Jim Raynor

"James Raynor was the most decent man I ever encountered during the fall of the Confederacy. Everyone else, I can safely say, was either a victim or a villain or quite often both. At first glance, Raynor seems like a backwoods cowboy, one of those good old boys swapping lies about the days gone by. There's a cocksureness, an overconfidence about him that makes you bridle initially. Yet over time you come to see him as a valuable ally and-dare I say it?-a friend. It all comes from belief. Jim Raynor believed in himself and believed in those around him. And from that strength came the strength that allowed him and those who followed him to survive everything else the universe threw at him. Jim Raynor was a most decent and honorable man. I suppose that's why his is the greatest tragedy in this godforsaken war."

- Michael Liberty

James "Jim" Raynor was a Terran Confederate marshal from Mar Sara, who became one of the major figures in the Koprulu Sector through his work to bring down the Confederacy and, later, in the struggle against the Confederacy's successor, the Dominion. Raynor is one of the few Terrans to engage in a long-term alliance with the Protoss.

Raynor was voiced by Robert Clotworthy in StarCraft I.

Early Life
Raynor was taught outdoor skills such as hunting and shooting by his grandfather, skills which would later prove useful as a marshal. In his early days, he also learned how to describe plots for potential colony use as well.

Raynor married a woman named Liddy who bore him a son, Johnny. Johnny was "gifted" with psionic powers, and as a result was taken to a "special school". A few months later, Raynor and his wife received a letter claiming their son had died in an "incident". Liddy never recovered from the shock of losing her son, and soon wasted away and died of the flu. Raynor buried himself in his work to escape his losses.

By 29 years of age, Raynor was a law-enforcement marshal and a member of the colonial militia on Mar Sara.

The War Begins
"Howdy, boys. I'm Jim Raynor, Marshal of these parts."

- Raynor introducing himself to the Mar Sara colonists

In December 2499, in the wake of the Protoss attack on Chau Sara and the beginning of the Zerg incursion on Mar Sara, Raynor received orders from the Confederacy to escort Mar Saran colonists to the relative safety of the colony's outlying wastelands. Here he was partnered with the local Magistrate, with whom he would share a close working relationship with.

While safeguarding the colonists, the evacuation base received a distress signal from Backwater Station. Edmund Duke ordered the colonials to ignore it, saying that Alpha Squadron would handle it. However, Raynor believed that Confederate forces would be unable to respond in time, and set off with the militia to relieve Backwater in defiance of orders. Along the way they rescued reporter Michael Liberty at New Anthem, who then joined the party. Arriving at Backwater they successfully drove the Zerg from the immediate area and destroyed a nearby Infested Command Center. However, this put them at odds with Duke. Raynor and his men were subsequently arrested for destroying government property and taken to the prison ship Merrimack. He would not remain imprisoned for long.

The Sons of Korhal
Michael Liberty and a Sons of Korhal task force boarded Merrimack and rescued Raynor and the Mar Saran militia. Thoroughly dissatisfied with the Confederacy, and with the Protoss sterilization of his homeworld imminent, it did not take Arcturus Mengsk much to persuade Raynor and the militia to join the dissident group. Raynor was awarded the rank of captain and assigned to lead the newest unit of the Sons of Korhal, unofficially named "Raynor's Raiders".

Raynor led a raid on Jacobs Installation to access the Confederate network and retrieve what he believed to be weapon designs. Inside he discovered live Zerg in captivity and was horrified when he realized that the Confederacy had known about the Zerg but decided to keep that knowledge secret.

Antiga Prime
The Sons of Korhal then withdrew to Antiga Prime, a border world whose colony was on the verge of revolt but effectively suppressed by Alpha Squadron. Together with Mengsk's second in command, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan, Raynor freed the colony by destroying the local Confederate detachment.

Shortly afterwards, General Duke's command ship, Norad II, crash landed after a Zerg attack in orbit and then besieged by Zerg forces on the ground. Raynor, under orders from Mengsk, unenthusiastically rescued the general, an act that directly precipitated General Duke's and Alpha Squadron's defection to the rebellion. Shortly afterwards, the Sons of Korhal used a psi-emitter to lure a wave of Zerg to attack the Delta Squadron detachment sent to retake the colony.

With the Sons of Korhal preparing to evacuate the planet, Raynor may have led a force to rescue the remaining colonists. During the battle, the Protoss and Executor Tassadar arrived and made contact with the Terrans, possibly even providing timely assistance. Raynor and the Sons of Korhal escaped from Antiga Prime and made their way to Tarsonis. The Protoss then sterilized the planet.

Tarsonis
Prior to their invasion of Tarsonis, the Sons of Korhal held a conference. Raynor remarked that he was "impressed" by Duke's strategy of frontally assaulting the central of the three primary orbital platforms, although he may have been being sarcastic. Once above the Confederate capital, General Duke led the attack to break through to the surface. The means in which the rebellion would defeat the Confederacy became clear when Duke planted and activated psi-emitters on the secured platform by order of Mengsk. With the memory of the psi-emitter's effects on Antiga Prime still fresh, Raynor and Kerrigan protested, but were rebuffed coldly by Mengsk.

