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James Eugene "Jim" Raynor is a former terran marshal turned rebel, who has 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.
Jim Raynor was born a farm boy on Shiloh. In his youth, he was taught outdoor skills such as hunting and shooting by his grandfather, skills which would later prove useful as a marshal. The first eighteen years of his life were spent entirely on his homeworld, working on the farm.
Raynor was good at both schoolwork and working farm equipment, and learned how to drive multiple vehicles such as the vulture and became an expert demolition player for the Centerville team. His father taught him how to brawl, and to stand up to bullies. Raynor would later say that his father taught him where to draw the line, rather than to take a stand.
The Heaven's Devils
Enlistment and Training
By 2488, the Terran Confederacy had been embroiled in the Guild Wars for three years. Resources were rationed, taxes were rising, and the military began to more aggressively recruit young folk, including Tom Omer, one of Raynor's friends.
While waiting in his truck for fuel, Raynor encountered Hank Harnack, a rival demolition player. Harnack cut him off, prompting Raynor to beat him up. Later that day, Gunnery Sergeant Farley helped convince Raynor to join the Confederate Marine Corps. His parents objected, but eventually relented and accompanied him to his enlistment and affirmation in Centerville. Raynor had expected to be elated at the prospect of leaving his planet, but only felt a sense of dread. To make matters worse, he immediately ran into the bully Harnack again, who hassled him and made his position clear, leading to the other recruits ostracizing Raynor (including Omer) so as to not get caught up in their feud. Corporal Thaddeus Timson tried to keep them apart. The two exchanged beatings. Still, Raynor's standing up to Harnack did earn him the respect of his fellow recruits, who began talking to him.
Eventually they (and Omer) ended up on the troopship Hydrus, where they would be shipped to the warzone planet of Turaxis II for basic training. Raynor was taken aback at the poor conditions, surprised to learn that despite the high taxes levied in the war, the Confederate military was still short of quality equipment. During the journey, hundreds of convicts intended for a little-known Confederate reform program broke out and began fighting. Harnack called one a freak, prompting several to attack him. Raynor jumped into the fray and fought alongside Harnack, while Omer won money betting on them. Raynor and Harnack then became friends.
Raynor, Harnack, Omer and twelve other recruits rode in a dropship to the surface. However, it was shot down, killing the pilot and seriously injuring a recruit, Santhay. Raynor immediately took charge, helping move Santhay. Eventually they were rescued by Master Sergeant Hanson, who was impressed with Raynor's in-field leadership skills. The recruits were transported to Turaxis Prime for training, during which Santhay succumbed to his wounds. Raynor began to wonder what he'd got himself into. That it was announced that training was being shortened didn't help matters.
During training, Raynor was made a "recruit sergeant" and led the first squad of 2nd Platoon, D Company. Harnack was also in the squad, and so fell under his command. While on a punishment detail with Harnack, he made the acquaintance of Ark Bennet, an Old Family scion who had been kidnapped and sold to the military under the name "Ryk Kydd". They tutored him in a lifestyle away from the Old Families.
On the night before their graduation, Raynor, Harnack and "Kydd" visited the town of Braddock, ready for some R&R. One thing led to another and they got drunk and fell into a bar brawl. They tried to escape by stealing a vulture but got caught by the police. However, they were released from the drunk tank the next day without incident. Before graduation, Raynor managed to get in touch with his parents, who tried to hide how poorly things were going for them financially despite the enlistment bonus they'd received. It was nice to know his parents were okay, but Raynor felt uneasy.
Upon graduation, Raynor, Harnack, Kydd and numerous others were sent to Boro Airbase by air and then to Fort Howe by truck, where they made the acquaintance of Max Zander. Raynor noticed the adverse effect the war was having on the planet's population, and while he gave away his rations to starving children, he knew it wasn't enough, and knew that Shiloh could meet the same fate. Before long, the convoy was attacked by Kel-Morian Hellhounds and scattered. Their driver called the nearby Firebase Zulu and assigned Raynor to lead two squads of marines by foot while the others used the two remaining trucks. While hiking however, the sounds of battle to the south being heard, he realized that the flow of traffic had stopped. He ordered the squads to double time to the firebase.
At the site, Raynor took command of his squads, operating under the designation of "Zulu 23." He took Kydd and Zander into taking a sniper post and launching an attack which captured some Kel-Morian APCs. However, Raynor noticed Tom Omer suffering severe injury during the fight. Meanwhile, Raynor contacted Captain Senko at Zulu and kept him apprised of the situation. The Kel-Morians were driven off, though Omer was heavily wounded in the fighting and later died. Raynor offerred comfort in his last moments.
- Jim Raynor in an interview.(src)
At Fort Howe, Raynor was promoted to lance corporal for his leadership qualities. However, he and his squad were frequently given boring assignments, such as handling supplies at Supply Depot 7. A soldier ranked private, looking for equipment to resupply himself, was disappointed when Raynor told him to return hours later. The large soldier, recently imprisoned and demoted Tychus Findlay, tried to intimidate him, with little success. When he grabbed Raynor's shirt, Hank Harnack came to his rescue. Findlay had to admit defeat and leave.
Unfortunately for Raynor, Findlay had caught the attention of Howe's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Javier Vanderspool, who promoted him to sergeant and put him in charge of Raynor's squad. Findlay confronted them, but they were interrupted by Vanderspool's announcement of a Kel-Morian attack. Raynor suggested heading to the armory. There they noted Confederate marines loading civilian-driven trucks with valuable supplies. Raynor, Findlay and the others captured the trucks. However, Findlay took the opportunity to "pursue the enemy" out of the base; in practice, he intended to steal the loot, which he hid in Whitford. Findlay tricked Raynor into agreeing with a division of spoils, but consented to return the less valuable truck to keep up appearances.
The newly-promoted full colonel Javier Vanderspool, leader of the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion, a mixed-force unit of marines and rangers, created within it a Special Tactics and Missions Platoon. Lieutenant Marcus Quigby (whom Raynor was unimpressed with) was put in charge, and Findlay would lead the first squad within, which consisted of Hank Harnack, Ryk Kydd, Jim Raynor, Connor Ward, and Max Zander. Petty Officer Lisa Cassidy, a medic, became associated with the platoon, along with Hiram Feek, an engineer. Feek developed the CMC-230 "Thunderstrike" armor, designed to allow controlled descents from dropships. The platoon members were all expected to learn how to use the devices.
The truck thieves, including Raynor, arranged to sell the loot. The deal went through fine, but shortly afterward they were attacked by hijackers, which the squad defeated.
Quigby was unpopular with the platoon, especially Cassidy. She drugged his water, causing him to embarrass himself in a demonstration in front of his father. She was unofficially punished for this act, while Quigby was transferred elsewhere. This put Findlay in charge, at least temporarily.
Zander used his earnings to buy food and give it away to refugees. Ward and Feek accompanied him to Finner's Crossing. While there, they were kidnapped by Silas Trask's gang, although Feek was able to escape and warn Raynor. Findlay and the others were drawn into the rescue attempt. Raynor suggested the countryside wasn't as empty as it appeared, so people would know about the captures. Raynor and Findlay bribed Hurley, a bar proprietor, for a map. While there, Raynor and Findlay exchanged life philosophies.
Raynor's plan worked: Trask was killed and his gangsters defeated. Realizing Hurley had ratted them out to the gangsters, Findlay nearly beat him to death. Raynor was forced to pull him off.
The Heaven's Devils' Legend Begins
Colonel Vanderspool planned an attack on a Kel-Morian military base, Kel-Morian Internment Camp-36 where hundreds of Confederate prisoners of war were being kept. He invited a former P.O.W., dropship pilot Clair Hobarth, to the briefing, where she gave them information about the camp and its commander, Overseer Hanz Brucker (aka "Brucker the Butcher").
The platoon was to train at "Camp Crash" for the assault. Raynor wasn't particularly skilled in the use of his Thunderstrike armor.
