The Crow is a superhero and the protagonist of The Crow comic book series, originally created by American artist James O'Barr in 1989. The titular character is an undead vigilante brought back to life by a supernatural crow to avenge his murder and death of his fiancée.

The character has subsequently appeared in several feature films, a television series, and spin-off novels and comics. In the various incarnations, films, and spin-offs, many people have taken on the Crow persona in order to avenge their own wrongful deaths. In 2011, IGN ranked the Crow 37th in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes. The Crow made his live-action debut in the 1994 film The Crow, portrayed by Brandon Lee. Later, The Crow was portrayed by Mark Dacascos in the 1998 television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.

The Crow is a supernatural bird that serves as the protagonist's link between the living world and the realm of beyond. The magical crow is capable of resurrecting people who have been murdered, so that the victims may be able to seek justice on the person or people responsible for their death. This story is said to come from an old Native American legend.

During the person's "rebirth", the crow serves as a guide, helping the individual tap into his or her potential and assisting in tracking down the wrongdoers. Other people do not see the crow, only the reborn, unless he wants it. The Crow communicates with the reborn in a manner akin to telepathy, often helping guide them to exact their revenge.

In the film adaptations, the crow is a real bird and if harmed or killed, the reborn becomes vulnerable. However, the Crow also seems to be much more enduring than a regular bird and might possess some regeneration abilities (e.g. in The Crow film the bird survives after being shot with a rifle).

While they are in possession of the Crow's powers, the reborn are endowed with several unique abilities. As they are already dead, the reborn are incapable of feeling pain or fatigue and are not capable of healing. In the films, however, they possess a supernatural ability to recover from seemingly all injuries in a matter of moments. Chief among their physical abilities is their inhuman strength and enhanced reflexes; able to quickly brutalize several opponents simultaneously, even those who would be otherwise untouchable, as well as catch fast-moving projectiles such as throwing knives with their bare hands. In both Wicked Prayer and Stairway to Heaven, the source of the reborn's strength is attributed to their love for the ones they've lost. Alternatively, Ashe Corven says in City of Angels that the fuel for his power is pain. In either case, the Crow's magic is rooted in lost love.

Also, again in the films, the reborn possesses the ability to see images from his or her loved one's memory when touching things he or she touched before, or to see the memories of a person when touching them. In addition the reborn usually can send the images and feelings from the memories already absorbed to the person whose eyes the reborn touches at the moment; in The Crow, protagonist Eric Draven makes villain Top Dollar feel 30 hours of his (Eric's) murdered girlfriend Shelly's pain in one moment. In The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Eric can see events that transpired simply by touching objects that belonged to someone.

Although the person brought back to life by the Crow is physically invulnerable, in the films and later Crow comics they do have one weakness: they lose their power if the crow is harmed or killed. In addition, the reborn lose their invincibility when they consider their mission completed; in The Crow: Salvation, protagonist Alex Corvis is tricked into thinking that he completed his mission, thus he becomes vulnerable. His guide Crow ultimately makes Alex realize his mistake and rise again.