Jester is the name of several Marvel Comics supervillains.
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| Jester | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil vol. #42 (July, 1968) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Gene Colan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jonathan Powers |
| Abilities | Skilled gymnast and swordsman(Powers) |
Jonathan Powers was the first of several costumed criminals to use the identity of the Jester. He was primarily an enemy of Daredevil.
Jonathan Powers was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was a struggling actor of huge ego who finally got his lead break as the leading character in an off-Broadway revival of Cyrano de Bergerac. Panned by critics, jeered by the audience, and disdained by his fellow performers, Powers was fired after one performance. Obsessively, he continued to study the various arts and crafts that he thought would make him a great actor, things like gymnastics and body building. He took everything—except acting classes. Still, Powers was able to find employment as a stooge in a children's television show taped in New York.
Finally getting fed up with having pies thrown in his face, Powers decided that if the audience wanted laughter, he would give it to them. Contracting the criminal weapons-maker known as the Tinkerer to make him a number of gimmicks, Powers fashioned himself a goofy harlequin-like disguise and called himself the Jester. Becoming a professional criminal, the Jester was hired by Richard Raleigh to kill Foggy Nelson. The Jester was opposed by Daredevil.[1] The Jester then framed Daredevil for the "murder" of Jonathan Powers, and battled Daredevil again.[2] Alongside the Cobra and Mister Hyde, he battled Daredevil once more.[3]
The Jester later broadcast false news reports smearing Foggy Nelson's political campaign and undermining public trust in the government and the media. He battled Daredevil once more.[4] The Jester was later employed by the Purple Man; alongside Cobra, Mister Hyde, and Gladiator, he battled Daredevil and Paladin.[5] He later battled Moon Knight and Daredevil as well.[6]
For a time, the Jester tried to improve his life and restart his career as an actor. As Jonathan Powers, he portrayed Cyrano de Bergerac on television, presumably abandoning the Jester identity.[7] However, his attempt to reform failed miserably. Late in Brian Bendis' run on Daredevil (Decalogue story-arc), it is revealed that Powers allowed himself to be host to a demon (one conjured up by a would-be Ninja), gaining great strength in the process. When the demon leaves him, Powers is apparently left comatose.[8]
Jonathan Powers is an athletic man with no superhuman abilities. His main weapons are a set of various joke gimmicks converted into deadly weapons, designed by the Tinkerer. He used a variety of modified toys and gimmicks, including a yo-yo with a weighted knob and steel cable which emits earsplitting sounds when whirled at high speed; ball bearing marbles; exploding gas-filled "popcorn"; plastic flying discs which squirt an anesthetic drug; rubber balls containing plastic explosives; an extendible artificial hand equipped with an electrical charge; an artificial hand that can be fired from a small air-cannon; and other devices.
Powers also employed 2-foot-tall (0.61 m) miniature robots, equipped with items such as laser weaponry and diamond drill-bits, which were remotely controlled by a radio-linked microprocessor. He also employed a specially designed one-man submarine.
Powers is a well-trained hand-to-hand combatant, acrobat and fencer. He is trained in gymnastics, swordsmanship and unarmed combat. He is also a minimally talented actor.
| Jester | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Cloak and Dagger vol. 3 #8 (November, 1989) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jody Putt |
| Team affiliations | The Assembly of Evil Thunderbolts |
A successor of Powers appeared during the Acts of Vengeance crossover which took place during the original's failed retirement from super-villainy.
This Jester was given his weaponry by Doctor Doom. Among the arsenal granted to him by Doom, the "long-lived" Hulk Robot created years prior by a pair of college students and the Eternal Uni-Mind. 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.[9]
This Jester appeared during the super-hero Civil War as a member of the Thunderbolts Army. As part of the Thunderbolts Army, Jester was among the supervillains who helped capture unregistered heroes. Jester did this due to nanobots in his system which would electrocute him if he didn't do as he was told.[10]
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 and Jester are then shot dead by the Punisher.[11] This fight and these deaths are also detailed in the Punisher: War Journal title. [12]
Mr Hyde later exhumed the body to find a way around the nanotechnlogy.[13]
The Civil War: Battle Damage Report one-shot established this Jester's real name as Jody Putt. He also received in an entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Vol. 6 hardcover.
| Jester | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Superheroes #377 (September. 1981) (Earth-238) The Mighty World of Marvel #10 (March, 1984) (Earth-616) |
| Created by | David Thorpe, Paul Neary and Alan Davis (Earth-238) Alan Moore and Alan Davis (Earth-616) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Unrevealed |
| Team affiliations | Crazy Gang |
| Notable aliases | Clown |
| Abilities | Very agile fighter |
Another Jester was a member of Mad Jim Jaspers' Crazy Gang.
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 were the Crazy Gang which included The Jester.
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 Jester, were killed when Earth-238 was destroyed by Saturnyne's successor, Mandragon.
Jester has no super human powers however he is a highly skilled fencer, acrobat, and kick-boxer. He carries a fencing foil.
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