 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Jericho | |
|---|---|
.png) Jericho as depicted inTales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984). Art byGeorge Pérez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Tales of the Teen Titans #43 (June 1984) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Joseph William Wilson |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans Wildebeest Society Justice League Defiance Core Policy Group |
| Abilities |
|
Jericho (Joseph William Wilson) is a fictional character appearing incomic books published byDC Comics. The character was originally asuperhero, the son ofDeathstroke, and a member of theTeen Titans duringThe New Teen Titans period byMarv Wolfman andGeorge Pérez. Since the early 1990s, Jericho has gone through periods of both sanity and insanity.
Joe Wilson going by the name "Kane Wolfman" appeared as a recurring character on thesixth andseventh seasons ofThe CWArrowverse showArrow, played by Liam Hall. He also appeared as a recurring character on the second season of theDC Universe seriesTitans, portrayed byChella Man.
Jericho first appeared inTales of the Teen Titans #43 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.[1]
Jericho was created in the early 1980s, a few years after Marv Wolfman and George Pérez relaunched the Teen Titans series and turned it into a major hit for DC Comics. At the time, Wolfman and Pérez were interested in distancing the team from theJustice League, many of whose members had been mentors to the Titans. This meant introducing new characters such as the mysticalRaven and the technologicalCyborg, as well as changing some of the existing characters, such as havingDick Grayson trade in his identity asRobin in favor of becomingNightwing. Jericho was part of this process of establishing the team as its own feature rather than, in Pérez' words, a "Justice Little League". Wolfman had decided on the name, which he got from an unused story from the previous Titans series,[2] and with the idea of Jericho being the son ofDeathstroke, but could not think of any other aspects of the character. Pérez worked out the design, powers, and personality of Jericho and also suggested making the character mute. He also insisted that Jericho's emotions be conveyed entirely through visuals, without the use ofthought balloons. Pérez claimed that Jericho is the first character which he created by himself.[3]
When Wolfman and Pérez were creating the character, they considered making Jericho gay. Pérez stated that "while Marv and I did discuss the possibility of Joseph Wilson being gay, Marv decided that it was too much of a stereotype to have the sensitive, artistic, and wide-eyed character with arguably effeminate features be also homosexual".[4] It is eventually revealed that he is not interested in women, saying in sign language toKole, who was in love with him, that he is gay inConvergence, which was confirmed by artistNicola Scott.[5] The DC Rebirth version of Joseph is confirmed to be bisexual,[6] as is hisTitans TV series version.
Joseph Wilson is the youngest son of Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) andAdeline Kane, and had a happy early childhood. As a child, he is captured byJackal under the orders ofQuraci presidentHurrambi Marlo in retaliation for Deathstroke killing an important colonel. One of Jackal's men slits Joseph's throat, leaving himmute.[7][8] Following this incident, Adeline divorces Slade and takes custody of Joseph and his older brotherGrant. While still a child, Jericho discovers that he possesses themetahuman ability to take possession of any humanoid being by making eye contact with them, a result of biological experimentation done on his father years before. He first manifested his powers when he was saving a friend in danger, but Jericho was left traumatized by the event and his powers became dormant until his late teens. By then, Jericho worked with his mother in her espionage organization, Searchers Inc., and received training in combat and stealth. During a mission, Jericho's powers fully awakened again to save his mother from an assassin, and he embraced his abilities to further aid his mother in her work.
.jpg)
During the storyline "The Judas Contract", Adeline and Joseph discover that Deathstroke has accepted a contract on theTeen Titans. Adeline and Joseph approach Dick Grayson to help him rescue the Titans, with Joseph adopting the identity of Jericho.[7] The rescue mission is a success, but the Titans are initially wary of Jericho because of his relationship to Deathstroke and the betrayal ofTerra.
