The Freedom Fighters Return: Punching Nazis on Earth-X

The Ray

The original Ray was “Happy” Terrill, a reporter who got his powers from a mixture of lighting and sunlight (as one does). All versions of the character have light-derived powers that allow them flight, energy blasts, and the ability to manipulate the spectrum in other ways. Compared to other members of the Freedom Fighters, The Ray had relatively few appearances in the Golden Age. Despite this, he became the most well-known of the Quality Comics characters that DC imported to their universe (outside of maybe Plastic Man). Happy Terrill’s Ray was briefly revived for a 15 issue series with the rest of the Freedom Fighters in the 1970s.

In 1992, DC introduced Ray Terrill, created by writer Jack Harris and artist/current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada. “The Night Boy” was summed up by the website Bleeding Cool:

"“The son of the Golden Age Ray, Ray Terrill was told that he suffered from an extreme case of photosensitivity – sunlight would kill him. Literally kept in the dark for most of his childhood, he would learn the truth at his father’s deathbed. Rather than killing himself, sunlight would be his greatest strength, making him potentially one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe.”"

This Ray was recruited by the Justice League of America after Superman’s death, and later teamed with Young Justice. After joining the early 2000s Freedom Fighters he defeated his evil S.H.A.D.E. imposter Stan Silver. Ray Terrill has even made the jump to live action, played by Russell Tovey in the recent Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X.” Tovey also voices the character in an animated Freedom Fighters spinoff set on the Nazi-infested Earth. This revised TV version keeps the same basic powers and costume of his comic book counterpart, and is one of DC’s most prominent LGBTQ characters.

Following DC’s New 52 reboot, a fresh version of The Ray, Lucien Gates, was introduced in a miniseries written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It is not clear which version of The Ray—if any—will feature in the upcoming Rob Venditti/Eddy Barrows series, though with Ray Terrill being so prominent he’s the safe bet.