Jack of Hearts (Marvel Comics)
Jack of Hearts | |
---|---|
Contraxian | |
Team affiliations | The Avengers The Defenders |
Abilities | Concussive blasts Flight Ability to survive unaided in space Sensitive brain that senses motion Increased intelligence, strength, durability, and memory |
Jack of Hearts (Jack Hart) is a
Jack of Hearts, real name Jack Hart, is the son of scientist Philip Hart (creator of "Zero Fluid") and an alien woman from the Contraxian race. As a young man Jack was doused in Zero Fluid and gained super powers but was not in total control of his powers. In an attempt to control his powers, Jack of Hearts built a containment suit that resembled the Jack of Hearts playing card. The lack of control became a recurring theme with Jack of Hearts, including his stint in the Avengers where he had to spend 14 hours a day in a containment room to prevent self-destruction. When his powers became uncontrollable he chose to leave Earth, exploding in space without harming any innocent bystanders.
The return of Jack of Hearts and the explosion that killed
Publication history
Jack of Hearts first appeared in the black & white magazine The
Jack has made various guest appearances in several books over the years, including
He was later made a regular in The Avengers by writer Kurt Busiek, who explained, "I first ran into Jack in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu in an issue drawn by Gil Kane and Rico Rival. That great overcomplicated costume and the energy that Gil put into the storytelling hooked me, and I’ve been a fan ever since".[2]
Fictional character biography
Early life
Jack Hart was born in
Later, Jack mistakenly fought
Being a Hero
Later, Jack moved past his mission of blind vengeance and became a true hero, working with various other superheroes such as the
While wandering space he was captured by the
In an effort to save R-76, an outpost manned by the
Jack's return to Earth happened during the period known as the Kang War, and Jack of Hearts was accepted as a member of the
Death
When his power levels began to increase beyond the capacity for his containment suit, Jack of Hearts chose to commit suicide rather than continue living in an isolated containment room for 14 hours a day. Jack took a child murderer who had abducted
Avengers Disassembled
At the onset of the "Avengers Disassembled" event, Jack reappeared in uniform as what appeared to be a zombie just long enough to blow himself up, killing Scott Lang and destroying half of the Avengers Mansion.[24] Jack's return was caused by the reality-shifting powers of the Scarlet Witch through methods that have remained ambiguous.[25] Unlike his prior explosion in space, Jack's body was never recovered from the ruins.
Afterlife
During the adventures of Hercules in Hades, Jack can be seen playing slots to win a chance to return to the living. This is not the intended way the afterlife should operate, according to the characters. Jack wins, and excitedly declares that he is next for resurrection.[26]
The Children's Crusade
Iron Lad (the young Kang the Conqueror) transports the Young Avengers and the amnesiac Wanda, no longer the Scarlet Witch, back to the onset of the "Avengers Disassembled" when Jack had been used as a weapon to destroy the Avengers. While there they discovered that he was actually the real Jack of Hearts, summoned by Scarlet Witch. Undead and quite miserable, Jack pleads with Wanda not to go through with her monstrous plan, unaware that he is facing a different Wanda. The pity of this and the horror of seeing Jack blow himself up, shocks Wanda into recovering her memory—and therefore her powers. As an unexpected side effect, the life of Scott Lang is also saved, as the Young Avengers take Scott back to the future with them when they depart, thus saving his life while preserving the timeline as everyone still 'saw' him 'die' in the explosion. Jack's last words before exploding were, "I'm sorry."[27]
Marvel Zombies Supreme and resurrection
Jack Hart returned to life once more in the second issue of the
Jack Hart was absent for some time, but eventually returned to a more public life when he literally crashed into the apartment of Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk),[29] and found that he was now able to eat, drink, and sleep normally for the first time since his accident.[30] As Jack regained his powers, he and Jen became romantically involved, Jack assisting Jen in the Reckoning War conflict as they aided the Fantastic Four.[volume & issue needed]
Powers and abilities
Jack Hart's superhuman powers are as a result of the mutagenic effect of his father's "Zero Fluid", combined with the alien genes from his Contraxian mother. He has superhuman stamina and durability. Jack of Hearts also has the ability to generate "zero energy" within his body and project it as concussive force or intense heat or as a propellant to fly. Jack is sometimes unable to exert complete control over his energies, however. For a short time after restarting Contraxia's sun, he uncontrollably radiated enough heat to melt one of Contraxia's polar ice caps.[12] He can survive unprotected in space. Jack of Hearts's brain has incorporated the artificial intelligence of a computerized device called the Scanalyzer, enabling him to think with the speed of a computer and store and retrieve information with a computer-like capacity and efficiency.
The left half of Jack of Hearts' body has turned purplish-black from direct exposure to "Zero Fluid". Jack of Hearts' left eye has an opaque white membrane covering the entire pupil. These mutations were not solely caused by exposure to the "Zero Fluid", but are actually aspects of his half-Contraxian genetics brought to the fore, as Contraxians naturally have such appearances.[12]
Jack originally wore a suit of armor crafted in medieval Europe.[4] His second suit of armor was designed by Torval, and made from alien materials designed to contain the zero energy his body generates.[16] His original suit of armor was later restored and upgraded by Moondragon after Jack was rescued from space by the Avengers and thus leading to his connection with the team.[17]
Jack is a fair hand-to-hand combatant, has had some S.H.I.E.L.D. combat training, and is a talented poet.
In other media
In the
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ a b Buttery, Jarrod (February 2014). "Hulk Smash!: The Incredible Hulk in the 1970s". Back Issue! (#70). TwoMorrows Publishing: 15.
- ^ "GCD :: Series :: The Jack of Hearts".
- ^ a b The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #23
- ^ The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #31
- ^ Iron Man #103, 105-108
- ^ Iron Man #109
- ^ Iron Man #110-112
- ^ Marvel Premiere #44
- ^ Marvel Two-in-One #48
- ^ Marvel Team-Up #134
- ^ a b c Jack of Hearts #1-4
- ^ Quasar #15
- ^ Quasar #19-20
- ^ Quasar #28
- ^ a b Silver Surfer vol. 3 #76-78
- ^ a b Avengers Infinity #1-4
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #35
- ^ Maximum Security #1-3
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #38
- ^ JLA/Avengers #1-4
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #65-70
- ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #76 (#491 without renumbering)
- ^ The Avengers #500
- ^ The Avengers #503
- ^ The Incredible Hercules #129
- ^ Avengers – The Children's Crusade #5
- ^ Marvel Zombies Supreme #2-5
- ^ She-Hulk (vol.4) #1
- ^ She-Hulk (vol.4) #2
External links
- Jack of Hearts (Marvel Comics) at the Marvel Universe wiki
- Jack of Hearts on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki