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Rick Jones (character)

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Rick Jones
Rick Jones.
Art by Aaron Lopresti.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceIncredible Hulk (vol. 1) #1 (May 1962)
Created byStan Lee
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Full nameRichard Milhous Jones
Supporting character ofHulk, Avengers (honorary member), Captain America, Captain Marvel I (Mar-Vell), Rom, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell)

Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones is a fictional character in the

. He has appeared in nearly 400 comic books. Although not an actual superhero, Rick has acted as a sidekick to the Hulk, Captain America, Captain Marvel I (Mar-Vell), Rom, and Captain Marvel (Genis).

Fictional character biography

Rick Jones was born in Scarsdale, Arizona. He lost his parents at a young age and grew up at an orphanage. He first appears in The Incredible Hulk #1 gaining notoriety when he accepts a dare to drive out to a bomb testing ground in New Mexico. As luck would have it, the gamma bomb designed by Dr. Bruce Banner is being tested. Dr. Banner pushes Rick into a protective trench, saving his life but absorbing the gamma rays that first transforms him into the Hulk.

Early days with the Hulk and the Avengers

Rick's guilt over the incident (and lack of any other place to go) leads him to stay close to Dr. Banner and his alter-ego, spending some time as the Hulk's sidekick. For a time, he even gains mental control over the Hulk. Eventually the dangerous unpredictability of the Hulk forces Rick to keep his distance. When Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Thor are brought together to capture the Hulk by Loki, Rick forms the Teen Brigade, a loose network of teenagers with ham radios throughout the United States. Loki's plan backfires and the Avengers are formed.

After the Hulk's departure from the team, Rick remains close to the Avengers, earning a position as an honorary Avenger. He became close to the recently revived Captain America although his guilt leads him to seek out Banner and the Hulk for a time. Returning to Captain America, he briefly takes the title and uniform of Bucky, Cap's long-dead partner. This was on Jones' own insistence: Cap continues to have guilty objections, noting that others have lost partners and it was time to move on. Rick's brief time as Bucky gave him the training to survive around superheroes to this day.

Captain Mar-Vell

Shortly after his split with Captain America, Rick joined with the Kree Captain Mar-Vell (Marvel) when he finds himself drawn to the mystical Nega-Bands. Donning the Bands, he is immediately linked to Captain Marvel. Once joined, one of the two remains in a protective bubble in the Negative Zone. After either the person not in the negative zone strikes the Nega-Bands together or a certain amount of time passes, the two switch places.

Rick and Mar-Vell play a critical part in the Kree-Skrull War. Mar-Vell is released from the Negative Zone while Rick is still in the regular world without the use of the Nega-Bands. The bond between the two is broken. At the height of the conflict, the Kree Supreme Intelligence briefly unleashes the Destiny Force from within Rick. Rick uses his newfound ability to summon images of various Golden Age heroes. While at full power, Rick single-handedly stops both the Kree and Skrull fleets long enough to put an end to the conflict. Injuries that Rick sustains lead Mar-Vell to willingly bond with Rick in order to save his life. Shortly after this the Captain Marvel series was relaunched and we found that Rick wasn't able to contain the energy of Mar-Vell. He was then bombarded with photonic energy which saved him and enabled him to contain Mar-Vell safely. A consequence of this was that Mar-Vell gained the ability to absorb energy in addition to the negaband energies to boost his strength and could fly with the photonic energy now.

Rick and Mar-Vell serve as a duo for several years while Rick pursues his musical career and love life. Eventually, the two are again freed from their bond while aiding the Avengers against the Super Adaptoid. Rick begins to spend his time with the Hulk again and briefly forms a new Teen Brigade. Afterwhich Rick finds himself again teamed with Mar-Vell, though not merged with him as they deal with a legacy left by the Mad Titan Thanos. Sometime after, Mar-Vell dies of cancer that he received when he was exposed to a deadly nerve gas stolen by the villain Nitro. Note: Mar-Vell collapsed from the gas and was comatose until he was given an antidote to the gas. However despite the antidote, Mar-Vell still developed cancer. Rick was at Mar-Vell's bedside when he died.

