JACK OF HEARTS: NEGLECTED MARVEL HERO

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the early stories about Jack of Hearts.

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #22 (March 1976)

Title: Who is the White Tiger?

Villains: The Corporation

NOTE: In his first appearance, Jack of Hearts was a supporting character.

Synopsis: Jonathan Hart, the son of scientist Phillip Hart, saw his father killed by agents of the Corporation (a lesser version of Marvel’s Hydra and A.I.M.). The Corporation agents wanted the secret of Jonathan’s father’s Zero Fluid, a liquid energy source.

While fleeing those villains, Jonathan was accidentally exposed to the Zero Fluid, transforming him into a super-powered being able to shoot Zero Energy from his hands in the form of rays of concussive force. That concussive force from his hands could allow him to fly, as well, the same way the Fantastic Four villain Blastarr does. 

Jonathan designed armor to contain the volatile Zero Energy in his body and made it a costume which he wore as the superhero Jack of Hearts. In this story he fought Corporation agents to start his revenge quest. He also fought the martial arts hero the White Tiger, mistakenly thinking he too worked for the Corporation.

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #23 (April 1976)

Title: Revenge is the Jack of Hearts 

Villains: The Corporation

Synopsis: Jack of Hearts and the White Tiger resolve their misunderstanding and join forces against the Corporation and its troops. This includes the supervillain called Stryke, the man who personally killed his father.

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #24 (May 1976)

Title: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright

Villains: The Corporation

Synopsis: Corporation mercenaries attack the White Tiger and Jack of Hearts. Once they succeed in capturing Jonathan they flee with him to study his body’s Zero Energy. White Tiger rescues him.  

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #31 (December 1976)

Title: Dark Waters of Death

Villains: Stryke and the Corporation

Synopsis: Circumstances bring Jack of Hearts, White Tiger, Iron Fist and Shang-Chi to a huge ship which serves as the current hideout of the Corporation. After a lengthy battle, Jack uses his Zero Fluid-induced powers to kill Stryke, at last avenging his father.

Then our hero joins Iron Fist, Shang-Chi, and White Tiger in destroying the Corporation’s operations on the massive merchant ship. The Corporation would return many times in the future to tangle with various Marvel Comics superheroes. Misty Knight and Blackbyrd had very small roles in this tale.

HULK Vol 1 #214 (August 1977)

Title: The Jack of Hearts is Wild

Villain: The Hulk

Synopsis: In the previous issue of The Hulk, Jack of Hearts was continuing his superhero career by taking down several gangsters in New York City. Over the radio he heard about the Hulk fighting the Quintronic Man around the city, and flew off to find them.

In this issue, Jonathan finds that Hulk is gone and helps S.H.I.E.L.D. retrieve its 5-in-One operatives the Quintronic Man from the rubble left by the fight. Next, he tracks down Hulk and the two fight it out in a destructive battle which ends in a stalemate when they are separated by an explosion caused by their fight.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #103 (October 1977)

Title: Thunder Over Long Island

Villains: Mordecai Midas and his army

Synopsis: While flying around looking for action, Jack of Hearts sees an ongoing battle at Stark International’s Long Island headquarters. He checks it out and sees Iron Man clashing with his old supervillain foe Mordecai Midas and his ancient Greek-themed army.

Jack gets involved and in the confusion Iron Man thinks he’s with Midas’ forces and the pair fight. Their battle is interrupted when Midas announces that while Tony Stark has been overseas for several issues he has managed to take over Stark International and is renaming it Midas International. The stunned Iron Man and Jonathan are forced to leave.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #104 (November 1977)

Title: Triad

Villains: Mordecai Midas and his army

Synopsis: While the entire world goes through shock over the hostile takeover of Stark International and the consequences for the global economy, assorted investigations are opened up. Jack of Hearts wants to help Iron Man, so he seeks out allies.

Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jasper Sitwell locates Iron Man and his current love interest – Madame Masque, the supervillainess with whom Iron Man has had an on-again, off-again “loving enemy” romance over the years.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #105 (December 1977)

Title: Every Hand Against Him

Villains: Mordecai Midas and his army

Synopsis: IGNORE THE DECEPTIVE COVER AND TITLE. Jack of Hearts gets recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jasper Sitwell to join his team consisting of the 2nd Guardsman (lower right) and the Wraith, both of whom feel indebted to Iron Man.

Sitwell plans to covertly raid Stark International/ Midas International to dig up evidence proving the illegality of Midas’ takeover. The team’s first step finds them confronting Iron Man, demanding to be taken to Tony Stark. NOTE: This was back when the world did not know Tony really was Iron Man.

Eventually Sitwell, Jack of Hearts, the Guardsman and the Wraith convince Iron Man and Madame Masque to help them in their raid of Midas International. 

IRON MAN Vol 1 #106 (January 1978)

Title: Then There Came a War

Villains: Mordecai Midas and his army

Synopsis: Jack of Hearts, Iron Man, Madame Masque, the Wraith, Jasper and the Guardsman raid Midas International.

A monumental battle breaks out between them, Midas, his army and his mechanoids as well as several Iron Man suits of armor remote controlled by Midas. By the way, that’s Madame Masque that Iron Man is kneeling over on the cover. I covered her previously HERE.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #107 (February 1978)

Title: And in the End …

Villains: Mordecai Midas and his army

Synopsis: With all of Midas’ underlings and Mechanoids defeated, our heroes battle Midas himself. He manages to turn all of them to gold, Iron Man last of all. Luckily, Jack of Hearts’ Zero Energy powers are able to undo the effects of Midas’ Golden Powers and soon he and Iron Man fight it out with the villain. The good guys win and Tony gets his company back.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #108 (March 1978)

Title: Growing Pains

Villain: The Stimuloid/ Growing Man

Synopsis: When Jack of Hearts and Iron Man are consulting with Yellowjacket at Avengers Mansion, the Stimuloid – one of the androids made by Kang the Conqueror in the 40th Century and which previously clashed with the Avengers – attacks.

Jonathan and Iron Man successfully defeat the robot, but then worry that its arrival is a sign that Kang may have returned with a new plan of conquest. 

IRON MAN Vol 1 #109 (April 1978)

Title: Moonrise

Villains: The Soviet Super Soldiers (Darkstar, Vanguard and the Crimson Dynamo)

Synopsis: Jack of Hearts convinces Iron Man to temporarily tutor him in superheroing. While Tony Stark attends to Stark International business, Jack of Hearts helps S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists trace the Stimuloid/ Growing Man’s previous location.

That location turns out to be the moon, so Iron Man and Jack of Hearts fly an Avengers Quinjet there. A large, egg-shaped object from where the Stimuloid was sent to Earth causes them to crash. The object also causes the space vessel of the Soviet Super Soldiers to crash.

NOTE: At this time the Soviet Super Soldiers consisted only of the latest wearer of the Crimson Dynamo armor plus a pair of mutants – Darkstar, former member of the Champions, and her brother Vanguard.

The Soviets were investigating the egg-shaped anomaly. Cold War tensions prompt a battle with Jack of Hearts & Iron Man versus the Soviet Super Soldiers. That fight is interrupted when the anomaly starts glowing. Iron Man and Jonathan get closer and it sucks them through a portal before closing.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #110 (May 1978)

Title: Sojourners Through Space

Villains: The Colonizers of Rigel

Synopsis: Materializing on the other end of the portal, Jack of Hearts and Iron Man find themselves light years away from Earth on a spaceship staffed by Thor’s old foes the Colonizers of Rigel. The latest planet they are trying to conquer and colonize is Wundagore II, adopted home planet of those animal-men still loyal to the High Evolutionary.  

Our heroes battle the Rigellian hordes, only for the Knights of Wundagore to show up and attack both sides.   

IRON MAN Vol 1 #111 (June 1978)

Title: The Man, the Metal, and the Mayhem

Villains: The Knights of Wundagore and the Colonizers of Rigel

Synopsis: As the Rigellian starship clashes with the Knights of Wundagore on their space-traveling atomic steeds, the chaos winds up knocking Iron Man down to the surface of Wundagore II. After a battle down there, Iron Man volunteers to help the Knights against the Colonizers, while the space battle ends with the Rigellians triumphant.

