Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two)

History

Richard Grey, Jr. (alias Tom Wright) was the first Black Condor, a member of the original Freedom Fighters. His power was caused by exposure to a radioactive meteor, though he erroneously believed he had developed it naturally after being orphaned in the wilderness as a child and raised by a flock of wild Condors. Returning to civilization as an adult, he stumbled upon the murder of Senator Thomas Wright (to whom he bore an uncanny resemblance) and took on the dead man's identity. He began leading a double life as both Senator Wright and the crime busting Black Condor, eventually joining first the All-Star Squadron and then the Freedom Fighters. He relocated to Earth-X in late 1941 alongside the other Freedom Fighter and, kept youthful by the mystical presence of Uncle Sam, fought the Nazis (who won World War II on that world) for decades as part of an underground resistance movement until the arrival of the Justice League of America of Earth-One and their colleagues in the Justice Society of America from Grey's own original home world of Earth-Two tipped the balance in their favor and the Nazis were finally defeated. Initially, the Freedom Fighters dedicated themselves to rebuilding Earth-X, but after some months boredom set in (a lifetime of fighting having left them unprepared for peace) and they relocated again, to Earth-One, where they attempted to carve out a career as crime fighters. Unfortunately, they fell prey to the machinations of the Silver Ghost and spent several months as hunted fugitives from the law, with the Condor (who had apparently gained telekinetic powers during the crossing from Earth-X) briefly being controlled by the demon Homilus (who had actually been responsible for those abilities). Eventually, Grey and the other Freedom Fighters returned to Earth-X, though they did visit Earth-One on at least one more occasion, to assist Superman. The Black Condor participated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths with the other Freedom Fighters, after which hiis personal history was changed as he became a part of the New Earth timeline (see Richard Grey, Jr. (New Earth)).

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Flight
• Telekinesis

Notes

In 1956, DC Comics obtained the rights to the Quality Comics characters, and re-introduced them 17 years later as the Freedom Fighters in Justice League of America #107 (Oct. 1973).

The Freedom Fighters were relocated to a parallel world, one called "Earth-X", where Nazi Germany had won World War II. The team was featured in its own series for 15 issues (1976-1978), in which it temporarily left Earth-X for "Earth-One" (where most DC titles are set).

In 1981, some Quality Characters became recurring guest-stars of All-Star Squadron, a superhero-team title set on "Earth-Two", the locale for DC's WWII-era superheroes, and at a time prior to when the Freedom Fighters were supposed to have left for Earth-X. They later appeared with the rest of DC's superheroes in Crisis on Infinite Earths, a story that was intended to eliminate the confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. The Freedom Fighters became a mere splinter group of the All-Star Squadron.

Links and References

• 40 Appearances of Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two)
• Minor Appearances of Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two)
• Media Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two) was Mentioned in
• 1 Images featuring Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two)
• Quotations by or about Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two)
• Character Gallery: Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two) 
• Richard Grey, Jr. (Earth-Two) on Wikipedia.org 
• Black Condor at DCU Guide
• Black Condor at Comic Book Database
• Black Condor at Toonopedia
• Black Condor at Angelfire
• Black Condor at International Hero
• Black Condor at Absorbascon
• Condor Black Condor at Arkhampedia

Footnotes

Freedom Fighters member This character is or was a member of the Freedom Fighters, a team of American super-heroes who fight threats to the nation and its ideals under the leadership of Uncle Sam. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Freedom Fighters members" category.