due to his disability), then no one else will.[5][6] After being imprisoned inBelle Reve Penitentiary, the Rainbow Raider joins the Color Queens gang alongsideCrazy Quilt,Doctor Light,Doctor Spectro, andMulti-Man.[7][8]
Roy is later killed byBlacksmith.[9] He is temporarily resurrected as aBlack Lantern inBlackest Night and permanently resurrected inThe New 52 continuity reboot, where he is known asChroma.[10][11][12]
Since Rainbow Raider's death, a team of color-themed supervillains have dubbed themselves the Rainbow Raiders in his honor.
Rainbow Raider's powers are derived from the special goggles he wears, which allow him to project solid beams of rainbow-colored light he can either use offensively or as a slide for travel. In addition, he can coat people in certain colors of light to induce emotions (coating someone in blue light, for instance, would make them sad).
Heavy.com lists Rainbow Raider as one of the worst supervillains of all time.[13] Francesco Marciuliano fromSmosh.com ranked Rainbow Raider as having one of the worst supervillain gadgets of all time.[14]
Rainbow Raider appears inTeen Titans Go! To the Movies.[18][19]
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