Jeremy Karne
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Karne, better known as Kid Karnevil, or simply Karnevil, is a fictional supervillain
in the DC Comics
Universe
, a member of different supervillain teams such as The Pentacle
and the Nazi organization called The Fourth Reich. Kid Karnevil first appeared in Shadowpact #1 (July 2006), and was created by Bill Willingham
.
Kid Karnevil rose to prominence when he starred in the third volume of the Justice Society of America series. He had pretended to be Billy Armstrong, the All-American Kid. He became a member of the Justice Society, but only for a short time as he quickly infiltrated them because of his involvement with the team he was really on, which was The Fourth Reich, a Nazi supervillain team that the Justice Society had faced before.
All-American Kid seemed to be a parody of the Marvel Comics
hero, Bucky
, a patriotic teenager who served as a sidekick to Captain America
. All-American Kid's entire concept was similar to Bucky's, as far as their costumes, background stories and both of them being sidekicks to patriotic heroes.
.
Then, in early 2009, he made a very brief appearance in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #24. He didn't appear again until issue #29, in which he became an important role to the series. Jeremy recently finished starring in the series. Between issues #29 and #40, he appeared in every issue, except issues #35 and #39. He last appeared in issue #40.
, an evil counterpart to the Shadowpact
. He claims that he once died and was sent to Hell
for his sins but was kicked out and brought back to life because he scared the demons. When The Pentacle fought against the Shadowpact, Jeremy captured Detective Chimp
and tied him to a post, where he prepared to torture and kill him. However, Detective Chimp broke free and subdued Jeremy, leaving him tied to the post. Later, Jeremy and the rest of his team were transported to the Black Tower, a prison in another dimension. Jeremy later escaped the dimension through a portal bringing in goods from Earth after he beat his guard and boasted that he had been quietly planning it for months.
Jeremy was then sent to Salvation
where he met the Joker
and told him that he was his role model and would try to outdo him by being more like Joker than he was himself, but Jeremy planned to do this by killing him one day. Joker felt with almost no concern as he said, "Many have tried. None have succeeded." Later, as they were escaping Salvation, Joker slapped Jeremy across his face saying, "Nobody likes a copycat!"
, saying that his ancestor, William Armstrong, was the first All-American Kid and was a sidekick to Tex Thompson
. "Billy" was then placed as Mr. America
's sidekick.
Jeremy soon pretended he was under mind control and pretended to resist as he took a knife and stabbed Mr. Terrific
in the back. When the JSA interrogated him, he lied, saying he didn't remember anything. He got them to turn their accusations toward King Chimera
as he made up questions about King's power and as soon as they heard Jeremy pretending to resist on their security tape, unbeknownst to them.
When the Brownstone was attacked by numerous villains, Jeremy grabbed Obsidian
, who had degenerated into a blackened egg. A woman in a dark, shadowy form, later named Shadow of War, appeared and Jeremy gave her Obsidian as part of his mission. Shadow of War left and an alive Mr. Terrific appeared and told him that he knew who he really was. Jeremy revealed that he stabbed Terrific because he knew he would figure out his true identity. Jeremy also revealed that days ago he set off an illumination device that transformed Obsidian into an egg. Jeremy prepared to kill Terrific but Mr. Terrific's T-Spheres attacked him first, knocking him out.
A time jump then took place, revealing that twenty years into the future the meta-population had been decimated and the survivors, one of them being Mr. Terrific, were held in concentration camps. Jeremy, as an adult, was the Führer
of The Fourth Reich. As part of Mr. Terrific's plan, he and the other former heroes rebelled against the Nazis in order for Mr. Terrific to get to the Darkness Engine and shut it down. However, when he made his way to the Darkness Engine, he decided to make a call to his past self and intervene in The Fourth Reich's plan from the beginning.
When he made the call, it was just before he was about to be pronounced dead from having been stabbed by Jeremy. The injured Mr. Terrific blurted out how to hatch Obsidian, who was still in his egg form. Obsidian was hatched and the Brownstone was attacked, and when Jeremy was looking for Obsidian, thinking he was still in his egg form, Obsidian appeared, in full form, and knocked Jeremy out. Obsidian later revealed that Jeremy and the rest of The Fourth Reich were put into prison, awaiting trial.
Jeremy is best known for deceiving his teammates, or anyone he claims to like. Although admitting to the Joker that he was his role model, he stated that he would kill him one day and use his skin as a cape. Mr. Terrific once stated that Jeremy has over thirty murders on his record. In the alternate future, when Jeremy was the Führer of the Fourth Reich, he showed racism towards Mr. Terrific and ridiculed him for his nationality.
tied around his neck, wore a brown shirt, black pants, and gray boots. He wore exactly the same costume in Salvation Run except his shirt was orange instead of brown. When he used the alias of All-American Kid, he looked much older, his hair was shorter, and he wore a red
, white
, and blue
costume which represented the American flag as he was the sidekick to Mr. America. On the cover of Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #37, he wore a black and red costume with the Nazi symbol on it; however he was never seen wearing this other than on the cover of the issue.
