Rick Jones
Rick Jones is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Rick Jones
At the age of 16, he got his driver's license and managed to save enough money to buy a used car. Overhearing a teen dare a friend to ride out with him on the desert where it was rumored an atomic bomb was going to be tested, Jones offered to take him up on the challenge. He drove his car out to the test site to discover his challenger was too timid to show up. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, designer of the Gamma Bomb to be tested, learned that someone had ventured onto the test site, and believing the countdown had been delayed, ran out into the desert to warn him back. Banner managed to throw Jones into a protective trench before the bomb detonated, but he himself was bombarded with gamma radiation. This radiation triggered a mutagenic change in Banner, causing him to turn into the raging superhuman Hulk. Rick and Bruce were picked up by the military and placed in quarantine where they were expected to die of radiation poisoning. While Rick was fine, Banner was far from it and that evening when the sun went down Banner transformed into a massive grey skinned brute that became commonly known as the Hulk. The Hulk smashed out of the quarantine and headed for his cabin. Feeling indebted to Bruce for saving his life, Rick followed after the Hulk to make sure that nobody got hurt. The Hulk fought through the military and made a path to the cabin owned by Bruce Banner where he caught Igor trying to steal the Gamma Bomb plans. Igor proved no match for the Hulk who easily subdued him. When the sun began to rise, the Hulk reverted back into Bruce Banner, and Rick covered for Bruce keeping his identity as the Hulk a secret from the military when they arrived. Thus began the long partnership between the Hulk and Rick Jones. It was through this partnership that Rick also met General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, Banner's employer in the Air Force and later the Hulks greatest adversary, and his daughter Betty who formed a romance with Banner despite the late revelations that he was the Hulk. The following night Rick accompanied Bruce out into the desert so that if Banner transformed into the Hulk again he would not harm anyone. As with the previous night as soon as the sun went down, Bruce transformed into the Hulk once again. When Betty happened upon Rick and the Hulk she quickly fainted. The pair were then captured by the Gargoyle a gamma mutated Russian agent that was tipped off to the existence of the Hulk by Igor after he was captured by the Air Force. Using mind control pellets, the Gargoyle took Jones and the Hulk prisoner and smuggled them into Russia. Crossing over to the light side of the Earth caused the Hulk to revert the Hulk back into Banner. Upon this discovery, the Gargoyle spirited both Banner and Rick to his lab where he convinced Banner to use his scientific know-how to change the Gargoyle back to normal. Thankful for Banner's help, the former Gargoyle sacrificed his life so that the pair could escape back to the United States. (Incredible Hulk v1 #1)
Hulk
Rick Jones tracked a rampaging, newly green-skinned Hulk into a local town and successfully used his unique influence to calm the monster's blind rage, leading him safely away from local police forces before dawn forced a physical reversion back into Dr. Bruce Banner. Rejecting the exhausted scientist's desperate pleas to abandon the dangerous partnership, Rick Jones stood firm until an advanced extraterrestrial scout ship belonging to an amphibious alien race known as the Toad Men suddenly landed nearby. The hostile visitors used a specialized mind detector to locate Dr. Banner, swiftly taking both the scientist and the teenager captive to evaluate Earth's defensive capabilities ahead of a planned planetary invasion. When Dr. Banner deliberately triggered his sunset transformation inside the alien vessel to break them free, Rick Jones coordinated with the savage behemoth to help dismantle the invasion forces. He maintained his dedicated role as the creature's sole human confidant, safely guiding the Hulk back to the secret desert bunker while actively protecting Dr. Banner's identity from the high-ranking military officers stationed at the missile base. (Incredible Hulk v1 #2) Jones was cornered by General "Thunderbolt" Ross, who deceitfully convinced the teenager that the nation needed the Hulk to test a specialized experimental rocket. Naively trusting the military, Rick Jones tricked the monster into entering the spacecraft's capsule. His heart sank the moment the rocket launched into the atmosphere, realizing too late that General Ross had maliciously orchestrated the event to exile the creature into outer space. Fortunately, a sudden solar radiation storm struck the rocket, altering the Hulk’s physiology and imbuing Rick Jones with a unique telepathic link to command the behemoth's movements. Later taking a break from his vigil, Rick Jones attended a traveling circus where he was instantly mesmerised alongside the entire audience by the hypnotic powers of the criminal Ringmaster. Though physically paralyzed by the performance, Rick Jones used his new mental bond to telepathically summon the Hulk to the scene. Guided by Rick's commands, the jade giant easily broke through his own hypnotic trance, smashed his chains, and dismantled the entire Circus of Crime. As military forces arrived to arrest the monster, Rick Jones was scooped up into the Hulk's arms as they leapt away to safety. (Incredible Hulk v1 #3)
