Red Wolf is a superhero name that has been taken by several Marvel characters, all of whom are Native Americans who posses mystical powers. William Talltrees was the first character introduced as Red Wolf, who gained superstrength and heightened sensory powers from the wolf spirit Owayodata. William is also a skilled fighter, archer, marksman with throwing weapons, wrestler, gymnast, and tracker.

Red Wolf was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, and debuted in Avengers #80 (September 1970). He grew up in Wolf Point, Montana, where his father was a Cheyenne tribal leader. William saw his father being pressured to sell his land to a criminal businessman named Cornelius van Lunt and his thug Jason Birch. That night, van Lunt sent his men to the Talltrees house where they killed William’s family.

The orphaned young man vowed he would avenge their deaths. He put on the Red Wolf ceremonial garb and Owayodata came to William to imbue him with powers. Red Wolf adopted a wolf cub that he named Lobo and then trained him to be his companion. Then he tracked the people responsible for his family’s deaths to New York where he got his revenge.

After that, Red Wolf started operating as a superhero. He fought the Super-Skrull and Rat Pack, and saved Rick Jones from the Corruptor. Red Wolf joined Firebird, Phantom Rider, Texas Twister, and Shooting Star to fight Hulk, then the five of them became the Rangers team. They battled the West Coast Avengers when they were being influenced by the demon Riglevio.

Red Wolf’s back story was stained by an event that had happened when he served in the Vietnam War. He was a Marine in a division that fought at a village where Bengal’s parents were killed during the battle. Bengal went after the Marines, and he defeated Red Wolf in a confrontation. Bengal decided to let go his vendetta and Red Wolf wrestled with what happened and how he could be defeated.

When the Cheyenne pantheon sought revenge for what had happened to the Cheyenne people, Red Wolf joined with Doctor Strange and Black Crow to stop them. Then he fought a group that tried to destroy a Roxxon Oil Company pipeline that went from an American Blackfleet Indian Reservation into Canada. He also stopped them from killing Native America negotiator Mellisa Sparrow Bear.

Later after Civil War, Red Wolf joined the revived Rangers that was now a government sponsored team.