After Mar-Vell's tragic death, Rick began to team with the Hulk again. Guilt over causing Banner to be hit with the gamma rays made Rick decide to expose himself to gamma rays in an attempt to become another Hulk-like being that could stop the Hulk. However this plan backfired and Rick was dying of Gamma poisoning until Banner cured him. However this too led to the consequence of Rick developing a form of blood-cancer. Rick was stunned at the irony of this considering what happened to his old friend, Mar-Vell. Rick was going to undergo a massive blood transfusion to treat this ailment when the hospital was attacked by monsters created by the Dire Wraiths. Rick was saved by the Spaceknight, Rom and began to team with Rom despite the fact that he was slowly dying. Upon the final defeat of the Wraiths, Rom banished them all to Limbo and then bade farewell to Rick Jones and the Earth. Shortly after Rom left, Rick Jones and Brandy Clark, the woman who loved Rom, met the alien called the Beyonder (a Secret Wars 2 tie in issue of ROM). The Beyonder briefly granted Rick superhuman powers but Rick realized he couldn't handle them, and the Beyonder stripped him of his powers but left him cured of his cancer.

Further encounters with the Hulk

Soon after the encounter with the Beyonder, Rick teams with the Hulk again. This time, the Hulk had been split into two beings, Banner and the Hulk, but the experiment was a failure and both were dying. General Ross tried to stop the process of remerging the two, and Rick intervened only to be dumped into the chemical nutrient bath that was fusing Banner and the Hulk again. This resulted in Rick somehow becoming a Hulk-like creature of his own and he took off into the desert on a savage rampage. Rick would be human at day and be his own green-skinned near mindless Hulk at night.

The other effect of Rick becoming a Hulk is that Banner is reverted from Green Hulk into the Grey Hulk who is manipulated by Sam Sterns, along with Banner, into siphoning the radiation from Rick into Sterns. Sterns is then turned back into the Leader, drastically altering his appearance.

Rick stays with Banner, the Grey Hulk, Betty Banner, and Clay Quartermain for several months as they travel the country looking for a government supply of gamma bombs. The group splits after the apparent death of the Hulk at the hands of the Leader.

Rick authors the book "Sidekick," an autobiography of his time with super-heroes. While on a book tour, he meets Marlo Chandler without realizing that she had only recently broken up with the Hulk (then acting as a Las Vegas leg breaker with the alias "Mr. Fixit"). Rick is kidnapped by a Skrull vessel and the Hulk aids in Rick's rescue. This starts another period with Rick and the Hulk, this time with Marlo and Betty.

Rick and Death

Rick came in touch with death in several ways during this time with the Hulk. First, Rick dies at the hands of Thanos, along with half of the universe, when Thanos uses the Infinity Gauntlet to impress Death. Rick and the others are brought back in ensuing events. Rick remembers meeting several deceased rock stars.

Rick assisted the Hulk many times during his tenure with the Pantheon. During the time, he guns down an insane killer, but is still wracked with remorse. Over time he bonds with Wolfsbane of X-Factor, who also killed another insane murderer during the same debacle (he even ends up inviting her to his wedding).

Another major encounter with death occurs when Jackie Shorr (who is revealed to be a demented mass murderer) comes into his life and claims to be his mother. It is still not known for sure whether this claim is true or not, as the same claim is made by many others. She, however, insists that those she killed and left mummefied in her basement were substitutes for Rick, and that he is her real son. Shorr is discovered to be insane, but not until after she kills Marlo by stabbing her with a kitchen knife. A horrified Rick refuses to test her DNA, saying that he doesn't want to know, especially if she is truly his mother.

Rick attempts to bring Marlo back using a resurrection device known as the "deus ex machina" that the Leader developed, but the Hulk destroys the equipment part way through the process. Marlo is left in a catatonic state. Fortunately, Rick's care eventually helps Marlo return to full health despite the intervention of many other well-meaning friends and family.

Shortly after Marlo is revived, the two become engaged and quickly marry. Neither of them realize, however, that a portion of Death remains in Marlo. This piece of Death attracted many strange visitors to the wedding, including Mephisto and Death herself.

The married couple soon finds success in a popular talk show called "Keeping Up with the Joneses", cut short when Rick is crippled by a Banner-less Hulk that made a deal to work for Apocalypse and become his Horseman "War" if he would remove the shrapnel from the Hulk’s brain. The injury confines Rick to a wheelchair and the debilitation strains his relationship with Marlo. The strain increases with the tragic death of Betty Banner by radiation poisoning to the point that the couple split shortly thereafter.

