| “ | Jack of Hearts, the novice super-hero -- is still around! | „ |
| ~ Jack of Hearts. |
| “ | Live. Use the life I’ve given you to change, to find the honor you lost in sacrificing me. | „ |
| ~ Jack of Hearts. |
Jonathan "Jack" Hart, better known as Jack of Hearts, is a superhero from Marvel Comics.
The son of scientist Phillip Hart and the Contraxian Marya, Jack was dosed with his father's energy source zero fluid and received the power to harness and release energy. Donning armor that embedded itself into his body, Hart took on the name Jack of Hearts as a nod to his father's love for playing cards. However, he struggles with controlling his powers, with several storylines involving their unstable nature.
He was created by the late Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen, and first appeared in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #22 (March 1976).
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Jonathan "Jack" Hart was born in New Haven, Connecticut to the scientist Phillip Hart and his wife Marie, who was secretly an alien named Marya from the planet Contraxia. She was sent to Earth to oversee Phillip's experiment with a energy source dubbed zero fluid, hoping that it could act as a replacement source for Contraxia's sun. However, she died during a car accident when Jack was a boy. Despite being raised by Phillip, Jack had a tense relationship with him over the latter's obsession with playing cards. Jack also befriended Marcy Kane, who was secretly a Contraxian sent to continue Marya's mission.
Becoming the Jack of Hearts[]
Upon learning that Phillip perfected zero fluid and intended to donate it internationally, the Corporation contacted the scientist to market it under their organization. Phillip refused however, and was murdered by agents tasked to eliminate him and bring the fluid to the Corporation. Jack witnessed his father's death and hid in the basement, where he was dosed with a vat of zero fluid. Surviving (presumably due to his Contraxian heritage), Jack developed powers by harnessing the source and releasing it as blast. After killing his father's killers, Jack vowed to get revenge against the Corporation by finding the ones responsible.
Becoming a superhero, he named himself "Jack of Hearts" to honor his father's favorite pass time, and hunted down anyone who could be a member of the Corporation. Hart came into conflict with the Hulk and the White Tiger, believing them to be responsible until he saw reason. He then teamed up with them, Iron Fist and Shang-Chi to fight against the organization for their crimes. Afterward, he helped Iron Man stop Mordecai Midas to free Stark International, and found himself under the armored superhero's wing. However, he willingly had himself imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. when his powers became unstable.
Eventually, he escaped and reunite with Marcy, learning the truth of his origins and traveled to Contraxia to save the planet's sun. He was able to harness vast energy that made him radioactive, leaving him unable to be around organic life despite giving the sun years to survive. Hart traveled across space and had many adventures, such as being saved by Quasar from the Stranger and helping his love-interest Ganymede and Thanos fight the villain Tyrant. His most notable adventure was meeting the Avengers, and became a member after to helping them stop the Infinites and Kang the Conqueror. During his tenure, his powers caused more troubles than solutions, such as absorbing She-Hulk's gamma radiation and transforming her into the Savage Hulk.
Death and Return[]
After returning her gamma radiation back to She-Hulk, Jack decided to leave the team to focus on controlling his powers. However, he performed one final heroic act by stopping Ant-Man from killing his daughter's kidnapper and flew into space before he died from his unstable powers. Later on, Jack was reanimated by the Scarlet Witch during her war against the Avengers and seemingly killed Ant-Man when entering the team's mansion. Hart was later revived somehow by Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and partnered with She-Hulk in his return as a superhero.
Trivia[]
- His only appearance outside of comics has been in the Silver Surfer animated series, where he had a non-speaking role.
