JACK OF HEARTS

 

JACK OF HEARTS

Real Name: Jonathan Hart

First Appearance: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (Vol. 1) #22, March 1976

Powers: The Jack of Hearts is a Contraxian/human hybrid, who developed considerable superhuman powers after exposure to his alien father's experimental super-fuel, Zero Fluid. He has developed an appearance like a regular Contraxian, with the left side of his body composed of purplish-black dead cells, and his left eye covered with an opaque membrane that hides his pupil.

Jack's body produces a perpetually regenerating energy supply known as Zero Power within his cells and can be harnessed for various effects. This energy builds at an uncontrollable rate and he initially wore a protective suit of armor to restrain it. Without his protective armor, Jack would detonate with the force of a nuclear bomb, threatening his physical integrity and potentially harming those around him.
The intensity of his power varied over the years: Sometimes, Jack could expose himself to a "neutro-mist" which would allow him to remove his armor for a period of hours without exploding. He would be powerless, but Jack had to isolate himself in the energy-siphoning Zero Room for upwards of 10-14 hours a day in order to safely bleed off his excess Zero Energy. During those hours, Jack's radiation disintegrated anything left in the room, even his armor, which had to be replaced each day. In the past, planetary atmospheres accelerated Jack's decay by stimulating the internal fission that fuels his powers, making him more physically stable in outer space. Later, his physiology became consistently unstable regardless of environment.

 

He often releases his energies as concussive force blasts, intense heat beams, and/or hard radiation waves. Without his conscious control, this energy would radiate outward from his entire body in an omni-directional wave of destructive force.  His armor leaves ventilation open around his hands so that he can direct his power offensively as blasts of vastly destructive concussive and explosive energy. Often a glow of pink energy surrounds Jack's wrists at the point where his bare flesh begins. His low-level energy blasts can stun opponents, but higher-powered blasts can destroy nearly any target, surpassing the internal temperatures of the sun. By selectively emitting only certain visible portions of his energy spectrum, he can radiate bright light. With concentration, he can form low-level energy fields at a distance - for instance, slightly altering the target's temperature. He can generate force-fields, though seldom does so. If necessary, he can release an atomic-strength energy blast and then contain the radioactive fallout by reabsorbing it, but he rarely employs this tactic as it near-fatally drains him. He can perceive radiation wavelengths as colors, and manipulates them with great precision. Besides offensive and detection purposes, Jack can also direct his energies beneath him as a means of propulsion, allowing him to fly. Initially, he had to use his hand-blasts for flight, limiting his firepower in mid-air combat. On Earth, he's been clocked at flight speeds of up to 300 miles per minute and can fly at warp speed, but only in outer space. He can reach escape velocity in a matter of seconds.

He can temporarily replenish or augment his power levels by absorbing energy from external sources, sometimes unconsciously and involuntarily. He can also transfer his internal energies to other beings or targets, acting as a power source. He's magnified the intensity and duration of existing weather effects such as lightning and high winds by feeding them with his energies, creating massive storms. When Jack's powers were briefly supercharged to their highest levels, his energy emissions were strong enough to incinerate targets millions of miles away unless he consciously restrained himself.

In recent years, however, Moondragon revised his armor's systems so that he could funnel Zero Energy safely out from his legs, enabling him to fly while still having his hands available for blasting. Jack of Hearts is an extraordinarily fast flyer, exceeding speeds of Mach 22 in atmosphere and probably capable of moving exponentially faster in open space. Jack's durability and low oxygen intake allow him to survive air friction and other high-velocity phenomena. The Zero Power has a unique radiation signature, which was once employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. to act as a power source for the "Scanalyzer", a computerized radiation detector. This direct interaction somehow caused Jack of Hearts to assimilate the properties of the Scanalyzer into his own body: He developed a computer-like mind, capable of processing data far more efficiently than any human on Earth. He has total recall abilities, can compute trajectories to instantly trace the path of gunfire and locate hidden shooters or calculate complicated ricochet vectors or target his Zero blasts with pinpoint accuracy, and plot evasion patterns to weave his way through shooting ranges or war zones. He can also detect and analyze variations in air currents, ambient temperatures and radiation signatures, recognizing their presence in his area, trace them to their sources, or determine how long they have been dormant or removed from his immediate environment.

 

Jack's physical strength seems to vary with his overall power levels. He can lift at least 25 tons at typical power levels, perhaps more considerably if he specifically redirects his energies into strength enhancement. He has repeatedly held his own in hand-to-hand combat battles with opponents of Class 100 strength levels, but he's also demonstrated markedly lower strength levels on multiple occasions. He has superhuman stamina and durability, and his body usually regenerates rapidly if he's injured. Bulletproof, he's withstood thousands of volts of electricity, survived massive explosions and huge impacts, and recovered from broken bone injuries in minutes. He can survive unharmed in the heart of a sun. Sustained by his internal energies, he has little to no need for food, water, rest, oxygen, and can survive indefinitely in the vacuum of space (though he finds long-term deprivation of familiar human comforts and sensations unpleasant.

 

A gifted poet, Jonathan Hart holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in poetry. He is a fair unarmed combatant with some S.H.I.E.L.D. combat instruction, he formerly maintained high-tech combat training facilities at Hart Mansion with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assistance. He has limited starship piloting skills. Jack has worn various armored suits which help contain and control his bodily energies. The heart design over his left eye is a permanent laser tattoo. During his early exploits, Jack carried a custom deck of cards, all jacks of hearts, and left one at the scene of each adventure as a calling card.