The victorious Colonizers threaten Jack of Hearts to aid their side of the war or else they will go through with their backup plan – seizing Earth and its moon.

IRON MAN Vol 1 #112 (July 1978)

Title: Moon Wars!

Villains: The Colonizers and the Knights of Wundagore

Synopsis: Iron Man leads a detachment of Knights in an attack on the Rigellian spaceship and another massive battle breaks out. The commander of the ship shows Jack of Hearts he’s not bluffing about taking the moon and the Earth if he doesn’t help.

To prove it he sends Galactus’ old Punisher android through the portal, where it comes out on our moon and winds up battling the still-waiting Soviet Super Soldiers. NOTE: The Colonizers had acquired the Punisher droid during a long-ago clash with Thor and Galactus, so presumably they picked up one of Kang’s Stimuloids under similar circumstances.

Soon, many of the combatants in the far-off galaxy where the Colonizers, the Knights and our two heroes are fighting wind up spilling out of the teleportation portal as well. Jack of Hearts, Iron Man and the Soviet Super Soldiers fight the Punisher and both alien armies on the moon and down on the Earth as well. In the end the Earth and moon are saved, as is Wundagore II.   

NOTE: The next issue opened up months later and with Jack of Hearts departing after further training but no additional adventures with Iron Man. 

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #44 (October 1978)

Title: The Jack of Hearts

Villain: Hemlock and the Corporation 

Synopsis: In this attempt to see if Jack of Hearts was popular enough to get his own solo series, the Corporation was back. Their latest supervillain ally was called Hemlock, whose powers stemmed from Neutro Mist, just like Jonathan Hart’s stemmed from Zero Fluid.

Jack of Hearts outfights Hemlock and squelches the Corporation’s latest attempt to abduct him for study and experimentation. 

MARVEL TWO IN ONE Vol 1 #48 (February 1979)

Title: War on the Waterfront

Villains: The Corporation and Machinesmith

Synopsis: At his mansion, Jonathan Hart is putting himself through another training session to perfect his abilities as Jack of Hearts. His butler gives him a letter from the Corporation, demanding he meet them at a specific locale to finish the business between them.

Knowing it’s a trap but hoping to take down the Corporation once and for all, Jack of Hearts flies to the designated location at the appointed time. He turns the tables on the Corporation and sees that they have the Thing (Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four) as a captive.

Our hero frees the Thing and the two of them take on the Marvel supervillain called Machinesmith and his android army. Jonathan and the Thing win, but Machinesmith escapes. 

ROM: SPACE KNIGHT Vol 1 #12 (November 1980)

Title: Heart Attack

Villains: Dire Wraiths 

NOTE: Rom, like the Micronauts, was a Marvel series based on a toy line in partnership with the manufacturer of the Rom toys. In the series, Rom fought the Dire Wraiths, an alien race trying to infiltrate Earth and take over.

Synopsis: In Maryland, Jack of Hearts is investigating a break-in at a Top Secret facility. A handful of Dire Wraiths are behind the break-in. Rom has defeated the aliens by the time Jonathan arrives, and, mistaking Jack of Hearts for another Dire Wraith, Rom attacks him.

The two fight it out in Maryland and far above the Earth. Jonathan’s powers blaze dangerously out of control, and in the resulting explosion, our hero thinks Rom was destroyed. In truth, Rom was just knocked into reentry.

NOTE: In the decades ahead, Marvel would repeatedly try to find a permanent slot for Jack of Hearts amid a variety of situations, including a half-alien heritage on his mother’s side, a period with the Avengers, frequent loss of control of his Zero Energy powers, and his own limited 4-issue mini-series.

He even died at least once and showed up alive again – you know comic book writing. In the end, he wound up something of a joke, like Bill Mantlo’s other character Woodgod.

FOR MY LOOK AT MARVEL’S HERO PALADIN CLICK HERE.

FOR MY LOOK AT MARVEL’S HERO EL AGUILA CLICK HERE.