Jenny Sparks
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Jenny Sparks | |
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Wildstorm (DC Comics) | |
First appearance | Stormwatch vol. 2 #37 (July 1996) |
Created by | Warren Ellis Tom Raney |
In-story information | |
Species | Metahuman |
Team affiliations | The Authority Stormwatch British Space Program |
Notable aliases | The Spirit of the 20th Century |
Abilities | Control over electricity Ability to transform herself into electricity Decelerated aging |
Jennifer Sparks is a
Sparks is described as "The Spirit of the 20th Century", having been born at its beginning and later dying at its end. Throughout her time, she is shown to have influenced many of the most significant individuals who shaped that century, both positively and negatively.
In terms of personality, Sparks is depicted as a superficial hedonist hiding a strong underlying sense of morality.
She was named the 44th Greatest Comic Book Character by Empire in 2006.[1]
Publication history
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2012) |
Jenny Sparks first appeared in Stormwatch vol. 2 #37 (cover-dated July 1996) and was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Tom Raney. After that series ended with the death of most characters not created by Ellis, he started a new series, The Authority featuring the eponymous team led by Sparks.[2]
After the 12th issue, Warren Ellis left the title and
Fictional character biography
Jennifer Sparks was born in England on January 1, 1900. Her family possessed quite a fortune, and she was sent to an all-girls school in
Between 1913 and 1919, her powers started to manifest. Jenny Sparks had absolute control of electricity, including travel through power lines, shooting bolts of lightning and shaping electricity. With age, her control and power increased. By 1919, Jenny stopped aging.
In various comics, a number of Sparks' adventures through the early and middle part of the 20th century have been told. A common theme in these stories is her interaction with prominent historical figures.
In the 1960s through 1980s, Sparks is shown to have become involved with the first British bands of
Stormwatch and The Authority
Despite those experiences, in the 1990s she agrees to join a new group called Stormwatch that has been formed by a man named Henry Bendix[3]
Against her wishes, she is given command of a covert team called Stormwatch Black.
When Stormwatch disbanded after the
On 31 December 1999, Jenny Sparks knew that she would die at midnight as the 20th century ended (this date is erroneous due to the common mistake that the 21st century began on January 1, 2000 and not its actual date, January 1, 2001),[4][5] a fact known only by her teammate The Doctor. She electrocuted the brain of an enormous alien creature, the "God" that had originally created Earth and which was planning to wipe the planet clean of all life. This was her final act, in her words, as humanity's defense mechanism. She died moments later in her teammates' arms. Her dying words and last will were: "Save the world. They deserve it. Be better. Or I'll come back and kick your heads in."
The passing of the spirit of the 20th century heralded the arrival of a successor. At the moment Jenny Sparks died, a new entity was born:
During the Transfer of Power storyline, a magical version of Jenny appeared and temporarily removed all mechanical weapons from the Earth.
The New 52
In the DC Comics rebooted Stormwatch series, part of their
The Wild Storm
This article needs to be updated.(August 2017) |
In Warren Ellis' reboot of the Wildstorm properties, Jenny Sparks is reinterpreted as an aspect of a "Planetary defense system" created by aliens, complete with new powers. She is also of Asian descent, with her name being Jenny Mei Sparks. in this continuity and almost 120 years old.[8] She is a techne - a spirit of the mechanical arts and crafts, empowered by the defining technology of her era, and created by unknown powers to defend the planet Earth.
Powers and abilities
Jenny Sparks is one of the Century Babies, a being produced by the multiverse for a specific task. In her case, this was to influence the 20th century.
Jenny has the ability to manipulate electricity. She can easily draw electricity from electronic devices as well as from the human brain, a move she has threatened to kill people with. Sparks can also convert her entire body into electricity and travel anywhere electricity would. She can apparently survive being transformed into other forms of energy, as when she travelled through a TV and power lines and then into a police radio. Shifting into her electrical form heals Sparks from injuries as well as poisons. Like an electric current, Sparks as electricity must go somewhere before she can re-emerge in her human form. Normally this is into a machine, but other conductors seem to work as well. She was once able to go into the sky and remain there until striking down as lightning. She can also enter a person briefly and electrocute them.
A key distinction is that Jenny Sparks does not generate electricity like
Through her lifetime, Sparks was a member of several branches of the British military and led various superhero teams. As such, she is an experienced leader and knowledgeable about military protocol. She has not demonstrated the fighting skill that one might associate with this experience, usually relying on her powers instead.
The rebooted version of Jenny Sparks from The Wild Storm possesses the ability to travel between electronic devices, such as televisions, computers and smartphones.
Collected editions
Her appearances have been collected in trade paperbacks, including:
- ISBN 1-56389-769-5)
References
- ^ "Empire | The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters". Empireonline.com. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ^ "Meet the Authority, the Anti-Justice League". DC. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-8264-1418-2.
- ^ "The 21st Century and the 3rd Millennium When Did They Begin?". United States Naval Observatory. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ When and where did the new Millennium officially start, and why? Archived 20 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine". Royal Observatory Greenwich
- ^ Stormwatch (vol. 3) #5 (January 2012)
- ^ Stormwatch (vol. 3) #0 (September 2012)
- ^ The Wild Storm #3
- ^ David, Ari (15 April 2020). "Planetary: Warren Ellis & John Cassaday's Pulp Masterpiece Is Still Essential". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
The most famous Century Baby in comics is another invention of Ellis, Jenny Sparks from The Authority. It's believed that each Century Baby is spawned by the multiverse to serve a special purpose for that century. Jenny Sparks was often called "The Spirit of the 20th Century"
External links
- Jenny Sparks at the International Catalogue of Superheroes
- Jenny Sparks at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)