Rick joins Dr. Banner again after his reappearance. His serious health problems force him to be brought by the Avengers to the now-captive Supreme Intelligence for aid. This marks the beginning of the Destiny War. Over the course of these events, Rick's injury is healed and he is joined with Genis-Vell (the recently endowed Captain Marvel and son of Mar-Vell).

Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell)

Rick's bond with Genis works in about the same way as his bond with Mar-Vell. The largest difference is that the two switch in and out of the Microverse rather than the Negative Zone. Genis-Vell's unique birth and accelerated aging makes him the opposite of Rick: full of power but without experience. They compensate for each other's weaknesses with Rick taking on the role of mentor. He helped Genis learn to control his cosmic awareness and accept his role as a super-hero. As Rick's confidence grew, he also attempted to rekindle his romance with Marlo.

It wasn't until this point that Marlo's connection with Death is finally revealed. Thanos aids in separating the two, but Rick is prematurely aged and loses an arm in the process. He is later yanked back in time to the Destiny War, where he aids his younger self in the conflict leading to his bond with Genis.

Marlo tries to aid the elderly Rick the way he had helped her when she was catatonic. Rick's pride, however, just causes more problems. The Supreme Intelligence attempts and fails to restore Rick to his normal condition, but he is spontaneously restored to his normal age and health shortly thereafter. Rick believes this was divine aid while Genis believes it was a delayed reaction to the Supreme Intelligence's procedure. No definitive explanation has yet been determined.

For a while, Rick and Genis are yanked back and forth through time. Rick encounters two older versions of himself: one an aging collector surviving under the rule of the Maestro; the other a super-villain named Thanatos. The super-villain Rick was in the process of creating the "ultimate Rick Jones". He is stopped by the elder Rick's ability to wield Thor's hammer.

It is, however, unclear if Rick will become either of these older versions of himself. It has been established that the specific timeline that the old Rick lived in will not come to pass due to the Hulk having been drawn into the future to defeat his future self.

Rick and Marlo again split when Marlo becomes romantically involved with Moondragon. Shortly after, Genis goes insane when his cosmic awareness reaches its peak. Rick's attempts to continue as Genis's guide are fairly unsuccessful. Genis becomes a callous, homicidal maniac believing himself a god. Rick's friend even destroys the universe just to rebuild it with Rick and Genis as sole survivors.

In the rebuilt reality, Genis again loses his mind. Rick develops an ability to mentally attack Genis through their psychic bond (although the pain is reciprocal). For a time, Genis uses this same link to control Rick. He goes as far as 'convincing' Rick to kill himself on a whim. Just as easily, Genis brings Rick right back to life.

In part due to Rick's influence, Genis' madness calmed to a point where he was able to maintain a veneer of sanity, albeit with some unpredictablility. He creates a recording studio for Rick which allows for fame and fortune at the sake of Internet based sales of a song written for Marlo. The same song also acts as a catalyst for the two to reunite, with Marlo ending her relationship with Moondragon.

At the end of the series, it is revealed that Rick has a "comic awareness" that the Captain Marvel comic series was coming to an end. He pushed for several of the loose ends of the series to be resolved: Rick and Genis were separated again, and Rick was reunited with Marlo at last report. This ability was primarily created for the needs of this one issue, and it seems unlikely that it will see future usage.

Runaways

Rick was recently revealed to be the mysterious benefactor of Excelsior. The group is comprised of former teenage superheroes dedicated to reforming other superpowered kids from following down the same path. Their first targets are the underaged Runaways patrolling Los Angeles in the wake of the supervillain power vacuum since the defeat of the Runaways' evil parents, The Pride, who once controlled the city. Rick tells Excelsior that he wanted the Runaways back in foster care because he didn't want them to go thorugh the same experiences he went through.

World War Hulk

In recent interviews regarding the event World War Hulk, it seems that Rick Jones may play a major role over the Hulk's war with the secret group of heroes known as the Illuminati.

Rick Jones is seen in the first issue of World War Hulk in Las Vegas, watching the battle between The Hulk and Iron Man on television in a packed bar. When the bartender comments "Guess that's it, then", in response to Iron Man apparently knocking down The Hulk, Jones replies "Don't bet on it", even as the entire bar celebrates the apparent victory.

