Twelve-year-old Elvin Haliday was visiting an unfamiliar neighborhood to trade some comic books with another boy when he was attacked by a gang of racist bullies. Elvin eluded them by hiding in the heavily polluted waters of Newtown Creek, but before he could climb out, Fisk Biochem workers dumped more illegal chemical waste into the creek, dousing him with it. Terrified and in pain, Elvin ran home to his only family, Granny Staples, and she nursed him back to health over a period of days. The boy recovered quickly, and in the weeks and months that followed, he went through a tremendous growth spurt that gave him a superhumanly powerful adult body. He was discouraged from seeking vengeance on his tormentors by the devoutly religious Granny Staples, who felt he should use his new powers for good. Fashioning a makeshift costume from a ski mask and a leather outfit, Elvin began operating as the super-vigilante Rage at the age of 14, targeting street criminals and drug dealers such as L.D. 50. He applied for membership in the Avengers, berating the team for their elitism and lack of visible minorities. Despite this obnoxious introduction, he was appointed a probationary Avengers reservist alongside Sandman after aiding the group in an otherdimensional mission. Though technically part of a substitute roster serving as backup for the active team, Rage was a frequent participant in Avengers cases, facing foes such as Ngh the Unspeakable, the Tetrarchs of Entropy, Doctor Doom, the Brethren, the Collector and Grotesk.
Eventually, during a conflict with Hate-Monger and his racist pawns, the Sons of the Serpent, the Avengers discovered that Elvin was still a child and demoted him to trainee status. During that case, Elvin met the New Warriors, who befriended him and later convinced him to help them steal an Avengers Quinjet for an emergency rescue mission. Expelled from the Avengers for this misconduct, Rage joined the New Warriors, becoming a mainstay of the group and forming a close friendship with Speedball. When the Poison Memories gang killed Granny Staples as part of a vendetta against the Warriors, Rage cold-bloodedly killed gang leader Kimeiko Ashu, though a judge later deemed his actions self-defense.
Warriors leader Dwayne Taylor (Night_Thrasher) and Dwayne's mentor Andrew Chord were appointed Elvin's legal guardians, and when Dwayne later had a falling-out with the other Warriors, Elvin left the team with him. Serving as mentors to the troubled super-youths Psionex for a time, Night-Thrasher and Rage eventually rejoined the Warriors, who began to drift apart as their members pursued differing goals. Rage has decided to concentrate on his studies at the Oatridge School for Boys and is only infrequently active as a super hero of late, though he has been willing to assist the Avengers and the Warriors against foes such as the Elements of Doom, Morgan Le Fay, Whirlwind, Taskmaster, A.I.M., Lord Templar and an insane Scarlet Witch.