Rick later stood over the Hulk while the monster was strapped to a medical gurney, carefully following Dr. Bruce Banner's pre-recorded instructions to bombard the creature's forehead with a specialized gamma-ray projector. Risking his own safety to cure his friend, Rick Jones successfully operated the heavy machinery, triggering a painful cellular transformation that reverted the giant back into an extremely weakened Dr. Banner. After witnessing the desperate scientist test a stronger dosage of the radiation on himself which permanently combined the Hulk's massive physique with Banner's human intellect. Rick Jones traveled alongside the newfound 'intelligent' Goliath to confront a public menace. He observed from the sidelines as the Hulk easily deduced the fraudulent identity of an intergalactic tyrant named Mongu, proving the alien was actually a disguised Soviet agent named Boris Monguski operating a high-tech battle suit. Once the military arrived to secure the area, Rick Jones safely accompanied the rational behemoth away from the Arizona desert, marking a definitive shift in their supernatural partnership. (Incredible Hulk v1 #4) Afterwards, he officially stepped into his new role as a scientific assistant to Dr. Bruce Banner at the Los Diablos Missile Base, only to quickly find himself caught in a high-stakes rescue mission when an underground warlord named Tyrannus abducted Betty Ross. Traveling deep into the subterranean kingdom to save her, Rick Jones bravely infiltrated the villain's high-tech palace to deactivate the electronic controls keeping Betty captive. His quick thinking liberated the hostage, freeing the Hulk to fully unleash his massive physical strength and completely bring down Tyrannus's palace. Later, while accompanying the jade giant on an international flight to stop an aggressive Asian dictator named General Fang, Rick Jones was forced to leap from an aircraft's emergency exit when their identities were compromised. Upon landing, he successfully dismantled an electrified barrier cage to liberate the trapped behemoth, standing firmly by his side as the monster easily routed General Fang's military forces before they prepared to return back home to New Mexico. (Incredible Hulk v1 #5)
Later on, Rick Jones stepped into a critical new leadership role by founding the Teen Brigade, a highly organized network of amateur ham-radio operators dedicated to tracking national crises and monitoring the Hulk's movements. Operating out of the secret desert bunker in New Mexico, Rick Jones constructed a specialized gamma-ray projector to stabilize Dr. Bruce Banner's erratic physical transformations. However, his delicate routine shattered when a rogue scientist named The Metal Master arrived on Earth, utilizing supreme magnetic forces to easily neutralize the United States military and threaten global annihilation. When the Hulk was framed as an accomplice to the alien tyrant and locked away in a high-tech containment vault, Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade mobilized to orchestrate a daring prison break. Proving his tactical brilliance, Rick Jones designed a convincing replica weaponry configuration made entirely of wood and plastics, tricking the Metal Master into a high-stakes standoff because the alien's magnetic powers were completely useless against non-metallic materials. This critical distraction allowed the intelligent jade giant to ambush and soundly defeat the invader, liberating the planet and cementing Rick Jones's status as a vital civilian strategist. (Incredible Hulk v1 #7) Jones unknowingly became the central catalyst in assembling Earth's Mightiest Heroes when his Teen Brigade ham-radio network was nefariously intercepted by the Norse god Loki. Attempting to broadcast an urgent S.O.S. to the Fantastic Four to help contain a framed, rampaging Hulk, Rick's frequencies were subtly diverted, inadvertently summoning Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to the southwestern desert instead. Traveling alongside the newly arrived costumed protectors to an abandoned auto testing ground in Detroit, the young strategist bravely coordinated with the heroes to expose Loki’s intricate illusions and rescue the real jade giant from a high-voltage trap. When the trickster god physically unleashed his full mystical might against them, Rick Jones stood unyielding on the battlefield, witnessing the monumental, unified counter-attack that successfully banished the villain back to Asgard. As the victorious heroes officially voted to establish a permanent coalition to battle threats no single hero could face alone, an ecstatic Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade were named honorary allies, officially witnessing the historic birth of the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #1)
