Invisible Kid (Jacques Foccart)
| Invisible Kid | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual # 1 (1982) |
| Created by | Paul Levitz Keith Giffen (based upon the Lyle Norg character by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jacques Foccart |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Place of origin | Earth (31st century) |
| Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Heroes |
| Abilities | Ability to stay undetected from many kinds of means (ocular, auditory and telepathic) Formerly: Teleportation |
Jacques Foccart is a comic book character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe and the second to assume the name Invisible Kid. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. As his code name suggests, he possesses the superhuman ability to become invisible.
Fictional character biography
The first Invisible Kid was Lyle Norg, an early member of the Legion who gained his powers from a chemical serum he invented.[1] His scientific aptitude helped him cement a friendship with the super-intelligent Brainiac 5. His abilities made him a valuable asset to the Legion Espionage Squad, of which he was a permanent member. Norg also served one term as Legion Leader. He was killed by the monster Validus of the Fatal Five.[2]
Many years later, Brainiac 5 was approached by Jacques Foccart, a teenage native of Earth from what was once the francophone African nation of Côte d'Ivoire. Jacques' younger sister Danielle was suffering from a life-threatening neurological disorder which had baffled the best medical experts of the 30th century, and Jacques took her to Brainiac 5 as a last resort. Brainiac 5 rashly decided to utilize a piece of circuitry from the dismantled machine Computo, a highly advanced supercomputer he had created years earlier. Computo promptly possessed Danielle's body. Computo took control of Legion headquarters and the city of Metropolis and nearly killed several Legionnaires. In order to save Danielle and the others, Jacques drank Lyle Norg's serum and gained the power of invisibility. Immediately thereafter, the Legion voted Jacques onto the team as its newest member. He took the name Invisible Kid in honor of Lyle.[3]
Within days of Jacques' addition to the team, the Legion faced a new foe whom they initially referred to as the Master of the Servants of Darkness. The Servants' Master possessed a myriad of superpowers, including the ability to generate teleportation tubes out of thin air, and after one encounter Jacques decided to follow him. The sight of the real face of the Servants' Master—later revealed as the ancient villain Darkseid—frightened Jacques so deeply that a large strip of his jet black hair turned permanently white.[4]
Jacques soon learned that, unlike his predecessor, he had also developed the ability to teleport and shift into other dimensions. This talent served him well when he and his teammate Wildfire were almost killed by a Lyle Norg imposter. However, when he caused the death of a criminal by accidentally teleporting him into space, Jacques had the additional powers removed. Jacques served as a permanent member of the Legion Espionage Squad, along with Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, and Shrinking Violet.
"Five Years Later"
During the "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, the Legion disbanded and Earth's government fell under the covert control of the Dominators, who had attempted to conquer the planet in the 20th century. Earth withdrew from the United Planets, and the government gradually became more repressive. Jacques became the leader of a resistance cell which included himself, Tyroc, and the former members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. He became romantically involved with Drura Sepht, a Substitute Hero who once called herself Infectious Lass. He successfully led the resistance to victory over the Dominators, along with the unlikely assistance of former Legion foe Universo and the members of the Dominators' highly classified "Batch SW6".
At the time, Batch SW6 appeared to be a group of teenaged Legionnaire clones, created from samples apparently taken immediately following the team's first encounter with Universo.[5] Later, they were revealed to be time-paradox duplicates, every bit as legitimate as their older counterparts. In any event, the emergence of the SW6 Legionnaires allowed Jacques to meet their leader—the real Lyle Norg—for the first time.
After the defeat of the Dominators, Jacques became a planetary hero. The people of Earth rewarded his efforts by making him president of the planet, with Troy Stewart (Tyroc) serving as vice president. But soon thereafter, Earth was destroyed in a disaster reminiscent of the destruction of Krypton over a millennium earlier.[6] A few dozen cities and their inhabitants survived, and the planet was reconstituted as New Earth. Eventually, Jacques resigned as president to rejoin the Legion (where he served as co-leader with Rokk Krinn), and Troy ascended to the presidency.
Post-Zero Hour
After Legion continuity was completed rebooted by the events of Zero Hour, Jacques was recast as a close friend of Lyle Norg from their days in school. Jacques was forced by a rival student to drink Lyle's serum, which had been calibrated only for Lyle's physiology, as a test to see if it would be safe for her. Although Jacques was believed to have been killed by the serum, he was saved by the Intelligence Division. The serum worked differently for him than for Lyle, granting him the ability to become undetectable by any means, though this ability causes him severe pain to use. He continued to work for EarthGov's Intelligence.
Post-Infinite Crisis
Jacques has not appeared in the "Threeboot" Legion continuity which began in 2005. However, the events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries have restored a close analogue of the Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga" story arc in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc in Action Comics. Jacques is included in their number. However, the events of the "Five Years Later" era (including Jacques' rise to the presidency of Earth) are no longer part of mainstream DC continuity.
In other media
The Jacques Foccart version of the Invisible Kid has made background appearances in the "Lightning Storm" and "Substitutes" episodes of the Legion of Super Heroes animated television series.
References
- ^ Norg first appeared in Action Comics #267, August 1960.
- ^ Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #203, July–August 1974.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual # 1, 1982.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #291, September 1982.
- ^ The Legion first battled Universo in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #349 (October 1966). In the following issue, Star Boy and Dream Girl rejoined the team under the aliases "Sir Prize" and "Miss Terious", but the two are not included in Batch SW6.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #38, Late December 1992.