Shortly after Jericho joins the Titans, another new member,Kole, joins and Jericho immediately develops a bond with her. Jericho also has a close and affectionate relationship with Raven, having possessed her once and learned about her demonic heritage. Jericho is the first Titan to understand Raven, bonding over their pasts with their fathers and finding comfort with one another.[9]
Jericho is later possessed by the souls ofAzarath, which are tainted by the essence of the demonTrigon and influence him to take control of theWildebeest Society. Due to the spirits' possession, Jericho gains a lion soul-self and a healing factor that repairs his throat and restores his ability to speak. Jericho captures the Titans and attempts to have the spirits possess them before Deathstroke kills him.[10]
Jericho survives by possessing Deathstroke, but his consciousness lays dormant for years. After learning thatDonna Troy has been killed in battle, Jericho reawakens, takes control of Deathstroke, and killsWintergreen, Deathstroke's longtime associate.[11] Jericho then confronts the Titans, wanting to protect them from further losses. Cyborg transfers Jericho's consciousness into a computer file, which is stored inTitans Tower.[12]
In "One Year Later", Raven reconstructs Jericho's body, healing him of the throat injuries from his childhood that left him mute. Jericho joins the latest incarnation of the Teen Titans and reconnects with his half-sister Rose.[13] After possessingMatch, Jericho moves toS.T.A.R. Labs until Match can be controlled.[14] The Titans free Jericho from Match's body, but learn that he has a form ofdissociative identity disorder caused by the remnants of those he possesses remaining in his mind.[15]
Jericho later returns and attacks the Titans by possessing Cyborg. However,Static shorts out Titans Tower's systems, creating feedback that knocks Jericho out of Cyborg. After being captured, Jericho is confronted byVigilante, who gouges out his eyes, leaving him unable to use his possession abilities. The trauma of the incident causes Jericho to revert to his true personality, but does not cure his mental illness.[16] InBlackest Night, Jericho is revealed to have regenerated his eyes and reconciles with Deathstroke.[17]
Deathstroke hiresDoctor Sivana andDoctor Impossible to create the "Methuselah Device" to save Jericho, who has been undergoing cellular degradation and developed symptoms resemblingleprosy.[18] After Jericho is healed, Deathstroke offers the device's abilities to the Titans, promising to resurrect their deceased loved ones as payment for their services. Some Titans accept, but other Titans refuse and the team fights. Deathstroke walks away with his son, but Jericho possesses him, disgusted at what his father did to achieve his restoration. He intends to destroy first the Methuselah Device, then himself and Deathstroke.[19] While the Titans fight over the machine, its power source, a metahuman named DJ Molecule, is released. Molecule blasts Deathstroke, knocking Jericho out of his body and is then slashed byCheshire. When Cinder sacrifices herself to destroy the machine, Jericho is carried out byArsenal. Arsenal and Jericho form a new team of Titans to restore the legacy that Deathstroke damaged.[20]
InThe New 52 continuity reboot, two versions of Jericho appear. Unlike previous comics, Jericho is not mute and is fully capable of speech.
The first version appears as an antagonist in the second volume ofDeathstroke. He and his mother were believed to have died whenNorth Korean forces attacked their home. Now a young adult, Jericho plans to destroy his father's life that he had built for himself with the help of his mother and brother. It is later revealed that Jericho had taken control of his mother and brother and forced them to hate Deathstroke.
The second version appears inDeathstroke vol. 3, which erases the previous volume fromcontinuity and brings Jericho closer to his original depiction.[21] Sometime later inGotham, Jericho meets with Rose, but his father Charles Wilson, also known as Odysseus, appears to reclaim him. Due to the arrival of Deathstroke, Jericho escapes his grandfather's clutches and once again secludes himself. Sometime later, it is revealed that Jericho went toRa's al Ghul to seek sanctuary and had gained better control of his powers. He and Ra's al Ghul reappear before his father and sister again to save them from his father's enemies, who are also part of the Nova Council, an anti-metahuman organization that targets criminals and those who uses their powers for money.
