Ragman
Encyclopedia
Ragman is a fictional mystic vigilante and superhero
who first appeared in the short-lived comic-book series named after him. He is one of a limited number of Jewish superheroes, and his continuity is tied to that of DC Comics
' Golem, derived from the Golem of Prague of Jewish folklore.
Ragman is sometimes compared to the other nighttime defender of Gotham City
, Batman
.
In this pre-crisis history Rory apparently had gained the physical abilities of the men who were electrocuted as they were all touching when the final blow of electricity flew through them and into Rory. He had the agility of a world class acrobat, the strength of a circus strongman and the fighting ability of a heavy weight prize fighter. What he received from his father is unknown other than his obvious desire to take care of the neighborhood by spreading hope as his father did with the pawn shop.
In his pre-Crisis incarnation, Rory Regan was Irish, not Jewish, as explicitly stated in the letters page of Ragman #3.
ned in a 1991 limited series
, and currently each of the patches in the suit is made from the soul of an evildoer that the Ragman had punished and absorbed.
The absorption of these souls caused a problem for Rory at one point, when the evil souls hungered for murder and finally freed themselves of Ragman. It was only with the support of Batman and Regan's old friend, Rabbi Luria, that he regained control, though at the cost of Luria's life. Ragman's powers have increased since then. Currently, he can absorb souls into his costume. With each new soul added, a rag is added. He can call upon the souls in his costume to lend him their attributes or power. He is also a very proficient magic user.
limited series, Ragman was active in destroying many of the demons invading Earth. This would earn him the wrath of the Diablos, a group of demons who style themselves after the Mafia. Wanting to gain revenge for demons lost during the Day of Judgment, they attack Ragman, injuring him and tearing off parts of his costume. They believe him to be dead but this is not true.
Ragman is one of the members of the Shadowpact
, a team that formed to confront the Spectre
in DC Comics 2005 Day of Vengeance
limited series, a lead-up to the seven-issue Infinite Crisis
limited series.
During 'Infinite Crisis', Ragman and Nightshade
are seen standing side by side as part of the line of superheroes defending Metropolis from attack from dozens of villains.
During the Day Of Vengeance series, Ragman is one of the few volunteers willing to take on the rampaging Spectre, who has decided that all magic is evil. During a planning session, he is taken aside by the Enchantress
and given a mystical gun. She entrusts him with it, as it can kill her if she goes too far with her magic, a scenario she believes is all too possible. He tells her if she truly turns evil, his costume will take her. He then tries to kiss her, but his feelings are not returned and Enchantress even mocks him for it in front of the other heroes.
and Rex the Wonder Dog
keep watch outside the town's borders.
While inside Riverrock, Rory met an evil counterpart of himself belonging to the supervillain group that had formed the shield, the Pentacle. His counterpart is named Bagman. He/it dresses in similar green garb, and can turn his body to goo and while in this form he absorbs people. While inside Bagman they either suffocate or they are digested. Bagman even mentioned how oddly similar the Shadowpact and the Pentacle are. Rory only survives this encounter because Bagman's boss does not want the heroes to be killed. After the Riverock encounter, Rory must deal with the severe disruption to his life, as everyone had thought he was dead. He, like most of the team, ends up having to find a new source of income, a place to stay and the oddity of encountering a memorial statue to the entire team.
In Shadowpact #8, Rory was temporarily trapped in the limbo dimension of his own cloak. He met the soul of an ancient centurion
working off his crimes. This man, Marcus Liberius, first saved him from the beating several other of the murderous souls were giving Rory. Marcus reveals that the cloak was actually the "Great Collector Artifact", which has been in existence in many forms since the time of Abraham
. Ragmen in Rory's line have been in action since 1812 BCE. Marcus also helped Rory, who had become disenchanted with the job of collecting corrupted souls, to see that he is not a punisher but a redeemer — allowing a better afterlife for those who work for it. This work usually takes the form of suffering on Rory's behalf. For example, Rory had been recently blinded by magic. Marcus willingly takes this blindness on, adding to previous injuries he had suffered. This last sacrifice allows Marcus, in the full view of the rest of the Shadowpact, to ascend to a higher realm.
Rory, along with Nightmaster and Nightshade, attempted to teleport to Washington D.C to break up a bank robbery. They were trapped mid transit in the Land of Nightshades. During this time it was suggested that he is attracted to team member Nightshade.
