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RAIDERS

Membership: Scar (leader), Centipede, Gecko, Jolly Roger, Sandblast, Sangre, Yardarm

Purpose: Criminal adventure and murderous thievery

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Brazen, Byter, Gangsta, Generator X, Lightshow, Pilgrim, Powerhouse, Rodent, Strangers (Atom Bob, ElectroCute, Grenade, Lady Killer, Spectral, Yrial, Zip-Zap), US Coast Guard, Zara (all Earth-93060)

Base of Operations: Mobile in the Caribbean Sea (Earth-93060/Ultraverse)

First Appearance: Strangers#9 (February, 1994)

Special Notes: The Raiders used a super-fast speedboat equipped with side-mounted jets for fast attacks and getaways.

 

History:

(Strangers#1) The Jumpstart Effect hit a San Francisco cable car, that later triggered ultra powers (super-powers) in all 59 of its passengers.

(Strangers#9 (fb) - BTS) - Seven of the ignoble and selfish passengers formed a group with individual codenames under the leadership of the powers-siphoning Scar, with members Centipede, Gecko, Jolly Roger, Sandblast, Sangre and Yardarm. As the Raiders, they became adventure-seeking modern-day pirates, plundering small ships around the Caribbean using a specialized super-fast boat, and killing all their victims. Their latest prey, "Queen of the Misty Isles", was left a flaming wreck on the water and found by the US Coast Guard. Despite this, few believed pirates still operated.

(Strangers#9) - From an island, Scar, accompanied by Sangre and Sandblast, spotted a passenger yacht carrying the Strangers (Atom Bob, ElectroCute, Grenade, Lady Killer, Spectral, Zip-Zap), who were in the area looking for lost teammate Yrial. The Raiders underestimated the Strangers because of their human appearance, not realizing they had ultra powers too. Silently boarding the Strangers' boat, Raiders Scar, Gecko, Sangre and Yardarm confronted and fought the passengers. Atom Bob and the depowered Spectral, both on the island, violently encountered Sandblast, Centipede and Jolly Roger, but defeated them. Scar and Sangre left prematurely for the island, thinking their foes on the boat had been defeated. Recognizing their opponents as the Strangers, they went hunting the remaining members on the island. But Atom Bob stopped Scar by morphing Sangre, Centipede and Jolly Roger to appear like Strangers members; Scar was confused trying to access powers that were actually his teammates and he collapsed into sand, initially unable to control Sandblast's powers. Meanwhile, the other Strangers overpowered those Raiders left on the boat. The Strangers left the defeated pirates on the island, also damaging their jet boat, and alerted the Coast Guard, but Scar was already reassembling himself.

(Strangers#18 (fb) - BTS) - Scar and his Raiders escaped the Caribbean island and went after the Strangers, intending to kidnap them.

(Strangers#15) - The Strangers reviewed who those they had encountered who they knew had been fellow passengers on the San Francisco cable car. All the Raiders featured on the list.

(Strangers#18) - Using their special speedboat, the Raiders targeted the Strangers' Pier 25 base in San Francisco, USA. The Strangers, some distracted by downtime and others by the looming threat of the mysterious Pilgrim, were surprised by the Raiders' rapid sneak attack. The Raiders were more coordinated and the Strangers were knocked out in a quick fight. But suddenly Pilgrim and his ragtag team (Brazen, Byter, Gangsta, Generator X, Lightshow, Powerhouse, Rodent, Zara) teleported in to save the Strangers with Pilgrim marking the heroes as his own to kill for another day. Pilgrim's team had superior powers that overwhelmed the Raiders. Holding no ill will to them, Pilgrim let them flee in their sea ship.

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Rick Hoberg, Steve Skroce, Tim Eldred.

After defeating the Raiders in their first clash, Atom Bob states they "now we know what happened to six more of the 59 people on our cable car." But there are seven in the Raiders, so I'm not sure who the odd one out is or if Bob just miscounted.

The significant fallout from Atom Bob's initial encounter with the Raiders is that by so rapidly changing the appearance of three Raiders to fool Scar, Atom Bob realized he could do virtually anything with his powers of creation and duplication. This was a major step in his journey to becoming the villainous Pilgrim.

In their second clash with the Strangers, the Atom Bob the Raiders overpower is actually a duplicate created by the duplicitous Pilgrim to cover his true identity.

