Ravan (comics)
Encyclopedia
Ravan is a fictional DC Comics
villain
. His first appearance was in Suicide Squad
vol. 1 #1 (1987), he was created by John Ostrander
and Luke McDonnell.
(renamed the Onslaught later). In an encounter with the Bronze Tiger
his back was broken. He re-appears alongside the Onslaught in Suicide Squad vol. 1 #17, and is recruited for the Suicide Squad in his second encounter with the Bronze Tiger.
cult, Ravan tries to stop the coming of Kali and thereby the Kali Yuga
, the Age of Chaos. By killing, he delays the coming of Kali another thousand years. It is through this practice that he both prevents and worships Kali
. In this, his primary enemy is the villain Kobra
who wishes to bring forth that same Age.
Ravan joins the Suicide Squad, so he can continue these efforts while actually being sponsored by the American Government. He proceeds to develop a strange bond with Bronze Tiger, whom he swears to kill for his earlier defeats, but the two also form an effective team. During the Janus Directive
, when Waller must make it seem she is being controlled by Kobra she sends the squad after the Force of July
. Ravan kills Mayflower
, a respected superhero.
Ravan becomes instrumental to Amanda Waller's plan to finish of the LOA, a drug-dealing organization. The villain's plan to expose the Squad succeeds. It is revealed that a Mr. Kale, who was seemingly the new boss, was just a front for Amanda Waller, who had never left power. who expose that the Suicide Squad is still being run by Amanda Waller (the general public had been led to believe a Mr. Kale had taken over, but he was only an actor, used as a front so that Waller could still run the Squad).
With the Suicide Squad on the verge of disbanding by her superiors, Amanda Waller gathers Ravan, Poison Ivy and Deadshot
in an assassination mission of the LOA, a group that is planning to create a zombie army. The deal for the villains is simple: The three will help Waller in killing the LOA, and afterward they are set free.
The mission succeeds, and Amanda Waller goes to jail on charges of murder, while Ravan leaves for London, where he sets up a 'cyberchurch
' as a front for his assassination organization. A year later, Batman kidnaps Ravan from this 'church' (blowing it up in the process) for the new Suicide Squad run again by Amanda Waller.
With this Squad Ravan goes to Israel in order to capture Kobra. But Kobra, had already been captured by the Israeli government's superteam the Hayoth
. Ravan easily manipulates one of their agents, and thereby giving him access to their highly advanced A.I.
computer Dybbuk
. While Kobra's plans are being thwarted by the rest of the Suicide Squad, Ravan faces Kobra in combat, but Kobra has the upper hand and is close to killing Ravan.
At the last moment, the third Atom appears on the scenes, striking down Kobra. Ravan's last wish is for either him or the Atom to kill Kobra, but Atom denies him that final wish, and as Ravan himself says, he dies unfulfilled. Ravan dies in Suicide Squad #47. According to Suicide Squad (vol. 2) #11 however, Ravan is incapacitated, rather than deceased, as is shown on a computer screen being viewed by the second Rustam.
During the events of Blackest Night, Ravan's corpse is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps
alongside several other fallen Suicide Squad members. Ravan is apparently destroyed by the Manhunter's self-destruct mechanism to unleashing an explosion of Green Lantern
energy that eradicates the Black Lanterns.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
. His first appearance was in Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
vol. 1 #1 (1987), he was created by John Ostrander
John Ostrander
John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...
and Luke McDonnell.
Publication history
First appears as a member of the villainous mercenary team JihadOnslaught (DC Comics)
The Onslaught are a fictional team of state sponsored super powered Quraci terrorists published by DC Comics.They first appeared in Suicide Squad series 1 #1, , and were created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell.-Publication history:The Onslaught is a team of super-powered international...
(renamed the Onslaught later). In an encounter with the Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a martial artist who first appeared in Dragon's Fists, a novel by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry, starring Richard Dragon. His first DC Comics appearance was in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter.-Early years:Ben Turner comes...
his back was broken. He re-appears alongside the Onslaught in Suicide Squad vol. 1 #17, and is recruited for the Suicide Squad in his second encounter with the Bronze Tiger.
