Jack-in-the-Box
Encyclopedia
Jack-in-the-Box is a fictional character
in the comic book
series Astro City
. Created by writer Kurt Busiek
and artists Brent Anderson
and Alex Ross
, Jack-in-the-Box is a prominent superhero
of Astro City. He is motivated by a powerful desire for justice based on his own family history, a strong sense of responsibility to society based on his expertise and capabilities, and the sheer enjoyment of being a superhero. A conflicting sense of responsibility to his own family, however, combine with reminders of his own mortality to make him question his superheroic mission.
Over the years Johnson fought supervillain
s such as Steeljack as well as organized crime figures like the Underlord and common criminals. Meanwhile, in civilian life, he established his own independent toy company, married and had a son, Zachary Johnson. For several years he balanced his responsibilities to his family, career and heroic mission successfully, keeping his son and possibly even his wife ignorant of his secret identity
. But his luck ran out in 1983, during a conflict with the villainous Underlord. He ended his career as he began it, rescuing innocents held hostage by criminals, walking knowingly into a trap set by his enemy to do so. Caught in an explosion, his fate was a mystery, with the authorities and media speculating both that he might have been killed and that he might have escaped. As time passed and Jack-in-the-Box did not reappear, hope for his survival dimmed, though it was thought that he had at least taken his enemy down with him.
In fact, Johnson had indeed perished, while his foe survived, retiring his villainous identity but continuing his nefarious activities in secret. In the Johnson home, Jack's wife held a funeral for her missing husband, and their son Zachary was traumatized by his father's mysterious disappearance. Only years later, after his mother died of cancer
and he was settling the estate
, did Zachary discover his father's paraphernalia
and journals
and discover that Jack Johnson had been the missing superhero Jack-in-the-Box. His father's journals also revealed the Underlord's civilian identity, from which Zachary learned that the villain was still alive. Determined to bring his father's killer to justice, Zachary adopted the Jack-in-the-Box identity and set about taking him down. Thus, in 1989, the harlequin crime-fighter returned. Despite speculation, the public at large remained in ignorance as to whether this was the original Jack-in-the-Box returned or a new one. Zachary purposely maintained the pretense that he was indeed the first Jack-in-the-Box come again.
Zachary did indeed take down the Underlord, proving his ability to fill Jack Johnson’s shoes. He continued to do so both as a superhero and a toy company owner, and later married television news personality Tamra Dixon. Mindful of the turmoil and stress his father’s secret and disappearance had put him through he was careful to make her his complete confidant.
In all his incarnations Jack-in-the-Box has been a loner hero, commonly working alone and declining membership in such high-profile superhero teams as Honor Guard
. He has, however, worked with other heroes in the course of various cases, natural disasters, and other crises. On one such occasion he worked with the Astro City Irregulars to prevent a future ecological catastrophe referred to as the Wasting. Other sometime allies include the Trouble Boys, a street gang devoted to emulating and tormenting Jack-in-the-Box.
Jack-in-the-Box has gone up against a colorful assortment of antagonists. His most persistent foes have characteristics and noms de guerre complementing his own; notable are the Junkman, an inventive genius like himself forced out of the workforce by age discrimination who turned his fertile mind to crime to seek vengeance on society, the Human Weasel, a wiry athletic thief who does indeed appear to have weasel-like characteristics, including fur and teeth, and the Brass Monkey, a metallic simian
statue possessed and animated by the mind of a deceased janitor who used his new body to steal.
After many years as Jack-in-the-Box, Zachary was led to reassess his priorities and heroic career by his wife's pregnancy, coupled with visitations from the Box, the Jackson and Jerome Johnson, three alternate future
versions of the child she might bear. Zachary's visitors indicated that he was soon to be killed in action, leaving his infant son to grow up fatherless as he had, but with far more tragic results. In two of the possible futures they represent, the boy becomes insane super-vigilante
s; in the third, the “best” alternative, a lonely, emotionally crippled college professor. Zachary, unwilling to subject his family to a fate similar to that he had endured, ultimately decided to give up his role as Jack-in-the-Box. Equally unwilling to leave society defenseless against the threats from which he has protected it, he simultaneously groomed Roscoe James, founder of the Trouble Boys, as his protégé to take over from him and become the third Jack-in-the-Box.