See the Entity entry for more info on the Jumpstart Effect and its triggering of super-powers in the Ultraverse.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Scar and his Raiders have no known connections to:

Centipede

Centipede was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He banded together with six others to form the adventure-seeking pirates based in the Caribbean and they plundered many ships, killing the passengers as well. He stayed on the island alongside Sandblast and Jolly Roger when the others boarded the Strangers' boat, but was overpowered by Atom Bob, who briefly transformed Centipede to appear like Strangers member Grenade. Fooled, Scar blasted him unconscious. Soon victorious, the Strangers left. The Raiders escaped the island before the Coast Guard could arrest them. In the next attack against the Strangers, Centipede was helped by Gecko in knocking out Grenade. But immediately after, Pilgrim's superior forces attacked; Lightshow's light blast stunned him. Recovering, he fled with the other Raiders.

Centipede's power were more menacing appearance in nature; he displayed little fighting skills but did use his tail end as a club. He could also curl up in ball and roll quickly away from danger. He presumably had low-level body armor and heightened maneuverability, possibly even climbing up vertical surfaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Gecko

Gecko was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He joined Scar's crew of cutthroat pirates in the Caribbean, boarding the Strangers' boat with several of his teammates and not expecting resistance. But the Strangers defended themselves with their powers and after disorienting speedster Zip-Zap, Gecko was soon savagely zapped by ElectroCute. He was left behind on the island for the Coast Guard to capture but managed to escape. In the next attack on the Strangers, Gecko tag-teamed with Centipede to knock out Grenade, but the sudden arrival of Pilgrim and his aggressive crew saw Gecko quickly defeated by the feral Rodent. Recovering, he fled with the other Raiders.

Nimble and quick, Gecko used his long tail as a club to knock over opponents or wrap them up and confine them. He used his extended fingertips and toetips to grip to surfaces and could jump high. He had green-hued leathery skin and enlarged eyes that mimicked amphibious gecko animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He joined six others to form the killer pirates based in the Caribbean, plundering many ships and killing the passengers. He stayed on the island alongside Sandblast and Centipede when the others boarded the Strangers' boat, but was overpowered by Atom Bob, who briefly transformed Jolly Roger to appear like Strangers member Spectral. Fooled, Scar blasted him unconscious. Soon victorious, the Strangers left. The Raiders escaped the island before the Coast Guard could arrest them. In the next attack against the Strangers, Jolly Roger's electricity gun quickly knocked out out Spectral. But immediately after, Pilgrim's superior forces attacked; Jolly Roger was soon overwhelmed by magician Zara. Recovering, he fled with the other Raiders.

Jolly Roger embraced the pirate theme of the Raiders crew, using old weapons such cutlass and flintlock pistol (modified to shoot electricity) and wore a pirate-themed costume. While loyal to his teammates, he was mentally unbalanced and incoherent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Sandblast

Sandblast (first name Ralph) was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He banded together with six others to form the murderous pirates based in the Caribbean and they plundered many ships, also killing the passengers. He became leader Scar's lieutenant. He watched with Sangre as Scar identified the Strangers' ship as their next target. Sandblast stayed on the island alongside Centipede and Jolly Roger when the others boarded the Strangers' boat. Atom Bob stopped Sandblast by transforming the sand at the pirate's feet into concrete. Soon victorious, the Strangers left. The Raiders escaped the island before the Coast Guard could arrest them. In the next attack against the Strangers, Sandblast quickly knocked out speedster Zip-Zap. But immediately after, Pilgrim's superior forces attacked; Sandblast could not keep his human form against Powerhouse's incredible punches and he fell apart. Recovering and reforming, he fled carrying Scar and escaped with other Raiders.

Sandblast was permanently in sand form but could make additional shapes, such as an elongated club from his arm. However, powerful, repetitive blows could disrupt his molecular cohesion and he needed to concentrate to reform. Violent, he could generate intense sand blasts that could could peal human skin or could could encase a foe in a sandy blob. He spoke with a stereotypical Jamaican-style accent.

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Sangre

Savage fighter Sangre was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. She joined Scar's crew of cutthroat pirates in the Caribbean, boarding the Strangers' boat with several of his teammates and not expecting resistance. But the Strangers defended themselves with their powers; Sangre targeted android ElectroCute, kicking her unconscious. Thinking the battle largely over, she went to the nearby island with Scar to find the remaining Strangers, but Atom Bon transformed her to appear like Strangers member Lady Killer. Fooled, Scar blasted her unconscious. Soon victorious, the Strangers left. She was left behind on the island for the Coast Guard to capture but managed to escape. In the next attack on the Strangers, Sangre hoped to wash her hands in the blood of the fallen Atom Bob (actually a duplicate created by the duplicitous and megalomaniacal Pilgrim/Atom Bob) when Pilgrim and his superior crew suddenly arrived. Sangre was quickly overpowered by Brazen. Recovering, she fled with the other Raiders.

