RAPTOR

 

RAPTOR

Real Name: Gary Wilton, Jr.

First Appearance: Avengers West Coast Annual (Vol. 2) #8, September 1993

Powers: Gary Wilton, Jr. is the son of chemical researchers Gary and Maxine Wilton. Alerted that the chemicals they were exposed to may have dangerously affected the health and appearance of their unborn son, they isolated a deficiency correcting chemical and then concocted a series of injections into Maxine that were supposed to undo any damage to the fetus. Through forced labor, Gary, Jr. was eventually born, apparently normal. He developed a timid personality as he grew, due to his mother's over-protectiveness and his stepfather's bullying. At the age of 18, he witnessed a gang beating and, while fleeing his assailants, underwent a transformation. Due to his pre-natal treatments, Gary had a chemically-altered metabolism. In times of fear, he undergoes a body-wide avian-mutagenic transformation complete with a bird-like alter-ego named the Raptor.

As Raptor, he has a humanoid-avian physiology. He possesses superhuman class 10 strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, recuperative powers and durability. He is capable of winged flight due to large pair of wings separate from his arms and on his back, similar to those of the Angel/Archangel (Warren Worthington, III). His avian anatomy is entirely adapted to flying. He is covered with orange feathers, he has a hollow skeletal structure, virtually no body fat and possesses superhumanly proportionate muscle mass. He has keen eyesight and his eyes are specially adapted to withstand high-speed winds which would hurt the average human eye. He possesses a special membrane in his respiratory system enabling him to extract oxygen from the air at high velocities or altitudes. Raptor flies by flapping his wings, as a bird does, which are superhumanly strong enough to produce the thrust to move through the air and fly. He uses a swimming motion to get the lift needed to fly. His top flight speed has been charted at flying at 600 miles in a few hours. He also possesses razor sharp talons at the ends of each of his digits (hands and feet), as well as a sharp beak. He can speak easily, but will also squawk when excited or startled.

Wilton's transformations into Raptor are triggered by experiencing extreme emotion, usually fear. Raptor is an alternate personality based on the amygdala portion of the brain which is responsible for processing fear and organizing in predatory hunting. When calm, stunned, or rendered unconscious, he will revert to his human form. When Raptor is the dominant personality, he has full access to Gary's memories, even ones from in-utero. Gary, however, has only vague impressions of Raptor's actions and thoughts.