The Protoss predictably arrived at the heels of the Zerg but the efficient Protoss threatened to prevent the Zerg from delivering the fatal blow to the Confederacy. Kerrigan was dispatched to defend the primary Zerg hives from the Protoss at New Gettysburg. Raynor could not convince Kerrigan to refuse the order. He would later regret not accompanying her.

Raynor's Raiders
With Kerrigan's mission a success, the Zerg suddenly began to attack her forces. To Raynor's disbelief, Mengsk ordered the Sons of Korhal to withdraw, abandoning Kerrigan and her troops instead of evacuating them. This callousness led Raynor, the Magistrate (now ranked as the Commander), and the remnants of the Mar Sara Colonial Militia to sever their ties with the megalomaniac Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal; Raynor's Raiders were now a rebel movement of their own. The Raiders fought their way from Tarsonis, destroying the Ion Cannon, before escaping out of the system with the hijacked Mengsk's personal flagship Hyperion and numerous other vessels.

Char and Protoss Friendship
Several weeks after raiding the Dylarian Shipyards, Raynor was drawn to Char by the psionic emanations of Kerrigan. The Raider's established themselves on Char, avoiding conflict with arriving Dominion forces led by Duke, but were overrun by the Zerg led by, much to Raynor's surprise and shock, a very much alive and newly "hatched" Infested Kerrigan. Kerrigan allowed Raynor to flee but the psychic connection between the two remained. However, Raynor and the surviving Raider's were temporarily stranded on Char when Kerrigan attacked the Raider's ships. Hyperion was able to escape by making a risky emergency jump. Tassadar's forces arrived and began destroying the "infested" ships including escaping shuttles and escape pods. Raynor kept this knowledge from his men.

Raynor used his tracking skills to find Tassadar and, later, Zeratul. Despite initial animosity the three decided to cooperate out of necessity and fight the Zerg together, using Raynor's psychic connection to Kerrigan to aid them. The mutual respect built between the the Raynor, Tassadar, and Zeratul would be pivotal in the continuing struggle. However, the motley force of Templar, Dark Templar, and Raider's were soon forced onto the defensive, with Tassadar's forces and Raynor ending up surrounded on an orbiting platform. There they awaited reinforcements which came in the form of a Protoss fleet from Aiur sent to arrest Tassadar. The newcomers opted to join Tassadar instead. With the return of the Hyperion, the Raiders accompanied their Protoss allies back to Aiur.

Aiur
Upon their arrival at Aiur they linked up with Fenix who was rallying forces to resist the Zerg invasion. Fenix would become another of Raynor's close friends. However, the Protoss Conclave arrested Tassadar, and Raynor and the Raider's helped to free Tassadar and, with Zeratul's timely reappearance, unite the Protoss factions against the Zerg. Raynor's Raiders were then instrumental in the destruction of the Overmind.

The Brood War
The death of the Overmind caused the Zerg to rampage, killing 70% of Aiur's population. The only realistic option was for the Protoss and the Terrans to leave the planet through a Warp Gate to Shakuras. Raynor and Fenix remained behind covering the retreat, and for a time both were thought lost by their comrades. Both survived and managed to establish an enclave on Aiur. Raynor and Fenix rescued Mengsk from the United Earth Directorate at the request of Infested Kerrigan, who was no longer under the influence of the Overmind. Assembling on Tarsonis the four forged an uneasy alliance against the UED.

Raynor helped Kerrigan destroy the UED's Psi Disrupter and retake Korhal for the Dominion. After the victory on Korhal, Kerrigan promptly turned on her puppet allies. Fenix's death at Kerrigan's hands dashed Raynor's hopes that she had "reformed". Convinced of her treacherous nature Raynor vowed to one day kill Kerrigan in righteous vengeance.

Post-Brood War
Not long after the Brood War, Raynor became affiliated with the Alliance, ascending to the rank of General and becoming leader of the organization. This let to an excessive ammount of time behind a desk however, which didn't do his physical state any favours, as demonstrated in a mission to Dylar IV. Raynor was able to rectify the situation however, given that he was later able to personally take part in another mission, this time on Braxis.

StarCraft II
Four years after the Brood War, Raynor is still active in the Sector, leading the mercenary/freedom fighting organisation, Raynor's Raiders against the Dominion. He will be "the central hero and character of the Terran campaign."

Raynor returned to terran space to lead a resistance movement against the spreading power of Arcturus Mengsk's Terran Dominion. Over the years this fight hasn't gone well. Arcturus Mengsk has used his greatest weapons – oratory, the media, and propaganda – to marginalize Raynor's efforts.

