Enemies: French army, Peregrine, Ultron, Alkhema/War Toy;

Known Relatives: Gary sr (deceased) and Maxine Wilton (parents); Roger Morely (step-father)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: San Francisco, California

First Appearance: Avengers West Coast Annual#8 (1993)

Powers/Abilities: In times of extreme fear, the introverted and timid Gary Wilton transforms into the savage Raptor. The Raptor has a separate personality then Gary, and Wilton only remembers Raptor's actions as if part of a dream.

As Raptor, Wilton posseses superhuman strength (@ Class 10) and durability, He possesses wings separate from his arms, similar to the feathered wings of the Angel/Archangel (Warren Worthington). His top flight speed is unrevealed. He also possesses razor sharp talons at the ends of each of his digits (hands and feet), as well as a sharp beak. He likely possesses keen eyesight and other adaptations to his avian physiology. He can speak easily, but will also squawk when excited or startled.

Height: 6' 6"
Weight: 420 lbs.

 History:
(Avengers West Coast Annual#8 (fb))- Gary Wilton was the son of two research scientists who worked for a major drug company. When they learned that their unborn son would likely be severely malformed, they dedicated themselves into isolating a chemical which might correct the deficiencies. They appeared to be successful, and Maxine underwent a series of injections. However, both Gary and Maxine were in a major automobile collision, that killed Gary senior and sent Maxine into premature labor. Maxine gave birth to what appeared to be a normal son. Desperate to not lose her son as well, Maxine became obsessively protective and sheltering to Gary jr.

Several years later, Maxine married another man, Roger Morely, the head of Daedalus airlines. Morely was intolerant of the timid Gary, and attempted to force him to become more hardy through negative reinforcement. This further drove Gary jr to become more and more timid and to lack confidence. At the age of twenty, Gary inadvertently walked into a gang murder, and fled from the members who attempted to kill him. Cornered and terrified, Gary transformed into another form, that of the Raptor. After savagely beating the gangsters, the Raptor returned to the form of Gary. After that Gary periodically transformed into the Raptor when he became overwhelmed with fear. This fact terrified him even further.

(Avengers West Coast Annual#8)- The Raptor was next seen when he inadvertently stumbled onto discovering the base of Ultron and Alkhema beneath Coit Tower, in San Francisco. Ultron detected Gary and captured him, but the Avengers West Coast then located the base and attacked the two robots. Ultron used his mesmerization ray to take control of the Avengers, but Gary, having been unable to watch the struggle, was spared. However, when Ultron again confronted him, the fear caused him to transform into the Raptor and escape. Raptor used a communication card which Mockingbird (H'rpra) had dropped to warn Iron Man of what had happened, and Stark summoned a group of reserve Avengers to assist him.

Raptor assisted Iron Man and the other Avengers in opposing Ultron and Alkhema, who ultimately found their goals opposed each other and degenerated into combat. Raptor unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Alkema from escaping, but Ultron was contained.

(Civil War: Battle Damage Report#1) - Raptor tried to flee to France when the Superhuman Registration Act had passed, but he was intercepted along with other heroes over the Bay of Biscay by Peregrine and the French military.

Comments: Created by Roy and Dann Thomas and Dave Ross.

    Raptor appeared as part of the 1993 Annuals where each issue featured the first appearance of a new character, complete with a profile card for that character. Not too many of these characters every made it big.

    I'm sure you got the not-so-subtle connection with Daedalus airlines. Daedalus was, in Greek mythology, the father of Icarus, who was given artificial wings by his father, but flew to close to the son, destroyed them, and fell to his death.

Clarifications: Raptor is not to be confused with:

• Raptor, Paul Hazlett, a costumed criminal who battled Moon Knight, @ Marvel Super-Heroes III#1
• Raptor of Earth-MC2, Brenda Drago, @ Spider-Girl#18, etc.
• Raptor the Renegade - ancient demon imprisoned by sun gods--Fantastic Four I#394
• Raptors - creations of Sapphire Lotus--Death's Head III#2
• Raptar, who encountered Spider-Man and the Puma, @ Spider-Man Unlimited#15

Appearances:
Avengers West Coast Annual#8 (1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Kris Renkewitz (pencils), Don Hudson & John Lowe (inks), Nel Yomtov (editor)