Feeling guilty about the truck theft, Raynor came up with a plan to help with the assault. Believing the P.O.W.s would be weak and slow, Raynor would infiltrate the camp and organize them. He would disguise himself as a captured Kel-Morian Hellhound pilot, Ras Hagar, and memorized as much information about him as he could. Vanderspool agreed to drop him off a day early.
"Hagar" met Brucker at his dinner, where numerous starving P.O.W.s were forced to watch and play music. Brucker realized that Raynor was a fake, however, and left the room to get help. Raynor took the opportunity to warn the prisoners. Brucker stormed back into the room with guards, who imprisoned Raynor. He was interrogated first about the upcoming attack by Brucker and Dr. Moller, and then about neural resocialization, something Raynor knew nothing about. Cole Hickson, another Confederate soldier from a different unit, was tortured alongside him and also questioned about resocialization. Hickson taught Raynor to "hide" in "spider holes" within his mind. Raynor believed he would have died or gone insane if it wasn't for Hickson.
Eventually the two were tied to posts outside, in front of the other prisoners. This made it easier for the Thunderstrike-equipped platoon to rescue them. However, the rescue mission went awry when the Kel-Morians chased off the extra dropships. Raynor suggested stealing Kel-Morian ground vehicles and driving into the disputed zone instead. A saber command car was stopped, and Overseer Brucker was wounded and captured. While administering medical treatment, Lisa Cassidy poisoned Brucker.
A large convoy of vehicles left the camp, carrying the former prisoners. Raynor, high on stimulants provided by Cassidy, led the way in a vulture. They were attacked by the Snakehead Kommando but were able to defeat them with help from Confederate reinforcements. The attack was considered a great victory, but at the cost of about half the platoon.
The Battle of Polk's Pride
Colonel Vanderspool intended to capture a strategic resource depot in Polk's Pride, formerly the second most populated city on Turaxis II. The city was divided by the Paddick River into a north section (now dominated by the Kel-Morian Combine) and a south section (controlled by the Terran Confederacy). The Confederacy had tried to invade the northern section twice previously, but each time failed to cross the river.
The Heaven's Devils platoon, now led by Lieutenant Samantha Sanchez, would follow right behind a large number of neurally resocialized troops led by the battalion's senior NCO, Master Sergeant Rockwell. Vanderspool devised a plan for crossing the river which worked. However, the Kel-Morians put up stiff resistance. Raynor watched as large numbers of resocialized troops were killed off.
Sanchez was killed by an enemy sniper. Sniper Ryk Kydd vowed revenge but needed his friends to draw fire for a little while. Raynor did so, and was nearly killed by a shot to the head. Kydd took the opportunity to finish off the other sniper.
At the repository itself, Master Sergeant Rockwell sent a large number of resocialized marines to their death. When he criticized their uselessness, Raynor lost his temper and punched him out. The combined Confederate forces, meanwhile, achieved victory. UNN reporter Max Speer took their picture.
Raynor was arrested, demoted to private and jailed for a month for assaulting Rockwell. While serving his sentence, Hiram Feek frequently visited him. One day, he warned him of Colonel Vanderspool's treachery; the Devils' suits had been sabotaged. Feek discovered and fixed the suits. Feek also promised him a black, skull-faced suit. Meanwhile Vanderspool plotted a theft of ardeon crystals from Korsy's train system, with the collusion of Errol Bennet (father of "Ryk Kydd") and Kel-Morian Overseer Aaron Pax. Kydd and Max Zander brought the information to Tychus Findlay, who plotted to steal the crystals from Vanderspool.
Vanderspool's force, including Raynor's platoon and a large number of neurally resocialized troops under the command of Lieutenant Fitz, disguised themselves as Kel-Morians and landed at Korsy's small starport. Raynor's platoon swept the western part of town, freeing citizens held captive by the Kel-Morians. They linked up with Vanderspool's force at the train station, and were ordered to stand in front. The train arrived, but Pax had double-crossed Vanderspool. His ripper force nearly won the battle, but Hank Harnack's flamethrower turned the tide. The train rushed away, taking away all the treasure, but Pax remained with some rippers. Vanderspool tried to kill the Devils by locking down their suits, but due to Feek's counter-sabotage, the move failed. Fitz was ordered to take Cassidy prisoner. Raynor and company managed to escape, steal several of Vanderspool's vehicles, and use their vehicles to pin them and the Kel-Morians inside the station.
Kel-Morian sloths cut off the platoon's retreat toward the starport. During the battle, Connor Ward was killed, while Vanderspool escaped with some troops and personally slew Max Zander. At the starport itself, Harnack was killed when he set a lake of fuel on fire.
Vanderspool arrived, but not under his own power. He and Cassidy had been captured by Overseer Pax. A firefight broke out, resulting in the deaths of both Pax and Cassidy and the wounding of Vanderspool. The colonel begged for his life, even offering to reunite Ryk Kydd with his father, to no avail. Vanderspool tried to take Pax's gun, but Raynor stepped on his hand, breaking it. Then Raynor shot him in the chest.
Raynor, Findlay, and Kydd abandoned the military thereafter and the duo was charged with manslaughter in absentia. Findlay and Raynor stuck together while Kydd went his own way. Little communication was exchanged so they couldn't be traced. Over the years, the pair familiarized themselves with various ships and vehicles, often raiding shipyards to ditch their current ships for new ones. During this period, Raynor learnt of his father's death.
Following the war, the pair became outlaws, conducting a series of heists over the years all across the Koprulu sector. One of their most regular targets was the Shale Express, hitting it at least a dozen times. Not even the deployment of outriders could stop them.
Early in their career, in 2489, the pair were cornered on Haji by Confederate forces led by General Sol Kervock. Buildings around them were burned, causing casualties, but the pair escaped. The pair then brazenly stole a pair of Confederate vultures and began rescuing civilians caught in the fire. As the civilians rallied to them, the two even captured General Kervock. They released him, but Kervock plotted revenge along with his subordinate Ternas Shan and troops disguised as civilians. They ambushed the criminal duo, but the plan failed as the civilian populace killed many of them. Shan took the opportunity to murder Kervock. The duo were charged with Kervock's murder.
Like buying us drinks, women, and steak dinners.
That’s a good start."
- Findlay and Raynor on one of their New Sydney heists(src)
In 2489, the pair established themselves on New Sydney and resided there for the next five years. Based in the Badlands, the two developed a routine of seizing Confederate credits (and in Raynor's case, antiques such as a Colt Single Action Army and jukebox), spending them and beginning the cycle over. A great deal of this spending was carried out at Wicked Wayne's, said spending mainly revolving around women and booze and becoming mutually acquainted with the staff in the process. This worked to their advantage as well when Marshal Wilkes Butler began hunting them in 2492, the staff never ratting them out. The pair had many encounters with the marshal over the years, but always managed to slip away. They managed to keep to a moral code during this time, never harming bystanders and usually disabling guards rather than killing them, George Woodley being a case in point of the former. During this period, Raynor always sent some of his loot to his mother on Shiloh. However, according to a message sent by old family friend Myles Hammond, Karol wasn't accepting the money. He also urged Raynor to return to his homeworld to discuss certain matters. Not sure what to make of it, Raynor refused, ordering Hammond to ensure that his mother took the credits.
Hammond wasn't the only individual intent on contacting Raynor however, as the outlaw heard from Findlay not long after. Their criminal activities had caught the attention of crime lord Scutter O'Banon, who wished to hire their services. Raynor wanted nothing to do with the man however, having heard of O'Banon's savage reputation and his drug smuggling operations. The two agreed to remain solo for now, and Findlay suggested hitting Horley Barton Station for a shipment of crystals. The two stole a pair of planet-hoppers and by fixing the transponders onto their vultures, sent a pursing Butler forty killometres into the middle of nowhere. The two bluffed their way through the station and with a freighter full of crystals, headed to the moon of Hermes to meet their contacts.
