Hey everybody, welcome to another great character spotlight, right here in Marvel Snapshot! This time around, we’ll travel to the future, and in this alternate universe (Earth 691, specifically) we’ll be taking a look at the freedom fighter Killraven! This post-apocalyptic warrior is faced with trials and tribulations a-plenty, and his home book, Amazing Adventures (vol. 2, #18 was his first appearance), showed a savage future, where he and his fellow freedom fighters had to overcome impossible odds.
The character of Killraven was created by the collective minds of Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and Gerry Conway, BUT, the stories didn’t come to their full potential until Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell happened upon the scene and really made Killraven not only a warrior, but also a complex character chock-full of interesting thoughts and emotions. The title was also home to the earliest known interracial kiss in comics (image below). These types of stories are what McGregor is most widely known for (stories that pushed the envelope in a manner of speaking, for that era). Let’s get down to business with this awesome gem from the 1970s!
The man known as Jonathan Raven was just one of the many humans that were caught off guard and overtaken by a Martian invasion in 2001 (the premise was that the aliens from H.G. Wells War of the Worlds came back for another invasion, and this time they won). The men were kept as slaves or for entertainment in a gladiatorial arena, and the women were kept to breed children as sustenance for the invaders (yeah really)! Eventually, Killraven escaped with some help, and joined a band of freedom fighters called the “Freemen” where he began a crusade to stop the invaders.
Along the way, Killraven would meet his best friend, M’Shulla Scott. This character, along with others, would battle at every opportunity to try and save mankind from their oppressors. Mutants, monster, aliens, you name it, this series had it all. One of the highlights of the series was Killraven finding out that his long lost brother, whom he’d been searching for, was in fact a traitor, and was helping the aliens. I won’t give away the end of the series, but it’s definitely worth a read, and you’ll be very surprised at the depth of these stories! Mutants, monsters, and mayhem is what you’ll find in these pages, and the excitement never stops! Killraven did make sporadic appearances in other titles over the years, most notably in Marvel Team-Up #45 (1976), Marvel Graphic Novel #17 (Killraven: Warrior of Worlds), and the futuristic time traveling story Avengers Forever.
As usual, check out my recommended reading list, as well as some of Killraven’s best scenes below! See you next time!
Recommended Reading
Essential Killraven vol. 1 – Tpb
Avengers Forever vol. 1 & 2 – Tpb
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
