Rangers (comics)
The Rangers are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #265 (November 1981) and was created by writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Sal Buscema. The title page of The Incredible Hulk #265 also credits Mark Gruenwald with co-creation of The Rangers.
Team members usually hail from Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.
Publication history
In the story "You Get What You Need!" published in Incredible Hulk vol.1 #265 (November 1981), writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema, and Mark Gruenwald created the superhero team Rangers. The team consists of western characters Firebird, Shooting Star, Texas Twister, the Phantom Rider (Hamilton Slade, then called Night Rider), and the contemporary Red Wolf.
The members of the team have been identified in the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1 (June 2007).
Fictional team biography
The Rangers began by accident. Rick Jones was being held captive by the villainous Corruptor, who had the Hulk under his influence. Rick sent a shortwave radio message to attempt to contact the Avengers. The message never reached the Avengers, but instead five individuals intercepted the message and responded: Shooting Star and Texas Twister, Firebird, the Phantom Rider (Hamilton Slade, then called Night Rider), and the contemporary Red Wolf.