, Ragman appears (#18) to save a man from a gang of muggers, when reality has apparently been warped and there is no 'Trinity' of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, and apparently never has been. Ragman is joined by a sidekick named Tatters, wearing a green tattered hoodless costume and mask. At first, he is seen confronting an alternate version of Green Arrow, a vigilante on the service of the wealthy who ignores the poor, and later, due to a chronal blast, is seen assuming Batman's position as premier vigilante of Gotham.
and the Huntress
in tracking down a group of hostages around Gotham. After removing the duct tape from the mouth of a gagged woman, Ragman proceeds to berate her for her apparent drug addiction, telling her she'll never truly be free until she takes hold of her life.
completely shut down Ragman's suit by using the Black Lantern
rings
to reanimate all the souls attached to his body.
and drawn by Stephen Segovia.
Later, Ragman is later shown aiding the JLA during their mission into Hell, where he helps Green Arrow defeat the demon Anger
.
Most significantly, having defeated an enemy, he can acquire new souls by absorbing them with the suit, although he can only do this for truly evil souls; as an example, he was unable to absorb the soul of super-villain Blue Moon because she was regularly sent to prison as her powers only worked at night, her time in prison counting as her having 'served her time' and preventing Ragman 'punishing' her himself. This adds a new rag to the suit, and thus adds to the Ragman's power supply. However, Rory has mentioned that the process of acquiring a new soul gives him stomach cramps and nausea. Once a corrupted soul has helped him a certain amount of times, it is allowed to pass on to Heaven, having earned redemption for the sins it committed in life that would have sent it to Hell if it had simply died in the normal manner.
Also, the Ragman possesses a number of minor magical powers, such as kinetically controlling the suit (i.e. entangling Eclipso
with his cloak while grappling with her). The suit will also automatically materialize whenever he is in danger, and will normally teleport him to wherever he's needed.
It has recently been revealed that the suit can take on other forms, such as weapons and still collect souls. Whether Rory will use this ability in the future is yet to be seen. To date, it has taken the forms of a cloak in ancient Egypt, a spear during the Roman Empire, and a dagger in 19th Century England.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who first appeared in the short-lived comic-book series named after him. He is one of a limited number of Jewish superheroes, and his continuity is tied to that of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Golem, derived from the Golem of Prague of Jewish folklore.
Ragman is sometimes compared to the other nighttime defender of Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
.
Pre-Crisis
A Vietnam veteran, Rory had grown up helping his father, a junk man who owned a pawn shop named Rags'n'Tatters. His father always dreamed of making a better life for Rory and constantly promised that someday he would make Rory rich. While drinking with his friends one night, his father discovered 2 million dollars stuffed inside an old mattress that had been pawned just recently. He and his friends decided to hide the money for Rory, since they were too old to truly benefit from it. The money turned out to be the loot from an armored car heist and when the hoods came to the shop one night to get it, they shot down some electrical wires and used them to torture Rory's father and his friends into revealing where the money was hidden. Rory arrived soon after and seeing his father in agony attempted to pull him free from the wires. A final shock of power ran though the old men and grounded out at Rory, knocking him unconscious. When he woke his father and friends were dead and the hoods responsible were gone. Using a costume made out of old rags (his father had made it before he died so Rory could wear it to a costume party) he became Ragman, "The Tatterdemalion of Justice".In this pre-crisis history Rory apparently had gained the physical abilities of the men who were electrocuted as they were all touching when the final blow of electricity flew through them and into Rory. He had the agility of a world class acrobat, the strength of a circus strongman and the fighting ability of a heavy weight prize fighter. What he received from his father is unknown other than his obvious desire to take care of the neighborhood by spreading hope as his father did with the pawn shop.
In his pre-Crisis incarnation, Rory Regan was Irish, not Jewish, as explicitly stated in the letters page of Ragman #3.
Post-Crisis
Rory Regan is a ragman, doing good in his community by buying used items from people who need money. The suit of rags that he wears, as mentioned above, was originally just a costume made from materials found around the rag shop, Rags'n'Tatters, that he shared with his father. This was retconRetcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned in a 1991 limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, and currently each of the patches in the suit is made from the soul of an evildoer that the Ragman had punished and absorbed.
