After a few moments, a van backed down the alley and two workers for Fisk Biochem climbed out. Unaware of Elvin clinging to the creek bank below, the two workers poured a barrel of toxic waste into the stream. Elvin was covered in the horrid liquid. Somehow he managed to get home to his Granny Staples’ house, where he was staying until his parents got back together. Granny Staples was a retired nurse, and she decided to care for Elvin herself, rather than take him to a hospital.

Elvin did indeed get better; in fact, he got better than he had ever been before. He kept getting bigger and stronger, until he discovered his body was impervious to just about anything. When the transformation was complete, the scrawny boy had changed into a huge, burly, bald man who appeared to be in his mid-30s.

Realizing that nobody could push him around anymore, Elvin decided to go back and teach the bullies a lesson they would not soon forget. However, Granny Staples told him to never come back if he left to seek vengeance with hatred in his heart. Elvin pleaded with her, saying God had transformed him so he could be the Lord’s sword of vengeance. Granny Staples confided to Elvin that she believed he was being saved for something special, and that the Lord would never have meant for him to be consumed by hatred for ignorant children. Elvin saw the wisdom of her words, and from that point on he has used his power to help those in need, fighting for the downtrodden and weak under the name of Rage.

One day not long ago, while the Avengers were busy rebuilding their mansion in Manhattan, Rage went to the construction site in order to “sign up!’ He was confronted at the entrance by Jarvis, the Avengers’ butler, who told Rage that becoming an Avenger was a much more complicated process. Accusing Jarvis of giving him the runaround, Rage pushed his way past the butler and was intercepted by Captain America. Asking him why there were no black Avengers, Rage accused Cap of bigotry and discrimination. Reminding Cap that he was supposed to be a champion of fairness, Rage advanced pointing a finger at the Avenger, and told Cap that he had been quick to judge Rage by his appearance alone.

Sersi, who happened upon the scene, mistook Rage’s angry approach for an attack upon her beloved Cap, and she blasted Rage with her eye beams. As the other Avengers joined in the fight, Captain America stopped them and explained the misunderstanding. An angry Rage accused the Avengers of worrying more about battling super-villains and building their headquarters than about the people of the city, the ones who need them most. Before slamming the door on his way out, Rage made a final statement that left the Avengers deep in thought, "I just want to use my powers to make life better for mankind, and if you don’t know it, most of mankind is the little guy who never gets the benefit of your heroics!’

Recently, while destroying a crack house in Brooklyn, Rage noticed a beam of energy streaking up into the sky from the streets of Manhattan. Using his great speed, Rage ran through the subway and arrived at the sight of the energy blast just in time to be sucked through a dimensional gateway created by Thor. The Avengers had transported themselves, Ms. Zhukova, Dr. Estivez, and a Russian hero named Ramskov in order to neutralize the uncontrollable powers Ramskov had gained at the Chernobyl incident. As fate would have it, Rage was also transported to the other dimension, which happened to be a prison world for psychotic alien criminals governed by the enigmatic Tetrarchs of Entropy.

Rage helped She-Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Sersi battle and defeat a horde of alien creatures. When Ramskov’s condition had been stabilized, Thor once again opened the gateway to return everyone to Earth. Unfortunately, the alien criminals, led by Ngh the Unspeakable, followed the Avengers into the Earth dimension, and hid in the steeple of the Chapel of St. Jude the Lesser to wait for nightfall.

In the meantime, Rage was offered, and accepted, membership in the Avengers for his valiant effort in the Dimension of Exile. Shortly thereafter, the Avengers were forced to undertake a two-day meeting to develop a new charter because their original charter had recently been revoked by the United States government. After allowing for a truly international membership, the Avengers accepted a new charter with the United Nations. It was decided that the new primary team would consist of Thor, Sersi, Vision, Quasar, Black Widow, and She-Hulk, with Captain America serving as “chair-being.” Seven reserve substitutes were also chosen, including Spider-Man, Black Knight, Falcon, Hercules, Captain Marvel, Sandman, and Rage. All other Avengers, excluding the West Coast Avengers, were considered to be in the inactive reserves.

The Avengers held a press conference on the steps of their headquarters to announce the results of their meeting. The conference was interrupted by the Tetrarchs of Entropy, who accused the Avengers of helping Ngh escape the Dimension of Exile. The primary team of Avengers was immediately transported to the alien dimension to be punished, while the reserve substitutes, including Rage, were left behind.

As Rage struggled to help his new friends, the home of his grandmother was invaded by Ngh and his alien cohorts. Ngh planned to use Granny Staples to force Rage to be his agent inside the Avengers. Rage, however, led Quasar, She-Hulk, Black Widow, and the Vision to Granny Staples’ home, where they confronted Ngh and the alien criminals. During the battle, the primary team of Avengers returned with the Tetrarchs and another being called Ahh. As it turned out, Ahh and Ngh were two halves of the same being, with Ahh representing the good half and Ngh the evil. When the halves joined, a third being appeared and quickly deprived the Tetrarchs of their power to pass between the realities. The incredibly powertul being then left, and the Avengers hurled the Tetrarchs back through the dimensional gateway.

In the end, Ngh’s alien cronies were rounded up by a drug dealer named L.D. 50, whose crack house had been destroyed by Rage at the beginning of the story. Whether L.D. 50 will use his new allies to seek revenge against Rage remains to be seen.

In the short time he has been with the Avengers, Rage has grown into a hero with a lot of potential for greatness. Being the youngest and least experienced Avenger has not stopped him from holding his own against Dr. Doom and his robots or the Mole Man and the Subterraneans. Rage is certainly an Avenger to watch in the future.