Jester (Marvel Comics)

For the Quality/DC Comics character of the same name, see Jester (Quality Comics).

Jester is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The original Jester first appeared in Daredevil #42 (July 1968) and was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. ^[1]

The second Jester first appeared in Cloak and Dagger vol. 3 #8 and was created by Terry Austin, Mike Vosburg, and Don Cameron. The Civil War: Battle Damage Report one-shot established this Jester's real name as Jody Putt. He also received an entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z vol. 6 hardcover.

Fictional character biography

Jonathan Powers

Main article: Jester (Jonathan Powers)

Jonathan Powers was the first of several costumed criminals to use the identity of the Jester. He was primarily an enemy of Daredevil. ^[2]

Jody Putt

Jester
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Cloak and Dagger vol. 3 #8 (November 1989)
Created by	Terry Austin Mike Vosburg Don Cameron
In-story information
Alter ego	Jody Putt
Team affiliations	the Assembly of Evil the Thunderbolts
Abilities	Possesses an arsenal of weaponry

Jody Putt is a fan of supervillains who obtained the costume of the original Jester after he retired to become an actor. He was given his weaponry by Doctor Doom. Among the arsenal granted to him by Doom was the "long-lived" Hulk Robot created years prior by a pair of college students and the Eternal Uni-Mind. The Jester recruited a team of villains made up of himself, the Hulk Robot, the Fenris twins, Hydro-Man, and Rock of the Hulkbusters to form the Assembly of Evil. The team was defeated by Cloak and Dagger and several intervening Avengers. ^[3]

The Jester appeared during the superhero Civil War as a member of the Thunderbolts Army. As part of the Thunderbolts Army, the Jester was among the supervillains who helped capture unregistered heroes. The Jester did this due to nanobots in his system, which would electrocute him if he did not do as he was told. ^[4] The Jester and Jack O'Lantern are sent to bring in Spider-Man. They pursue the hero through the sewers. Spider-Man ends up badly injured and subdued as the two move in for the kill. Both Jack O' Lantern and the Jester are then shot dead by the Punisher. ^[5] This fight and these deaths are also detailed in the Punisher: War Journal title. ^[6]

Mister Hyde later exhumed the Jester's body to find a way around the nanotechnology. ^[7]

Crazy Gang Jester

Jester
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(Earth-238): Marvel Superheroes #377 (September 1981) (Earth-616): The Mighty World of Marvel #10 (March, 1984)
Created by	(Earth-238): David Thorpe Paul Neary Alan Davis (Earth-616): Alan Moore Alan Davis
In-story information
Team affiliations	the Crazy Gang
Notable aliases	the Clown
Abilities	Highly skilled acrobat, fencer and kickboxer Carries a fencing foil

Captain Britain was sent to an alternate Earth, known as Earth-238, by Merlyn. Together with Saturnyne, he hoped to save this world from the corruption that threatened it. Instead they encountered Earth-238's Mad Jim Jaspers, a lunatic with the ability to warp reality. Serving Jaspers was the Crazy Gang, which included the Jester.^{[ volume & issue needed ]}

The Jester, also known as the Clown, is a very agile fighter and sometimes the self-proclaimed leader of the Crazy Gang. His Earth-238 counterpart was known as Coco. This group of superhumans were based on characters from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass . Captain Britain and Saturnyne individually managed to escape this Earth. Jaspers and the Crazy Gang, including the Jester, were killed when Earth-238 was destroyed by Saturnyne's successor, Mandragon.^{[ volume & issue needed ]}

Powers and abilities

Jody Putt has no superpowers, but possesses an arsenal of weaponry given to him by Doctor Doom.

The Crazy Gang's Jester has no superhuman powers, but he is a highly skilled acrobat, fencer and kickboxer, and carries a fencing foil.

See also

• List of jesters

References

1. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 199. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
2. Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 130. ISBN   978-1465455505.
3. Cloak & Dagger vol. 3 #9. Marvel Comics.
4. Civil War #4. Marvel Comics.
5. Civil War #5. Marvel Comics.
6. Punisher War Journal #2-3 (Feb.-March 2007). Marvel Comics.
7. Thunderbolts - Reason in Madness one-shot. Marvel Comics.

External links

• Jody Putt at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Jester at Marvel.com