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Trickster (DC Comics)

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The Trickster is a moniker used by three DC Comics supervillains, two of which are enemies of the Flash. Both have been members of the Rogues.

Trickster
The Trickster (James Jesse) makes his debut in The Flash (vol. 1) #113 (June–July 1960), evading the Flash.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance(Jesse)
The Flash #113 (June–July 1960)
(Walker)
The Flash (vol. 2) #183 (April 2002)
(Kaiyo)
Batman/Superman #2 (September 2013)
Created by(Jesse)
John Broome
Carmine Infantino
(Walker)
Geoff Johns
Scott Kolins
(Kaiyo)
Greg Pak
Jae Lee
In-story information
Alter egoGiovanni Giuseppe
Axel Walker
Kaiyo
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliations(Both)
Rogues
(Jesse)
Secret Society of Super Villains
Black Lantern Corps
Justice League of Anarchy
Notable aliasesJames Montgomery Jesse
Abilities(Jesse)
Skilled acrobat and con artist
Above-average intelligence
(Both)
Utilize gadgets that give a variety of abilities, like walking on air

Both the James Jesse and Axel Walker incarnations of the character have been substantially adapted into television productions of DC Comics work. Actor Mark Hamill is most closely associated with the role, having played Jesse in two live-action television series and voiced the character in several animated and video game appearances. Devon Graye portrayed Walker in The Flash television series.

Creation and publication history

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James Jesse first appeared in The Flash #113 (June–July 1960) and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.[1] Infantino originally designed the character for the issue's cover, which became the basis of its plot and the character's history.[2]

Axel Walker debuted in The Flash (vol. 2) #183 (April 2002) and was created by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.

Fictional character biography

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James Jesse

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The original Trickster (real name Giovanni Giuseppe) is the practical joker and con man whose favorite occupation is damaging enemies like the Flash with items such as explosive teddy bears. His alter ego is derived from outlaw Jesse James.[3]

After Barry Allen is killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Trickster relocates from Central City to Hollywood, where he spends time working in special effects. He attempts to steal Dan Cassidy's Blue Devil suit, but is defeated. When Cassidy is trapped in the suit, Jesse befriends him and relies on Cassidy to help with his sporadic efforts to give up villainy.

After defeating Neron in Underworld Unleashed, Trickster reforms and joins the FBI.

Death and return

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In Countdown to Final Crisis, Trickster and Pied Piper are accused of murdering Bart Allen and go on the run.[4] They are later attacked by Deadshot, and Trickster sacrifices himself to protect Piper.[5][6] Piper is later transported to Apokolips, leaving Trickster's body on Earth.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Trickster later returns as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night and is permanently resurrected following The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches.[13]

Axel Walker

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The second Trickster (Axel Walker)

While James Jesse is working for the FBI, teenager Axel Walker steals his gadgets and succeeds him as the Trickster. [12][14][15][16]

In The New 52, Walker loses his right arm to Gorilla Grodd and obtains a prosthetic replacement.[17][18][19][20]

Kaiyo

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A third Trickster, Kaiyo, is introduced in Batman/Superman. She is a New God from Apokolips and an agent of Darkseid who can travel between worlds at will.[21][22]

Powers and abilities

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The Trickster has a number of trick items that he employs. This includes itching powder, potato head bombs, exploding rubber chickens and yo-yos, sharpened jacks, hard shell candy, and various other joke-themed weapons.

The Trickster wears a pair of shoes that allow him to fly for up to 10 hours.

Other versions

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  • An alternate timeline variant of Axel Walker / Trickster called the Trixter appears in the Flashpoint tie-in Citizen Cold. This version is an ally of the eponymous Citizen Cold and successor to an unnamed Trickster. Initially imprisoned in Iron Heights Penitentiary, Trixter takes advantage of a mass breakout to join Mirror Master's Rogues despite not being invited to join them to secretly sabotage them while they attempt to seek revenge on Citizen Cold. After revealing his ruse however, Mirror Master kills Trixter.[23][24][25]
  • A heroic, futuristic incarnation of the Trickster called the Trixster appears in The Flash (vol. 3) as a police officer and member of the Renegades from the 25th century.[16]

