| The Raven | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Ace Comics |
| First appearance | Sure-Fire Comics #1 (June 1940) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Danny Dartin |
| Team affiliations | The Super-Mysterymen |
| Abilities | None |
The Raven is asuperhero who first appeared in theAce Comics titleSure-Fire Comics. He is based on the pulp hero "The Moon Man" published byPeriodic House, the pulp publisher connected to Ace Comics.
The Raven was inspired by thepulp heroMoon Man, created by Frederick C. Davis, published in Ten Detective Aces magazine. At least the first story was based on the first Moon Man story. His companions are Lola Lash, the daughter of the police chief, and his chauffeur Mike.[1]
The Raven first appeared inSure-Fire Comics #1[2] (June 1940), as didLash Lightning.
According toJess Nevins'Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "the Raven's enemies are corrupt bankers, racketeers, the police (led by Police Chief Lash, who loathes the Raven), and the odd costumed villain such as the Eel".[3]
In 2008, The Raven (now renamed Mr. Raven to avoid a trademark conflict with DC Comics) appeared in flashback inProject Superpowers #0;[4] in the one-shotProject Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude, it's stated that Mr. Raven will appear in this line as a member of a team called The Super-Mysterymen (presumably named after the Ace titleSuper-Mystery Comics).
In 2018, publisher Pulp 2.0 put out a complete collection of Raven stories,The Raven Collection.
In 1940,New York CityDetectiveSergeant Danny Dartin, tired of seeing criminals manipulate the law to escape justice, became a masked vigilante called The Raven and acted as a modern "Robin Hood", stealing money from criminals and redistributing it to the poor. He was aided in this by Lola Lash, thepolice chief’s daughter.[5]
At some point afterWorld War II, Mr. Raven was imprisoned in the mystical Urn of Pandora, along with many other crime-fighters, by the misguidedFighting Yank; decades later, the Urn was broken and the heroes freed. Mr. Raven, along with seven other heroes (includingCaptain Courageous,Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl,Soldier Unknown), Vulcan and the Sword, was then recruited to form a team called The Super-Mysterymen, whose purpose is not yet known.