Captain Marvel
Afterwards, Jones came to feel neglected and ignored by Captain America where he became tired of his ego. This led to a talk with Edwin Jarvis were Rick decided to leave the Avengers for good. Whilst leaving, he spotted a spectral Captain America where he was drawn to a mysterious laboratory where he found a pair of golden bracelets. These were the Nega-Bands where he was mentally contacted by Mar-Vell who had been banished to the anti-cosmos of the Negative Zone. By donning the bands, Rick came to be linked to the Kree superhero where they traded places when crossing the Nega-Bands. Jones came to be displaced into a protective bubble in the Negative Zone whilst Mar-Vell took his place. He came to fight Yon-Rogg who had come for the Nega-Bands and after failing he managed to escape whereupon Mar-Vell switched places with Rick Jones again. (Captain Marvel v1 #17)
A-Bomb
The arena match only ended when the Sentry arrived on the scene where he battled the Hulk with Jones worrying that their fight would destroy everyone on the planet. Their fight expended much of their respective energies causing the two to revert to their human forms where Banner landed the final blow that knocked out Robert Reynolds. Rick then attempted to calm down Bruce and thus end the conflict and stop it from escalating any further. However, the Sakaaran Miek was infuriated by this as he wanted the battle to spiral till all the Hulk's enemies were dead and thus he stabbed Jones with his spear. This caused Banner to transform in anger and attack Miek where he learnt that the Sakaaran Native was the one responsible for the devastation on Sakaar which he did to have the Hulk turn his anger against his enemies with this revelation partly leading to the end of the Hulk's rampage when a satellite weapon was used to turn him back into his human form. (World War Hulk v1 #5) When Jones was badly injured, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. medics came to take him away for treatment though in reality these were A.I.M. agents acting on orders from M.O.D.O.K. Due to Rick's prior exposure to prime gamma energy, he was seen as a perfect specimen for transformation with the Intelligencia requiring a DNA sample from the Abomination. This was acquired by the Red Hulk who murdered Emil Blonsky and he was transformed into a Gamma Mutate. During this time, his love Marlo Chandler who was similarly experimented on was the one who allowed Jones to escape. (Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1 #3)
The Red Hulk later approached Rick Jones outside Gamma Base where he struck the young man who transformed into A-Bomb who intended to kill his attacker. (Hulk v2 #2) Despite his resistance, A-Bomb was defeated by the Red Hulk whose repeated strikes knocked him unconscious but their battle by the base was interrupted by the arrival of the Hulk. (Hulk v2 #3) After recovering from the fight, A-Bomb departed to help the wounded Hulk after he was beaten by the Red Hulk with the transformed Jones stating that he was a friend. (Hulk v2 #5) A-Bomb accompanied him as Hulk and other heroes sought to stop the Red Hulk when the villain was spotted again. He was instrumental in stopping other heroes from interfering to allow the Hulk to defeat his red-skinned foe whereupon he departed. A-Bomb then reverted to his human form where Rick Jones attempted to warn Banner on the identity of the Red Hulk but he was rendered unconscious with an electrical attack from Doc Samson who took him away. (Hulk v2 #6) He was taken back to the Intelligencia where they reprogrammed his mind to allow Rick Jones to be the dominant personality but hid a directive in his mind that compelled him to kill Bruce Banner. (Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1 #3)
With the seeming death of the Hulk persona, Rick Jones as A-Bomb tracked Banner down and offered to help get revenge on the Red Hulk. They were ambushed by Ares who had been sent by Norman Osborn to ascertain the condition of the Hulk with A-Bomb being overwhelmed by the Avenger. However, Banner managed to help them escape where he urged Rick to live his life as they went their own ways. (Hulk v2 #13)