Jericho later reappears after theDC Rebirth relaunch, once again mute and with his origin restored, though slightly modernized. This version of Jericho is alsobisexual.[6] Unlike his blissful childhood in the original comics, Jericho's family life was strained by the time he was a young teenager, as his parents were constantly fighting over his father's long absences due to his work with the government.[22]
As a young adult, Jericho is working as an executive vice-president for a tech firm that his mother owns in Los Angeles and is engaged to his interpreter, Etienne. In addition to sign language, Jericho usesBluetooth technology that vocalizes his thoughts. After Rose comes to visit him, Jericho secretly meets with David Isherwood, his former lover and Slade's weapon designer. Jericho tells Isherwood of his marriage, and he disapproves of Jericho's choice because of his sexuality. He does not believe his love for Etienne is genuine, and tells Jericho that he will prevent the marriage. Angered by Isherwood's interference, Jericho possesses him, turns off his suit, and makes him fall off a building.[6] Following Isherwood's seeming death, Jericho takes over his duties as a superhero and begins using the Ikon suit.[23] While out on a mission to helpSuperman apprehend his father during a government mission, Rose learns that Etienne is secretly a member ofH.I.V.E.[24]
Stricken with guilt, Jericho goes to a hospital to visit Isherwood, who survived his fall, but was rendered comatose. Jericho apologizes to Isherwood for his current condition and tells him that he still cares about him.[25] Unbeknownst to Jericho, Etienne is having an affair with his father while spying on him.[26] On the morning of their wedding, Jericho finds Etienne dead in their apartment and believes his father killed her.[27] One night, Rose visits Jericho and confesses that she killed Etienne while being possessed by an entity called "Willow", much to his confusion.[28]
AfterEmiko Queen apparently kills Deathstroke, an angry, grieving Jericho attempts to round up all the villains who attended his father's funeral. Intrigued by Jericho's potential, theLegion of Doom offers him a place with them.[29] While trying to keep Rose from taking revenge on Emiko, Jericho is gravely injured and calls his mother for help. A hologram ofLex Luthor appears and offers to help Jericho if he joins the Legion of Doom.[30]
Jericho accepts a special piece ofnanotechnology as a "gift", which heals his wounds and amplifies his powers.[31] Over the course of the next few days, Jericho begins to stop crime more actively using his new powers, but starts developing aMessiah complex as a result.[32] Jericho is confronted by David Isherwood, who sacrifices himself to remove the nanotech from his body.[33]
Jericho can possess people after making eye contact with them; his body turns insubstantial and enters the subject. While he is in possession, Jericho has access to all of his host's powers and memories. Jericho's victim remains conscious and can express themselves vocally, but they are otherwise unable to control their body's actions while possessed.[7] If the person is unconscious or asleep upon possession, Jericho can use their voice to speak, albeit with their accent or any other speech impairments, and only using the words they know. Jericho sometimes uses theAmerican manual alphabet letter "J" as hissign name to signal to his allies that he has taken possession of a person.[34]
Despite hispacifistic nature and dislike for physical violence, he is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and able to hold his own against his father,Deathstroke.
When possessed by the spirits ofAzarath, Jericho had a powerful lionsoul self and a healing factor.[35]
InThe New 52, Jericho possesses an array of psychic abilities aside from his possession powers, such as being able to telepathically control his brother Grant and his mother Adeline.
Despite conflictingcontinuity between the second and third volumes ofDeathstroke, Jericho retains his telepathy to read minds and control others. After being experimented on, Jericho demonstrates even more powerful abilities, being able to rupture humans apart with a psychic blast.[36] Although his telepathy can be blocked by others with mental powers, Jericho can read theiraura to see if they hold malicious intent and can also project a defensive energy field.[37][38]
InDC Rebirth, Jericho demonstrates the ability to separate his incorporeal, spiritual self from his physical body when he uses his powers to possess other people. Unlike his usual way of possessing others, Jericho describes this ability as akin tonear-field communication, being able to possess people within a certain distance from him. When Jericho projects his consciousness, his body is left dormant and immobile, leaving it vulnerable to attacks if no one is there to protect it.[39]
