RAGMAN I (Unknown)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming and Pat Broderick

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Unknown
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Guardian of the Jewish people
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: Unknown
Base of Operation: 16th century Prague, Bohemia (today: Czech Republic)
Gender: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Unknown
Hair: Unknown
First Appearance: Ragman Vol. 2 #3 (December 1991): "The Folktale"
Creators: Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming and Pat Broderick

OVERVIEW

Czech Jewish hero of the 16th century. Using the same spell that created the legendary Golem and substituting rags for clay, a council of Rabbis created a mystical Jewish guardian, one which required a human host to bring it to life. The first Ragman has had many followers, and the current user of the costume is Rory Regan.

HISTORY

Jews made up a significant portion of the population in Prague (today the capital of the Czech Republic) ever since the 10th century. But that does not mean that they were always accepted in society. From time to time, there were European pogroms directed against the Jewish community after false accusations of blood libel and similar crimes. Violence against Jews was not uncommon. Seeking to create a guardian to protect and avenge his people, Rabbi Loew of Prague used his knownledge of Jewish mysticism in order to create a Golem – a supernatural defender made from clay and animated by the word "EMET" ("truth") inscribed on its forehead.

Eventually, a council of rabbis decided that the Golem was proving too dangerous and hard to control and wanted to replace it by a human agent. Using the same spell that created the Golem and substituting rags for clay, the rabbis created a mystical suit of rags which required a human host to bring it to life. The word "EMET" was inscribed into the cowl of the suit, and after a human host was choosen, the first Ragman was born.

This Ragman protected the Jewish ghetto of Prague for a number of years before the suit was passed on to a worthy successor. Thus, the suit was handed down through the ages until it ended up with Jerzy Regainiewicz, who emigrated to the U.S after failing to save the Czech Jews from the Holocaust. He "Americanized" his name to Gerry Regan, but never donned the Ragman suit again. After Regan was killed, his son Rory found the suit of rags and became the latest Ragman.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The suit of rags gives its host great strength, agility, invulnerability and the ability to levitate and teleport by dissolving into rags. The suit is powered by the souls of evil men which it has absorbed – each sould becomes a new patch in the suit – and acts as a sort of purgatory.

The suit has at least two safety features. The first is a vulnerability to fire, so that the Ragman can be stopped in case the suit ends up in the wrong hands. The second is an instinct to flee and protect the suit itself and its host in the face of overwhelming odds.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Ragman in chronological order click here