The absorption of these souls caused a problem for Rory at one point, when the evil souls hungered for murder and finally freed themselves of Ragman. It was only with the support of Batman and Regan's old friend, Rabbi Luria, that he regained control, though at the cost of Luria's life. Ragman's powers have increased since then. Currently, he can absorb souls into his costume. With each new soul added, a rag is added. He can call upon the souls in his costume to lend him their attributes or power. He is also a very proficient magic user.
Judgment and Vengeance
During the Day of JudgmentDay of Judgment (comics)
Day of Judgment was a DC Comics limited series and crossover storyline during the autumn of 1999. The limited series was written by Geoff Johns, with art by Matthew Dow Smith....
limited series, Ragman was active in destroying many of the demons invading Earth. This would earn him the wrath of the Diablos, a group of demons who style themselves after the Mafia. Wanting to gain revenge for demons lost during the Day of Judgment, they attack Ragman, injuring him and tearing off parts of his costume. They believe him to be dead but this is not true.
Ragman is one of the members of the Shadowpact
Shadowpact
The Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...
, a team that formed to confront the Spectre
Spectre (comics)
The Spectre is a fictional character and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the following month, #52...
in DC Comics 2005 Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
limited series, a lead-up to the seven-issue Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
limited series.
During 'Infinite Crisis', Ragman and Nightshade
Nightshade (comics)
Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...
are seen standing side by side as part of the line of superheroes defending Metropolis from attack from dozens of villains.
During the Day Of Vengeance series, Ragman is one of the few volunteers willing to take on the rampaging Spectre, who has decided that all magic is evil. During a planning session, he is taken aside by the Enchantress
Enchantress (DC Comics)
The Enchantress is a DC Comics character who has been both a superheroine and supervillainess. She first appeared in National Comics flagship science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures #187 , and was created by writer Bob Haney and artist Howard Purcell.More recently she is usually called...
and given a mystical gun. She entrusts him with it, as it can kill her if she goes too far with her magic, a scenario she believes is all too possible. He tells her if she truly turns evil, his costume will take her. He then tries to kiss her, but his feelings are not returned and Enchantress even mocks him for it in front of the other heroes.
Shadowpact
In the Shadowpact series, Ragman, along with his teammates, was trapped inside a shield of solid blood that grew over the town of Riverrock, Wyoming. Ragman and the rest of the team spend a very short period of time inside the shield, but to due to magical after-effects, a full year passes outside. Various mystical heroes, such as Phantom StrangerPhantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
and Rex the Wonder Dog
Rex the Wonder Dog
Rex the Wonder Dog is a fictional dog in the DC Comics universe. Created in 1952 by Robert Kanigher of Wonder Woman fame and artist Alex Toth, Rex has sometimes been compared to Superman's dog Krypto, who was created three years later. However, though the two canine crime fighters do share some...
keep watch outside the town's borders.
While inside Riverrock, Rory met an evil counterpart of himself belonging to the supervillain group that had formed the shield, the Pentacle. His counterpart is named Bagman. He/it dresses in similar green garb, and can turn his body to goo and while in this form he absorbs people. While inside Bagman they either suffocate or they are digested. Bagman even mentioned how oddly similar the Shadowpact and the Pentacle are. Rory only survives this encounter because Bagman's boss does not want the heroes to be killed. After the Riverock encounter, Rory must deal with the severe disruption to his life, as everyone had thought he was dead. He, like most of the team, ends up having to find a new source of income, a place to stay and the oddity of encountering a memorial statue to the entire team.
In Shadowpact #8, Rory was temporarily trapped in the limbo dimension of his own cloak. He met the soul of an ancient centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
working off his crimes. This man, Marcus Liberius, first saved him from the beating several other of the murderous souls were giving Rory. Marcus reveals that the cloak was actually the "Great Collector Artifact", which has been in existence in many forms since the time of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
. Ragmen in Rory's line have been in action since 1812 BCE. Marcus also helped Rory, who had become disenchanted with the job of collecting corrupted souls, to see that he is not a punisher but a redeemer — allowing a better afterlife for those who work for it. This work usually takes the form of suffering on Rory's behalf. For example, Rory had been recently blinded by magic. Marcus willingly takes this blindness on, adding to previous injuries he had suffered. This last sacrifice allows Marcus, in the full view of the rest of the Shadowpact, to ascend to a higher realm.
