Judomaster

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Judomaster
SpecialWarSeries4.jpg
Rip Jagger as Judomaster. Cover of Special War Series #4 (November 1965), art by Frank McLaughlin.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance (Rip)
Special War Series #4 (November 1965)
(Unnamed)
Justice League Quarterly #14 (March 1994)
(Thomas)
Checkmate #1 (July 2006)
(Sato)
Birds of Prey #100 (January 2007)
Created byRip
Joe Gill
Frank McLaughlin
(Unnamed)
Paul Kupperberg
Mike Collins
(Thomas)
Greg Rucka
Jesús Saíz
Sato
Gail Simone
Nicola Scott
In-story information
Alter egoHadley "Rip" Jagger
Unnamed
Thomas Jagger
Sonia Sato
Species(All)
Human
Place of origin(All)
Earth
Team affiliations(Rip)
United States Army
All-Star Squadron
L.A.W.
(Thomas)
Checkmate
(Sato)
Birds of Prey
Justice Society of America
Big Monster Action
Abilities(All)
Martial artist specializing in judo

Judomaster is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Charlton Comics, and, later, DC Comics. [1]

Contents

The Hadley "Rip" Jagger incarnation of Judomaster appears in the television series Peacemaker , portrayed by Nhut Le.

Creation

Creator Frank McLaughlin explained the character's creation: "I had developed the character Judomaster and was anxious to leave… Charlton to work freelance exclusively, Charlie Santangelo was in charge of Charlton at the time. He and I played judo at the same dojo, so his interest in my character was more than a passing one… he ageed to give me a shot and publish Judomaster, and that's when it hit the fan". [2]

Fictional character biography

Rip Jagger

Hadley "Rip" Jagger, a sergeant in World War II in the United States Army. He rescued the daughter of a Pacific island chief and, in return, was taught the martial art of judo. [3] He had a kid sidekick named Tiger who later became Nightshade's martial arts instructor as an adult.

Judomaster #98, artist Frank McLaughlin. Judomasterdc.jpg
Judomaster #98, artist Frank McLaughlin.

Judomaster's title lasted from #89 to #98, from June 1966 to December 1967. It was a retitling of Gunmaster, which was itself a retitling of Six-Gun Heroes. [4]

Along with most Charlton Comics superhero characters, the rights to Judomaster were sold to DC Comics, with Judomaster becoming a member of the All-Star Squadron. [5] Tiger was re-imagined as the villain Avatar in the L.A.W. miniseries published by DC Comics, which re-teamed the Charlton characters that had been acquired by DC. In the same series, it is shown Judomaster lived for some time in the fictional city of Nanda Parbat, and did not age there due to the altered passage of time.

During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Judomaster is killed by Bane. [6]

Judomaster II

Judomaster as seen in the interior artwork for Justice League Quarterly #14 (March 1994).
Art by Mike Collins. Judomaster2.jpg
Judomaster as seen in the interior artwork for Justice League Quarterly #14 (March 1994).
Art by Mike Collins.

Andreas Havoc, an enemy of Thunderbolt, challenged Thunderbolt to battle, feeling that his rightful position as "Vajra" had been stolen by him. The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Nightshade assisted Thunderbolt in battling Havoc in a psychic battle while a new, never-named Judomaster helped rescue the heroes in the physical world.

Thomas Jagger

Thomas "Tommy" Jagger is the son of Hadley Jagger, from whom he inherited the name Judomaster. Jagger is also one of Checkmate's top field agents, within which he is known as the White Knight, and is an openly gay man.

Jagger is conflicted when Checkmate becomes involved in the elections of Santa Prisca at the request of the United Nations. Bane, his father's killer, is suspected of ballot stuffing, intimidation, and falsifying election results. Jagger volunteers for the mission and is turned down by White King/Mr. Terrific. Josephine Tautin, the Black Queen's Knight, is picked, but a medical emergency prevents her from going. Reluctantly, Terrific agrees to Jagger's deployment, along with Fire. The mission is complicated by Fire when she acts on orders secretly given to her by Amanda Waller that results in Bane's direct intervention with Jagger. He resists the desire to avenge his father for honor, but does manage to beat Bane in a fight. The two agents make it to their exfiltration point and return to Checkmate headquarters, where Jagger informs the Royals of Fire's sabotage. [7]

Sonia Sato

A female Judomaster, Sonia Sato, is introduced in the Birds of Prey series as a member of the eponymous group. Sonia is a metahuman with the ability to project an "aversion field" which prevents her from being hit by attacks specifically aimed at her. This does not include attacks that have no aim, such as random projectiles and explosions. With the help of the Justice Society of America, she stops yakuza assassins led by Tiger. Sonia is in a relationship with Damage, kissing him even after his temporarily healed face was reverted to his heavily scarred one. [8]

Sonia's romance with Damage is ended when he is killed by the reanimated Jean Loring during Blackest Night . Now part of Magog's All-Star Justice Society of America squadron, Sonia assists her teammates in repelling the Black Lantern invasion of Manhattan. Sonia and Atom Smasher search the city for survivors, only to stumble upon Damage, now a member of the Black Lantern Corps, tearing the heart out of a police officer. [9] After the end of Blackest Night, a grieving Judomaster plans to revert to her earlier plan of vengeance against Tiger, her father's killer, feeling that without Damage's love she has nothing else to anchor to a happier life. She is stopped by King Chimera, who convinces Sonia to enact Damage's last wishes by sparing Tiger's life. [10]

In Doomsday Clock , Judomaster appears as a member of Big Monster Action. [11]

Other versions

In other media

Television

Film

Rip Jagger appears in Batman: Soul of the Dragon , voiced by Chris Cox. [17] This version is a student of O-Sensei and member of the Kobra cult. He kills Jade to unleash Nāga from his dimension before being killed by his demonic servants.

Video games

The Sonia Sato incarnation of Judomaster appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . [18]

References

  1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 157. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. Cooke, Jon B. (2022). The Charlton companion: a history of the Derby, Connecticut, publisher and its comic books. Raleigh, North Carolina. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-60549-111-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Markstein, Don. "Judomaster". Don Markstein's Toonopedia . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  4. Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN   978-1605490557.
  5. Thomas, Roy (2006). The All-Star Companion: Vol 2. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 87. ISBN   978-1893905375.
  6. Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006)
  7. Checkmate #11-12 (April - May 2007)
  8. Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #22 (February 2009)
  9. Blackest Night: JSA #1 (December 2009)
  10. JSA All-Stars #7 (August 2010)
  11. Doomsday Clock #6 (July 2018)
  12. 52 #52 (July 2007)
  13. Brady, Matt (May 8, 2007). "The 52 Exit Interviews: Grant Morrison". Newsarama. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
  14. Earth 2 #9 (April 2013)
  15. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 4, 2021). "'Peacemaker': James Gunn HBO Max Series Adds Nhut Le As Judomaster". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  16. Plainse, Josh (March 14, 2022). "Why Judomaster's Peacemaker Suit is Green & Not Comic-Accurate". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  17. Dar, Taimur (December 11, 2020). "Check out new images from BATMAN: SOUL OF THE DRAGON animated feature". Comicsbeat. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  18. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved August 5, 2024.