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Rick Clawson hated his father with a passion. His dad had never spent much time with him,
choosing instead to stay out all hours of the night without any
explanation. When his parents divorced, Rick's mother began drinking
heavily. She eventually died of alcohol poisoning and Rick blamed his
father, calling him a murderer. Rick left home at the age of seventeen and took a job as a waiter in a sleazy restaurant,
hoping to never see his father again. One night, Rick was awakened by the sounds of shattering
glass. He rushed to his front room where he saw the crumpled form of his
father laying beneath the broken window. His dad was dressed in a tattered costume of red and gold, and Rick suddenly realized
why his father had never been home at night. Rick's father was actually
the famous Captain Thunder, a costumed crusader of the 60s and70s. The dying man grasped Rick's arm and pulled him close.
Rick began to feel a surge of energy flow throughout his body. His
muscles swelled and tore his shirt. And far off he heard the faint
sounds of approaching sirens. "Take the power, son. Continue the fight. I...love ...you.."
his father whispered as the life flowed out of his body. Hearing the sirens get closer, Rick quickly removed his
father's costume in hopes of preserving his secret identity. He threw
the costume in a wastebasket, fumbled for some matches, and began to burn it. Rick wasn't really sure what he was doing; it was
all happening so fast. But he figured that his father had either done
something dreadfully wrong, or that he had been killed in a battle with some
supervillain. The front door burst open and a young rookie raised his
gun. "Stop where you are!" he shouted, but something inside of Rick told
him to run. He rushed out through the back and down the fire escape, pushing aside garbage bins and fleeing through the dark maze of alleys at incredible speed. When he finally stopped
several miles away, he began to weep. What was happening to him? The next day, Rick's picture were plastered all over the
newspapers he was apparently wanted for the murder of his father. Rick's public hatred for the man served as the perfect motive,
and his own reaction upon the arrival of the police made him a prime
suspect. He decided to go to the only people that he thought would
understand: the Protectors. Telepathic inquiry into Rick's subconscious proved that he was convinced that he was innocent.
Unfortunately, though the Protectors were confident of Rick's innocence,
no other evidence was discovered, and the team realized that their own techniques would never hold up in court. Thus, the
Protectors decided to help Rick create a new identity that would be free
from the hounding of authorities and allow him to use his new powers.
Rick Clawson was no more. In his place, ready to continue his father's fight against crime, stood the Renegade.
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