BLACK CONDOR I (Thomas Wright)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Will Eisner [as Kenneth Lewis] and Lou Fine

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Thomas Wright
Aliases: Richard Grey, Jr.
Occupation: United States senator (retired?)
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: single
Known Relatives: Richard Grey, Sr. (father, deceased); Anne Grey (mother, deceased)
Base of Operation: Washington D.C.
Group Affiliation(s): All-Star Squadron, Freedom Fighters
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 196 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Crack Comics #1/8 (May 1940) [Quality]
Creators: Will Eisner [as Kenneth Lewis] and Lou Fine

OVERVIEW

A Golden Age mystery man who possessed the power of flight, the Black Condor was a member of the Freedom Fighters, a group which operated from World War Two onwards.

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 civilisation. All were killed, except for the infant Grey, who would have surely died if not for being adopted by a flock of intelligent condors. Not only were they more intelligent 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 by the fact that he did not resemble the other members of his flock. It was not until he met Father Pierre, a wizened hermit who stayed in the mountains did he learn of his true heritage. 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 years 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 saboteurs 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.

[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 existence. 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 1970s. 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 appearance 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.]

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The Black Condor's main ability was that of unaided flight. His maximum altitude and airspeed have never been gauged, 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 manoeuvrability 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.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Black Condor in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2 (April 1985)