Raynor's Raiders remain public enemy number one to the powerful Terran Dominion. Mengsk sees Raynor's continuing existence as a challenge to his authority. However, Mengsk is also wary of creating a martyr by having Raynor assassinated, and so he has taken steps to keep Raynor and his followers constantly hunted and harried and deny them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength.

Years of skirmishing with the inexhaustible resources of the Dominion has whittled down Raynor's forces to a shadow of their former selves. Raynor has had to resort to occasional mercenary work just to garner enough funds to repair and rearm in the short term. Keeping his outfit running means that additional mercenary jobs will likely be needed in the future. Freedom isn't free.

Today Raynor seems to be losing faith: he's drinking heavily and blames himself for Kerrigan's being taken by the zerg. His hatred for Arcturus Mengsk has become a festering wound. Raynor's first officer, Matt Horner, still believes in him and in the revolution even though some of Raynor's doubts are spreading to his crew. Horner has done a lot to keep things going over the years, always having faith that Raynor's innate heroism will resurface and lead the rebels to victory.

Raynor is a good leader and an excellent tactician although he lacks any formal training or background. He has learned his skills through experience, and so he is unfettered by preconceived notions of what "the book" says is the right or wrong approach. Raynor will seldom plan things out in very much depth, but he has an excellent ability to improvise and turn the tables in a situation by using whatever he has at hand.

Raynor is also a man with a past. He is a known associate of notorious convict Tychus Findlay, the pair of them having served together in the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion "Heaven's Devils" during the Confederacy/Kel-Morian Guild Wars almost twenty years ago. Their first meeting was in the brig at Camp McIntyre while serving 30 days apiece for insubordination.

Both men were listed as missing in action for almost nine months after a reconnaissance mission into Kel-Morian territory in the latter stages of the fighting on Mar Sara. Findlay was later turned over to the Confederacy by the Kel-Morians as part of a prisoner exchange after hostilities ceased. He was promptly incarcerated for desertion under fire. Exactly how Raynor managed to avoid Findlay's fate and land a job as marshal is unknown.

Hidden Missions
Raynor's efforts to help Antiga Prime's colonists flee the planet was supposed to have been the premise for a mission in the original game. However, in the interest of keeping each campaign to a ten mission length, this mission was cut.

StarCraft: Ghost
Robert Clotworthy was hired to voice act for Raynor in StarCraft: Ghost. Other StarCraft characters such as Infested Kerrigan or Zeratul were not projected to play an important role in the game.

Battle.net
As of October 9th 2005 the Battle.net Web Site contained a hidden image of Infested Kerrigan saying "Help me Jim Raynor...you're my only hope!". The animated GIF image and the text can be found at the bottom of the main page. In order to reveal them the user has to click the round object above the Blizzard image (this doesn't work with all browsers).

Screenshot Easter Eggs
Jim Raynor has turned up in a number of StarCraft II screenshots. His in-game unit model will look different from his appearance in the Easter eggs.

World of WarCraft

 * Main article: Lord Marshal Raynor

A character similar to Raynor appears in World of Warcraft.

StarCraft
Raynor appeared in StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War as three unique units.

In Episode I he was first depicted piloting a Vulture hover cycle, and later as a Marine during the raid on Jacobs Installation. In Episode IV he was represented by the battlecruiser Hyperion.

In Brood War he also appeared in all three forms but was not a playable character. The only exception was during the first mission of Episode IV, also notable for being the only time players could command an invincible hero.

Quotations

 * "Guess you wouldn't be a Confederate if you weren't a complete pain in the ass." (Jim Raynor to General Edmund Duke in Backwater Station, upon being arrested by the latter.)


 * (Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk discuss General Duke joining the Sons of Korhal.)
 * Jim Raynor: "I can't believe you're really going to trust this snake!"


 * Arcturus Mengsk: "Don't worry, Jim. He's our snake now."

Inspiration and Personality
Jim Raynor was created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney. He is based on the undercover police officer of the same name in the film Rush. Chris Metzen and Robert Clotworthy based his character in part on an image of a space cowboy riding a hover cycle.

Clotworthy describes Raynor as simple, honest, direct and passionate. He does what is right, even if it's the difficult choice. He won't go looking for trouble, but he won't run if it comes looking for him. Clotworthy gave him a quite, raspy voice to signify that he is a "badass"; it is up to the others to shut up and listen to him.

Chris Metzen describes Raynor as an "honest cop in a universe full of demigods walking around." He has no superpowers and isn't the brightest guy, but he's just a cool cat and doesn't give up.

Raynor is one of the very few major Terran characters in StarCraft to be fundamentally good throughout the game. Even when he assisted Infested Kerrigan, it was to overthrow the UED, which he suspected would enslave all three races in the sector (in essence, he chose what appeared to be the lesser of two evils). Raynor is also the only major Terran leader closely associated with, and trusted by, the Protoss.