Trickster (DC Comics)
The Trickster is a moniker used by three supervillains who appeared in American comic books published by DC Comics, two of whom are enemies of the Flash. Both have been members of the Rogues.
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
James Jesse first appeared in The Flash #113 and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. Infantino originally designed the character for the issue's cover, which became the basis of its plot and the character's history.Axel Walker debuted in The Flash #183 and was created by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.
Fictional character biography
James Jesse
The original Trickster 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 "James Jesse". He was a circus acrobat who decided to become a criminal just like his "reverse namesake" Jesse James. He created shoes that allowed him to walk on air to first help him in the trapeze shows his family was in, as every member of his family was a trapeze expert and his father wanted him to be one also, and other dangerous gag gadgets for his crimes. He clashed with the Flash many times. In his first appearance, his Harlequin costume causes the Flash to guess he is in a circus, and he captures the Trickster after pogo-sticking to the trapeze.
After Barry Allen's death, the Trickster relocated from Central City to Hollywood, where he spent some time working in special effects. He attempted to steal Dan Cassidy's innovative Blue Devil suit, but was defeated. When Cassidy later became trapped in the suit, Jesse befriended him and relied on Cassidy to help with his sporadic efforts to give up supervillainy.
In the miniseries Underworld Unleashed, Neron tried to create Hell on Earth. When Jesse tricked his way into Neron's domain, it was only to find himself an expected visitor. Neron made vague promises to Jesse, and seemed to keep Jesse in his confidences. However, once Jesse realized he was in Hell and Neron was the devil incarnate, Trickster realized it was up to him to beat the devil. He managed to trick Neron and defeat him with Captain Marvel's help. Upon finding himself back on Earth, Trickster lamented the fact that he had engineered "the greatest sting of all time" and no one had witnessed it...and promptly decided he had better work on the side of the angels, because he did not dare go to Hell.
He began using his con artist skills for good, and collecting the weapons of incarcerated supervillains because such things were too dangerous to be left lying around and could fall into the wrong hands.
When his old girlfriend Mindy Hong called on him for help, Trickster went with her to the tiny mountain kingdom of Zhutan. There, with the help of the Pied Piper and Billy Hong, a 12-year-old boy who proved to be the Majee, he again defeated Neron. As part of the deal, Jesse told Neron to forget all about the Rogues, who were grudgingly grateful for being rescued from the demon's wrath. Minutes later, Jesse was flabbergasted to be told that Billy Hong was his son.
Trickster returned to the States and kept on using his skills for good. He once saved Catwoman's life by tricking her into helping him "kill" her. She was grateful, and he thought her "the most fascinating woman I've ever met", but they parted as merely friends. The FBI contacted Jesse and recruited him. He worked for them awhile and then the Top reappeared and turned the Rogues' world topsy-turvy by brainwashing several of them, causing the Rogue War. Still working as an agent of the FBI, James Jesse gathered the reformed Rogues to stop Captain Cold and the other Rogues. However, the Top appeared and reverted what he did to the reformed Rogues, eventually. It took Trickster and the Pied Piper a long time to sort out their own memories from the Top's hypnotic suggestions. The other Rogues scattered and laid low.
James Jesse appears in Countdown #51, where he arrives at fellow Rogue Heat Wave's apartment in response to Captain Cold's call for a meeting of the Rogues. Heat Wave is not pleased to see Trickster, and reprimands Jesse on the fact that he was once helping the Flash. Trickster talks his way into the apartment, and it appears that the Top's brainwashing of Jesse has been completely undone. Unbeknownst to the two former cellmates, as they are discussing the future of the Rogues, one of the Pied Piper's rats is spying on them. Later that evening, Pied Piper rejoins the Rogues as well and resumes an uneasy friendship with Jesse. After Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard murder Bart Allen in Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13; the resultant chaos sends the Trickster and the Pied Piper on the run from heroes and villains alike.
After attending Bart Allen's funeral in secret, Piper and the Trickster are captured by Deadshot and Multiplex and handcuffed together with cuffs that will explode if they are tampered with, separated by about five feet of equally protected chain. They manage to escape from their captors, but unfortunately they remain shackled together as they continue their lives on the lam. They quickly make their way to Gotham where they are offered partial sanctuary by the Penguin, who contacts the FBI for the reward. The duo then escape the Suicide Squad only to have the Question and Batwoman catch up with them.
Piper and Trickster immediately begin to plead with the two heroes that they personally were not responsible for the death of Bart Allen. Batwoman is quick to ignore their pleas, and more concerned for busting the two criminals for Bart's death. The Question however, is willing to hear them out, at which point the Trickster performs a puppet show to plead their case, using puppets of himself and the Flash. Batwoman becomes furious at the disrespect that Trickster shows, and punches him down, breaking his nose. The Question however, believes their story, saying that "those two couldn't kill time' and lets them go. When Batwoman demands what right she has to release them, Montoya states that her past as a police detective taught her to spot true murderers.