The new Jack, Roscoe, lacks the brilliance and experience of his predecessors, but is a promising athlete whose street smarts and style will likely bring a new dimension to the role.
s, and "electro-noses". His footapaults are telescoping
boots capable of catapulting him into the air and leaping him rapidly through and over a variety of terrains and urban environments. (Sometimes, covers will show them also acting as stilts, while the actual stories only portray them as being used to make leaps.) Similarly, his handsprings are telescoping gloves which extend his reach and grip (and punch). He can also project from them a multicolored plastic solution which solidifies on contact with the air into streamer
s, and can be used to impede and ensnare his foes, much like the web-fluid of Marvel’s Spider-Man. His "electro-noses" are rubber clown noses which, when deftly applied to an opponent’s face, delivers a jolt from a built-in electroshock weapon, knocking them unconscious.
Jack also carries a purse-like satchel
which may carry other devices or equipment as necessary, such as a freezing device he once jerry-rigged
from some air compressors and cans of refrigerant
. While the first Jack-in-the-Box stories always showed both Jacks with this satchel, current Astro City stories show the original Jack without it, suggesting a retcon
which makes the satchel an add-on by Zachary.
. Instead, the result was Gloo, a green, amorphous blob with vesitigal heads/limbs. Possessing a twisted sentience and memories of being a hero, Gloo was feared by criminals as an unstoppable killing machine, attacking anyone it could discern as an armed and dangerous threat. Gloo would often use powers and tactics which morbidly copied old comedy tropes, such as exhaling acid onto his victims much like a slapstick
comedian would spray people with a seltzer bottle
, or crush gangs together to fit them into a compact car, forming a gruesome clown car
. Gloo was operating up until 1984 at least, but when, how, or even if Gloo was destroyed, or if Zachary Johnson ever encountered it, has not yet been shown in the series.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Astro City
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
. Created by writer Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
and artists Brent Anderson
Brent Anderson
Brent Anderson is an American comic book artist known for his work on X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills and the comic book series Astro City.- Early life :...
and Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
, Jack-in-the-Box is a prominent superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
of Astro City. He is motivated by a powerful desire for justice based on his own family history, a strong sense of responsibility to society based on his expertise and capabilities, and the sheer enjoyment of being a superhero. A conflicting sense of responsibility to his own family, however, combine with reminders of his own mortality to make him question his superheroic mission.
Overview
Jack Johnson, an inventive genius, was one of the first African Americans to break the color barrier in the toy manufacturing industry in the early 1960s, winning a job with the Whamco corporation. Though he faced pay discrimination in comparison to his white colleagues, his true disillusionment came with the discovery that Whamco was exploiting his inventions for criminal purposes. His protests merely resulted in the termination of his employment in 1964, together with the kidnapping of his father to ensure his silence. Jack fought back by adapting his inventions into a personal arsenal and taking on the secret identity of the clown-costumed hero Jack-in-the-Box, in which guise he freed his father and other hostages and eventually exposed Whamco's criminal operations. By this time an established superhero, he continued his double life.Over the years Johnson fought supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s such as Steeljack as well as organized crime figures like the Underlord and common criminals. Meanwhile, in civilian life, he established his own independent toy company, married and had a son, Zachary Johnson. For several years he balanced his responsibilities to his family, career and heroic mission successfully, keeping his son and possibly even his wife ignorant of his secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
. But his luck ran out in 1983, during a conflict with the villainous Underlord. He ended his career as he began it, rescuing innocents held hostage by criminals, walking knowingly into a trap set by his enemy to do so. Caught in an explosion, his fate was a mystery, with the authorities and media speculating both that he might have been killed and that he might have escaped. As time passed and Jack-in-the-Box did not reappear, hope for his survival dimmed, though it was thought that he had at least taken his enemy down with him.
In fact, Johnson had indeed perished, while his foe survived, retiring his villainous identity but continuing his nefarious activities in secret. In the Johnson home, Jack's wife held a funeral for her missing husband, and their son Zachary was traumatized by his father's mysterious disappearance. Only years later, after his mother died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and he was settling the estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
, did Zachary discover his father's paraphernalia
Paraphernalia
In modern usage, the word paraphernalia most commonly refers to apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity as in, "Beth is such an avid sports fan that her walls are covered with baseball paraphernalia"....
and journals
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
and discover that Jack Johnson had been the missing superhero Jack-in-the-Box. His father's journals also revealed the Underlord's civilian identity, from which Zachary learned that the villain was still alive. Determined to bring his father's killer to justice, Zachary adopted the Jack-in-the-Box identity and set about taking him down. Thus, in 1989, the harlequin crime-fighter returned. Despite speculation, the public at large remained in ignorance as to whether this was the original Jack-in-the-Box returned or a new one. Zachary purposely maintained the pretense that he was indeed the first Jack-in-the-Box come again.
Zachary did indeed take down the Underlord, proving his ability to fill Jack Johnson’s shoes. He continued to do so both as a superhero and a toy company owner, and later married television news personality Tamra Dixon. Mindful of the turmoil and stress his father’s secret and disappearance had put him through he was careful to make her his complete confidant.