As a meeting in the Pit revealed, said contacts were a pirate group called the Screaming Skulls. Business was conducted and another offer was made, one which would involved the outlaws getting a significant share of profits and a new partnership. Raynor and Findlay accepted and headed back to New Sydney. However, they couldn't stay long—one of Wicked Wayne's employees sold the pair out to the authorities, and the two were forced to retreat to their Badlands hideout. Weighing their options, they decided to do a mission for the Skulls, then find a new planet.
- Tychus Findlay(src)
Given a starship of their own by the Skulls, Raynor and Findlay headed for Refurbish and Recovery Station 5034, posing as junk dealers. Their objective was to board the station, get access to the private offices and steal the port junker logs. During the trip, Raynor received a set of co-ordinates on his fone—Hammond still wanted to contact him on New Sydney.
The pair passed through the check-in station without a hitch, but upon docking, the doors were sealed. They realized that the Skulls had set them up for a fall. Making their way through the station, they heard the screams of what sounded like Hiram Feek and Clair Hobbarth. Following the sounds, they came across a hologram of Rykk Kydd, strangled to death by an unknown assaliant. The same assaliant who had killed Feek and Hobbarth, recording their deaths also. A bounty hunter by the name of Ezekiel Daun. Daun, using the holograms to spook the outlaws, had been hired to kill them and had already killed everyone on the station to achieve that goal. A gun battle ensued that developed into a brawl, but while the outlaws had the advantage in numbers, Daun's cybernetics gave him advantages of his own.
The pair ended up retreating, Findlay manually opening the docking bay doors while Raynor prepped their freighter. Both succeeded in their tasks and Findlay made it onto the freighter without too much vacuum exposure. In the aftermath, Findlay told Raynor rumors of what he'd heard about Daun and stated that their only remaining option was to head for Deadman's Port and take up the offer O'Banon had made to them. Raynor wanted to head back to New Sydney to get in touch with Hammond, but, shaken with his encounter with Daun, bowed to Findlay's reasoning. The two thus set a course for Dead Man's Rock.
Arriving at the city and selling their freighter, the pair were greated by Edward Baines—the one who had made O'Banon's first offer to Findlay on New Sydney. They were taken to O'Banon's mansion and met the man himself. In light of Daun's pursuit of the duo however, the deal was changed somewhat—O'Banon would give them protection, but in return, he'd have the greater share of the profits per job. Initially this worked out well, as the pair were able to walk freely through Deadman's Port and had access to a wide variety of goods and services. Findlay stripping naked in the middle of a stage performance, and giving a 'performance' of his own, was one such case in point. Fortunately, intoxication prevented Raynor from remembering most of it.
While Findlay was okay with life under O'Banon, his friend remained uneasy. Daun weighed heavily on his mind, as did the deaths of Kydd, Feek and Hobbarth. Drug running for O'Banon got to him as well, as was the crime lord's use of torture. Added to which was Hammond's message on New Sydney (the one that he'd missed) and soon, his status in Deadman's Port had lost its appeal. Through a middle-man, Raynor managed to receive a message from Hammond, who revealed that his mother was dying, with only a few weeks to live. After some soul searching, Raynor resolved to head back to Shiloh. Findlay was against it—O'Banon had given them a job, and he was tired of Raynor complaining about their benefactor. The two men almost came to blows, but Findlay eventually relented, seeing how important heading to Shiloh was to his friend. He agreed to drop him off there and give him a day to conduct his business.
Return to Shiloh
- Trace Raynor's final message to his son.(src)
Raynor returned to Shiloh and met up with Hammond, where he learnt of the dire straits of his parents, his homeworld and Hammond's intent to move to Mar Sara. He then reunited with his mother, who had contracted cancer from shipping material that had been used to store old Confederate rations as part of the Confederacy's half-hearted efforts to help its people recover from the Guild Wars. She then showed him a recording his father had made on his death bed, whose words explained why the Raynors had never accepted their son's money, along with their shame at the path he had chosen. Raynor was filled with shame and stayed with his mother until she died, which didn't take long.
Afterwards, Raynor said his farewells to Hammond, who promised to take care of Karol's affairs and reminded Raynor that he'd be welcome on Mar Sara. Afterwards, as he returned to orbit with Findlay, Raynor reflected on all that had transpired, and how the life he'd led over the last five years had lost its appeal even further.
- Raynor is further rattled by Daun(src)
The job O'Banon had given Raynor and Findlay was to take place on Halcyon. Their mission was to extract Doctor Andrew Forrest from is facility. O'Banon ran drugs and rather than snaring the drugs themselves, he'd ordered the duo to extract the person who knew the formula of a new drug called utopia. Posing as doctors, the two took part in a tour conducted by Forrest and made contact with him at the earliest opportunity. The doctor had arranged this ahead of plan and was ready to leave. What none of them had planned for however was a power outage caused by a re-emerged Ezekiel Daun. Forrest was killed, but once again, the pair were able to escape with their lives, along with a sample of utopia. Raynor was rattled even more than we was after their first encounter and was skeptical that O'Banon could, or would do anything about it.
It was skepticism that had merit—O'Banon was unimpressed by their failure to extract Forrest and effectively skimmed over the fact that part of the terms of their employment included him keeping Daun off their tails. Peeved, Raynor drowned his sorrows and reflected that if O'Banon did live up to his end of the bargin, it would still end up costing him more than he bargained for. And all the while, his father's words played in his head. Still, as Raynor reflected, saying something was a lot easier than actually doing it. On his part, Findlay wasn't entirely opposed to the notion of ditching O'Banon, but pointed out that their exit strategy had to be well planned. And in the meantime, the crime lord had another heist planned that, if done right, could set the pair up for life.
- Findlay sacrifices his freedom for Raynor(src)
O'Banon's heist was to be carried out against the Covington Bank on Bacchus Moon alongside more of the crime lord's followers, most notably Ash Thompson. On the moon, they made contact with their contacts, who gave them the gear they would need to conduct the heist. However, their situation was further complicated by the presence of Wilkes Butler, who was attending the Interstellar Marshals Convention. They managed to shake his trail however, but during a dry run of the bank, ran into George Woodley—recovered from his encounter with them on New Sydney. As such, the heist had to go ahead then and there. Still, it worked initially, with the patrons being sedate at gunpoint and spiders and the outlaws gaining easy access to the vault. However, to Raynor's horror, the money was intended for Farm Aid's charity work, and Findlay had known this all along. The two dissolved into bickering and fed up with their slow progress, Thompson used the spiders to kill the patrons then and there. This was the straw that broke Raynor's back and he reneged on his employment for O'Banon then and there. Thompson and his cronies opened fire, but Raynor and Findlay emerged the victors, though Raynor suffered a gunshot wound in the process.
The pair made their escape to the penthouse above the bank as part of their escape plan, but were slowed down by Raynor's wound and a third appearence by Daun, who managed to corner them. Content in imminant victory, Daun revealed that it was a still breathing Javier Vanderspool that had put the price on their heads, as well as the rest of the Heavens' Devils. However, Daun's overconfidence got the better of him and Raynor managed to shoot him, downing him. A victory of sorts, but potentially a hollow one, as the authorities were closing in on their position. Making ammends for his previous deception, Findlay held them off long enough for Raynor to escape. Even nearly a decade later, Raynor would feel to be in his friend's debt for this sacrifice.
- Raynor's final words to Vanderspool(src)
Remembering Hammond's offer, Raynor visited his friend on Mar Sara. Hammond, now the colony's magistrate, offered him the position of marshal in return for clemency, seeing Raynor's background as a useful commodity for a life in law enforcement. Raynor told him he'd consider it, but first, there was something else he had to do. Something that he'd been planning ever since he'd escaped Bacchus Moon. And after months of planning and research, he finally managed to gain access to that something—Javier Vanderspool, confined to an iron lung after his wound in Korsy, but still malignant. The two men confronted each other, six years of mutual loathing bubbling to the surface. Vanderspool tried to bribe Raynor, even begged him to spare his life. Raynor would have none of it however, knowing that Vanderspool was still as dangerous as he was back on Turaxis II and would always be so, he shot Vanderspool dead. Not in anger, but in justice. Remembering his father's words, Raynor left the Colt on what had become Vanderspool's coffin and walked away. He could be who he chose to be.
