Jumpin’ Jack Flash

Powers and Abilities

Flash can emit and manipulate flame. His control over flame is so great that he can even form objects out of cold blue flames that do not burn. One of his favorite trick is to make a flaming Fender Stratocaster guitar  and play some tunes for his fans.

Flash can also fly at speeds rivaling a fine sports car. Furthermore, he is a fair lawyer – though he never gets to practice said skill due to living life in one-hour increments.

However, he has a serious weakness. Water burns him like acid.

History

Jumping Jack Flash’s personal history is somewhat better known than that of most of Meadows’s alter egos. Flash’s memories are of a parallel universe where Flash was one among many superheroes, a world much like most fictional comic book universes. He was a lawyer in his secret identity there.

During one of Jumpin’ Jack Flash’s talk show appearances, he was introduced to the man that apparently served as Meadows’s template for him. They looked and acted exactly alike. The only difference was that the other man was an accountant, not a lawyer. And had no powers, of course.

This was one of Mark’s first clues that his alter egos were in part creations of his imagination that were based on templates drawn from people he had encountered in the past.

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Jumping Jack Flash is probably the best known of Captain Trips’ alter egos, due to his great love of being the center of attention. He’s one of the stars of the Ace community. Consequently, Flash is a frequent partygoer and talk show guest.

He also helped fight the Swarm and the Astronomer. And he was the alter ego that finally exposed Captain Trips’ connection with his alter egos when he stepped in to fight a massive ghetto fire.

After this exposure, Mark’s flew from justice. That was because of drug charges stemming from the use of the formulas that summoned his alters. Flash fought the Turtle to free Mark Meadows’ daughter from state custody. He also battled Cyclone’s daughter while in Greece.

Description

Jumping Jack Flash is a petite White man with a slim, well-defined build. He has a handsome fox-like face, said resemblance being enhanced by his short red hair.

His costume is an orange bodysuit trimmed with red and yellow flames like a racecar. The costume is open in front almost down to the navel. His looks are very compelling. Combined with his natural charisma, these have made him a national celebrity.

Personality

Jack is a confirmed party animal. He delights in his showing off all of his abilities. A frequent stunt is to create a Fender Stratocaster guitar with his flames and play some tunes.

He’s quite the lecher and can play the sensitive man as necessary to seduce women. A classic example is telling the women he sleeps with to call him J.J., a name he only shares with his “intimates”. This is actually a verbal cue so he can easily remember if he’s slept with a particular woman.

Flash is quick-witted and sarcastic. His arguments are as scathing as his flames, as befits a man who can control fire. He has a low tolerance for bullshit and will respond with biting sarcasm to someone trying to pull one over on him.

He also has a serious mean streak when it comes to those who bully or torture others. Jack was infuriated by comparisons between him and another pyrokinetic  Ace who was also a serial killer.

If you’re familiar with Marvel Comics’s Starfox (a.k.a. Eros), Jumping Jack Flash is much the same in looks and personality. Except that he’s shorter and he’s a major smart-ass.

Quotes

“Oh yeah, no money to help the people, but you’ve still got plenty of gelt for tanks and jets.”

DC Universe History

See the Captain Trips write-up for Jumping Jack Flash’s’ DC History in conjunction with Mark Meadows. With Mark living in Opal City, Flash would probably be familiar with the city’s seedy side, being the party animal that he is. Change his Area Knowledge to Opal City.

For a DCU history incorporating Jumping Jack Flash as an independent entity, Flash is famous as the “superhero lawyer”. Give JJ Resources: 006 and Credentials: Attorney.

His flamboyance and public partying make him less than beloved among many of his legal colleagues. however, it’s often as much envy as it is disdain. And he hasn’t been caught committing any ethical violations, so the enmity is limited to stern disapproving looks and lectures about propriety.

His preferred defendants are people that he perceives are suffering an injustice or are engaged in political activism. He’s gotten in battles on several occasions with government thugs more interested in enforcing laws than in justice. But circumstances in those instances have spared him any legal consequences.

Sometimes Jumping Jack Flash teams up with Plastic Man, who shares a similar lighthearted attitude and has expertise on the other side of the criminal system. They jokingly call their dynamic duo “Burnt Rubber”. Their jovial demeanor and almost-out-of-control antics gives some of the more serious crimefighters heartburn.

By Kansas Jim and Roy Cowan.

Source of Character: Wild Cards series (novels, comics), character created by Victor Milan.