Rip Hunter

Rip Hunter
Interior artwork from Time Masters: Vanishing Point vol. 1, 1 (September, 2010 DC Comics). Art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase #20 (May 1959)
Created by	Jack Miller (writer) Ruben Moreira (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Richard "Rip" Hunter
Team affiliations	Linear Men Forgotten Heroes
Partnerships	Booster Gold Supernova Goldstar
Abilities	Genius level inventor. Time traveler. Skilled in fighting styles and martial arts from every era of history.

Rip Hunter is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jack Miller and artist Ruben Moreira, the character first appeared in Showcase #20 (May 1959). Following three more appearances in Showcase (#21, 25, 26), Rip Hunter was given his own series which ran for 29 issues (1961–65). He later starred in the eight-issue Time Masters series (1990), written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner. After numerous revisions and following the events of Infinite Crisis, Hunter is established as the son of Booster Gold.

The Challengers of the Unknown is a quartet of science fiction adventurers created by Jack Kirby. They debuted in 1957, and their commercial success spawned two other science fiction characters: Cave Carson and Rip Hunter. Hunter was the more successful of the two, with art in his early appearances by Joe Kubert, Mike Sekowsky, and Nick Cardy. Hunter was the leader of a gang of time travelers who were featured in brisk and historically accurate adventures in various eras. DC editor Jack Schiff reported that he and writer Jack Miller had "lots of fun" creating the comics.

Rip Hunter has had a number of revisions within the fictional DC Universe. Those changes are generally connected to larger events and story lines. The writing and editorial staff often use a narrative device within the comics, known as a crisis event, to explain dramatic changes to the appearance or personality of characters. Rip Hunter has undergone a number of different developments within this fictional universe.

In his original incarnation, Rip Hunter is portrayed as an ordinary man who uses his invention, the Time Sphere, to travel through time. Aided by his friend Jeff Smith, girlfriend Bonnie Baxter, and Bonnie's kid brother Corky, they have adventures in time. These stories were told in the series Rip Hunter...Time Master which ran for 29 issues between 1961 and 1965.