- Jim Raynor reflecting on his old life.(src)
After his ordeal with Vanderspool, Raynor returned to Mar Sara. At Janine's, he met Liddy, the two quickly warming to each other. They married soon afterwards and settled down as a couple. After their son, John was born, Jim Raynor accepted Hammond's offer in 2496—Hammond accepted, making Raynor a marshal and erasing his army record. The new marshal's reputation was such he never had to shoot any criminals. Raynor's criminal record and connections made it difficult for other lawmen to trust him.
Lidya made Jim promise to always stand up for what he believed in.
John was considered "gifted" with psychic powers by the Tarsonis Institute of Health and Researchand in 2498, requested the Raynors hand over their son. Jim didn't like the idea, but Lidya believed Jim's distrust of the Confederacy was unwarranted. Months later, they received a letter from the institute saying John had been killed in a shuttle accident. Lidya, blaming herself, died of grief.
The Great War
- Raynor introducing himself to the Mar Sara colonists(src)
Raynor was 29 years old when the protoss attacked his world's neighbor, Chau Sara, sparking the Great War. In the wake of the attack and the beginning of the zerg incursion on Mar Sara, Raynor received orders from the Office of the Colonial Magistrate to escort the core Mar Saran colonists to the outlying wastelands. Here he was partnered with the new Magistrate of the colony, with whom he would share a close working relationship.
While safeguarding the colonists, the evacuation base received a distress signal from Backwater Station. Alpha Squadron commander 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 to relieve Backwater in defiance of orders, the Magistrate sending in some militia as support. During a lull in the battle, he rescued Universe News Network reporter Michael Liberty at Anthem Base, 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 Confederate property and taken to the prison ship Merrimack.
The Sons of Korhal
- Mengsk to Raynor after the latter's rescue.(src)
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 Rangers". He became acquainted with young Matt Horner, then second-in-command of the Cormorant, a Sons of Korhal merchantman which had assisted in the evacuation of Mar Sara.
Raynor led a raid on the 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. In the aftermath, Raynor was ferried to the Hyperion, where he watched the protoss bombard the planet. He was sickened at the sight.
The Antigan Revolution
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. Along with a team of SoK members, Raynor and Liberty were assigned on a mission to free the Antigans from Alpha Squadron's grip. En route to the Confederate command center, they met Mengsk's second in command, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan.
The meeting didn't go well. Raynor's first thoughts towards Kerrigan were desirous, but as she was a ghost, she could read his mind, and wasn't impressed by what she saw in it. Upon learning of Kerrigan's telepathic abilities, Raynor's attitude towards her soured in turn, as Kerrigan was a product of the Ghost Program. The same program that he'd lost his son to. Nonetheless, the mission was a success. The Antigans rose up and allied with the Sons of Korhal, and the local Alpha Squadron detachment was destroyed.
Shortly afterward, Duke's command ship, Norad II, crash landed after a zerg attack in orbit and was then besieged by zerg forces on the ground. Raynor, under orders from Mengsk, unenthusiastically rescued the general, an act that directly precipitated Duke's and Alpha Squadron's defection to the rebellion. It was at this point that unease began to swell within Raynor. Although he believed in Mengsk's cause and felt indebted to him for his rescue from the Merrimack, he was uneasy at what Mengsk was asking of them.
The Trump Card
So the Zerg are here for you, darlin'? This keeps gettin' better and better.
- Kerrigan and Raynor at a briefing(src)
In the last days of Antiga Prime, Raynor, along with the rest of the Sons of Korhal, learnt of the arrival of the Confederate Delta Squadron and how the Sons of Korhal would use a psi emitter to send the zerg against the Confederates, allowing the rebels to escape the planet.
With the Sons of Korhal preparing to evacuate the planet, Raynor led a force to rescue the remaining colonists. During the battle, the protoss and Executor Tassadar arrived and made contact with the terrans, even providing timely assistance.
Push toward Tarsonis
Coffee would be nice. Talk too. Yes. Talk would be good."
- Raynor and Kerrigan after leaving Antiga Prime(src)
Departing the planet, Raynor was disturbed, courtesy of Mengsk's hunger for power and his growing lack of scruples. Kerrigan was faring little better, haunted by her role in drawing the zerg to the planet. The two headed for the ship's galley for talk and coffee. Despite his history with telepaths, Raynor possessed genuine sympathy for Kerrigan. Sympathy gave way to mutual friendship and they grew close. At some point, Raynor was given or obtained a vidsnap of Kerrigan.
Mengsk had noticed the improving relationship between Raynor and Kerrigan, and in the interim period between Antiga Prime and Tarsonis, dispatched them on a number of missions. The first involved Raynor with a Sons of Korhal team to the single moon of G-2275, in order to obtain goliath designs. Kerrigan, who had been at the facility the following year, was also present. The raid was successful.
Next, Raynor and Kerrigan were sent to raid a science facility on Orna III. Kerrigan, who knew her way around the facility, pretended to be a ghost who had arrested the criminal Raynor. The deception worked. Several scientists and all the test subjects were rescued. The corrupt scientists were killed and the facility destroyed. Afterwards, Raynor offered her a drink and a real date at Sam's Place. One thing led to another, and the two gave into their emotions. That night, as they lay in bed, Kerrigan made Raynor promise that if the darkness in her ever went out of control, she would stop it.
Despite this, their relationship became strained over the issue of Mengsk. Raynor had come to realize that Mengsk was no better than the government he was trying to overthrow, that his rebellion was based more on a lust for power than justice. Kerrigan conceded part of the point, but still remained convinced that Mengsk could bring about a better future for humanity. She voiced her misgivings, wondering whether they should have ever begun a relationship at all. These were words that Raynor would reflect on for years.
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. Once above the Confederate capital, General Duke led the attack to break through to the surface. Raynor, alongside Kerrigan and Liberty, found himself fighting tooth and nail in the streets of Tarsonis City. The means with which the rebellion would defeat the Confederacy became clear when Mengsk ordered Duke to activate psi-emitters on the secured space platforms. Raynor and Kerrigan protested the unleashing of the zerg on the Confederate capital but were coldly rebuffed by Mengsk. Raynor later brought his objections personally to Duke and Mengsk, coming to blows with the former. Anticipating trouble, he began gathering his men together. Raynor was angered and frustrated when Kerrigan was dispatched to defend the primary zerg hives at New Gettysburg from the pursuing protoss; Mengsk feared the protoss would prevent the zerg from delivering the fatal blow to the Confederacy. Raynor could not convince Kerrigan to refuse the order and later regretted not accompanying her.
- Raynor after his defection.(src)
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.
Raynor refused to obey orders, and he and Michael Liberty gathered the Rangers for a rescue attempt. They were intercepted on Hyperion by General Edmund Duke, and neurally resocialized marines using their stimpacks. Duke was prepared to arrest Raynor for mutiny, but was surprised by Liberty who injured the general with a needle gun. Duke's marines let the Rangers pass as they bore an unconscious Duke to a medical center. Horner was one of the first men to join Raynor as he left.
Raynor attempted to rescue Kerrigan with a dropship but could not locate her. With the situation on the ground deteriorating, he instead evacuated a number of human troops. Mengsk's callousness led Raynor, the Commander, Liberty, and the remnants of the Mar Sara Colonial Militia to sever their ties with the megalomaniac Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal.
Raynor was picked up by the former Confederate battlecruiser, the Thunder Child, on his way from Tarsonis. Raynor's Rangers, now known as Raynor's Raiders, had become a rebel movement of their own. The Raiders fought their way from Tarsonis, destroying the Ion Cannon, before escaping out of the system.
Although Liberty and the Commander left the Raiders, Raynor did not find himself without company. He had originally expected to be down to a handful of troops. Instead, virtually every member of his unit followed him, and even a few from outside it. Raynor soon found himself the head of a small army. But an army required transport, so to obtain it, Raynor led a raid on the Dylarian Shipyards, obtaining a number of transport vessels and the Hyperion itself. In the aftermath however, Raynor found himself without direction. While he'd made a few strikes against the forces of the Terran Dominion, he was at a loss as to how to proceed, especially with so many looking up to him. And the recurring dreams he was having weren't helping matters...
