Jim Raynor

Jim Raynor
StarCraft character
Raynor as he appears in StarCraft II.
First gameStarCraft (1998)
Created byChris Metzen
James Phinney
Designed byChris Metzen
Voiced byEnglish
Robert Clotworthy
Korean
Choi Han
In-universe information
SpeciesTerran
PositionGeneral of the Terran Dominion
Captain of the Hyperion
Leader of Raynor's Raiders
Mar Sara Confederate marshal
AffiliationRaynor's Raiders

James Eugene Raynor is a major protagonist in Blizzard Entertainment's science fiction StarCraft series. Raynor is a predominant character in the science fiction real-time strategy video games StarCraft and Brood War and is a player character in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. He also appears as a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm. Outside video games, Raynor appears in the novels Liberty's Crusade and Queen of Blades, while his backstory is explored in the novels Heaven's Devils and Devil's Due. Robert Clotworthy voices the character in all video game appearances.

Created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, Raynor is loosely based on a character of the same name in the 1991 film Rush. Metzen conceived Raynor to represent the ordinary man in a series populated with politically motivated characters. Raynor's physical appearance was designed by Metzen himself. A Terran in his thirties, Raynor is a former soldier and outlaw who eventually becomes a marshal in a backwater colony world. Raynor joins Arcturus Mengsk's revolution against the oppressive Terran Confederacy but becomes disillusioned with Mengsk's genocidal tactics, forming his own paramilitary group to challenge Mengsk's tyranny.

The character has received a positive critical response; Raynor's depiction in StarCraft and Brood War was praised for its character depth and the quality of Clotworthy's voice acting. One survey by GameSpot put Raynor as one of the top ten heroes in video gaming.