The Unofficial Biography of...

The Black Condor

Alter Ego: Richard Grey, Jr. ( goes by Thomas Wright )
Occupation: United States Senator, retired?
Marital Status: single through 1943
Known Relatives: Richard Grey, Sr. ( father, deceased ), Anne Grey ( mother, deceased )
Group Affiliation: All-Star Squadron, Freedom Fighters
Base of Operations: Washington D.C.
Current Status: Unknown
Height: 6'2" Weight: 196 lbs.
Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Black
First Appearance: Crack Comics# 1, August, 1940.

History

.....The early years of the Twentieth Century brought a wave of scientific expeditions to the Far East, among them was archaeologist Richard Grey and his new wife. She had given birth to their son, Richard Jr. during the expedition and as the caravan made their way through territory known today as Mongolia, they were attacked by Mongol bandits, wrongly believing that the group had found treasure and was returning to civilization. All were killed, except for the infant Grey, who would have surely died if not for being adopted by a flock of intellegent condors. Not only were they more intellegent than average birds, but far from the condor's home ranges of the Andes and far Rocky Mountains in North and South America.

.....Growing to young adulthood, the feral man-child was troubled in the fact that he did not resemble the other members of his flock. It was not until he met Father Pierre, a wizend hermit who stayed in the mountians did he learn of his true heritige. After Father Pierre had taught him to speak English and act like a human, the hermit was killed by the same bandits that had killed his parents nearly twenty eyars earlier. After getting revenge on them, he left Mongolia for the United States, originally to seek out a new identity as Richard Grey, but soon coming onto a plot to kill United States Senator Thomas Wright.

.....Taking on the identity of Wright, Grey submerged the identity of Richard Grey Jr., now becoming Thomas Wright or The Black Condor. As The Black Condor, "Wright" fought sabatours and crooked politicians in Washington and his home district ( which was never revealed, but may have been Opal City ). Towards the end of 1941, The Black Condor met briefly with Uncle Sam and other heroes to begin to form a group to fight the upcoming menaces of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. After the US had declared war with Japan and Germany, The Black Condor joined the newly-formed All-Star Squadron . At the urging of Uncle Sam he and four other heroes joined him in a splinter group that would fight menace to America that Uncle Sam might sense. This group was called THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS. This group spent much of theri time in Washington DC and on the West Coast.

.....After 1943, little is known about either The Black Condor or Thomas Wright. It is believed that he did survive the War, but this is uncertain. He did appear at the gathering of heroes that repelled the Appelexian alien invasion ten years ago, but it is unconfirmed at this time his present status. He appeared recently in a ghostly form as a "spirit guide " to Ned Smith, a confidant of another hero who has begun adventuring under the name "Black Condor". Any relation between the two heroes is unknown.

Powers and Abilities

.....The Black Condor's main ability was that of unaided flight. His maximum altitude and airspeed have never been guaged, but a true condor's maximum altitude is around **** feet, while its airspeed is nearly ** miles per hour. The Black Condor uses his flight to aid in his fighting style, swooping in to deliver devastating punches and kicks while his manuvrability keeps him out of harm's way. For a part of his career, he used a "black light ray gun" which could deliver force beams that could knock down brick walls. Where he got this or his uniform with the glider wings is unknown.

Chronological Listing of Comic Book Appearances

Secret Origins(v3)# 21
Crack Comics# 1-19
Uncle Sam# 2
Crack# 20-22
All-Star Squadron# 31-35 February 22-23, '42
Crack#23-26
All-Star Squadron# 50 no longer in continuity for this character
All-Star Squadron# 60 April 15, '42
Crack #27-31
JSA(v3) #42 April '44
JLA:YO #11-12
Justice League(v1)# 107-108 no longer in continuity
Freedom Fighters# 1-15 no longer in continuity
DC Comics Presents# 62 no longer in continuity
Crisis# 5-6, 9, 12
Black Condor# 4, 10 ( as a "phantom" )
The Ray# 20-21 ( as a "phantom" )

Before The White Wall... A Pre-Crisis Commentary

.....Much of The Black Condor's Silver and Modern Age history has been retconned in and out of existeince. After appearing in the Golden Age and having his series end, when several Quality Comics characters were brought back as members of the alternate Earth-X "Freedom Fighters", The Black Condor followed the group as they met the Justice League and had their own magazine briefly in the 1970's. After an appearance with Superman in DC Comics Presents, the next reappearance of the group was as members of the Earth-Two All-Star Squadron. Here it was revealed that The Condor, along with all the other Quality heroes, had ventured from the "mother-earth" to Earth-X to aid the US in their fight with Nazi Germany. The group's next appearence was Crisis, which rendered nearly all his post-Golden Age history moot. The Black Condor's recent sightings have been in his namesake's short-lived title as a ghostly "spirit guide" ( he never said he was dead...!) and as a mob scene combatant in the endstory of JLA:Year One. Recent sightings have been like his bird namesake... all too rare indeed.

This Page was Created September 22, 1999.
This Page was last Updated December 17, 2002.

Thanks to: "steveb" and "Tiberius" for appearance and personal info!