. At the same time, Jeremy explained that his true strength comes from his willpower and that no one can tell him what to do. He is skilled in all manners of torture and murder and has exhibited levels of acrobatic and gymnastic ability in numerous appearances.
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...
in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, a member of different supervillain teams such as The Pentacle
The Pentacle
The Pentacle, or Pentacle, is a DC Comics supervillain group, a team that served as counterparts to the superhero group, the Shadowpact. Created by Bill Willingham, The Pentacle first appeared in Shadowpact #1 .-Publication history:...
and the Nazi organization called The Fourth Reich. Kid Karnevil first appeared in Shadowpact #1 (July 2006), and was created by Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
.
Kid Karnevil rose to prominence when he starred in the third volume of the Justice Society of America series. He had pretended to be Billy Armstrong, the All-American Kid. He became a member of the Justice Society, but only for a short time as he quickly infiltrated them because of his involvement with the team he was really on, which was The Fourth Reich, a Nazi supervillain team that the Justice Society had faced before.
All-American Kid seemed to be a parody of the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
hero, Bucky
Bucky
Bucky is the name of several fictional characters, masked superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The original, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby as a sidekick character in Captain America Comics #1 , published by Marvel's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics...
, a patriotic teenager who served as a sidekick to Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
. All-American Kid's entire concept was similar to Bucky's, as far as their costumes, background stories and both of them being sidekicks to patriotic heroes.
Publication history
In 2006, Jeremy Karne made his first appearance in Shadowpact #1. He appeared in two more issues and then was not seen again for a year. He then appeared in issue #13, marking his final appearance in the series. A year later, in 2008, he appeared in nearly every issue of the seven-issue mini-series Salvation RunSalvation Run
Salvation Run is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie in to the company's major event series Final Crisis in 2008.-Premise:The premise of the series, which is based on a pitch by George R. R...
.
Then, in early 2009, he made a very brief appearance in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #24. He didn't appear again until issue #29, in which he became an important role to the series. Jeremy recently finished starring in the series. Between issues #29 and #40, he appeared in every issue, except issues #35 and #39. He last appeared in issue #40.
Fictional character biography
Jeremy Karne, just a teenager, was a murderer and sociopath who had gone by the name Kid Karnevil. He was on a team called The PentacleThe Pentacle
The Pentacle, or Pentacle, is a DC Comics supervillain group, a team that served as counterparts to the superhero group, the Shadowpact. Created by Bill Willingham, The Pentacle first appeared in Shadowpact #1 .-Publication history:...
, an evil counterpart to the Shadowpact
Shadowpact
The Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...
. He claims that he once died and was sent to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
for his sins but was kicked out and brought back to life because he scared the demons. When The Pentacle fought against the Shadowpact, Jeremy captured Detective Chimp
Detective Chimp
In the fictional DC Universe, Detective Chimp is a deerstalker-wearing chimpanzee with human-level intelligence who solves crimes, often with the help of the Bureau of Amplified Animals, a group of intelligent animals that also includes Rex the Wonder Dog...
and tied him to a post, where he prepared to torture and kill him. However, Detective Chimp broke free and subdued Jeremy, leaving him tied to the post. Later, Jeremy and the rest of his team were transported to the Black Tower, a prison in another dimension. Jeremy later escaped the dimension through a portal bringing in goods from Earth after he beat his guard and boasted that he had been quietly planning it for months.
Jeremy was then sent to Salvation
Salvation Run
Salvation Run is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie in to the company's major event series Final Crisis in 2008.-Premise:The premise of the series, which is based on a pitch by George R. R...
where he met the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
and told him that he was his role model and would try to outdo him by being more like Joker than he was himself, but Jeremy planned to do this by killing him one day. Joker felt with almost no concern as he said, "Many have tried. None have succeeded." Later, as they were escaping Salvation, Joker slapped Jeremy across his face saying, "Nobody likes a copycat!"
Infiltrating the Justice Society
Jeremy then took the alias Billy Armstrong, the All-American Kid, and lied to the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, saying that his ancestor, William Armstrong, was the first All-American Kid and was a sidekick to Tex Thompson
Tex Thompson
Tex Thompson is a superhero owned by DC Comics who has used the costumed identities Mr. America and The Americommando. Created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily, his first appearance was in Action Comics #1 , the same comic that introduced Superman.-Fictional character biography:Thomson is originally...
. "Billy" was then placed as Mr. America
Mister America (Jeffrey Graves)
Mister America is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, the official third and current character to take up the Mr. America mantle and a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America. Mr. America made his first full appearance as Jeffrey Graves in Justice Society of...
's sidekick.