Fictional character biography
Part of the thuggeeThuggee
Thuggee is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in South Asia and particularly in India.They are sometimes called Phansigar i.e...
cult, Ravan tries to stop the coming of Kali and thereby the Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
, the Age of Chaos. By killing, he delays the coming of Kali another thousand years. It is through this practice that he both prevents and worships Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
. In this, his primary enemy is the villain Kobra
Kobra (comics)
Kobra is the name used by two fictional supervillains published by DC Comics. The Jeffrey Burr Kobra first appeared in Kobra #1 , and was created by Martin Pasko, Steve Sherman, Jack Kirby, and Pablo Marcos...
who wishes to bring forth that same Age.
Ravan joins the Suicide Squad, so he can continue these efforts while actually being sponsored by the American Government. He proceeds to develop a strange bond with Bronze Tiger, whom he swears to kill for his earlier defeats, but the two also form an effective team. During the Janus Directive
Janus Directive
"The Janus Directive" was an eleven-part comic book crossover first published by DC Comics between May and June of 1989. Among the creators who contributed to the storyline were writers John Ostrander, Kim Yale, Paul Kupperberg, Cary Bates and Greg Weisman and artists John K...
, when Waller must make it seem she is being controlled by Kobra she sends the squad after the Force of July
Force of July
The Force of July is a fictional DC Comics antagonistic superhero team introduced in 1984's Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1. They were created by Mike Barr and Jim Aparo.-Fictional history:...
. Ravan kills Mayflower
Mayflower (comics)
Mayflower is a fictional superhero in the DC Universe. She first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
, a respected superhero.
Ravan becomes instrumental to Amanda Waller's plan to finish of the LOA, a drug-dealing organization. The villain's plan to expose the Squad succeeds. It is revealed that a Mr. Kale, who was seemingly the new boss, was just a front for Amanda Waller, who had never left power. who expose that the Suicide Squad is still being run by Amanda Waller (the general public had been led to believe a Mr. Kale had taken over, but he was only an actor, used as a front so that Waller could still run the Squad).
With the Suicide Squad on the verge of disbanding by her superiors, Amanda Waller gathers Ravan, Poison Ivy and Deadshot
Deadshot
Deadshot is a fictional character, a supervillain/assassin in the DC Universe and an enemy of Batman. He first appears in Batman #59 and was created by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz....
in an assassination mission of the LOA, a group that is planning to create a zombie army. The deal for the villains is simple: The three will help Waller in killing the LOA, and afterward they are set free.
The mission succeeds, and Amanda Waller goes to jail on charges of murder, while Ravan leaves for London, where he sets up a 'cyberchurch
Cyberchurch
An Internet Church or Online Church or Cyberchurch refers to a wide variety of ways that a religious group is using the internet to facilitate its religious activities, particularly worship services.-History:...
' as a front for his assassination organization. A year later, Batman kidnaps Ravan from this 'church' (blowing it up in the process) for the new Suicide Squad run again by Amanda Waller.
With this Squad Ravan goes to Israel in order to capture Kobra. But Kobra, had already been captured by the Israeli government's superteam the Hayoth
Hayoth
The Hayoth are a fictional team of super powered Israeli supercommandos published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Suicide Squad vol. 1 #45, , and were created by John Ostrander, Kim Yale and Geof Isherwood...
. Ravan easily manipulates one of their agents, and thereby giving him access to their highly advanced A.I.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
computer Dybbuk
Dybbuk (comics)
Dybbuk is a fictional character from DC Comics. He was created by John Ostrander, Kim Yale and Geof Isherwood, and first appeared in Suicide Squad #45, in September 1990.-Fictional character biography:...
. While Kobra's plans are being thwarted by the rest of the Suicide Squad, Ravan faces Kobra in combat, but Kobra has the upper hand and is close to killing Ravan.
At the last moment, the third Atom appears on the scenes, striking down Kobra. Ravan's last wish is for either him or the Atom to kill Kobra, but Atom denies him that final wish, and as Ravan himself says, he dies unfulfilled. Ravan dies in Suicide Squad #47. According to Suicide Squad (vol. 2) #11 however, Ravan is incapacitated, rather than deceased, as is shown on a computer screen being viewed by the second Rustam.
During the events of Blackest Night, Ravan's corpse is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
alongside several other fallen Suicide Squad members. Ravan is apparently destroyed by the Manhunter's self-destruct mechanism to unleashing an explosion of Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
energy that eradicates the Black Lanterns.