Six weeks after the fall of the Confederacy, Raynor's dreams led him to Char. The Raiders established themselves on Char, avoiding conflict with arriving Terran Dominion forces led by Duke, but were overrun by the zerg led by, much to Raynor's surprise and shock, Kerrigan. She'd been calling to him via her telepathy, but now possessed no desire to return to her former life. Kerrigan allowed Raynor to flee but the psychic connection between the two remained. However, Raynor and the surviving Raiders were temporarily stranded on Char when Kerrigan attacked the Raiders' 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 his force) and, later, Zeratul. Despite initial animosity the three decided to cooperate out of necessity and fight the zerg together, aided by Raynor's psychic connection to Kerrigan; the mutual respect and friendship resulting from the alliance would be pivotal in the continuing struggle. Through the events that followed, Raynor gained an intimate knowledge of the zerg command structure, as well as of the history and differences in ways that binded together the Khalai and the Dark Templar.
However, the motley force of Templar, Dark Templar, and Raiders were soon forced onto the defensive, with Tassadar's forces and Raynor ending up surrounded. 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.
On Aiur they were joined by Fenix who was rallying forces to resist the zerg invasion. Fenix would become another of Raynor's close friends. Raynor refused to be idle when Tassadar was arrested by the Conclave, and brought the Raiders into battle to help free him. The rescue succeeded with the timely intervention of Zeratul's Dark Templar. Raynor's Raiders joined Tassadar in the final assault that destroyed the Overmind.
The Brood War
- Jim Raynor following the death of Fenix(src)
The death of the Overmind caused the zerg to rampage, killing seventy percent 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. The two survived, with a small group of refugees on Aiur. They managed to establish an enclave on Aiur near a warp gate. Kerrigan contacted Raynor and Fenix there, warning them about the new Overmind and the UED's plan to control it. Raynor begrudgingly rescued Mengsk from the United Earth Directorate, traveling through the warp gate, which then self-destructed. They did so at the request of Kerrigan, who contacted them again on Shakuras. Assembling on Tarsonis, the four forged an uneasy alliance against the UED. Together they rescued the remains of the Dominion fleet from 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 allies. Enraged and convinced of her treacherous nature, Raynor vowed to one day kill Kerrigan in righteous vengeance. In the aftermath of the Brood War, a grieving Raynor said his farewells to Zeratul on Shakuras, then vanished.
- Raynor's vow of vengeance against Kerrigan(src)
Raynor continued his activities against the zerg after the Brood War. On Braxis, he personally took part in a mission alongside protoss forces led by Praetor Taldarin in order to de-infest the resurrected Alexei Stukov.
At some point Raynor became affiliated with the Alliance, rising to the point of general and taking part in a mission on Dylar IV, though his time at a desk job did not do his physical state any favors. At some point he attempted an attack on Kerrigan, trying to make good on his vow to see her dead during the Brood War. However, this attack failed.
In the end, exhausted and disillusioned, Raynor knew that his chances of achieving vengeance against Kerrigan were slender at best. He returned to terran space to lead the Raiders against the spreading power of the Dominion.
Raynor networked and struck alliances with various anti-Dominion groups, including the Kel-Morian Combine, which he and his "mob" visited c. 2502. The Combine became very protective of this friendship. Raynor would frequently hide out on zerg-infested worlds.
The War Pigs
In 2502 the director of the Dominion Internal Security Division, Tamsen Cauley, targeted Jim Raynor for assassination. Cauley believed this would increase his power, and contracted the outlaw War Pigs to do it. En route, the War Pigs' minds were read by Dark Templar. The Dark Templar warned the outlaws not to harm Raynor, before delivering a warning to Raynor about the impending attack. Raynor's Raiders were hiding on Urona Sigma, a zerg-infested world, within a water-access-only tunnel system. The protoss believed the planet to be lost, and the Raiders planned to leave before the purification.
The War Pigs were captured by the forewarned Raiders. The War Pigs were led by Cole Hickson, Raynor's old friend. Raynor still trusted Hickson and left himself open to attack. Unknown to Raynor and the War Pigs, Hickson was altered by a subconscious form of neural resocialization to kill Raynor. As Raynor explained his relationship with Hickson, Hickson tried to shoot Raynor with a pistol. Raynor recognized Hickson's resocialization. The assassination was interrupted by a zerg attack. Raynor, separated from his crew, was forced to team up with the War Pigs. Together they escaped to the surface, with the War Pigs sealing the way behind them. However, Hickson ambushed Raynor again. Raynor made Hickson remember his sanity-saving techniques and the resocialization procedure. Hickson, overcome with stress, fell to the ground screaming.
The protoss only purified the area away from Raynor and the War Pigs (which was also the area of heaviest zerg concentration). While Raynor and the War Pigs prepared for the end, Romy Pyrius took his "best" drugs. Lars Trakken, unable to contain his hatred of Cole Hickson, descended to the surface with a dropship full of Cerberus heavies. He offered to take Hickson but leave the rest of the War Pigs. Raynor noted the odd behavior – Trakken could have just let the purification kill them – and proposed a ruse which would enable them to steal the dropship. They pretended to hand over the unconscious Hickson. While Trakken was distracted expressing his rage, Hickson awoke and began grappling with Trakken as Raynor and the War Pigs began killing Cerberus troopers. Then the zerg appeared on the battlefield. Pyrius rescued Hickson and injured Trakken, causing the latter to fall to the zerg. However, Pyrius was killed during the escape.
Raynor and the surviving War Pigs made it to the General Lee, where Raynor revealed he believed the protoss were not attempting to kill them, but instead knew what was coming and had simply let the situation play out.
Prelude to the War
- Arcturus Mengsk(src)
Raynor's fight against the Dominion did not go well, Mengsk utilizing the state-controlled media, oratory and propaganda to marginalize Raynor's efforts. With Raynor and his faction viewed as a terrorist organization and "public enemy number one," Mengsk took steps to keep Raynor and his followers constantly hunted and harried and deny them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength. While Mengsk refused to have Raynor assassinated in fear of turning him into a martyr, he forced Raynor to take up mercenary work to make the cut. That a price of 500,000 credits had been put on his head for crimes of mass murder, terrorism, sabotage, rebellion, incitement, grand larceny, piracy and sedition didn't help matters either. He was especially unpopular amongst Dominion marines, who would use his visage for target practice on firing ranges. Recruitment drives demonized him in a similar manner.
Four years after the Brood War, Raynor was still active in the Sector, though had begun losing faith, drinking heavily and blaming himself for Kerrigan's being taken by the zerg. His hatred for Arcturus Mengsk became a festering wound. Horner still believed in him and in the revolution even though some of Raynor's doubts were spreading to his crew. Horner did a lot to keep things going over the years, always having faith that Raynor's innate heroism would resurface and lead the rebels to victory. And all the while, there was the matter of Kerrigan. Those who knew Raynor best knew that one part of the rebel wouldn't stop until she was dead. And that the other part refused to let go. Raynor's feelings about Kerrigan changed over the years, in part because she had been away and wasn't continually stoking his anger.
Second Great War
Return to Mar Sara
- Michael Liberty's transmission to Raynor(src)
Raynor returned to his old home on Mar Sara, digging up mementos and reminiscing about his wife and child. He then turned up at Joeyray's Bar, where he watched a news report about the Terran Dominion annexing Mar Sara. Raynor admitted to the bartender that he wouldn't stop fighting until his ghosts lay silent.
Raynor listened to a UNN newscast by Kate Lockwell as Mengsk described him as a terrorist. An angry Raynor shot one of the TV screens, then confirmed with his adjutant that the Raiders were in position to liberate Mar Sara. Raynor personally led the assault on Backwater Station, where the Dominion was enslaving civilians and forcing them to work in a mine. The station was liberated and Mar Sara declared independence from the Dominion.