In all his incarnations Jack-in-the-Box has been a loner hero, commonly working alone and declining membership in such high-profile superhero teams as Honor Guard
Honor Guard (comics)
Honor Guard is a hero team in the comic book series Astro City, portrayed as the world's most elite or prestigious grouping of superheroes...
. He has, however, worked with other heroes in the course of various cases, natural disasters, and other crises. On one such occasion he worked with the Astro City Irregulars to prevent a future ecological catastrophe referred to as the Wasting. Other sometime allies include the Trouble Boys, a street gang devoted to emulating and tormenting Jack-in-the-Box.
Jack-in-the-Box has gone up against a colorful assortment of antagonists. His most persistent foes have characteristics and noms de guerre complementing his own; notable are the Junkman, an inventive genius like himself forced out of the workforce by age discrimination who turned his fertile mind to crime to seek vengeance on society, the Human Weasel, a wiry athletic thief who does indeed appear to have weasel-like characteristics, including fur and teeth, and the Brass Monkey, a metallic simian
Simian
The simians are the "higher primates" familiar to most people: the Old World monkeys and apes, including humans, , and the New World monkeys or platyrrhines. Simians tend to be larger than the "lower primates" or prosimians.- Classification and evolution :The simians are split into three groups...
statue possessed and animated by the mind of a deceased janitor who used his new body to steal.
After many years as Jack-in-the-Box, Zachary was led to reassess his priorities and heroic career by his wife's pregnancy, coupled with visitations from the Box, the Jackson and Jerome Johnson, three alternate future
Alternate future
In science fiction stories involving time travel, an alternative future or alternate future is a possible future which never comes to pass, typically because someone travels back into the past and alters it so that the events of the alternative future cannot occur.An alternative future differs from...
versions of the child she might bear. Zachary's visitors indicated that he was soon to be killed in action, leaving his infant son to grow up fatherless as he had, but with far more tragic results. In two of the possible futures they represent, the boy becomes insane super-vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
s; in the third, the “best” alternative, a lonely, emotionally crippled college professor. Zachary, unwilling to subject his family to a fate similar to that he had endured, ultimately decided to give up his role as Jack-in-the-Box. Equally unwilling to leave society defenseless against the threats from which he has protected it, he simultaneously groomed Roscoe James, founder of the Trouble Boys, as his protégé to take over from him and become the third Jack-in-the-Box.
Abilities
Jack-in-the-Box is an extraordinarily accomplished athlete and acrobat, capable of midair maneuvers to combat flying opponents, and even to dodge aerial explosions. He displayed a deductive mind and a talent for invention, able to maintain and augment the arsenal of gimmicks and devices inherited from his father and utilize them expertly in furtherance of his crimefighting career. He is also fond of wisecracks and wordplay.The new Jack, Roscoe, lacks the brilliance and experience of his predecessors, but is a promising athlete whose street smarts and style will likely bring a new dimension to the role.
Weaponry
Jack-in-the-Box’s basic arsenal consists of his "footapaults" and "handsprings", entangling streamerStreamer
Streamer or streamers may refer to:* Pennon, a small pointed flag* Campaign streamer, flag used by military units* Paper streamer* Positive streamer, lightning bolt* Streamer moth, the geometer moth Anticlea derivata...
s, and "electro-noses". His footapaults are telescoping
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
boots capable of catapulting him into the air and leaping him rapidly through and over a variety of terrains and urban environments. (Sometimes, covers will show them also acting as stilts, while the actual stories only portray them as being used to make leaps.) Similarly, his handsprings are telescoping gloves which extend his reach and grip (and punch). He can also project from them a multicolored plastic solution which solidifies on contact with the air into streamer
Streamer
Streamer or streamers may refer to:* Pennon, a small pointed flag* Campaign streamer, flag used by military units* Paper streamer* Positive streamer, lightning bolt* Streamer moth, the geometer moth Anticlea derivata...
s, and can be used to impede and ensnare his foes, much like the web-fluid of Marvel’s Spider-Man. His "electro-noses" are rubber clown noses which, when deftly applied to an opponent’s face, delivers a jolt from a built-in electroshock weapon, knocking them unconscious.
Jack also carries a purse-like satchel
Satchel (bag)
A satchel is a bag, often with a strap. The strap is often worn so that it diagonally crosses the body, with the bag hanging on the opposite hip, rather than hanging directly down from the shoulder. They are tradionally used for carrying books....
which may carry other devices or equipment as necessary, such as a freezing device he once jerry-rigged
Jury rig
Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast.-Etymology:The...
from some air compressors and cans of refrigerant
Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle usually including, for enhanced efficiency, a reversible phase change from a liquid to a gas. Traditionally, fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, were used as refrigerants, but they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion...