Jeremy soon pretended he was under mind control and pretended to resist as he took a knife and stabbed Mr. Terrific
Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)
Michael Holt is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics. First appearing in Spectre #54 , he is the second character to take up the Mister Terrific mantle....
in the back. When the JSA interrogated him, he lied, saying he didn't remember anything. He got them to turn their accusations toward King Chimera
King Chimera
King Chimera is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America. King Chimera first appeared in Justice Society of America King Chimera is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice...
as he made up questions about King's power and as soon as they heard Jeremy pretending to resist on their security tape, unbeknownst to them.
When the Brownstone was attacked by numerous villains, Jeremy grabbed Obsidian
Obsidian (comics)
Obsidian is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway. According to an Infinity, Inc...
, who had degenerated into a blackened egg. A woman in a dark, shadowy form, later named Shadow of War, appeared and Jeremy gave her Obsidian as part of his mission. Shadow of War left and an alive Mr. Terrific appeared and told him that he knew who he really was. Jeremy revealed that he stabbed Terrific because he knew he would figure out his true identity. Jeremy also revealed that days ago he set off an illumination device that transformed Obsidian into an egg. Jeremy prepared to kill Terrific but Mr. Terrific's T-Spheres attacked him first, knocking him out.
The Fourth Reich
After the JSA split into two teams, the JSA kept Jeremy in custody. When they planned to hand him over to the authorities, Jeremy's team, a Nazi organization called The Fourth Reich, instantly attacked the JSA. It was revealed that The Fourth Reich wanted Obsidian to use him as the power source for their Darkness Engine, a machine that negated all super powers, which they activated during the attack on the JSA.A time jump then took place, revealing that twenty years into the future the meta-population had been decimated and the survivors, one of them being Mr. Terrific, were held in concentration camps. Jeremy, as an adult, was the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
of The Fourth Reich. As part of Mr. Terrific's plan, he and the other former heroes rebelled against the Nazis in order for Mr. Terrific to get to the Darkness Engine and shut it down. However, when he made his way to the Darkness Engine, he decided to make a call to his past self and intervene in The Fourth Reich's plan from the beginning.
When he made the call, it was just before he was about to be pronounced dead from having been stabbed by Jeremy. The injured Mr. Terrific blurted out how to hatch Obsidian, who was still in his egg form. Obsidian was hatched and the Brownstone was attacked, and when Jeremy was looking for Obsidian, thinking he was still in his egg form, Obsidian appeared, in full form, and knocked Jeremy out. Obsidian later revealed that Jeremy and the rest of The Fourth Reich were put into prison, awaiting trial.
Characterization
Jeremy has always been portrayed as a murderous, deceptive, cruel and insane teenager. His teammates in The Pentacle knew him for his reputation of various murders and crimes he had committed and for his obsession with murder. Jeremy stated that he only killed those who annoy him, those whom he would find it amusing to kill, or anyone else who could attract his interest. Jeremy was not even above killing his own teammates, telling Strega, the leader of The Pentacle, that he would kill her sooner or later. She admitted that although he was the least powerful among the team, he was the most monstrous.Jeremy is best known for deceiving his teammates, or anyone he claims to like. Although admitting to the Joker that he was his role model, he stated that he would kill him one day and use his skin as a cape. Mr. Terrific once stated that Jeremy has over thirty murders on his record. In the alternate future, when Jeremy was the Führer of the Fourth Reich, he showed racism towards Mr. Terrific and ridiculed him for his nationality.
Origin
An official origin was never revealed for Jeremy. It was stated by Bagman, a teammate of Jeremy's in The Pentacle, that he heard that Jeremy died and went to Hell for his sins but was kicked out because he "scared the staff". Jeremy claimed that although the demons had a frightening reputation, they turned squeamish when they were confronted by him, a person who is, as he put it, "someone who really knows what he's doing". Jeremy then stated, "Let's just say I taught them a thing or two about their so-called area of expertise."Depiction
Jeremy has been depicted in a few different costumes. In Shadowpact, he wore a black mask, had a red bandanaBandana
Bandana can refer to:*Another name for a kerchief*Bandana *Bandana *Bandana, Kentucky, a small town in the United States*Y Bandana, a Welsh alternative rock band.**Y Bandana , their self-titled debut album....
tied around his neck, wore a brown shirt, black pants, and gray boots. He wore exactly the same costume in Salvation Run except his shirt was orange instead of brown. When he used the alias of All-American Kid, he looked much older, his hair was shorter, and he wore a red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
, and blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
costume which represented the American flag as he was the sidekick to Mr. America. On the cover of Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #37, he wore a black and red costume with the Nazi symbol on it; however he was never seen wearing this other than on the cover of the issue.
Powers and abilities
Jeremy has no superhuman abilities but claims that he once died and scared the demons in Hell so much that they returned him to life, hinting at possible immortalityImmortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. At the same time, Jeremy explained that his true strength comes from his willpower and that no one can tell him what to do. He is skilled in all manners of torture and murder and has exhibited levels of acrobatic and gymnastic ability in numerous appearances.