Not long after these events, Raynor reunited with his old friend, Tychus Findlay, at Joeyray's Bar. His companion offered him a business proposition to "liberate" alien artifacts from the Dominion to sell to the Moebius Foundation. After some bargaining, Raynor agreed. They were successful in recovering an artifact. Not long after this however, the zerg launched an invasion of Mar Sara. Raynor and Findlay escaped on the Hyperion, but learned from Horner that the invasion of Mar Sara was simply part of a wider zerg offensive against terran space. Caught up in the conflict, Raynor was presented with the choice of answering a distress call from Agria or retrieving another artifact located on Monlyth.
Note that some overlap may be present for the following sections, which have been grouped through a combination of 'sagas' and DVD order.
The Colonists of Agria
- Raynor to Hanson(src)
The Raiders aided the world of Agria, which had been abandoned by the Dominion. After the evacuation, Doctor Ariel Hanson joined the Raiders. Hanson developed romantic feelings towards Raynor over the course of her stay, but Raynor was clueless to this.
Raynor helped Hanson's people again on Meinhoff and they found new sanctuary on Haven. Suddenly, all communications were cut off, and upon arrival, Raynor discovered why—a protoss force under Executor Selendis had arrived, knowing that the colonists were infected. Hanson however, maintained that she was close to finding a cure for the virus and both Hanson and Selendis vied for Raynor's allegiance.
Raynor decided to aid the colonists and fended off the protoss. Afterwards, Hanson decided to stay on Haven to help her people. She tentatively offered Raynor a new life on the world, but the rebel maintained that he had to finish what he'd started—his revolution against Mengsk. Hanson revealed her affections, but accepted Raynor's decision.
Raynor decided that the colonists could not be saved and agreed to purify Haven himself. Hanson saw it as a betrayal, and locked herself into the lab. The infestation was terminated, although a problem appeared into the lab. Raynor was forced to hunt and kill an infested Hanson.
On Monlyth, the protoss present, the Tal'darim, refused to turn the artifact over to Raynor and to make matters worse, the Zerg Swarm had arrived with the intention of retrieving the artifact as well. The Raiders managed to retrieve the artifact, prompting an annoyed Infested Kerrigan to contact Raynor. She would not forget his perchance for resourcefulness a second time.
Raynor once again encountered the Tal'darim on Xil, a world that housed a xel'naga temple, succeeding where the Moebius Foundation failed and retrieving the artifact inside. Findlay was pleased with the catch and the pay it would bring, but Raynor was less enthusiastic, wondering if retrieving the artifacts was worth his men's lives.
Tidings of Doom
One protoss who wasn't interested in achieving vengeance on Raynor was Zeratul, who confronted the rebel on the Hyperion. He warned of an impending disaster and how Kerrigan was the key to preventing it. Raynor received an ihan crystal containing the dark templar's investigations. Zeratul implored the rebel to study it before swiftly departing.
Raynor followed Zeratul's demands, and saw Zeratul's encounter with Kerrigan on Ulaan, learning of a prophecy which was later deciphered by preservers on Zhakul. Seeing a vision of the Overmind given to Zeratul by Tassadar's spirit, Raynor learned of the impending threat of the hybrids, and that Kerrigan was the only one who could save them.
Despite Kerrigan's apparent role as saviour, her role in the present was anything but. She attacked the Moebius Foundation base at Tyrador VIII, intending to learn the location of the artifacts. However, Doctor Emil Narud hired Raynor's Raiders to destroy their data cores before Kerrigan could get to them. Afterward, Raynor suffered from a depression, blaming himself for what had happened to Kerrigan.
- Jim Raynor(src)
Gabriel Tosh contracted the Raiders to retrieve jorium-rich minerals from Redstone III and then terrazine from Bel'Shir, a move which aggravated the Tal'darim forces present on the world. Afterward, Matt Horner received a transmission from an unknown source, explaining terrazine's uses to enhance ghosts into spectres and accusing Tosh of being a threat to Raynor. Tosh admitted to being a spectre, but claimed the transmission came from the Terran Dominion in an attempt to divide them. Raynor agreed to let the matter pass, but wasn't sure if he could trust Tosh. Finally, Tosh tried to hire Raynor for a new mission: rescuing prisoners from New Folsom Prison. However, Nova, a Dominion ghost, contacted Raynor and told him Tosh wanted to rescue former spectres and turn them loose. They would invariably turn into psychopaths. She offered to turn over ghost technology to Raynor if he would instead attack Tosh's operation. Raynor had to choose whom to trust.
Choosing Tosh's word over that of a Dominion assassin, Raynor directed the attack against the prison, releasing its prisoners. Horner was jubilant at the release of Mengsk's political opponents, while Tosh was far more cynical, reasoning that even if Mengsk was overthrown, another dictator would take his place. Raynor still believed in Horner's vision, but realized that vengeance against Mengsk was all he had left.
Unable to trust Tosh and fearing the release of psychopathic spectres across the Sector, Raynor sided with Nova. His forces attacked Tosh's Goons at Avernus Station, destroying his spectre-creation facilities. Contacted by Tosh, Raynor watched as the spectre attempted to use voodoo on him, but it affected someone else. Threatening Tosh, who was feeling safe 6 light years away, Raynor watched as Nova sneaked from behind and killed him.
Hearts and Minds
- Matt Horner to Jim Raynor(src)
Horner told Raynor about an opportunity on Tarsonis—the Dominion was excavating old Confederate technology there and moving it via lightly-defended trains. They planned a train robbery, giving them access to a Confederate adjutant. The adjutant considered Raynor a criminal and would not give up information, but Raynor knew of an old contact of his, Colonel Orlan, who was an expert at decrypting computers. However, Horner's "wife", Mira Han, knew that Orlan had double-crossed him. She offered the services of her mercenaries, but only if Raynor could meet her price before Orlan did. Raynor was able to do so, and the combined mercenaries and Raiders force defeated Orlan and captured him. He was forced to hand over the adjutant, which had recorded a conversation between Mengsk, Raynor and Kerrigan when he betrayed her.
Han had another tip for Raynor: the Dominion was testing a new weapon of war, the Odin, at Valhalla. Raynor and Horner decided to steal it; they could use it to deliver the Confederate adjutant's information to the Dominion citizenry. The mission was successful; Tychus Findlay stole the Odin and used it to destroy five Dominion bases. The Dominion was unaware of the nature of the attack and had no idea their weapon had been subverted. Finally, the Odin was transported to Korhal, where Findlay took it on a rampage. During the battle, the Raiders uploaded the adjutant's information to UNN towers. This prompted Dominion civilians to revolt.
While assaulting Korhal, the Raiders destroyed a science facility which held information about a secret installation on Castanar. Raynor led a small force to raid the installation, using the security overrides to get past obstacles. Finding a protoss/zerg hybrid cloned over and over, Rayor destroyed the facility's fusion reactor, but released a powerful hybrid and was forced to run from the facility using a Hercules dropship.
Dealing with the Devil
"Because I can offer you what you've always wanted. A chance to rescue Sarah Kerrigan..."
- Raynor confronts Valerian(src)
Raynor pressed on, capturing yet another artifact from Typhon XI. When he took the Hyperion to the Moebius Foundation meeting coordinates, they instead encountered Dominion ships led by the Bucephalus, Mengsk's flagship. Against Horner's advice, Raynor ordered Hyperion alongside for a boarding action. Raynor and Tychus Findlay led the charge. The rebel leader broke into Mengsk's chambers intending to execute his long-time nemesis, and his pistol was loaded with a single bullet for the purpose. However, Raynor found Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk, who revealed he owned the Moebius Foundation, and the Raiders were unwittingly working for him. Furthermore, Valerian offered an alliance against the zerg; he believed a device could be created from the artifacts to deinfest Kerrigan. Raynor agreed to work with Valerian. This action provoked resentment from both Findlay and Horner, the former wishing Kerrigan dead, the latter thinking Raynor's emotions were clouding his judgment. Many other Raiders were also resentful of the alliance.
