CEDRIC RAWLINGS

Real Name: Cedric Rawlings

Identity/Class: Human technology user (English, World War II era to modern era)

Occupation: Scientist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Captain America (Steve Rogers), Red Skull (Johann Shmidt), Major Richard Uberhart

Enemies: Dredmund Druid;
(former) Bucky (James Buchanan Barnes), Captain America (Steve Rogers)

Known Relatives: Celia Rawlings (sister, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Greymoor Castle, somewhere in England

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (September, 1965)

Powers/Abilities: During the 1940s, Cedric Rawlings was a brilliant scientist who discovered the Z-Rays (see comments) and worked on the V-2 rockets for Nazi Germany.

In the modern era, the elderly Rawlings wore a suit of medieval armor (see comments) and wielded a spiked mace.

Height: Unrevealed (5'7"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Gray (balding)

Distinguishing Features: Having lost his right hand in a prior laboratory accident, Rawlings had it replaced with a mechanical hand.

Because he had later been trapped in an intense fire during World War II, Rawlings' face was badly burned and disfigured afterward.

History:
(Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (fb) - BTS) - Cedric Rawlings was a gifted British scientist--at some point, he had discovered the Z-Rays (see comments)--but he never achieved the acclaim he felt he deserved. He lost his right hand in an unspecified laboratory accident caused by his sister Celia's carelessness, and had to be fitted with a metal hand as a replacement. Bitter and resentful, Cedric betrayed England, and became an ally of the Red Skull and Nazi Germany, hoping it would bring him the power and glory he thought was his.

(Tales of Suspense I#69/2) - During World War II, Cedric performed a demonstration of his Z-Rays for Major Uberhart, showing him how they could shrink two full-size mannequins of Captain America and Bucky down to doll-size. Uberhart was pleased, so he made arrangements with the Red Skull to have the real heroes brought to the castle. Celia disapproved of her brother's alliance with the Nazis, but he disregarded her concerns.

   While Pvt. Steve Rogers and the rest of his military unit were away on a mission in Nazi-occupied France, a team of Nazi saboteurs caused an explosion at a nearby British military base, in the hopes of attracting Captain America and Bucky; but they only found Bucky, whom they swiftly overpowered, then drove the young hero to Greymoor Castle.

   In France, Rogers and his fellow soldiers battled Nazi forces--when the mission was seemingly over, Rogers found a radio dispatch marked for the Red Skull that mentioned Bucky's capture, so he changed to his costume and commandeered a Nazi plane to fly back to England. Meanwhile, the unconscious Bucky was turned over to Rawlings, who prepared to send him into the Z-Ray pit.

(Tales of Suspense I#70/2) - Learning that Captain America was on his way to Greymoor Castle, Uberhart told Rawlings to kill Bucky; but instead, Rawlings suggested that they use the young hero as bait in a trap--they manacled the gagged Bucky to a table that was rigged to release knockout gas when Captain America attempted to free him.

   When Cap finally arrived at the castle, Celia broke free and unsuccessfully tried to warn him about the booby-trap. While the Nazis fired upon him, Cap used his shield to protect himself, then fought through the enemy crossfire and made his way toward the captured Bucky; but as his fingers began to undo Bucky's bonds, the knockout gas was released, and Cap was rendered unconscious. Uberhart then declared that because of her betrayal, Celia would die with Captain America and Bucky; when Rawlings angrily objected, Uberhart punched him to the floor. Uberhart then ordered for a V-2 rocket to be raised from its hidden silo in the castle and revealed his plan: the three prisoners would be placed aboard the V-2 rocket, which would be launched at Prime Minister Winston Churchill's home in the heart of London.

(Tales of Suspense I#71/2) - Cedric begged Uberhart to let Celia live, but he refused to listen to Cedric's pleadings and had him thrown into the castle's dungeon. Meanwhile, Captain America and Bucky revived and managed to escape; they outfought the Nazi soldiers, but Celia died shielding Captain America from a Nazi bullet. Bucky released Cedric from the dungeon so that he could try to treat Celia's wound, but it was too late, and all Cedric could do was tearfully mourn his sister's passing.

   Captain America and Bucky convinced Cedric to turn the V-2 against the Nazis, by destroying a line of Nazi reinforcements that was threatening Pvt. Rogers' military unit across the English Channel; Cedric agreed to help, but set the V-2 so that when it launched, it ignited the supply of rocket fuel stored in the castle--surrounded by the intense flames, Cedric had gone completely mad, and he was left behind by Captain America and Bucky, who both fled before the entire castle went up.

(Captain America I#256 (fb) - BTS) - Although badly burned in the fire, Cedric had survived. He spent the decades that followed living in isolation inside the crumbled ruins of Greymoor Castle; his conscience was troubled by his involvement with the Nazis and the death of his sister, so he was haunted by hallucinations of Celia, Major Uberhart, and the Red Skull.