He transformed into A-Bomb to help some civilians during an accident when he was approached by the newest incarnation of the Hulk. This version called himself Doc Green where he seemingly only possessed advance intellect with him determined to remove gamma mutations from the world. He had developed a serum designed to strip gamma mutations from a person and intended to use it on A-Bomb. However, Rick refused to let go of his powers and stated that he used them for good despite Doc Green's claims. A-Bomb managed to destroy one syringe of the serum but Doc Green had another one sent to him where he injected Jones with I. Thus, he lost his powers and turned back into a normal human where he resented Doc Green for taking away his abilities. (Hulk v3 #6)
Whisperer
Despite losing his powers, Jones was not entirely restored to being a human and had a side effect of the process whereby he had the ability to pick up new skills very quickly. He decided to use this power to become a hacker and activist where he exposed hidden secrets to the public. In this guise, he operated in the shadows where he came to be known as the Whisperer. (Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha v1 #1)
Immortal Hulk
It was shown that after his death that Rick Jones remains were buried at the Severin Memorial Cemetery. The Immortal Hulk came to take Doc Samson there in order to prove that he, Bruce Banner, Betty Ross and Rick Jones were all connected through a cycle of resurrection. They later arrived at Rick's grave only to find it had been dug up and that his body was missing. (Immortal Hulk v1 #15) The remains were bonded with those of Emil Blonsky with their body going through a cocoon stage as it developed into its new form. (Immortal Hulk v1 #16)
All-New Venom
Needing a job, Rick accepted to work for the Daily Bugle as a celebrity columnist for superheroes. (All-New Venom v1 #1)
Rick was one of four suspects believed to be the new host of the Venom symbiote, the others being his boss Robbie Robertson, New York's mayor Luke Cage, and criminal mastermind Madame Masque. Rick believed himself to be Venom's new host as he noticed blank spaces in his memory, and feared he was doing things he was not aware of. (All-New Venom v1 #7)
When Madame Masque reemerged atop a skyscraper and took everyone present hostage, Rick made his way there, unconsciously using Sleeper's wall crawling ability to climb to the top. He confronted Madame Masque and her accomplice M.O.D.O.K. standing over an incapacitated Venom, at which point Sleeper took over his body to help its parent. (All-New Venom v1 #4) Together with Venom, Sleeper mind-controlled Rick into fighting M.O.D.O.K. and saving the civilians as the top of the building crumbled, and after landing on the road Sleeper momentarily left Rick to possess the giant headed villain and use his powers to make everyone forget Jones was Sleeper Agent before knocking M.O.D.O.K. out. Venom reprimanded its offspring for taking advantage of its host, but Sleeper told its parent that it would be using Rick only until it and Toxin were set free from S.C.A.R.'s facility. (All-New Venom v1 #5)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Rick Jones was an American human male teenager who possessed a slender, lean, and athletic physical build. He had a light complexion, an expressive and youthful face, and a thick mop of untamed, wavy dark brown hair that fell loosely around his forehead and ears. His everyday attire consisted of casual, early-1960s American teenage civilian garments suitable for hot desert climates. He wore a simple, light-coloured short-sleeved polo shirt with a buttoned collar, paired with durable blue denim jeans held up by a standard belt. He wore flat-soled, flexible canvas sneakers that facilitated rapid running, driving, and quick maneuvering across rough desert terrain. (Incredible Hulk v1 #1) It was remarked that he bore a resemblance to Bucky Barnes to the point that Steve Rogers thought Rick could be his sidekicks twin brother. (Avengers v1 #4) After his transformation, he became a gamma-irradiated creature who went by the name of A-Bomb. (Hulk v2 #2) At one point, he operated as a hacker and activist where he went by the name of the Whisperer. (Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha v1 #1) Shadow Base experimented on his remains and brought him back where they labelled him as Subject B. (Immortal Hulk v1 #17)
He felt responsible for the incident that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk and felt guilty about his actions. Rick thought that maybe he should have been the one cursed with the power rather than it falling on Banner. (Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1 #3)
After using the Nega-Bands, he came to be linked with Mar-Vell for a time where they came to share their thoughts and desires. (Captain Marvel v1 #17)
Initially, he tended to refer to himself in the third-person where he spoke in a stunted speech-pattern similar to the Hulk. However, he came to wrestle control over the A-Bomb personality allowing him to speak normally in that form. (Hulk v2 #13) The brute form was connected to the ID that did not respond well to taking orders. (Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1 #3)