Raynor still pressed ahead, acquiring the final artifact from a xel'naga worldship defended by the Tal'darim Executor. He regained the respect and loyalty of the crew by beating a fully-armored Findlay in a bar fight, and convincing them that a successful revolution also required the zerg to be dealt with. The crew were particularly impressed by the resurgence of Raynor's determination 
The Return to Char
- Raynor addresses his crew(src)
Valerian intended to invade Char, a dangerous proposition. He took half the Dominion fleet with him, along with General Horace Warfield. Mengsk contacted him and told him he was in over his head. However, Valerian stood beside Raynor, telling his father he would defeat Kerrigan, something his father could never do.
Raynor's forces landed on Char, establishing a foothold. They also managed to rescue Warfield, whose battlecruiser had crashed onto Char's surface. Afterward, they had to decide which method they would use to weaken Kerrigan's reinforcements; Raynor proposed assaulting tunnels that he was familiar with, destroying the nydus network. Warfield preferred to attack a massive space platform over Char instead.
After weakening Kerrigan's forces, Raynor moved forward, taking the artifact near Kerrigan's primary hive. The artifact's power enabled it to destroy massive numbers of zerg, but Kerrigan's forces were still numerous and she herself attacked Raynor's base. Eventually the artifact completely charged up, unleashing its power, killing vast numbers of zerg and deinfesting Kerrigan.
By the time Raynor entered Kerrigan's hive, he was commited to what he was about to do— to save Kerrigan, and not look back. It was faith that was rewared, as Raynor and Findlay found Kerrigan deinfested. While Raynor was amazed to see her human again, Findlay, under orders from Mengsk, tried to kill her. Raynor stopped Findlay's attempt and shot him with his revolver, using the bullet intended only for Mengsk.
That was not you. That was the Queen of Blades. What they made you into. You’re back to being Sarah again. And we’re together now. So just hush, honey.
It doesn’t matter. Sarah Kerrigan, Queen of Blades...you don’t understand. Maybe you can never understand. I’ve always been a destroyer of things. Anything I touch, anything I care about...that’s why they picked me, Jim. Because I’m a destroyer of things..."
- Kerrigan and Raynor after the latter's de-infestation(src)
Raynor was left shaken by what had just happened, but nonetheless ordered that Findlay's body be left behind, so embittered he was by his friend's betrayal. Contacting Horner, he ordered that a dropship be sent to retrieve them—a task that wouldn't be easy, because while the zerg had just lost their queen, they were reverting to their primal instincts and ergo, were still a threat. Subsequently, Raynor took Kerrigan out of the hive, walking slowly across the battlefield and offering her comfort. However, Kerrigan had been severely weakened by the de-infestation process, and now in human form, found herself choking on Char's inhospitable air. Raynor had her protected by insulweave, but despite ordering his men to treat her like a human being rather than the monster she had once been, was left with similar misgivings himself. Yet at the end of the day, he was glad she was alive.
Making their way to the drop zone, Raynor and his fellow Raiders were forced to fight a running battle with the zerg, a task not made easy in that he had to carry and protect Kerrigan at the same time. Still, they managed to make it to the dropship, but had to land on the Bucephalus, to give Kerrigan medical treatment. The situation was tense on the ship, not helped by the level of distrust that still existed between Raynor and Valerian. To make matters worse, the undamaged half of the Dominion Armada arrived in the Char System, led by Arcturus Mengsk in the White Star. The elder Mengsk demanded that Valerian turn over Kerrigan, but he refused, for like Raynor, he knew of the prophecy that pointed to the need for Kerrigan's survival. In the ensuing battle, the Hyperion and Bucephalus managed to escape.
Raynor suggested hiding out at Dead Man's Rock, under Mira Han's protection. They hid their ships there and met Dr Emil Narud. Due to an ambush planned by one of Han's men however, the group had to flee again, traveling to Space Station Prometheus. There, Valerian and Raynor dined with their benefactor, but Narud betrayed them, revealing his true affiliation with Arcturus Mengsk. The rebel battlecruisers could not help due to sabotage from "repair teams," and to make matters worse, the Dominion Armada arrived in the area. Mengsk contacted the station, telling his son and enemy that he'd spare their lives in exchange for Kerrigan's. However, Raynor and co. managed to escape on their own terms, though Narud escaped with the artifact that had de-infested her. Escaping the station, Raynor accepted Valerian's offer of taking Kerrigan to a top-secret Umojan space platform.
Heart of the Swarm
- Raynor to Kerrigan(src)
Raynor became torn over Kerrigan's past actions as the Queen of Blades. On one hand he rationalized that she wasn't completely in control, but on the other he could not forget the crimes she had committed, including the death of Fenix.
Three weeks after the Battle of Char, Raynor wanted to take Kerrigan away from the research lab, ready to start a new life together. After a final test, the two met face to face. Raynor reassured Kerrigan that Findlay's death wasn't her fault, and that she was not the same individual as the Queen of Blades, the one who had slaughtered millions. He left to get suited up. Before he could return however, a Dominion force arrived, intent on terminating Kerrigan. He witnessed her eliminate her would-be assassins. The two fled the base, but were separated when the Archangel destroyed a bridge that Raynor had yet to cross. Raynor was captured by Nova. Mengsk publicly announced that Raynor was dead, but secretly kept him alive in case Kerrigan returned. He was transferred to the prison ship Moros, but was freed when Kerrigan and her swarm attacked the ship. Raynor was horrified and disgusted to see that she had willingly reinfested herself, condemning her for Fenix's murder, as well as the deaths of millions more. Kerrigan moved his gun to her forehead, and told him that he was the one who swore to kill her, but that he also had been the only person who ever believed in her. She asked him if he still believed in her. Raynor hesitated and then fired, shooting to miss. Kerrigan told him that she would always love him, but Raynor told her that they were done and walked out.
Raynor was placed in the Hyperion's medbay, but refused to talk to anyone. Events moved on ahead regardless however, as Kerrigan took her zerg to Korhal with the Hyperion following to provide evacuation for civilians. Raynor eventually came to realize that Kerrigan was not the same Queen of Blades she used to be after witnessing her intentionally hinder her own plans for the invasion of Korhal in order to minimize civilian casualties. He eventually decided to commit the Raiders to assist in her final attack on Mengsk's palace while Valerian and Horner continued with civilian evacuation. He managed to intervene in time to save Kerrigan before Mengsk could use the Keystone to kill her and crushed Mengsk's remote control. Kerrigan then finished off Mengsk by infusing him with psionic energy, causing him to violently explode, ending the tyrant's oppressive reign. Kerrigan thanked Raynor for his help as the Zerg Swarm departed Korhal, and departed with them. Watching her depart, Raynor commented that it had been his pleasure. And it always had been.
- Raynor, now a Dominion commander(src)
With the collapse of Mengsk's regime, Raynor directed his attention (and those of the Raiders) to rebuilding terran civilization in the Koprulu sector. He worked with Valerian to reform the Dominion, and ensure it had a just government. With Mengsk dead, and Kerrigan's mind freed, he readied his forces for Amon's coming. He was given the position of "commander" (or retained it) in the Dominion Armed Forces.
Legacy of the Void
"Fate ain't written Artanis. End this thing. Once and for all."
- Artanis and Raynor(src)
Attack on Korhal
Raynor was present at Korhal when the planet was caught in the war between the forces of the Protoss Protectorate and Amon. He led his forces on the Sky Shield space platform when it came under attack by Shadow Corps. Raynor was put on the defensive, as Shadow Corps damaged the platform's atmospheric stabilizers, sending the structure plummeting through Korhal's atmosphere towards Augustgrad. However, salvation came in the form of Golden Armada forces led by Artanis. Artanis provided aid to Raynor as he led the protoss against Shadow Corps, while Raynor's forces were able to repair the stabilizers.
Raynor was later present in Augustgrad, where he beheld the destruction the Shadow Corps had wrought on the city. He said his farewells to Artanis, who departed to fight the larger war that was coming.
