Langford Terrill (Earth-Two)

"Happy" Terrill was the superhero the Ray, a member of the Freedom Fighters.

History

Langford "Happy" Terrill gained the ability to manipulate light and even transform himself into a light form after being struck by lightning while assisting in a scientific experiment in a hot air balloon. He created the identity of the Ray and fought crime on his native Earth-Two both solo and as a member of the All-Star Squadron, before eventually migrating to Earth-X to become a founding member of the Freedom Fighters. Decades later (kept young by the mystical presence of Uncle Sam), he moved to Earth-One for a time and had several adventures there, both with the Freedom fighters and alone, before returning to Earth-X following the Freedom Fighters' final battle with the Silver Ghost and the apparent death of Firebrand. He later participated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Photokinesis: In extremely good brightness conditions, Ray can convert himself into pure light.^[1]
  • Flight: Ray must fly faster according to the local brightness.^[1]
  • Energy Absorption^[1]
  • Energy Projection^[1]
  • Electro-Blast^[1]
  • Thermokinesis
  • Enhanced Strength: Ray's capacity to carry three or more adults across vast distances without stopping suggests a degree of enhanced strength afforded by his unique physiology.

Abilities

• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)^[1]
• Journalism

Notes

• The Ray was created by Will Eisner and Lou Fine, first appearing in Smash Comics #14. However, the Earth-Two version of The Ray first appeared in Justice League of America #107 by Len Wein and Dick Dillin.
• This version of the Ray, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

• In 1956, DC Comics obtained the rights to the Quality Comics characters, and re-introduced them 17 years later as the Freedom Fighters in Justice League of America #107 (October 1973).

• The Freedom Fighters were relocated to a parallel world, one called "Earth-X", where Nazi Germany had won World War II. The team was featured in its own series for 15 issues (1976–1978), in which it temporarily left Earth-X for "Earth-One" (where most DC titles are set).

• In 1981, some Quality Characters became recurring guest-stars of All-Star Squadron, a superhero-team title set on "Earth-Two", the locale for DC's WWII-era superheroes, and at a time prior to when the Freedom Fighters were supposed to have left for Earth-X. They later appeared with the rest of DC's superheroes in Crisis on Infinite Earths, a story that was intended to eliminate the confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. The Freedom Fighters became a mere splinter group of the All-Star Squadron.

Related

• 60 Appearances of Langford Terrill (Earth-Two)
• 13 Images featuring Langford Terrill (Earth-Two)
• Quotations by or about Langford Terrill (Earth-Two)
• Character Gallery: Langford Terrill (Earth-Two)

Footnotes

Freedom Fighters member This character is or was a member of the Freedom Fighters, a team of American super-heroes who fight threats to the nation and its ideals under the leadership of Uncle Sam. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Freedom Fighters members" category.

All-Star Squadron member This character is or was a member of the All-Star Squadron in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "All-Star Squadron members" category.