| “ | Welcome Flash! I didn't think you and I would be meeting quite so soon... ...but sooner or later, we were bound to clash! Allow me to introduce myself! I am the Rainbow Raider --- The most colorful criminal this city's ever seen! | „ |
| ~ Rainbow Raider to the Flash on their first encounter. |
Roy G. Bivolo, also known by his alter-ego Rainbow Raider, is a minor antagonist in The Flash DC series of comic books. Originally a professional painter born with color-blindness, he turned to a life of crime when he was unable to pursue an art career, due to his condition, becoming a criminal with rainbow-related powers, making him an enemy of the Flash.
History[]
Modern Age[]
From an early age, Roy Bivolo is a professional painter, and in his childhood, he dreamed of pursuing a career in artistry, but this proved to be lofty, as Roy was born completely colorblind. Despite his condition, he would paint what he thinks are beautiful art pieces, and he indeed showed great skill, though he was told that his works only consisted of mashing colors. Seeking to cure his son of his condition, Roy's father, a famous optometrist, became determined to create a device that would allow Roy to see color fully. The device would be in the form of Prisma goggles, but Roy would not receive this gift until after his father's death. Unfortunately, the goggles didn't resolve the issue as instead of fixing Roy's vision, it fired rainbow project beams that can make him turn invisible, make people blind, and even affect anyone's emotions.
Angered that he would not be able to pursue a career in art because of colorblindness, Roy decided to turn to a life of crime instead, taking on the persona of "Rainbow Raider", and would embark on a crime spree where he would mostly target art galleries, where he would stealing different paintings, as he believed that if he couldn't appreciate great works in art then no else will. He would eventually get into conflict with the superhero known as the Flash, becoming one of his many adversaries and a part of his rogues gallery. One time while in a partnership with Doctor Double X, Rainbow Raider also fought Batman. After he was imprisoned in Belle Reeve, he joins a villainous gang called the Color Queens Gang, which consists of Crazy Quilt, Dr. Light, Doctor Spectro, and Multi-Man.
He was later freed from Belle Reeve by Neron, a demon-lord from Hell who gifted him a candle of great power, only for The Trickster to swap it with a rubber chicken, thus robbing Rainbow Raider of the opportunity to receive greater power. He was eventually killed by Blacksmith, and following his death a group of color-themed meta-humans dubbed themselves the 'Rainbow Raiders" in honor of the late Flash villain. Rainbow Raider was later revived as a Black lantern (albeit temporarily) during the events of the Blackest Night.
New 52[]
Roy returns in the reboot continuity under the alias Chroma. He was first seen in Keystone City aiding his partner Tar Pit in assaulting jewelry stores.
Chroma was present when Central City had been taken over by Gorilla Grodd and his army of apes. When Tar Pit, Girder, and Chroma appealed to Grodd for a share of control of the city, Chroma was brutally murdered and had his head mounted on a pike.
DC Rebirth[]
Due to universal meddling by Doctor Manhattan, the timeline was flexible and changes to history rippled across the world. Among the inexplicable changes was that Bivolo was revived, now going by the alias Rainbow Raider.
Rainbow Raider was first seen attacking the airport of Central City, then strolling in Zandia, and later robbing jewelry stores with Tar Pit until they were both stopped by the Flash.
In other media[]
Television[]
Arrowverse[]
- Main article: Roy Bivolo (Arrowverse)
- Main article: Carrie Bates
A female version of Rainbow Raider named Carrie Bates debuted in the seventh season of the TV series The Flash in the season's 12th episode "Good-Bye Vibrations". Like her Earth-1 counterpart, she is a colorblind thief who exhibits similar powers to the former and can induce Euphoria, leading her to be nicknamed "Rainbow Raider 2.0". However, unlike her mainstream incarnation, she was a Collections Officer, who was fired for cancelling debts instead of collecting them. She was portrayed by Jona Xiao.
Teen Titans Go![]
- Main article: Rainbow Raider (Teen Titans Go!)
DC Extended Universe[]
Rainbow Raider appears in the web television podcast series, The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus, which is a sequel to the 2023 film The Flash. He is depicted as a struggling painter-turned-international art thief who travelled on a multi-colored beam before being arrested and forced to participate in the gladiatorial competition known as the Midnight Circus, where he faced off against Doctor Alchemy but was killed when the latter turned him into salt with the Philosopher's Stone.
Videogames[]
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure[]
Rainbow Raider appears as a character summon in the game.
Lego Batman[]
Rainbow Raider as he appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
Rainbow Raider appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham as part of the "Rainbow Raider DLC pack". While he has a minor role in the game, he aided Brainiac in his mission of using the rings of all the Lanterns to shrink planets to miniature size for Brainiac to steal and collect.
Movies[]
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies[]
Rainbow Raider makes a cameo appearance, where he and several other villains terrorized the United States after the Teen Titans changed the past/backstories of the members of the Justice League so as to erase the superhero team from history, though the Titans realized their mistake and undid the damage they had caused, restoring everything back to normal.
Miscellaneous[]
Batman: The Brave and the Bold[]
Rainbow Raider appeared as a minor one-shot antagonist in the 14th issue of All-new Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Like his mainstream incarnation, he teamed up with Crazy Quilt and Doctor Spectro in coloring the snow during Christmas but are thwarted by Batman and Blue Beetle.
Reception[]
Rainbow Raider has not been well-received by critics, with Heavy.com listing him amongst the worst supervillains of all time while Francesco Marciuliano from Smosh.com listed the character as having one of the worst supervillain gadgets of all time.
Trivia[]
- Rainbow Raider's name is a pun on the acronym "ROYGBIV", a mnemonic for the colors of the Rainbow, hence his rainbow-like abilities.
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