Into the Void
Raynor remained to aid with the recovery of Augustgrad until shortly after the retaking of Aiur by the Daelaam. Summoned by Kerrigan alongside Artanis and Selendis, the four met to discuss the final destruction of Amon; who the Protoss had sent back to the void. Kerrigan revealed that a mysterious voice had been calling out to her since Amon's destruction. Originally believing it to be Amon himself, she later was able to sense that the force was benevolent and could be the key to destroying Amon. Bringing the Dominion with him, Raynor led the front alongside Horner on the terran's side of things as they descended into the Void. As their forces delved through the Void, Artanis stated that the voice was none other than the deceased Tassadar. Finding Samir Duran to be alive within the void, Raynor and his fellow commanders, being that of Artanis, Kerrigan and Alexei Stukov, descended through the void to defeat him and find the voice. Watching as Alexei finally took vengeance upon Narud/Duran, the source of the voice was revealed to not be Tassadar, but the Xel'naga Ouros. Revealing that he had used Tassadar's image to influence Zeratul on Aiur and to urge Artanis to find him; Ouros stated that Kerrigan was the only one who would be able to kill Amon.
Ouros stated that he would give his essence to Kerrigan and thus put an end to the eternal cycle of the xel'naga with his and Amon's death, though this revelation disturbed Raynor. Having witnessed Kerrigan mutilate and change her self several times, he urged Sarah to reconsider and find a different way, though she could not be swayed. Unable to talk her down, Jim resolved to protect her as she absorbed the xel'naga's power. Holding out against waves of void apparitions alongside Zagara and Artanis, Raynor's forces were ultimately tasked with ensuring that the greater plateau did not fall. Successful, Kerrigan ascended into becoming xel'naga herself.
Following Kerrigan as she delved further into the Void, Raynor and Artanis aided Kerrigan with destroying Amon's protective Void crystals in the final battle. Suffering losses as Amon quite literally ripped the ground from under them, the three forces were ultimately successful as it appeared Kerrigan sacrificed herself to destroy Amon.
Reunion and Farewell
- Raynor's parting words(src)
In the two years following the destruction of Amon, the Dominion entered into a Golden Age under Valarian and Horner. Finding himself back in Joeyray's Bar on Mar Sara two years later, Raynor found himself in reflection, alone. Looking at his badge, Raynor saw (or believed he saw) the return of Sarah Kerrigan, bearing the image of her pre-infestation self. Real or otherwise, Kerrigan asked if he was ready to leave, to which Raynor responded in the affirmative and headed out of the bar.
Whatever the truth of what happened, Raynor was never seen again—only his badge was found.
As of October 9th 2005 the classic 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
World of WarCraft
- Main article: Lord Marshal Raynor
A character similar to Raynor appears in World of Warcraft.
Jim Raynor stars as one of the heroes of Failoc-alypse, killing failocs as they rush by BlizzCon. As he gains levels he can fire more shots. In addition to the abilities of the other heroes (jumping and eventually double jumping, and dashing) he can charge up his rifle with energy; depending on how long he does this, he can clear the screen of failocs by firing a massive red energy beam. He can call upon Grunty the murloc marine for assistance.
In Brood War he also appeared in all three forms but was rarely a playable character. During the first mission of Episode IV Raynor was playable as a vulture, and was also notable for being the only time players could command an invincible hero. He reappeared in the secret mission Resurrection IV as a marine. Backed up by medics and capable of using a stimpack, he made a formidable hero.
Increases speed and rate of fire for a short time.
Gives each vulture three spider mines. Vultures cannot replenish their supply of mines once expended. New mines may only be created with new vultures.
Mines burrow where deployed and are not player-controllable. Each mine causes 125 damage and has 20 hit points. Mines do not benefit from any upgrades. Air and hovering ground units do not activate mines. Mines can sense and attack nearby cloaked ground units such as ghosts or dark templar even without the aid of a detector. They will not, however, reveal cloaked enemy units. It is possible for ranged units to pick out the mines before being hit.
|Armed with assault rifle.|
2 (Liberation Day, Piercing the Shroud), 1 (Belly of the Beast)
12 (Liberation Day), 16 (Piercing the Shroud)
Piercing the Shroud
Jim Raynor can only use this ability after picking up ammunition for the weapon. A shot deals 150 damage to its target.
Jim Raynor can only use this ability after picking up ammunition. The device slows down an enemy unit and hampers its attack rate. Each use of the device reduces the available ammunition by 1 point.
Jim Raynor plants an explosive device on a destructible doodad. After a brief delay, it explodes, doing minimal damage in an area of effect and destroying the doodad.
Jim Raynor can only use this ability while carrying grenades (any ground unit can pick them up). Using the ability uses up a grenade. It deals 100 damage in a small area of effect, and doesn't damage friendly units.
Belly of the Beast
Jim Raynor can fire a Mk 12 penetrator round, dealing 300 damage in a line.
Jim Raynor's regular portrait is available on battle.net for players who complete the Wings of Liberty achievement. His marine portrait is available for players who complete the Devoted Fan achievement by purchasing the Collector's Edition of Wings of Liberty. His "geek" portrait was briefly available in September, 2013.
Heroes of the Storm
The following Raynor collectibles are/were available:
A vinyl Raynor statue is available.
Raynor mini-figures based on his appearance in Heroes of the Storm will be released in May, 2015.
Personality and Traits
- Character description(src)
Raynor is 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.
Raynor developed a very close relationship with Tassadar, Zeratul and Fenix. His close relationship allow many protoss to consider him like a brother. From there he was one of the few terrans to gain widespread trust and respect amongst the protoss, to the point of some considering him a hero as well.
Raynor developed good leadership and excellent tactical acumen through practical experience; a lack of formal training allowed him to avoid the preconceived notions of "accepted" knowledge. Rather than plan in depth, Raynor is an excellent improviser able to achieve victory by using what is on hand. Zeratul recognized Raynor to be highly resourceful, and even Arcturus Mengsk considered Raynor a grave threat. He has a casual confidence in command that inspires others to follow him.
- Raynor has a B blood type.
- In a poll conducted by Blizzard Entertainment, Raynor was voted as "the most interesting man in the Koprulu sector".
- As part of Heroes of the Storm background gags, Raynor has a counterpart in the Antiverse. There, it was him, not Mengsk, who abandoned Kerrigan at New Gettysburg.
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. He is the "loneliest person in the universe" and his journey for redemption and rocky relationship with Kerrigan makes up the heart of the StarCraft universe in his mind. Metzen has hinted that Raynor's relationship with Kerrigan is drawn from personal experience, in regards to a man struggling with his own demons while saving a woman from her own.
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. Metzen and voice actor Robert Clotworthy based his character in part on an image of a space cowboy riding a hover cycle. In Metzen's words, Raynor was originally conceived as a space cowboy with "more space than cowboy." Clotworthy gave him a quiet, raspy voice to signify that he is a "badass"; it is up to the others to shut up and listen to him.
During development of StarCraft II, Chris Metzen considered portraying Raynor as a full-blown alcoholic. The idea was toned back, as he didn't want to portray Raynor as a man completely without hope. That aside, storyline that was cut from the game was a drinking problem for Raynor. Raynor would be shown to make mistakes even as the player successfully completed missions. Raynor would overcome his personal demons and find redemption. Such was Metzen's idea, but the development team reacted negatively, finding it unnecessary, citing issues of player empowerment.
A number of individuals have expressed confusion as to the nature of Raynor's personality in Wings of Liberty, how in regards to his relationship with Kerrigan, he had apparently drifted from his vow to kill her. Writer Brian Kindregan has defended the shift, arguing that it was unlikely that Raynor would remain in "emotional purgatory" for four years, that it would be expected his attitude would change over this time. However, he did concede that because players did not experience this shift with Raynor as a character, confusion could arise from the two personalities.
His middle name used to start with "C".
Raynor's original StarCraft II bio differs significantly from current accounts of his actions in the Guild Wars. According to early accounts, he first met Tychus Findlay in the brig of Camp McIntyre on Mar Sara. 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. Raynor succeeded where Findlay failed and escaped incarceration, eventually landing a position as marshal.