Sangre was very agile with excellent close combat skills, notably kick-boxing. Not fully identified in-story, her powers appeared to be linked with spilling and touching her foes' blood, possibly for sustenances or strength.

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Scar

The Raiders' fearsome leader Scar was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He banded together with six others to form the murderous pirates based in the Caribbean and they plundered many ships, also killing the passengers. He identified the Strangers' ship as their next target. He soon boarded the Strangers' boat with several of his teammates, not expecting resistance, but the Strangers defended themselves with their powers. Scar siphoned Spectral's flame and his crew overwhelmed the Strangers onboard the ship. Scar and Sangre went to the island to take on the last two Strangers and soon Atom Bob was the last Stranger standing. Outnumbered and while Scar was distracted, Atom Bon transformed Sangre, Jolly Roger and Centipede to appear like Strangers members. Fooled, Scar blasted them unconscious just as Atom Bob leapt to safety. Confused when he couldn't access the powers of his fallen "foes," Scar fell into sand form. Victorious, the Strangers left but Scar was able to reform himself. The Raiders escaped the island before the Coast Guard could arrest them. Later, Scar led a sneak attack against the Strangers to kidnap them. Scar siphoned Yrial's magical powers when she attacked him and used her powers against Atom Bob (actually a duplicate created by the duplicitous and megalomaniacal Pilgrim/Atom Bob). He watched as his crew knocked the rest out. But immediately after, Pilgrim's superior forces attacked. Overconfident, Scar tried to siphon Pilgrim's incredible power but was overwhelmed and fell unconscious. Scar was carried away by Sandblast as the Raiders escaped.

Scar had the power to siphon another person's power (even magic) via his broad chest scar. He could take this power for an hour. Absorbing someone's power would briefly render them powerless and weakened or even unconscious. His cyborg-style arm and right eye suggest something may have gone awry in using a previous power. He was brutal, greedy and murderous, but also a strategist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

Yardarm

Hipster-looking Yardarm was one of the San Fransisco cable car passengers given ultra powers (super-powers) from the Jumpstart Effect. He joined Scar's crew of murderous pirates in the Caribbean, boarding the Strangers' boat with several of his teammates and not expecting resistance. But the Strangers defended themselves with their powers and Yardarm was eventually overpowered. He was left behind on the island for the Coast Guard to capture but managed to escape. In the next attack on the Strangers, Yardarm quickly felled Lady Killer, but the sudden arrival of Pilgrim and his aggressive crew saw Yardarm overwhelmed by Generator X. Recovering, he fled with the other Raiders.

Yardarm could stretch his arms and legs for long-reach attacks. He mostly used his arms for this, stretching them at least ten times their normal length and able to tightly coil an arm around a victim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Strangers#9 (Strangers#18

images: (without ads)
Strangers#18, p11, pan5 (main image)
Strangers#9, p10, pan4 (trio (L-R) Sangre, Scar, Sandblast)
Strangers#18, p19, pan3 (Centipede standing)
Strangers#18, p19, pan4 (Centipede rolling)
Strangers#9, p13, pan4 (Gecko crouching)
Strangers#9, p14, pan3 (Gecko using tail)
Strangers#9, p18, pan1 (Jolly Roger standing)
Strangers#18, p21, pan1 (Jolly Roger shooting pistol)
Strangers#9, p19, pan5 (Sandblast standing)
Strangers#18, p18, pan1 (Sandblast using arm as club)
Strangers#9, p15, pan1 (Sangre flying kick)
Strangers#9, p20, pan1 (Sangre headshot)
Strangers#9, p22, pan4 (Scar standing)
Strangers#18, p14, pan1 (Scar using scar)
Strangers#9, p15, pan3 (Yardarm stretching arms)
Strangers#18, p21, pan5 (Yardarm fleeing)

Appearances:
Strangers#9 (February, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg & Steve Skroce (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Strangers#15 (August, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Strangers#18 (November, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)

First updated: 05/10/2021
Last updated: 05/10/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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