The two Rogues inadvertently make it to Poison Ivy's greenhouse, and are captured by her. Despite being dazed by Poison Ivy's use of pheromones, Trickster finds himself focusing on Piper once he hears the other man speak. The situation gets even more dangerous when Deathstroke arrives. Trickster draws his attention away from Piper for the second time, and gets his nose broken a second time. Deathstroke beats up both Rogues but does not kill them, deciding to use the two fugitives as bait by planting a bomb on them. They are found by Batman, who gets the third dose of Trickster's insolence, but resists temptation and turns the pair of them over to the Flash. West is furious. He hauls Trickster and Piper back to Bart Allen's Grave. They explain that Deathstroke has planted subcutaneous explosive devices in their necks. West believes them and removes the devices by vibrating through their skin. He continues questioning them, and Trickster's answers make him so angry he breaks Jesse's nose for the third time. Eventually, however, he believes their story.
Wally confines the two at the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding, despite the warnings that Deathstroke is planning an all-out assault at the occasion. The two manage to escape the wedding assault, stealing a car and inadvertently picking up Double Down as a passenger. The trio stop at a diner, only to be attacked by the Suicide Squad. Double Down is captured, but Piper and Trickster decide to follow the Squad using an invisibility field, planning to free the other captured villains, whom Trickster insists will "owe us for life." They encounter and free Two-Face, who tells them that the villains are being shipped off at a secret base, then flips a coin to decide whether or not to go along with them. The duo narrowly escape the resultant mayhem and then once again avoid capture by Deadshot.
Throughout Countdown, Trickster makes a series of less-than-funny homophobic jokes which keep the Piper angry and focused. But at the last, when they are riding in the freight car of a train, he is finally able to turn the joke on himself and the two crack up laughing at his awful wordplay. Unfortunately, just at the moment when Trickster finally addresses the Piper as "Hartley" for the first time in the entire series, Jesse notices the red dot of a laser sight on Piper's forehead. Deadshot has caught up with them again. Trickster yanks the Piper out of the line of fire, saving his life, and then Trickster uncharacteristically decides to make a stand and fight. During the fray, Deadshot grabs Trickster's cape and yanks him from the train, then drags him along the tracks, wounding him. When Deadshot declares he is going to shoot the Pied Piper and takes aim, Trickster shouts, "NO! NOT HIM! NOT NOW!" and hurls himself into the hail of bullets. Jesse is killed instantly, but the Piper is shielded by his body and survives and escapes on the train.
Left alone with the corpse of Trickster still chained to him, Piper is forced to flee the train in the Chihuahuan desert and gets lost, dragging along his dead companion. Unable to destroy the cuffs, Piper eventually chops off Trickster's left hand after carrying his corpse as far as he can. While most of Trickster's body remains on Earth, the hand goes with the Piper through a mysteriously-appearing boomtube to Apokolips.
There, DeSaad breaks away the cuffs, freeing Piper and consigning Trickster's hand to the foul depths of Apokolips. DeSaad then explains that he has been manipulating events and both Rogues all along, because he believes the Piper can express the Anti-Life Equation through his music. Realizing this fiend had murdered Trickster, the Piper lets DeSaad have what he wants-- "voicing" the Anti-Life Equation with his music until DeSaad's head explodes. Then, alone and mourning his murdered friend, the Piper plays a swan song for Trickster, and his music is so furious and powerful that the entire planet explodes.
Once returned to Earth via another Boom Tube he created, the Pied Piper recovers from his nightmare journey and resumes his efforts to take down the Rogues for good. In the miniseries Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge, he steals Jesse's last will and testament from the authorities. While on the run, Jesse had told him how the document conceals another written in invisible ink, which turns out to be instructions and diagrams showing how to bring down the Rogues. Unfortunately, Piper's efforts to carry out Jesse's plans are unsuccessful: he is wounded and then unwillingly involved in the killing of Inertia.
In Blackest Night: The Flash #1, James Jesse was reanimated as a Black Lantern.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". He later appears before his successor Axel Walker, after his powers of the Strength Force were removed by the Flash. He manage to capture Commander Cold to find information from him to improve his "latest trick" in Central City.
Trickster later brainwashes Big Sir, Bug-Eyed Bandit, Copperhead, Rag Doll, Razer, the Rogues, Shrapnel, Tar Pit, Top, and Trigger Twins while having abducted Gregory Wolfe and also brainwashed Axel Walker into being his right-hand man. He meets with his parents on the roof and asks if they are proud of him. When he is not impressed, Trickster pushes his parents off the roof as they are saved by Flash. With help from technology provided by Commander Cold, Flash tried to look for Trickster who managed to get away.