Joystick (comics)
Encyclopedia
Joystick is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics
universe.
, living a life she later considered to be a bore. After her sophomore year, something happened to change her, apparently resulting in her death; in her "new life," she became determined to live life on the edge, and began taking extreme risks. She then disappeared for three years before reappearing as Joystick.
Her occupations include former director of marketing at Chi-Huan Associates and mercenary. She is a mutated human/technology user and has been a member of the Crimson Cowl
's Masters of Evil
. Joystick was a member of the Thunderbolts
which at the time also included Atlas
, Blizzard
, MACH-IV, Photon, Radioactive Man
, Songbird
, and Speed Demon
.
Her various enemies include Batroc's
Brigade (Batroc, Machete, Maximillian Zaran), Green Goblin
(Phil Urich
), Justin Hammer
, HYDRA
, Kaine
, Shannon, Polestar
, the Rhino
, Spider-Man
/Scarlet Spider
(Ben Reilly
), El Toro Negro
and Tremolo
.
During her stint on the Thunderbolts team, her powers have grown. She is now fast enough to match the Speed Demon in hand-to-hand, and is described as being 'the living embodiment of action'. After turning on her teammates, she was subdued and was last seen in prison.
Joystick is also thought to be a bisexual. During Civil War
, The Thunderbolts took on a group of college kids that had stolen M.A.C.H. IV's old suits of armor. After hearing Radioactive Man reference that one of them was a woman, Joystick tries to open up the armor stating "Buddha said it's a chick in here... Just wanted to see if she was cute..."
At other times she has been flirtatious with her male teammates as well.
. The source of these powers remains unknown. She also wears metal devices on her wrists, each of which generates a "baton" of coherent energy, powered by strontium
chips. These batons can be swung or hurled with great concussive force, sufficient to damage concrete. In addition, by striking the batons against one another, Joystick can project a powerful concussive force beam at a target, and possesses wires to hack into computers within her gauntlets. Her costume formerly contained an explosive device which would be activated with a 2 minute countdown by the controllers of the Great Game. The mechanism of the devices is unknown, as is their exact composition.
as well as Silhouette
, Midnight's Fire
, and Speed Demon
. Her powers come from the Universal Wellspring.
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...
universe.
Fictional character biography
Virtually nothing is known of the past of Janice before she first appeared as Joystick, including the origin and nature of her apparent superhuman powers. When she was much younger, her father, a gambler, taught her his philosophy to 'always have a card to play'. She then used this philosophy to great advantage when she helped a mobster rob her father to save her own life. Later, she was a student at the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, living a life she later considered to be a bore. After her sophomore year, something happened to change her, apparently resulting in her death; in her "new life," she became determined to live life on the edge, and began taking extreme risks. She then disappeared for three years before reappearing as Joystick.
Her occupations include former director of marketing at Chi-Huan Associates and mercenary. She is a mutated human/technology user and has been a member of the Crimson Cowl
Crimson Cowl
Crimson Cowl is an identity which has been used by four Marvel Comics characters to varying degrees:*Ultron used the identity in his debut as Ultron-5 to conceal his sentience, while using:**Edwin Jarvis as a "frontman" under the identity....
's Masters of Evil
Masters of Evil
The Masters of Evil is a name for a number of fictional supervillain teams that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in The Avengers #6 , with the lineup continually changing over the years....
. Joystick was a member of the Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts (comics)
The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team, which consists mostly of former supervillains. The group first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 , and was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley.-Publication history:...
which at the time also included Atlas
Atlas (comics)
Atlas , formerly Power Man, Smuggler and Goliath, is a fictional character, a former supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and a former member of the Thunderbolts.-Publication history:...
, Blizzard
Blizzard (Donnie Gill)
Blizzard is a fictional character, both a supervillain and superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Blizzard.-Fictional character biography:...
, MACH-IV, Photon, Radioactive Man
Radioactive Man (Marvel Comics)
Radioactive Man is the name of two characters from Marvel Comics.-Chen Lu:A nuclear physicist and Communist agent in the People's Republic of China, Chen Lu first appears in Journey into Mystery #93...
, Songbird
Songbird (comics)
Songbird , formerly known as Screaming Mimi, is a fictional character, a superheroine and former supervillainess in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Publication history:...
