Jean-Paul DuChamp, typically referred to as Frenchie, is a fictional character appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. He is primarily seen as the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
to
Moon Knight.
Publication history
The character first appeared in ''
Werewolf by Night
The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of We ...
'' #32, in August 1975, which also featured the first appearance of
Moon Knight. The character would next appear in ''
The Defenders'' issue 49, in July 1977, becoming a recurring character in the 1980 ''Moon Knight'' series, and the 1989 series ''Marc Spector: Moon Knight''. The character also played a significant role in the 2006 ''Moon Knight'' series and was also featured in the 2009 series ''Vengeance of the Moon Knight''. The character would later reappear in the 2016 ''Moon Knight'' series where he is one of the mental patients in an insane asylum in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
alongside
Marc Spector,
Bertand Crawley,
Gena Landers,
Marlene Alraune and others.
Fictional character biography
Frenchie was originally romantically involved with a woman named Isabelle Kristel, but she later left him. After this, he became a mercenary, where he encountered
Marc Spector and
Raoul Bushman. Once Spector became Moon Knight, Frenchie helped him fight Bushman, who had betrayed them. He would later design and build Moon Knight’s Mooncopter.
Frenchie then went undercover in order to infiltrate the crime organization the Committee, under the alias Monsieur LeBlanc, which allowed Moon Knight to bring down the organization.
Frenchie was later crippled when Moon Knight’s brother
Randall Spector caused an explosion at Moon Knight’s
mansion. His girlfriend Chloe Tran also informed him that he carried the bloodline of the Hellbent, a race of supernatural beings, and that he has the ability to transform into his ancestors.
After being driven away by Moon Knight, Frenchie became partners with Rob Silverman, and they opened and ran a restaurant called ''En Table''. It is revealed he is gay, and was attracted to Marc.
Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...
learned that Frenchie was an associate of Moon Knight, and sent a gang to kill him and Silverman in order to provoke Moon Knight. The attack left Silverman in critical condition, which caused Frenchie and Moon Knight to again join forces and attack the gang who attacked them.
In his most recent appearance, Frenchie is called on by Moon Knight to watch over Marc’s daughter, Diatrice Alraune.
Powers and abilities
Frenchie is a skilled pilot and an above average hand-to-hand combatant.
In other media
* Frenchie is featured as an ally in the Moon Knight virtual pinball game for
Pinball FX 2
''Pinball FX 2'' (stylized as ''Pinball FX2'') is a pinball video game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows ( XP and higher) and is the sequel to '' Pinball FX''. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was ...
released by
Zen Studios
Zen Studios is a Hungarian video game developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary and offices in the United States. It is known for its game franchises, '' Pinball FX'' and '' Zen Pinball'', ...
.
* DuChamp's (spelled Duchamp) name appears in the first episode of ''
Moon Knight'' when Steven Grant finds a phone that belonged to Marc Spector in his flat and checks his missed calls.
References
External links
Frenchieat Marvel.com
Frenchieat Marvel Wiki
Frenchieat Comic Vine
*
{{Moon Knight
Marvel Comics male characters
1975 comics debuts
Marvel Comics LGBT characters
Fictional French people
Marvel Comics sidekicks
Fictional aviators
Characters created by Doug Moench
Characters created by Don Perlin
Comics characters introduced in 1975