Origin

Ral Dorn is a human who was raised in the magical world of Rammatpolen. The world was run by a race of orcales called the Hudaks, who train Dragon Riders to fight for justice across time and space. Ral Dorn's father was the only human to be deputized as a Dragon Rider. Out of respect for him, Ral Dorn was also allowed into training without a monetary tribute. In exchange, he took care of the dragon pens.

Creation

Dragon Lord first appeared in the 1981 Fantastic Four Annual by Ed Hannigan and Steve Ditko.

Major Story Arcs

Fugitive

When it came time for Ral Dorn to graduate to a Dragon Rider, he was informed that he would only be a Dragon Rider in name only and would never be given a symbiotic dragon. Ral lashed out publicly in disappointment. He went back to the dragon stables to care for the dragons he had come to care about but found them all poisoned. Those that followed blamed Ral Dorn and his previous outburst as motivation. Since no one believed his innocence, he escaped into time and space and ended up on Earth in the present.

He was searching for The Dragon Man, hoping he would be his dragon. Instead, he crossed paths with the Fantastic Four who rescued him from the Dragon Riders who followed him. They agreed to help him locate the Dragon Man, tracking him to Pennsylvania farm country. They find him just as the Dragon Riders catch up to them. The F4 fight the riders, while Ral Dorn jumps on Dragon Man and triggers his time travel ability, accidentally taking Sue Storm with them.

Ral had brought them to his father's interdimensional hideaway. It was a temporal cul-de-sac with only one way out or in and was designed to only have a single dragon at a time. He impressed Sue with his ability to connect to Dragon Man, but Sue's family cooperated with the Riders to get her back. Now that he has a dragon, he demanded he be tried as a Dragon Rider, through trial by combat. With Dragon Man's help, Ral defeated the leader of the riders. Believing Ral was about to gloat, the leader gloated first about framing him for his crimes. The dragon riders suddenly appeared, hidden by Sue's invisibility. They heard everything finally acquitting Ral.

Dragon Wars

Ral leadership of Rammatpolen was challenged by Baron Skagerackrakor, the son of his former rival. The baron stole his dragon staff, so Ral used dragon eggs as bait to draw him out. Unfortunately, this got the attention of the criminal underworld. Deadpool and Wolverine were hired by Lady Anime to keep it out of the hands of the Maggia. When the baron attacked the gangster's meeting, Ral was able to recover his staff and then transport Logan and Wade to Weirdworld, where he had left the eggs in the protection of Crystar.

The new reluctant team was met by time travelers (Cable, Major X, and Lady Deadpool). They were from a future where the Dragon Riders of Rammatpolen used the eggs to extract genetic information to create super soldier Dragon Men. These men attacked and burned civilizations across the time and space. According to Cable, if the eggs remain in Weirdworld undisturbed, it will create a new, better future. However, their possible future still exists and is in dire need of heroes. Ral, feeling responsible, and his new companions agree to return with the time travelers to fight the Dragon Men.

When they arrived, they found the Dragon Men led by the Baron. He stayed on his flying dragon steed in the sky, while the others fought back his forced. Ral believed this wouldn't end until he took him on. Resistance member, Spider-Woman, swung Ral to the Baron. He confronted him, stabbing his staff through the Baron. The energy the staff sapped from the Baron caused Ral to officially ascend to Dragon Lord.

With the war over, Ral is able to return the time traveling warriors to their proper place in time and space.

Powers & Abilities

Dragon Rider: As a trained dragon rider, Ral Dorn learned to make a symbiotic bond to dragons and use their innate ability to navigate the time stream to move through time and space.

• Fire Immunity: He is generally impervious to flame and heat.

Dragonstaff: An organic entity unto itself, it is small and compact until it is unfurled as a long curving staff with a series of thorns.

• Energy Sapping: The staff is capable of channeling and absorbing a great deal of energy.