, and Speed Demon
Speed Demon
Speed Demon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears as the Whizzer - a member of the team the Squadron Sinister - in the final panel of Avengers #69 Speed Demon (James Sanders) is a fictional character that appears in comic books...
.
Her various enemies include Batroc's
Batroc the Leaper
Batroc the Leaper is a fictional villain from Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Tales of Suspense #75, 1966...
Brigade (Batroc, Machete, Maximillian Zaran), Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
(Phil Urich
Phil Urich
Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is a Marvel Comics character whose first appearance was in Web of Spider-Man #125. He once was the second person to use the Green Goblin identity as a superhero instead of a supervillain...
), Justin Hammer
Justin Hammer
Justin Hammer is a fictional character that has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. As a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man, Justin Hammer exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
, HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
, Kaine
Kaine
Kaine is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain and antihero who serves as both an ally and an enemy of Spider-Man. He first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #119, and is the Jackal's first failed attempt at cloning Peter Parker...
, Shannon, Polestar
Polestar (comics)
Polestar is the name used by a pair of mercenaries and antagonists of Spider-Man, closely associated with the Great Game. The first is currently deceased.-Polestar I:...
, the Rhino
Rhino (comics)
The Rhino is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #41 The Rhino (Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich) is a fictional character that appears in comic...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-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...
/Scarlet Spider
Scarlet Spider
Scarlet Spider is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man. His costume was designed by Tom Lyle. The identity of the Scarlet Spider has been used by several characters: Ben Reilly, Peter Parker , Joe Wade , a group of three Michael Van Patrick clones working with...
(Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly
Benjamin "Ben" Reilly is a fictional character in the . He is a clone of Peter Parker , and is prominent in the "Clone Saga" story arc...
), El Toro Negro
El Toro Negro
El Toro Negro is a fictional character, a South American mercenary and antagonist of Spider-Man closely associated with the Great Game...
and Tremolo
Tremolo (comics)
Tremolo is a fictional mutant character in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:Tremolo was a member of female mutant terrorists. She was resuscitated by Cyber to commit acts of extortion, and worked for a notorious drug cartel. A other member of group,...
.
During her stint on the Thunderbolts team, her powers have grown. She is now fast enough to match the Speed Demon in hand-to-hand, and is described as being 'the living embodiment of action'. After turning on her teammates, she was subdued and was last seen in prison.
Joystick is also thought to be a bisexual. During Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
, The Thunderbolts took on a group of college kids that had stolen M.A.C.H. IV's old suits of armor. After hearing Radioactive Man reference that one of them was a woman, Joystick tries to open up the armor stating "Buddha said it's a chick in here... Just wanted to see if she was cute..."
At other times she has been flirtatious with her male teammates as well.
Powers and abilities
Joystick apparently possesses superhuman strength sufficient to press roughly ten tons, speed, reflexes & reactions, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance roughly equivalent to that of Spider-ManSpider-Man
Spider-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 source of these powers remains unknown. She also wears metal devices on her wrists, each of which generates a "baton" of coherent energy, powered by strontium
Strontium
Strontium is a chemical element with the symbol Sr and the atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that is highly reactive chemically. The metal turns yellow when exposed to air. It occurs naturally in the minerals celestine and...
chips. These batons can be swung or hurled with great concussive force, sufficient to damage concrete. In addition, by striking the batons against one another, Joystick can project a powerful concussive force beam at a target, and possesses wires to hack into computers within her gauntlets. Her costume formerly contained an explosive device which would be activated with a 2 minute countdown by the controllers of the Great Game. The mechanism of the devices is unknown, as is their exact composition.
Universal Wellspring
Joystick is a mutate like the Folding CircleFolding Circle
The Folding Circle is a team of comic book supervillains in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. They were created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley in New Warriors Volume 1 #21...
as well as Silhouette
Silhouette (comics)
Silhouette is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
, Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
, and Speed Demon
Speed Demon
Speed Demon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears as the Whizzer - a member of the team the Squadron Sinister - in the final panel of Avengers #69 Speed Demon (James Sanders) is a fictional character that appears in comic books...
. Her powers come from the Universal Wellspring.