Rainbow Raider

Roy Bivolo was a gifted painter as a child... but for one critical problem: he was completely color-blind. As a result, his paintings looked horribly clashing to the rest of the world, and he was never able to pursue his talent. His father, an optometrist with as much genius for optics as his son had for painting, swore he’d find a cure, but failing health prevented him from fulfilling his promise. What he did manage to develop were a pair of goggles that granted the wearer color-based powers—they could launch colored beams of force on which the wearer could ride through the air, produce emotions in people according to the mood associated with each color, and more. Roy’s father presented him with the perfected goggles on his deathbed.

Bitter at the world for denying him his own gift and denying him the ability to truly appreciate the master works of art, he turned to crime as the Rainbow Raider, stealing great works and declaring that if he could not appreciate them, then neither should anyone else. He ran into the Flash his first time out, then clashed with him periodically over the years.

Bivolo was killed when Blacksmith used her powers to embed his latest painting in his chest. Since his death, a team of color-themed villains has appeared, calling themselves the Rainbow Raiders.

• Primary Sources
• Art Credits
• Profiles in Print
• Bronze-Age Appearances
• Legacy-Era Appearances
• Related Commentary

Primary Sources

• “The Color Schemes of the Rainbow Raider” - Flash (first series) #286 (June 1980), Cary Bates

Art

• Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #11 (July 1991) - Anthony Tollin

Profiles

• Who’s Who in the DC Universe #19 (September 1986)
• Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #11 (July 1991)

Significant Bronze-Age Flash Appearances

• Flash #286 (June 1980): “The Color Schemes of the Rainbow Raider,” Cary Bates
• Flash #298–299 (June–July 1981): “A Deadly Shade of Peril!” and “A Stab in the Black!” Cary Bates
• Brave and the Bold #194 (January 1983): “Trade Heroes—and Win!” Mike W. Barr
• Flash #332 (April 1984): “Defend the Flash... and Die?” Cary Bates
• Flash #348–350 (August–October 1985): “The Final Verdict,” “...And the Truth Shall Set Him Free!” and “Flash Flees,” Cary Bates

Significant Legacy-Era Flash Appearances

• Flash #19 (December 1988): “A Meeting of Rogues,” William Messner-Loebs
• Flash Annual 4 (1991): “Family Business” (Armageddon 2001), Mark Waid
• Flash Annual 10 (1997): “I Married the Flash!” (Pulp Heroes), Brian Augustyn
• Flash #183 (April 2002): “Crossfire Prologue: Tricked,” Geoff Johns

Related Commentary

• What’s your childhood trauma?

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