Here at Multiversity, we like to celebrate our Jewishness from time to time. Let’s face it – we don’t get to do it very often! But when we do, we might as well go all out, right? So for the Eight Nights of Hanukkah, we are going to present to you a Jewish super hero or villain that we greatly appreciate here at Multiversity Comics.
For the sixth night, we’ve picked: Ragman!
Rory Regan may not have the most Jewish sounding name ever (given that pre-crisis Rory was actually Irish-Catholic and NOT Jewish), but he has historically been one of the most prominent members of the admittedly limited number of Jewish super-heroes in the DC Universe. Often liked to the Jewish folk tale of the Golem, Ragman has seen many different incarnations since his introduction way back in 1976! While originally just a mystically enhanced vigilante, Ragman has can now absorb the souls of the evildoers he defeats into the rags of his costumes to call upon them later. Given all that, he still has time to be a powerful contributor to his local Jewish community and was a key part of the defense of Gotham in between Bruce Wayne’s “death” and Dick Grayson’s assumption of the Batman mantle.
Ragman has had several sporadic appearances over the years including two mini-series (one five issues and one eight issues) during the 70s and 90s respectively. He was also a central figure in Bill Willingham’s short lived but phenomenal Shadowpact series and was recently featured in his own one-shot adventure, Ragman: Suit of Souls, by Cristos Gage!
