Name: Rip Hunter
Universe: Earth-1
Alter Ego: Ripley "Rip" Hunter
Occupation: Scientist, Professional Time-traveler
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: The Forgotten Heroes
Base of Operations: Northern California
Known Relatives: None
Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 175 lbs.
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Blue
First Appearance: Showcase #20

History:
Rip Hunter and his pal Jeffrey Smith were at college working on their doctorate when they formulated a theory of time travel and began work on their first time sphere. They were hoping for a grant to help them complete their work, but they had a brilliant rival in John Charles James, who was creating a new type of rocket engine.

The one thing that stood in the way of success for Rip and Jeff was the need for a power element that would not melt. Miraculously, they found it on a slag heap. Years later, James stole their backup time sphere in an attempt to change the past so he would win the grant. Rip’s team stopped him, but it appears a power element was lost from the stolen sphere – and was the very one Rip later found. Thus, James actually insured his defeat rather than stopping it.

Having won the grant, Rip and Jeff continued working on the sphere. Just what they did while experimenting on the first sphere is not recorded, but after earning their doctorates, they found a way to duplicate the power element and built a second sphere. By this time the team had been increased by the addition of Bonnie Baxter, a recently graduated history major, and her kid brother, Corky.

After a shakedown cruise to the Mesozoic Era – the Dinosaur Age – they set up business, making time journeys to clear up historical puzzles. The sphere contains their Encyclo-Matic, a computer filled with historical data they may need. Eventually, they added uniforms with various devices they could use in emergencies. Most important are the speech-translation disks that allow them to converse with people of every era and country.

The group appears to have been independently wealthy, as they usually charged nothing for quests in the interest of science.

Finally, with new improvements, Rip Hunter began the ultimate journey – to the birth of the universe! But when he and his crew arrived, they found a strange temple. An unearthly noise struck their ears and all passed out – to awaken back in their own time, incredibly aged!

Eventually, they were contacted by Immortal Man, who was recruiting for the Forgotten Heroes. It seems Vandal Savage had discovered the temples all these heroes had seen and was making use of them. Rip and his crew accompanied Superman into the past to destroy the first temple, which also destroyed the rest, and Rip and the others were restored to their proper ages.

Powers:
Rip has no extraordinary powers and no remarkable weapons. He is, however, quite strong and agile, as are all his crew. (Jeff is a bit taller and more muscular.) He can perform amazing acrobatic feats and is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He is also a crack shot with the pistol he uses in emergencies – though he has not been known to kill with it. His greatest resource, though, is his brilliant mind.