   In recent times, Rawlings was "haunted" by Dredmund the Druid, who would covertly come to the castle at night to search for an ancient druid tome, and he attempted to drive Cedric out.

(Captain America I#256) - After defeating Baron Blood in England, Captain America went back to the crumbled ruins of Greymoor Castle to reminisce--he nearly fell into the Z-Ray pit, but the armored Cedric pulled him to safety. While Cedric told Captain America of the most recent "hauntings," they heard a crashing sound coming from somewhere in the castle, so Cap went to investigate--he soon found that it was caused by the work of Dredmund. As the two fought, Dredmund nearly knocked Captain America into the Z-Rays again, but Cedric came up behind Dredmund and pushed him into the pit--luckily, Captain America caught Cedric before he plunged in as well.

   Cap and Cedric soon found the texts Dredmund had been searching for within a hidden cache behind a wall near the Z-Ray pit. Captain America offered the texts to Cedric to decipher so that he could redeem himself, but Cedric felt he would have to find some other way to exorcise the "ghosts" of all those he had wronged; Captain America decided to take the texts to the Scarlet Witch instead.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

   The original story doesn't quite work, mainly because the Z-Rays were given a grand introduction and then not actually used...I mean, come on, Uberhart! Why'd you arrange that test of the Z-Rays when your real plan to dispose of Cap and Bucky was to strap them to a V-2? Captain America I#256 fixes it a little by revealing that the Z-Rays were used to condense the V-2 rocket fuel in order to give the rockets greater range and striking power.

   Even so, Uberhart seemed kind of short-sighted--I guess he never saw the military potential of having a portable Z-Ray projector which could shrink Allied airplanes, tanks, and troops to the size of toys.

   Since the Z-Rays pit seemed to be in the older part of the castle that was supposedly a druid burial ground (see Greymoor Castle sub-profile), maybe Cedric didn't so much invent the Z-Rays, but only discovered them. Maybe the radiation was actually some magical force originally created by ancient druids.

   Maybe the Z-Ray pit had some connection to the dimension of Kosmos.

   Sliding timescale causing aging problems: Cedric looked to be maybe 40 years old during World War II, so he would have been in his 80s when he next appeared in Captain America I#256 (April, 1981)... and I'm not even going to hazard a guess at how old he'd be by the year that story "really" took place (taking the ever-sliding timescale into consideration). Unless he somehow got his hands on some of Heinrich Zemo's age-retarding Compound X, maybe all of Cedric's experimentation with the Z-Rays somehow had beneficial mutating effects that gave him greater strength, vitality, and an extended lifespan.

   While he was wearing his medieval armor (which had to weigh few hundred pounds), the elderly Cedric was depicted as climbing ropes and carrying the unconscious Captain America (who weighs over 200 lbs.) upon his back--my guess is that Cedric's suit of armor functioned as a strength-amplifying exoskeleton, probably based on the design of his artificial hand.

   And that ancient druid tome turned out to be a prison for the demonic Samhain.
--Ron Fredricks

Uberhart's first name was revealed in Marvel Atlas#1

New and additional images plus a sub-profile for the castle by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Prime Eternal. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Cedric Rawlings should not be confused with:

Greymoor Castle should not be confused with:

Cedric Rawling's Z-Rays should not be confused with:

Greymoor Castle

The ancestral home of siblings Cedric and Celia Rawlings, it was a centuries-old fortress located somewhere in a desolate part of England.

According to Cedric Rawlings, one  hall of the castle was said to have been built by the Romans over an ancient druid burial ground, using stones from demolished druid temples--this older section of the castle contained Cedric's laboratory and the Z-Ray pit (the radiation of which could reduce the size of people and objects; see comments); also, hidden behind a wall of this particular hall was an ancient druid tome.

During World War II, Cedric betrayed his home country and allied himself with the Nazis, and they were going to use the castle as a base to launch a V-2 rocket from within England. But Cedric eventually turned against the Nazis after they killed his sister, and he set off an explosion that ignited the stored rocket fuel--the resulting explosion and fire destroyed much of the castle.

In modern times, while Captain America was in England, he returned to the crumbled ruins of Greymoor Castle and found the aged and disfigured Cedric Rawlings still alive. They both battled Dredmund the Druid, and discovered the ancient tome for which Dredmund had been searching.

(Note: The changes in the appearance of Greymoor Castle were probably due to the different artists who worked on the particular stories, and not because of any supernatural phenomena [...at least as far as I know].)

--Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (70/2, 71/2, Captain America I#256

Z-Rays

Z-Rays were a powerful form of radiation discovered by Cedric Rawlings at Greymoor Castle (see comments). Contained within a deep pit that was covered with a lead-lined shield, the Z-Rays could cause anything bathed in them to shrink in size.