Rory, along with Nightmaster and Nightshade, attempted to teleport to Washington D.C to break up a bank robbery. They were trapped mid transit in the Land of Nightshades. During this time it was suggested that he is attracted to team member Nightshade.
Trinity
In the weekly series TrinityTrinity (comic book)
Trinity is the title of an American weekly comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted during the first week of June, 2008. It ran for 52 issues.-Conception and production:...
, Ragman appears (#18) to save a man from a gang of muggers, when reality has apparently been warped and there is no 'Trinity' of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, and apparently never has been. Ragman is joined by a sidekick named Tatters, wearing a green tattered hoodless costume and mask. At first, he is seen confronting an alternate version of Green Arrow, a vigilante on the service of the wealthy who ignores the poor, and later, due to a chronal blast, is seen assuming Batman's position as premier vigilante of Gotham.
Battle For The Cowl
Ragman briefly appears in The Network one-shot for the Battle for the Cowl event, assisting Cassandra CainCassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain is a fictional character in the , one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her...
and the Huntress
Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)
Huntress is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Based upon the Earth-Two character Helena Wayne, she is one of several DC characters to bear the Huntress name...
in tracking down a group of hostages around Gotham. After removing the duct tape from the mouth of a gagged woman, Ragman proceeds to berate her for her apparent drug addiction, telling her she'll never truly be free until she takes hold of her life.
Blackest Night
During the 2009-2010 Blackest Night event, NekronNekron
Nekron is a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by DC Comics, specifically those related to Green Lantern. Created by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein and Joe Staton, the character, who exists as an embodiment of Death, first appeared in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2...
completely shut down Ragman's suit by using the Black Lantern
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
rings
Power ring (weapon)
A power ring is a fictional object featured in comic book titles published by DC Comics. It first appeared in All-American Comics #16 .-Origin:...
to reanimate all the souls attached to his body.
Suit of Souls
In October 2010, Ragman starred in a one-shot entitled Ragman: Suit of Souls. It was written by Christos GageChristos Gage
Christos N. "Chris" Gage is an American comic book writer and screenwriter.-Early life:Gage is the son of author and journalist Nicholas Gage. He was born in New York, and grew up in Athens, Greece, and then North Grafton, Massachusetts...
and drawn by Stephen Segovia.
Later, Ragman is later shown aiding the JLA during their mission into Hell, where he helps Green Arrow defeat the demon Anger
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
.
Powers and abilities
The Ragman can draw upon the physical powers of any number of the corrupted souls that make up his suit. This way he can increase his strength, speed and stamina dozens or even hundreds of times over, though he has stated that it isn't easy to tap into a large number of souls at once (at the time, he commented that the most he had ever done was somewhere over a hundred). This also allows Ragman to avoid most wounds as he can use one of his other souls to take the damage for him, allowing him to continue to operate at peak efficiency while the souls he has trapped use the damage for him.Most significantly, having defeated an enemy, he can acquire new souls by absorbing them with the suit, although he can only do this for truly evil souls; as an example, he was unable to absorb the soul of super-villain Blue Moon because she was regularly sent to prison as her powers only worked at night, her time in prison counting as her having 'served her time' and preventing Ragman 'punishing' her himself. This adds a new rag to the suit, and thus adds to the Ragman's power supply. However, Rory has mentioned that the process of acquiring a new soul gives him stomach cramps and nausea. Once a corrupted soul has helped him a certain amount of times, it is allowed to pass on to Heaven, having earned redemption for the sins it committed in life that would have sent it to Hell if it had simply died in the normal manner.
Also, the Ragman possesses a number of minor magical powers, such as kinetically controlling the suit (i.e. entangling Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
with his cloak while grappling with her). The suit will also automatically materialize whenever he is in danger, and will normally teleport him to wherever he's needed.
It has recently been revealed that the suit can take on other forms, such as weapons and still collect souls. Whether Rory will use this ability in the future is yet to be seen. To date, it has taken the forms of a cloak in ancient Egypt, a spear during the Roman Empire, and a dagger in 19th Century England.
Other versions
- Ragman has appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book. His appearances are in issues #15
Other media
- Ragman's Jewish heritage is discussed in the non-fiction book 'From Krakow To Krypton'
External links
- The Grand Comics Database - Index for Ragman vol. 1.
- The Grand Comics Database - Index for Ragman vol. 2.
- The Grand Comics Database - Index for Ragman: Cry of the Dead.