Black Condor, 12 issues
This is a reboot of a Golden Age DC superhero of the same name. Regretfully, this really cool version of Black Condor, alter ego Ryan Kendall, was killed off during the "Infinite Crisis" storyline. I really like the design and style of this character and was disappointed that there were only 12 issues as I had enjoyed reading them, but when I heard that Kendall had been killed off that really sucked! It's foolish that DC would kill off such a cool character. Apparently this solo series didn't do well regarding sales, but to totally give up on making the character work and just kill him off is really lazy in my view. I've always hoped that DC would bring him back somehow but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely. In 2006 a third incarnation of the character was introduced with a new alter ego, so it's even less likely now that Ryan Kendall will make a return. It's interesting that the 2006 version borrows the darker look of Kendall's design as well as keeping the wings, rather than being a variation of the original blue costume which did not have wings. This is at least a little bit of vindication for the 1990's series which I'll always be a fan of.
Black Condor, issue 1, June 1992, and Black Condor, issue 2, Jul 1992
Black Condor, issue 3, Aug 1992, and Black Condor, issue 4, Sept 1992
Black Condor, issue 5, Oct 1992, and Black Condor, issue 6, Nov 1992
Black Condor, issue 7, Dec 1992, and Black Condor, issue 8, Jan 1993
Black Condor, issue 9, Feb 1993, and Black Condor, issue 10, March 1993
Black Condor, issue 11, April 1993, and Black Condor, issue 12, May 1993
Justice League America
Ryan Kendall as Black Condor appeared in five issues of Justice league and in one of them he's shown getting the tar beaten out of him by Hawkman, as though he was a rag doll. There is no contest, as unfortunately the event was written so that Ryan Kendall didn't have a chance. Understandably, a hawk would in reality beat a condor in a fight, but the writers could have at least given us a little bit of a duel by having Kendall pose at least some kind of challenge. I say this especially as a DC Comics fan, because the whole time I was reading the above Black Condor series, I'm thinking how cool it would be if he could met Hawkman, and then it finally happens and it's so anti-climatic. Hawkman is just a complete asshole. They really treated Black Condor like a throw away character with very little dialogue or impact on the story, aside from almost being killed by Hawkman.
As Hawkman was under some kind of mind control at the time (the villain Destiny messed with a few of the heroes this way), it would have been interesting to see Hawkman and Black Condor reconcile afterward, and then have Hawkman offer to take Kendall under his wing (totally coincidental pun!) and teach him some fighting techniques. That would have added a lot to both characters in my view. All the major superheroes have a younger side-kick, and Black Condor could have filled that roll for Hawkman. It was right under the writer's noses but they missed it!
It's funny, but I'm actually still miffed at Hawkman for beating up Black Condor, even after all these years! And I'm a pretty big fan of Hawkman so it just goes to show how messed up this whole storyline was. I think I even stopped collecting Hawkman comics at that point! LOL However, the main storyline was about what happened immediately after the death of Superman, so obviously at the time Black Condor was the least of the writer's concerns, and it shows.
Justice League America, issues 70, Jan 1993
Justice League America, issue 71, Feb 1993, and Justice League America, issue 72, March 1993
Although he appears briefly in issue 70, issue 71 is the first cover of Justice League America that Black Condor is seen on... well sort of. In order to enhance the mystery of who was joining the team the folks at DC added a plain, black & white mat paper cover overtop of the actual full colour cover, specifically to block out Black Condor's face. While this is an interesting way to introduce him to the team, for all the trouble they went through to do so, they certainly didn't keep him around for very long. He's only in five issues! Below is the full colour cover which is really very cool!
Issue 71 full colour cover underneath the black & white cover.
Justice League America, issue 73, April 1993, and Justice League America, issue 74, May 1993
Issue 73 is the second and final cover of Justice League America that Black Condor appears on, seen at the bottom left side of the image, even though he still appears in two more issues afterwards.
Justice League America, issue 75, June 1993
Primal Force
Primal Force, 14 issues plus a zero issue, 1994 - 1995
Following his Justice League appearance, Ryan Kendall became a member of Primal Force and is featured throughout this series, including on several of the covers.
