Jupiter Circus

Jupiter Circus is a fictional Indian circus which appeared in comic books published by Raj Comics. Jupiter circus is notable in Raj comics universe for being the place where Raj Comics superhero Super Commando Dhruva was born and brought up in his early years of childhood. Jupiter Circus first appeared in GENL #74 Pratishodh Ki Jwala in 1988. The owner of the circus was Jacob and its key employees included Dhruva and his parents.

Publication history

Jupiter Circus appeared for the first time in 1988 in Dhruva's debut title Pratishodh Ki Jwala. Having been destroyed in the same issue in a fire, the circus never really reappeared in any of the subsequent Dhruva titles, though it has been profusely referenced and mentioned in various Dhruva titles and has remained an integral element of Super Commando Dhruva mythos. Jupiter Circus has since made sporadic appearances in Dhruva titles in the form of flashbacks or time travel related incidents.

Fictional history

Jupiter Circus was a popular circus, owned by Jacob, located at the outskirts of Rajnagar. It had some of the world's finest performers and acrobats. Two of them, Shyam and Radha, both trapeze artists, fell in love and got married. Their marriage culminated in the birth of their only son, Dhruva. A very smart and talented kid, Dhruva learnt every performing art from circus's expert artists and mastered all the arts to perfection. Growing up amongst circus's pet animals, he learnt to talk to them. At 14yrs of age, when he started performing in live shows, Jupiter circus sailed over new waves of popularity. Jealous of its popularity, rival Globe circus owner, Boss, ordered his goons Jubisko and Bond to destroy Jupiter Circus. Jubisko entered Jupiter circus in the middle of the night and set the whole circus ablaze killing everyone in it with the exception of Dhruva. Enraged, Dhruva vowed over Jupiter's ashes that he will avenge their deaths and will eliminate evil from this society. In the series of events that followed, Globe circus was destroyed too. Later, city police chief Rajan Mehra informed Dhruva that he had inherited Rs. 50 lakhs from the insurance claim of Jupiter circus for which his Uncle Jacob, the owner of Jupiter Circus who loved him very much, had nominated him as the beneficiary. Dhruva promised that he will make use of this money to build a commando force to fight against crime.

List of Jupiter Circus members

• Jacob: Owner of Jupiter Circus.
• Shyam: A trapeze artist.
• Radha: A trapeze artist and Shyam's wife.
• Pawan: A motorcyclist who used to display Wall of Death stunts.
• Hercules: Strongman of Jupiter circus.
• Sulaiman: A shooting expert.
• Ranjan: Knife throwing expert.
• Sherkhan: Ring-Master of Jupiter circus.
• Anna: Used to run dolphin shows in Jupiter circus.
• Dhruva: Son of Shyam and Radha, and the youngest performer of Jupiter Circus.

All the Jupiter Circus members are believed to be deceased except for Dhruva who survived the Jupiter carnage. Much later, the character of Jacob was revived when he was revealed in SPCL #100 Khooni Khandan (1997) as the second survivor of that fateful night.

Other circuses in Dhruva titles

Circus in general has been a very prominent theme in Dhruva titles. Apart from Jupiter Circus, Dhruva's home circus, there have been many other circuses that have appeared or have been mentioned in Dhruva titles.

Globe Circus

Globe Circus, a fictional Indian circus owned by Boss, was the rival circus of Jupiter Circus. Globe Circus first appeared in Dhruva titles in GENL #74 Pratishodh Ki Jwala (1988). Jealous of Jupiter's popularity, Boss ordered his goons to destroy Jupiter Circus. The resulting series of events eventually brought the downfall of both Jupiter Circus as well as Globe Circus.

List of Globe Circus members

• Boss: Owner of Globe Circus
• Jubisko: Strongman of Globe Circus who burnt Jupiter Circus and killed Shyam.
• Bond: A sharpshooter who assisted Jubisko in destroying Jupiter Circus.

All the three were assumed to be dead in Pratishodh Ki Jwala though later, the characters of Jubisko and Boss were revived.

Star Circus

Star Circus hasn't appeared in Dhruva titles but was mentioned in Pratishodh Ki Jwala when Bond tells Jubisko that he never missed a target in Star Circus implying that Bond was employed in Star Circus prior to Globe Circus.