In other media

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Television

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  • The James Jesse incarnation of the Trickster appears in The Flash (1990), portrayed by Mark Hamill. This version, also known as James Montgomery Jesse, is a wanted criminal psychopath who has committed mass killings in various states. In his self-titled episode, Jesse develops a psychotic obsession with and kidnaps private investigator Megan Lockhart (portrayed by Joyce Hyser), and labels her as his sidekick "Prank" and that the Flash brainwashed her. Despite successfully countering the speedster several times, Jesse is ultimately apprehended by the Flash with Lockhart's help. In the series finale, "The Trial of the Trickster", Jesse escapes from his trial with help from Zoey Clark (portrayed by Corinne Bohrer), the wealthy owner of Clarx Toys and fan of his who disguised herself as the court stenographer to help him escape during his trial. Arriving at her toy store, Clark reveals she wants to become Prank and seduces Jesse into believing she was always Prank. After kidnapping the Flash and brainwashing him to serve them however, Clark is set aside. While helping him escape, the Trickster abandons her to the police, though the he is ultimately apprehended by the Flash after he regains his identity. In 1995, the two episodes were edited together into a movie and released on VHS as The Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster. Had the show been renewed for a second season, the producers had plans for a team-up episode with Captain Cold and Mirror Master.[26]
  • The James Jesse incarnation of the Trickster appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance", voiced by Mark Hamill.[27] This version is designed to resemble Hamill's previous portrayal and is depicted as being aware of his psychosis. He attempts to aid the Rogues in their vendetta against the Flash, but they disagree with his outlandish plan and abandon him. Disgruntled by this, Trickster heads to a supervillain bar, where the Flash, Batman, and Orion arrive to interrogate him for information on the speedster's assassins. Batman and Orion attempt to use force, but the Flash takes over and politely convinces Trickster to tell them about the Rogues' plans in exchange for Trickster turning himself in and returning to the hospital.
  • The James Jesse and the Axel Walker incarnations of the Trickster appear in The Flash (2014), portrayed again by Mark Hamill and Devon Graye respectively.[28][29] Introduced in the episode "Tricksters", Jesse terrorized Central City twenty years prior before he was imprisoned in Iron Heights Penitentiary. In the present, Walker surfaces as an apparent copycat terrorist. Feigning anger towards Walker for seemingly stealing his tricks and equipment, Jesse helps the Central City Police Department apprehend him before revealing himself as Walker's mentor and father after Walker breaks Jesse out of prison, taking Barry Allen's father Henry as a hostage. They subdue the Flash by attaching a bomb rigged to explode should he try to remove it or decelerate to his wrist. However, the Flash learns to phase through objects and safely leave the bomb behind before apprehending both Tricksters. In the episode "The Elongated Knight Rises", Walker is broken out of prison by his mother Zoey Clark / Prank (portrayed again by Corinne Bohrer), who joins him in capturing Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow before they are defeated by Ralph Dibny.
    • An Earth-3 incarnation of James Jesse / Trickster makes a cameo appearance in the episode "The Present", portrayed by Hamill.
  • The James Jesse incarnation of the Trickster appears in the Justice League Action short "Missing the Mark", voiced again by Mark Hamill.[30]
  • The James Jesse incarnation of the Trickster appears in the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "One Minute Mysteries!", voiced again by Mark Hamill.[27]

Film

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Video games

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References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 313. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Dallas, Keith. (2008). The Flash Companion (pp. 52-53). Raleigh, NC: TwoMorrows Pub.
  3. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 351. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  4. ^ Countdown #51 (May 2007)
  5. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #22 (November 2007)
  6. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #20 (December 2007)
  7. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #19 (December 2007)
  8. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #12 (February 2008)
  9. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #10 (February 2008)
  10. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #9 (February 2008)
  11. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #1 (April 2008)
  12. ^ a b Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #3 (November 2008)
  13. ^ Blackest Night: The Flash #1 (February 2010)
  14. ^ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #7 (March 2004)
  15. ^ Flash Secret Files and Origins (May 2010)
  16. ^ a b The Flash (vol. 3) #1 (April 2010)
  17. ^ Voodoo (vol. 2) #9 (July 2012)
  18. ^ The Flash (vol. 4) #12 (October 2012)
  19. ^ The Flash (vol. 4) #19
  20. ^ The Flash (vol. 4) #52
  21. ^ "Two Crazy Villains Introduced in DC's 'What's New'". 3 July 2023.
  22. ^ Forever Evil #1
  23. ^ Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1 (June 2011)
  24. ^ Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2 (July 2011)
  25. ^ Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #3 (August 2011)
  26. ^ Dallas, Keith. (2008). The Flash Companion (p. 124). Raleigh, NC: TwoMorrows Pub.
  27. ^ a b c d e f "Trickster Voices (Flash)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 6, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  28. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (December 8, 2014). "Exclusive: Mark Hamill to play the Trickster again on 'The Flash'". Hitfix.
  29. ^ Phegley, Kiel (January 14, 2015). ""THE FLASH" ADDS "DEXTER'S" DEVON GRAYE AS THE NEW TRICKSTER". Comic Book Resources.
  30. ^ Leane, Rob (October 27, 2017). "Joker & Trickster Kidnap Mark Hamill in Justice League Action". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  31. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-wensley/b/362/558 [self-published source]
  32. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
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