Rick finally catches up with the Hulk just after he defeats the Fantastic Four. Rick fills him in on how Captain America died making the Hulk feel speechless and comments on Tony and Reed deserves this punishment. The Hulk tries to reach out to Rick, almost feeling that familar sense of calm, but the moment was ruined when Doctor Strange invades the Hulk's mind searching for Bruce Banner.

Fallen Son: Death of Captain America

Rick appeared at Cap's funeral at Arlington, Washington D.C. When Sam Wilson (The Falcon) made a speech, he mentioned that Rick would know what it's like to have called Captain America a partner. He replied by saying "Right on".

Partial appearance list

This list is not intended to be complete. Rather, this list is intended to indicate time periods where Rick frequently appeared throughout a series of issues of a book. There may be other issues in which Rick appeared that are not listed, and there may be a handful of individual issues within a specific series that Rick did not appear in. For a detailed and complete appearance list, see the Marvel Chronology Project.

In other media

Television

Rick initially appeared in the 1966 Incredible Hulk segment of The Marvel Superheroes.

Rick was also a regular character on the 1982 The Incredible Hulk. There, Rick - voiced by Michael Holton - was blond, wore a cowboy hat, and had a girlfriend named Rita.

Rick appeared alongside Hulk in the 1994 Fantastic Four episode "Nightmare In Green", played by Benny Grant.

File:Hulk Ep 14.jpg
Image of Rick Jones as a teen Hulk and the Hulk in the 1996 The Incredible Hulk TV series

Rick was a regular character on the animated program The Incredible Hulk (1996 TV series), played by Luke Perry. In the season finale of the first season, Rick Jones falls into a toxic Nutrient Bath, (which was used to separate Hulk and Bruce Banner), and becomes a teen Hulk.

Other notes

  • Rick has been a regular or recurring character in numerous series from Marvel, including The Avengers, Captain America, two or three Captain Marvel series (depending on how you choose to count them), Rom, the Avengers Forever limited series, and, most commonly, The Incredible Hulk (and the related Tales to Astonish).
  • When Marvel characters are being "matched" to their equivalents in DC Comics, Rick is usually associated with the Justice League of America's former mascot Lucas "Snapper" Carr. Rick shared his form with Captain Mar-Vell, in homage to the character's DC Comics namesake.
  • When Rick first appears at the gamma bomb test site, he is playing a harmonica. It was later established that he had been playing the song "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly.
  • During Jones' most recent string of appearances in The Incredible Hulk, a fan campaign was started to give Rick Jones his own trading card. Although this campaign (which for a long time consisted of one persistent individual) was less than successful, Jones did receive a Marvel value stamp in the back of one issue of the Incredible Hulk. Also, a baseball card of Jones (along with cards of Marlo, Betty, and the Hulk) was printed on a page of an issue of The Incredible Hulk in which the Hulk briefly joins a baseball team.
  • In the alternate future of the Maestro, Rick has a great-granddaughter named Janis. Rick has chosen the name himself, naming her after Janis Joplin. In the present, Rick has not yet had any children. However, one version of Janis traveled back in time to shortly before the time Rick was handicapped by the War Hulk. She is still believed to be in this time period.
  • Thanatos originally appeared in Spider-Man 2099. It was only established years after the series was cancelled that Thanatos was actually Rick Jones. Thanatos' plan to create the "ultimate Rick Jones" was author Peter David's attempt poke fun at the Ultimate Marvel universe. Shortly after this story finished, another issue of Captain Marvel had the cover text The Ultimate Captain Marvel and imitated the cover style of the Ultimate books.
  • Runaways (vol. 2) Issue #4 reveals that Rick has released a few music singles. This fact is also evident in an early 2000s issue of "Avengers",[volume & issue needed] in which Ant-Man says, "He owns both (of Rick's) albums". Rick promptly responds, "So you're the one".
  • In Avengers #1-6, the teenaged leader of the Teen Brigade is referred to as Rick Brown, then in issue #7, he is referred to as Rick Jones. No explanation for this is given.
  • Rick Jones's body was once possessed by Namor's mind.
  • Victor Mancha of the Runaways and the Young Avengers all have a sense of respect for Rick. Patriot of the Young Avengers has a stated desire to meet Rick.
  • In the Young Avengers continuity, Captain Mar-Vell sacrificed his life to save Rick Jones'.

See also

Amateur radio in popular culture

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