Powers and abilities
Rick Jones was born a member of the human race, which meant that on a basic level, he possessed entirely standard human physiological traits, lacked any intrinsic superhuman powers or genetic mutations, and was bound by ordinary human biological limitations. He possessed no formal military, martial arts, or tactical self-defense training, relying entirely on his baseline teenage physical conditioning and sharp survival instincts to navigate hostile scenarios. His primary capabilities were rooted entirely in his exceptional baseline agility, rapid running speed, and high vehicular driving competence, allowing him to navigate a restricted military testing zone and successfully evade armed security. Furthermore, he demonstrated immense emotional resilience, a deep sense of loyalty, and an advanced capacity for stealth, enabling him to closely shadow a rampaging, radioactive creature and effectively conceal its location from highly coordinated military forces. (Incredible Hulk v1 #1)
Due to exposure to prime gamma energy, his physiology was more adaptive and made him a prime candidate for gamma mutation. A camouflage gland was added to his body that was part of cuttlefish experiments thus giving him the ability to blend into the background and appear invisible. Similar to the Hulk, he had a healing factor that allowed him to recover from injuries quickly. (Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1 #3) As A-Bomb, he gained the curious ability to track the Hulk with Jones attributing this to their possible gamma radiation connection. (Hulk v2 #13)
This form was noted for being bullet proof allowing him to survive projectile weapons from heavy machine guns. (Hulk v2 #3)
Another ability he had was the power to adapt his skin to match his environment giving him a chameleon-like ability to blend into surroundings. (Hulk v2 #13) Doc Green later used a special serum designed to strip away A-Bomb's gamma mutation thus removing this power from him. (Hulk v3 #6)
As A-Bomb, Jones' intelligence was impaired and below that of an average human. As A-Bomb, he had little recall of his memories or his past. He loses all of his musical abilities and all but the most rudimentary form of combat skills. Jones was able to get control of his mind as A-Bomb, and retained all of his intelligence and possessed complete control as A-Bomb, but he was also trapped in his A-Bomb form. Rick eventually gained the ability to transform at will, retaining his mind in his A-Bomb form due to the Hulk's wish. (Incredible Hulks v1 #635)
After losing his gamma mutation, Rick experienced a side effect whereby he was able to pick up new skills lightning fast. (Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha v1 #1)
Shadow Base resurrected Jones where they bonded his remains with that of Emil Blonsky creating a new incarnation of the Abomination. (Immortal Hulk v1 #17)
He was responsible for organizing the Teen Brigade who were a group of young amateur ham radio enthusiasts to help him monitor the Hulk's activities. (Incredible Hulk v1 #6)
Notes
- Rick Jones was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Incredible Hulk v1 #1 (May, 1962).
- He was later transformed into A-Bomb by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness in Hulk v1 #2 (February, 2008).
Alternate Versions
- In Ultimate Origins v1 #5 (2008), an alternate version of Rick Jones appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality that was designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse.
- In Spider-Gwen: Smash v1 #1 (2023), an alternate version of Rick Jones appeared in the Spider-Gwen reality that was designated as Earth-65 in the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In The Marvel Super Heroes, Rick Jones appeared in the setting of the 1966 animated television series Hulk segments where he was voiced by actor Paul Soles.
- In The Incredible Hulk, Rick Jones appeared in the setting of the 1982 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Michael Horton
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Rick Jones appeared as A-Bomb in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Seth Green.
Films
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Rick Jones as A-Bomb appeared as an NPC in the video game where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Rick Jones as A-Bomb appeared as a playable character in the setting of the Facebook video game.
Appearances
- Incredible Hulk v1: (1962)
- Avengers v1:
- Captain Marvel:
- Hulk v1:
- Hulk v2:
- World War Hulk v1:
- Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk v1:
- Hulk v3:
- Civil War II: The Fallen v1:
- Captain America: Steve Rogers v1:
- Secret Empire v1:
- Immortal Hulk v1:
- Gamma Flight v1: (2021)
External Links
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