Place of birth: New Haven, Connecticut
Aliases: None
First Appearance: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #23 (1976)
Becomes an Avenger: Avengers vol. 3 #38 (2001)
Best Moment: Choosing suicide over living 14 hours a day in quarantine and taking a child murderer with him as he exploded in space in Avengers vol. 3 #76 (2004).
Worst Moment: Accidentally blowing up when his containment suit was breached in Quasar #19 (1991).
Background: Jack Heart was born with unstable powers, the by-product of his extraterrestrial mother’s genes and unintentional exposure to his father’s experiments. When his father was killed by the mysterious “Corporation”, Jack vowed to use his concussive energy powers to get revenge.
Heart butted heads with many superheroes during his quest for vengeance, most notably the Hulk. Though he eventually got his revenge (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #31, 1976), Heart continued his costumed adventuring.
Heart fought Iron Man, who realized his heroic nature and agreed to train him (Iron Man #103, 1977). He then went on to team with other heroes such as Nick Fury, the Defenders and Spider-Man. Heart’s powers eventually began to grow more unstable, leading to the discovery that his longtime girlfriend Marcy was secretly a Contraxian, the same extraterrestrial race his mother belonged to.
He journeyed with Marcy to her home world, where he saved the planet by re-igniting its dying sun (Jack of Hearts #1, 1984). When answers to the problem of his ever-growing powers came unanswered, he left the planet.
After spending time trekking through space and nearly dying from his increased power, Heart met up with the Avengers and thwarted a plan by Kang. He accepted membership to the team and even took part in a crossover with the Justice League (JLA/Avengers #1-4, 2003).
When Heart was told he had to live in containment for 14 hours each day, he chose suicide. Before exploding in outer space, Heart took a child murderer responsible for the abduction of Cassie Lang (daughter of 2nd Ant-Man Scott Lang) with him.
After his death, Jack’s form returned to signal the coming of Avengers Disassembled. He appeared in a zombie-like state and whispered “I’m sorry” before blowing up, killing longtime friend and teammate Scott Lang (Avengers #500, 2004). He has since appeared alive and well in the Marvel Zombies series.
Analysis: Jack of Hearts managed to make a sizeable impact during his relatively short run with the team. Though his costume is lacking in the style department, his powers and unique skill set make him an interesting and promising teammate.
Willie’s Avenger Rating: 7 out of 10