Celebrating the life of one Marvel Comics greatest sidekicks
In Secret Empire #1 we saw that longtime character Rick Jones was killed by a Hydra firing squad, under command of Captain America. This marked the death of one of the most important supporting character of the Marvel Universe.
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For those of you who are not familiar with Rick Jones, you shouldn’t feel ashamed, as Rick never made an appearance in any of the Marvel films. But as a character in the comics, he’s lived an interesting life.Rick Jones first appeared in 1962 in The Incredible Hulk #1. He inadvertently caused the creation of the Hulk. Rick accepts a dare to drive out to a bomb testing facility. He doesn’t realize that a test on a gamma bomb was going to happen. Before the bomb goes off, Dr. Bruce Banner saves Rick by pushing him into a shelter.
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Of course, Banner doesn’t get a chance to get to the shelter himself and turns into the Hulk. Probably due to some type of guilt, Rick befriends Banner and the Hulk. Rick ends up staying with them for many years.But that’s only the tip of the iceberg:
- Rick inadvertently helped to form the Avengers.
- Helped Captain America adjust to modern times.
- Be trained by Captain America and assume Bucky.
- Become bonded to the alien hero Captain Marvel.
- Able to tap into a powerful force called the Destiny Force and end the war between the alien races the Kree and the Skrulls.
- Be a companion to the Spaceknight Rom.
- Become a Hulk-like creature himself.
- Bond with a new Captain Marvel. But this time it was Marvel’s son Genis.
- Went on to form the superhero support group, the Loners.
- Become a gamma radiated monster called A-Bomb.
- Finally, Rick became the hacker known as the Whisperer.
While Rick never showed up in the Marvel films, he did show up on most of the Hulk cartoon throughout the years. In the 1996 The Incredible Hulk cartoon, he was voiced by Luke Perry of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame. And in the 2013 Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. cartoon, Rick was voiced by Robot Chicken creator and actor, Seth Green. But there is still time for him to appear in the Marvel films.
The only saving grace here is the revolving door of death in comics. Let’s face it when it comes to comics, very few character stay dead forever. Some writer might figure out a way to bring Rick back. Given Rick’s history, the door is already open. Plus the fact the storyline for Secret Empire hasn’t finished.
In any case, though Rick Jones is dead now, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him. I just wanted to show what a huge impact Rick has had on the Marvel Universe.
Thanks…