Rip Hunter (New Earth)

From DC Database

Rip Hunter

Gallery

Real Name

??? Carter

Current Alias

Rip Hunter

Aliases

Ripley Hunter, Richard Hunter, Time Master

Identity

Secret

Affiliation

Formerly leader of the Time Masters; former member of the Forgotten Heroes; former member of the Linear Men

Relatives

Michael Jon Carter (father),
Dan Hunter (brother)

Universe

New Earth

Base Of Operations

Time Lab, Arizona

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Blond

Status

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Time Traveler

Education

M.I.T. engineering department

Origin

Origin

Unknown

Place of Birth

Unknown

Creators

Jack Miller, Ruben Moreira

First appearance

Showcase #20
(June, 1959)

History

Pre-Crisis

Rip Hunter was an ordinary man who used his Time-Sphere to travel through time. Aided by his friend Jeff Smith, girlfriend Bonnie Baxter, and Bonnie's kid brother Corky, they had many adventures in time.

After falling from the public consciousness, Hunter and his team traveled to the dawn of time where they encountered a mysterious yellow pyramid. It aged them many years before returning them to the present. Shortly thereafter, Hunter was recruited by the Immortal Man as part of his team of "Forgotten Heroes." With Superman's help, they were able to destroy the mysterious pyramids and stave off an alien invasion. ^[1]

The Forgotten Heroes stayed together as a group until the Immortal Man was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. During that event, Hunter helped the heroes of the Multiverse again travel to the dawn of time where they faced off against the Anti-Monitor. The battle effectively destroyed the Multiverse, creating the single reality of New Earth.

Hunter reunited with some of his Forgotten Heroes teammates, as well as cosmic heroes Adam Strange and Captain Comet, in a quest to defeat the Anti-Monitor once and for all. With the help of Brainiac, they journeyed to Apokolips, where the tyrant Darkseid used his advanced science to peer into the Anti-Matter universe and aid Alex Luthor, Superman, and Superboy-Prime in the ultimate destruction of the Anti-Monitor. With the Anti-Monitor dead, Luthor, Superman, and Superboy-Prime sealed themselves in a protective "heaven" dimension, and Darkseid sent the heores back to earth. ^[2]

Pre-Crisis Rip Hunter in the Post-Crisis Universe

As the final effects of the Crisis took hold, Hunter discovered that he was now a man out of time without a home. No one remembered that he had existed. Even his old time traveling teammates had no memory of the Pre-Crisis world. Rip himself had been replaced with a new Post-Crisis doppleganger, also a master of time travel (see Post-Crisis Rip Hunter, below).

Determined to find a link to the alternate realities and timelines he had experienced in the Pre-Crisis universe, Hunter began recklessly traveling back and forth through time, seeking a break in the barrier that sealed this universe from all the others. His travels drew the attention of the Linear Men, a team of time cops from the future, charged with the preservation of the integrity of the timestream. ^[3]

Impressed by Hunter, the Linear Men recruited him into their ranks. Now with white hair and bionic implants (to protect him from the stress of time travel), Hunter observed the timestream along with the other Linear Men. He appeared to take up their mission, interfering with outside events only when necessary to prevent changes to the timestream (most notably during the Zero Hour event).

However, Hunter was just biding his time. In the mini-series The Kingdom, Hunter defied the other Linear Men and joined forces with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, as well as some young heroes from the future, to defeat the time-traveling villain Gog. As a result of the battle, he finally broke down the barrier to Hypertime. ^[4] In Hypertime, all timelines that have ever existed continue to exist, and by breaking the barrier, Hunter was opening the door to infinite possibilities for adventure by traveling between multiple timelines.

However, Hunter wouldn't have much opportunity to explore these possibilities. Shortly thereafter, the Linear Men, including Hunter, were destroyed during the Imperiex onslaught. ^[5] Although their consciousnesses survived and they eventually constructed new bodies for themselves, they had been driven insane by the experience. The Quintessence disbanded the Linear Men and Hunter vanished in a whirlwind. ^[6] Whether or not this is the final fate of the the Pre-Crisis Rip Hunter is unknown.

Whatever his fate, his actions would have far-reaching consequences. As a result of breaking of the Hypertime barrier, Hunter had unwittingly opened the door for Alex Luthor, Superman, and Superboy-Prime to escape from their "heaven" dimension. ^[7]

Post-Crisis

Rip Hunter comes to the aid of the JSA. Art by Don Kramer

Rip Hunter spent his entire adult life preparing for enemies a time traveler would face. Fearing that someone might try to travel back in time and kill him as a child, he hid his true name, birthplace, and other details from the public. "Rip Hunter" is, in fact, an alias.

As the inventor of time travel technology in the Post-Crisis universe, ^[8] Hunter aided heroes Booster Gold and Animal Man in their own time-traveling adventures before taking on the vast Illuminati conspiracy. Hunter was eventually stranded in the prehistoric past. ^[9]

Returning to the present by unknown means, Hunter began protecting earth's heroes from time-traveling villains. In one of his most notable adventures, he took members of the modern day Justice Society back in time to fight the villainous Per Degaton. ^[10]

52 And Booster Gold

Recently, Hunter was one of the witnesses to the birth of the new Multiverse and was instrumental in defeating Mr. Mind and his attempt to destroy the multiple Universes. Mr. Mind had evolved into a nigh-omnipotent hyperfly feeding on universes. Hunter then revealed to Booster Gold and Booster's ancestor Daniel Carter that the Multiverse was restored as 52 individual universes as a result of Alex Luthor's actions after he escaped his "heaven" dimension. Mr. Mind sought to eat them all.

Hunter combined suspendium with Blue Beetle's scarab and Skeets' damaged, discarded shell into a trap to contain Mr. Mind's new form. Booster Gold and Supernova then hurled Skeets into the timestream, sealing the time-rift behind the little droid to trap the worm in a time-loop, saving the 52 universes. ^[11] Hunter warned the others to keep the Multiverse a secret for the time being as he eagerly prepared to explore it.

Two months later, Rip invades Daniel's home, scolding Booster for attempting to win public favor. He asks Booster to help him in repairing damage done to the time stream by Mr. Mind and Superboy-Prime. Initially, Booster refuses, but eventually changes his mind, on the condition that Rip will help him break the rules of time travel and allow him to save people who are important to him.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

None known.

Abilities

• Temporal Mechanics: Rip Hunter is an expert in the field of temporal mechanics, quantum theory and the relationship between energy and matter as it pertains to the Space/Time continuum.

• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Although Rip prefers the solitude of a laboratory, he has also trained himself in martial combat. Rip demonstrated his ability to hold his own in a fight when he fought up against renegade time traveler Rex Hunter. ^[12]
  
  

Strength level

Average: Rip possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engages in moderate regular exercise.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: Rip Hunter's Chalk Board
Transportation: Time Sphere, Time Pack
Weapons: None known.

Notes

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985-86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  

Trivia

• No trivia.

See Also

• Discuss Rip Hunter (New Earth) on the forums
• Appearances of Rip Hunter (New Earth) (Chronological)
• Appearances of Rip Hunter (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Rip Hunter (New Earth)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Rip Hunter (New Earth)
• Quotations by Rip Hunter (New Earth)
• Volume 1 of Rip Hunter's self-titled series
  
• Images featuring Rip Hunter (New Earth)

Recommended Reading

• None.

Links and References

• Rip Hunter at Wikipedia.org
  
• Rip Hunter at Toonopedia
• The Unofficial Rip Hunter... Time Master Web Site
• Rip Hunter at DCUGuide
  

Footnotes