During World War II, Rawlings demonstrated the mass-shrinking power of the Z-Rays to Nazi Germany's Major Uberhart. Rawlings exposed a pair of plastic mannequins dressed like Captain America and Bucky to the radiation; when the experiment was over, the full-sized mannequins had been reduced to the size of dolls.

But the Z-Rays were only used by Uberhart to condense supplies of rocket fuel for his V-2 rockets, to give the rockets greater range and striking power (see comments).

Many years later in modern times, Captain America visited England and returned to the ruins of Greymoor Castle, where he nearly fell into the Z-Ray pit (twice!); eventually Cedric Rawlings pushed Dredmund the Druid into the pit, and he shrank out of sight.

--Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (Captain America I#256

Celia Rawlings

Celia Rawlings was Cedric Rawlings' sister; she had once caused an accident in the laboratory that resulted in Cedric losing his right hand (...of which he constantly reminded her). Out of guilt, Celia remained at his side, although she was appalled by Cedric's alliance with the Nazis.

She later warned Captain America of the trap her brother had set for him when he came to Greymoor Castle to rescue Bucky.

Because of her betrayal, Major Uberhart decided to kill Celia alongside Captain America and Bucky, but the two heroes broke lose and fought off the Nazis--during that battle, Celia struggled with a Nazi soldier and took a bullet intended for Captain America; Cedric was unable to save her life, and blamed himself for her death.

--Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (70/2, 71/2, d

Major Richard Uberhart

Major Uberhart was an agent of the Red Skull; he was based in England at Greymoor Castle with several Nazi soldiers, to assist Cedric Rawlings in his traitorous work.

Although he seemed to be impressed by Rawling's successful demonstration of the Z-Rays, he had no regard for the treacherous Cedric as a person, because Rawlings was willing to betray his own country.

Uberhart intended to kill Rawlings' sister Celia alongside Captain America and Bucky by launching them aboard a V-2 rocket aimed at Winston Churchill's home; when Cedric angrily objected, Uberhart punched him, then ordered his soldiers to throw Cedric into the castle's dungeon.

Uberhart was ultimately defeated by Captain America, and was presumably killed in the fire that consumed much of Greymoor Castle.

(Note: In regards to these two images--No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, the colors of the uniforms of Uberhart and the other Nazi soldiers changed from gray to green between issues, even though the events of the preceding issue immediately followed into the next, so there was no time for them to change clothes... probably just a coloring error.)

--Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (70/2, 71/2

images: (without ads)
Captain America I#256, p10, pan2 (main image - during modern era, elderly Cedric Rawlings in medieval armor)
Captain America I#256, p11, pan3 (headshot - during modern era, elderly Cedric Rawlings)
Tales of Suspense I#70/2, p3, pan4 (during World War II, Cedric Rawlings with metal hand)
Tales of Suspense I#71/2, p9, pan6 (during World War II, Cedric Rawlings in flames; Captain America and Bucky [background])
Tales of Suspense I#69/2, p6 pan5 (Nazis drive Bucky to Greymoor Castle)
Tales of Suspense I#70/2, p2, pan5 (Greymoor Castle)
Tales of Suspense I#71, p10, pan4 (Greymoor Castle explodes; Captain America and Bucky [foreground])
Captain America I#256, p1, pan1 (Captain America outside ruins of Greymoor Castle)
Tales of Suspense I#69/2, p1, pan1 (during World War II, mannequins of Captain America and Bucky get exposed to radiation of Z-Ray pit)
Tales of Suspense I#69/2, p2, pan6 (during World War II, Cedric Rawlings shows shrunken mannequins to Major Uberhart)
Captain America I#256, p19, pan3 (during modern era, Captain America almost falls into Z-Ray pit for the second time)
Tales of Suspense I#69/1, p3, pan4 (Celia Rawlings; Cedric Rawlings' mechanical hand [foreground])
Tales of Suspense I#71/2, p6, pan4 (Celia Rawlings gets shot by Nazi soldier)
Tales of Suspense I#71/2, p7, pan4 (Celia Rawlings dies; Cedric Rawlings [left])
Tales of Suspense I#70/2, p10, pan7 (Major Uberhart reveals his plans for V-2 rocket)
Tales of Suspense I#71/2, p2, pan3 (Major Uberhart expresses his contempt for Cedric Rawlings)

Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#69/2 (September, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (layouts), Dick Ayers (finishes), Art Simek (letters)
Tales of Suspense I#70/2 (October, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (layouts), George Tuska (finishes), Sam Rosen (letters)
Tales of Suspense I#71/2 (November, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (layouts), George Tuska (finishes), Joe Sinnott (inks), Sam Rosen (letters)
Captain America I#256 (April, 1981) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Dave Simons, Al Milgrom & Frank Giacoia (inks), Bob Sharen (colors), Jim Novak (letters), Jim Salicrup (editor)

First posted: 10/04/2005
Last updated: 12/23/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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