| The Jester | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Jester as depicted inWho's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #11 (January 1986). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Comics DC Comics |
| First appearance | Smash Comics #22 (May 1941) |
| Created by | Paul Gustavson |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Charles "Chuck" Lane |
| Team affiliations | All-Star Squadron Freedom Fighters |
| Abilities | Olympic-level athlete Brilliant hand-to-hand combatant Skilled detective |
Jester (Charles "Chuck" Lane) is a character, aGolden Agesuperhero created byPaul Gustavson and published byQuality Comics. He first appeared inSmash Comics #22 (May 1941).[1] Like most of Quality's characters, the Jester was later purchased byDC Comics and incorporated into theiruniverse. Though little used by the company, he appeared inAll-Star Squadron #31 and #60 andStarman #46. The character's last Golden Age appearance was inSmash Comics #85 (Oct 1949).[2]
Rookie cop Chuck Lane learns that he is a direct descendant of amedievalcourt jester.[3] Because of this, and the fact that he feels he is not doing enough good as a cop alone, he becomes a colorfully costumed adventurer known as the "Jester".[4] The Jester is a comical crime fighter who makes laughing-stocks out of the criminals he fights. He is known to be an unpredictable hero whose eerie laugh and jingling bells are an ominous sign to his enemies. His costume is worn under his police uniform.[5]
According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "most of the Jester's enemies are ordinary humans, but there is the occasional name villain like the stoic gangster Stoneface and the femme fatale Lady Satan".[6]
The Jester becomes a member of both theAll-Star Squadron andUncle Sam'sFreedom Fighters.[7] His last recorded mission is in 1952, and sometime after that he gives up being the Jester to become a normal cop again.
In modern times, an aged Jester is the head of a group of patriotic radicals known asThe Arcadians, seeking to "cleanse" America of its "corrupt" governments. To this end, he has his underlings (among whom is his grandson, Charles, who has taken on his costumed identity) kidnap the Vice President and his wife, with the ransom being the recovering of mystical artifacts by the Freedom Fighters.[8] When government agents track the group's communications to Lane's home, he sets off powerful explosives, killing the agents and himself along with them.[9]
The Jester is an Olympic-level athlete and a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and detective. In later appearances, he possesses a small flying sphere with a smiling face and handles on the side called "Quinopolis".
The Jester appears inJustice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced byJames Patrick Stuart. This version is a heroic, alternate universe variant of theJoker and member of his Earth'sJustice League. While helpingLex Luthor procure a device capable of sending its owner to other dimensions, the Jester sacrifices himself to impede theCrime Syndicate.
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