. While the first Jack-in-the-Box stories always showed both Jacks with this satchel, current Astro City stories show the original Jack without it, suggesting a retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
which makes the satchel an add-on by Zachary.
Allies
- The Brothers of Trouble - devotees of Jack-in-the-Box from the future who have made him the basis of a religion. A possible future version of the Trouble Boys.
- Jerome Johnson - a possible future son of Jack-in-the-Box II, an alternate version of the Box and the Jackson. A college professor in his time-line.
- Roscoe James - leader of the Trouble Boys street gang, recruited by Jack-in-the-Box II to become Jack-in-the-Box III.
- Tamra Dixon (viewpoint) - anchorwoman of Channel 3's Morning News, married to toymaker and entrepreneur Zachary Johnson (aka Jack-in-the-Box II).
- The Trouble Boys - a Bakerville street gang athletic group founded by Roscoe James to keep himself and his friends out of real trouble. Imitators and tormentors of Jack-in-the-Box.
Enemies
- The Box (featured) - An insane cyborg vigilante character and a possible future son of Jack-in-the-Box II, an alternate version of the Jackson and Jerome Johnson.
- The Brass Monkey (featured) - a living metallic simian statue with a human mind.
- The Deacon - Head of the crime families of Astro City; despite years of investigation, has never been convicted of any crime.
- "Eyes" Eisenstein (viewpoint) - a small-time crook who discovers Jack-in-the-Box II's secret identity, but flees town when paranoid fantasies of what may happen if he told anyone get the better of him.
- The Gorilla Troops - henchmen of the Brass Monkey who wear gorilla masks.
- The Human Weasel - a short, wiry villain with weasel-like physical characteristics. His status as a Jack-in-the-Box villain inspired by the lyrics of Pop Goes the WeaselPop Goes the Weasel"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.-Lyrics:There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song...
. - The Jackson (featured) - A fanatic feral vigilante and a possible future son of Jack-in-the-Box II, an alternate version of the Box and Jerome Johnson.
- The Junkman (viewpoint) — an aged villain seeking vengeance on society for age discrimination. Recycles and enhances his weaponry from discarded trash. His closest analog, interestingly, is his primary antagonist, Jack-in-the-Box, whose origin, inventive genius, and use of gimmicks parallel his.
- The Middleman - a smuggler and gunrunner specializing in acquiring the weaponry of defeated villains and fencing them to other villains.
- Prospero - a past opponent of Jack-in-the-Box II, currently incarcerated.
- Smoke & Mirrors - villain with illusion-casting powers, a past opponent of Jack-in-the-Box II; as a hireling of the Conquistador, created an illusion of a city-wide conflagration. Currently incarcerated.
- The Underlord - a past opponent of Jack-in-the-Box I and II, active in the 1980s.
- Steeljack (viewpoint) - a past opponent of Jack-in-the-Box I, active in the 1970s, since reformed. As a super-villain he was a member of the Terrifying Three. After serving his time he was tapped by former associates as a private investigator to solve a string of murders in the super-villain community.
Other Versions
During the "Dark Age" arc of Astro City, it was revealed that one of the original Jack-in-the-Box's enemies had somehow acquired blood samples of him, and at one point attempted to grow a clone, hoping to create the perfect henchmanHenchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...
. Instead, the result was Gloo, a green, amorphous blob with vesitigal heads/limbs. Possessing a twisted sentience and memories of being a hero, Gloo was feared by criminals as an unstoppable killing machine, attacking anyone it could discern as an armed and dangerous threat. Gloo would often use powers and tactics which morbidly copied old comedy tropes, such as exhaling acid onto his victims much like a slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedian would spray people with a seltzer bottle
Soda syphon
The soda syphon , also known as the seltzer bottle or syphon seltzer bottle is a device for dispensing carbonated or soda water....
, or crush gangs together to fit them into a compact car, forming a gruesome clown car
Clown car
A clown car is a prop in a circus clown routine. A common example of such a routine involves an implausibly large number of clowns emerging from a very small car, to humorous effect. The first performance of this routine was in the Cole Brothers Circus during the 1950s.The clown car is a...
. Gloo was operating up until 1984 at least, but when, how, or even if Gloo was destroyed, or if Zachary Johnson ever encountered it, has not yet been shown in the series.
See also
- Astro CityAstro CityKurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
- List of Astro City characters
- Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
- The CreeperCreeper (comics)The Creeper is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Showcase #73 .-Publication history:...
- "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman