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This is a list of characters from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series.


Astronomer

The Astronomer is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by
Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner (born December 30, 1950 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American writer. Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, and then identified with cyberpunk. He later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and f ...
in '' Wild Cards II: Aces High'', though his presence was earlier implied in "The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato" in the first volume of the series. Leader of a cult consisting mainly of superhuman aces and deformed jokers known as the Egyptian Freemasons. The Astronomer planned to conquer the world in the aftermath of an invasion by fungoid aliens called the Swarm. Unknown to him, the Shakti device of the Egyptian Freemasons lacked a power source and was designed to contact an alien organization, the Network. Once his plans were foiled, the Astronomer lived only for revenge. The Astronomer is an old man (born in 1925), who has thinning white hair, wears glasses and is best described as "mole-like"; he is also noted as having a disproportionately large head, the upper part of which enlarges further when he is fully empowered. He has wiped his own memory of all events prior to becoming the Astronomer. The Astronomer usually uses a wheelchair, although the proper use of his
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
powers can allow him to walk. The Astronomer practices a horrific form of death magic, gaining immense energy through the ritualistic slaying of his victims (usually young women). He greatly enjoys having
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
slowly kill the victims, taking their suffering from projected death as his energy source. Once the ritual is completed, The Astronomer is blessed with a huge energy reserve allowing him to utilize the following powers: astral projection, clairsentience, minor precognition, the ability to selectively erase memories, flight, invisibility to visual and mental senses, ego attacks, hand killing attacks, walking through walls, suppression versus any single wildcard power, force fields and minor force walls, telepathy and an assortment of energy blasts; however, he can not use all powers simultaneously. His powers resemble and possibly exceed those of Fortunato, making him one of the most powerful aces. The Astronomer has lost his followers in attacks on the Masons by Fortunato and several other aces, while managing to escape and partially reform the cult. His activities culminate on the Wild Card Day 1986, the 40th anniversary of the virus' release. While his associates pursue the Turtle and Tachyon, the Astronomer picks several girls up for recharge. One of them is the niece of Sewer Jack, Cordelia Chaisson. As she "turns her ace" (the ability to shut down somebody's cardiac and respiratory systems) and
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
shifts his loyalty by interrupting the recharge, the Astronomer can block Demise's killing stare, but is left almost powerless and virtually dead by Cordelia. After later recharge and the aerial battle with Fortunato, which leaves both aces almost powerless, the Astronomer drops to the Hudson and escapes to the shore for his final encounter with his former associates
Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
and
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
. He uses his last bit of power to escape through a wall, where he is killed by
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
and left embedded inside the wall. Although his crimes are publicly announced, a large part of the population discards those announcements and considers the old man in the wall just a random victim of the killing spree of that day. The events of the day, including a public killing, death of a superhero ace and the battle over Hudson, strengthen the prejudices against the Wild Cards and lead to the events of July 1988.


Black Eagle

Black Eagle (Earl Sanderson, Jr.) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series and a member of
The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...
. He was created by
Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...
, and first appeared in the story "Witness" in the first book of the series, ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''. Earl Sanderson, Jr. was a member of the 332nd Fighter Group (the
Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...
) during World War II. He was also a member of the
American Communist Party The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
, hoping to create a more equitable society for Black and White alike. During the first outbreak of the Wild Card virus on September 15, 1946, Earl was one of the lucky few who was neither killed nor deformed by the disease, instead gaining fantastic powers to become an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
. He joined the ''Four Aces'', and helped capture Nazi war criminals and topple tyrants; he even saved
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
from a fanatic's bullet, but back at home the political climate of America was changing. The Four Aces found themselves called before the dreaded
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
(the House Un-American Activities Committee) where the former Communist Sanderson was torn to shreds on the stand by racist Congressmen. After the trial he escaped prison and fled the country. He remained out of America for the rest of his life, despite receiving a pardon from President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
. He died in France in 1979 of a cerebral hemorrhage.George R.R. Martin, ''Wild Cards'', Bantam Books (1987) ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
'' notes that even after his death, Sanderson is revered in India for saving Gandhi's life, and a statue of him in an almost deific pose stands in a Calcutta shrine. Black Eagle had the ability to telekinetically
levitate Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
himself and fly at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour. He also generated an invisible telekinetic force shield, which could resist machine-gun fire, and which he used as a
battering ram A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient history, ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, hea ...
while flying. He was also a talented airplane pilot.


Black Shadow

Shad is a fictional vigilante from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books, and was created by
Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...
. Better known as Black Shadow he first appeared in the short story "Strings" in the first ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology, and has played a pivotal role in several of the later books of the series. Black Shadow is an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, a victim of the alien Wild Card virus who has manifested
superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...
powers, without physical deformities. He can absorb
photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...
s the visible range of light and heat, leaving only a sphere of blackness visible, and can incapacitate his foes with
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
. Shadow can use the absorbed energy to boost his strength and speed to superhuman levels, and can "see" in the dark because his vision extends into the infrared zone of the spectrum. He can also absorb other frequencies of the spectrum such as
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
microwaves, but this requires a greater effort. Since most of his body's energy comes from electromagnetic spectrum absorption, he needs very little food. He can also cling to walls and ceilings, like the comic-book hero
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
. Combining these powers with his ruthless attitude and criminal skills makes him one of the most effective Aces in the Wild Cards series. Shad is the internal name of an ace who adopts multiple identities. Born Neil Langford, Shad was a mild mannered graduate student on his way to a physics PhD. Unknown to the general public, he was also an ace with a variety of powers
Puppetman This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: Ac ...
caused Langford to become consumed with rage and he murdered two criminals, stringing them up from a lamp post. After this Langford dropped out of school and began pursuing a career as the super powered vigilante Black Shadow. However, he also adopted various other identities, some once and others on a more regular basis. Somewhere along the line he began to think of himself as "Shad". In the late 80s Shad was responsible for capturing Typhoid Croyd/ The Sleeper and
Snotman This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
. In the early 90s Shad interacted with the Jokers on the Rox and was eventually imprisoned on
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
by the
Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row o ...
conspiracy. After escaping with several aces he and fellow Ace Croyd Crenson sought revenge. Shad and Croyd were able to destroy the Card Sharks conspiracy, murdering the Jumpers as well as several of the Card Sharks members and allies including
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
, and orchestrated the imprisonment of others. Shad also tortured to death Gregg Hartmann who was
Puppetman This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: Ac ...
. In fact it was merely Hartmanns body into which Card Sharks agent George Gordon Battle had been jumped. When last seen Shad was contemplating travelling to
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
in order to kill the last remaining Card Sharks. The most notable feature of Shad's character is his multiple personas. Some of these are adopted on the spur of the moment and quickly abandoned. Others involved a long-term commitment from Shad. By the time he appears in the books he apparently no longer maintains an identity as Neil Langford. His identities include: * Black Shadow, a violent vigilante known for stringing criminals up from lamp posts. * Mr. Diamond, a wealthy diamond merchant who owns several properties. Diamond is a
Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...
(non-Wild Card) and seems to exist mostly to allow Shad to launder money and maintain property free from police interference. * Wall Walker, a
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n Ace who can walk up walls but possesses none of Shads other powers. * Mr. Gravemold, a Joker who can project cold. Shad masquerades as a joker by wearing a mask which supposedly covers a facial deformity and smothering himself in formaldehyde in order to produce a pungent smell. As he explains to Croyd he is able to tolerate the smell because he snorts small amounts of cocaine before adopting the Gravemold persona. * No Dice, a drug dealing "gangsta" that employed Shad's ability to absorb heat and induce hypothermia to eliminate his competition and terrorize local pimps. Something of a vigilante in his own right and more of a cover identity than a true personality. No Dice emerged as Shad's personalities were beginning to fuse together once more.


Blaise Jeannot Andrieux

Blaise Andrieux is the grandson of
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, created by Melinda M. Snodgrass. Blaise's mother was Gisele Bacourt, who was Tachyon's illegitimate daughter. He was raised by a terrorist group who taught him to use his mental domination powers to kill. When Tachyon discovered Blaise's existence during the WHO-sponsored tour of 1987, he brought the boy back to New York to live with him. Unfortunately, Tachyon is a terrible father, and tends to spoil Blaise terribly or rage at him for acting improperly. Blaise rapidly grows up to be an arrogant and cruel bully who enjoys using his mind control powers to make people around him act like total fools. Eventually, Blaise goes "wild", running free on the streets of New York and brutally turning on his grandfather. He eventually becomes a complete sociopath who revels in the suffering of others, especially his grandfather. In later books, Blaise becomes the de facto leader of the Jumpers, acquiring their power in addition to his own, and returns to Takis in a bid to conquer the planet.


Bloat

Bloat is an adolescent boy transformed by the Wild Card virus into a powerful psychic with a monstrous Joker body. He was created by
Stephen Leigh Stephen W. Leigh (born February 27, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, artist, and musician. He also works as a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University, teaching creative writing. He has published speculative fiction as Ste ...
. Introduced in ''One-Eyed Jacks'' as Governor of the Rox he comes to prominence and full awareness of his vast powers in ''Jokertown Shuffle''. He is ostensibly the primary antagonist of that book, although his character is depicted as one of well-intentioned idealism surrounded by less positive allies, and few workable options. When last seen, it appears he manages to take the Rox into a safe parallel universe, avoiding the death of many of his followers.


Captain Trips

Captain Trips, also known as Dr. Mark Meadows, is a renowned
biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
and a burned-out
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
, with the ability to use various drugs (usually derivations of psychoactive drugs such as
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
) to transform into several other forms, each with their own powers and individual personalities. He was created by
Victor Milán Victor Woodward Milán (August 3, 1954 – February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. Life and career Milán was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1986 Milán won the Prometheus A ...
. Trips himself and several of his alternate forms would be considered
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
s in the lexicon of the Wild Cards universe, though a few of his "friends" (as he terms them) could be classified as Jokers. It is theorized that since all Meadow's "friends" and their powers are ultimately derived from Meadows himself, that he is essentially the ultimate manifestation of the Wild Card virus.


Brain Trust

Brain Trust (Blythe Stanhope Van Renssaeler) was a fictional character from the first book in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series and a member of
The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...
, appearing in the stories "Witness" by
Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...
and "Degradation Rites" by Melinda M. Snodgrass (who created the character). Blythe was the wife of domineering New York Congressman Henry Van Renssaeler. When the Wild Card virus infected her, she gained the power to absorb an exact duplicate of another's mind, to know everything they knew; and the first time she used this power was when she involuntarily absorbed her husband's mind. Suddenly she knew it all; his dirty politics and criminal activities, his affairs, and what he ''really'' thought about his wife. Overwhelmed to the point of withdrawal, she was found and brought to
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, in hopes that he could help her. He used his
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
to help stabilize her mind, and the two soon began an affair. She was afraid to go back to Henry, and instead joined the organization that would become known as the ''Four Aces''. Unlike Golden Boy and
Black Eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...
, Blythe, codenamed "Brain Trust", was a behind the scenes member at first. She was sent around the country to copy the minds of some of the world's greatest
scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
s, such as
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
,
Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New ...
,
J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is oft ...
and
Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
, so that there would be "back-up" copies of all their knowledge. This made it even more difficult for her to maintain her mental balance, so Tachyon began tutoring her in Takisian methods of mental control, when he wasn't romancing her. The climate of the United States was growing harsher, and the Four Aces were called before the
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
Committee, who demanded to know the names of any Aces they had dealt with. When Golden Boy let slip that Brain Trust had also absorbed a copy of ''Tachyon's'' memories, which meant she knew all the Wild Carders Tachyon had treated, the Committee eagerly called her to the stand and began to browbeat and interrogate her. The fragile union of minds inside her made it difficult to resist, and she began to break down and name names. Tachyon, aghast, tried to telepathically force her silence, but only succeeded in shattering her remaining mental defenses, causing a complete mental breakdown into a gibbering wreck. Tachyon was deported, and Blythe was placed in a
mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
, where she eventually died of neglect. After his pardon and return to America in the 1960s, Tachyon founded the Blythe van Renssaeler Memorial Hospital in the heart of New York's Jokertown in honor of Brain Trust. More commonly known as the Jokertown Clinic, it has treated and cared for (if not necessarily cured) thousands of victims of the wild card virus. Fleur van Renssaeler, Blythe's daughter with her estranged husband, grew up to hate both the wild card virus and its creator, Dr. Tachyon. A supporter of anti-wild card preacher Leo Barnett's bid for presidency, Fleur once tried to seduce Tachyon in order to get information from him. During the brief encounter Tachyon imagined himself with Blythe, while Fleur overcame her hatred of Tachyon by fantasizing about Leo Barnett. Blythe's granddaughter Dr. Clara van Renssaeler now works at the clinic.


Carnifex

Carnifex (William "Billy" Ray) is a fictional character in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He was created by John J. Miller. Carnifex (Latin for "butcher") is Billy Ray's nickname given to him for his love of violence. Infection with the Wild Card Virus has given him superhuman levels of strength, speed and stamina, along with a rapid regenerative healing factor and a heightened instinct for physical combat. In Wild Card terminology, this makes him an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
. Billy Ray was a college football star in the late 1970s, playing for the
Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
. He was able to hide his Wild Card infection until he broke his leg in three places in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl (on national TV) and tried to return to the game before halftime. He was recruited by the
U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States ...
, and has worked for them ever since performing various missions such as protecting government officials to hunting down other Aces. He is highly aggressive and confrontational, and will fight at the slightest provocation. Despite his demeanor, he is obsessed with cleanliness, prefers his office absolutely neat, and hates getting bloodstains on his fighting suit. Billy Ray generally wears his signature fighting suit; a form fitting white jump suit with black hood. He has several as they generally get covered in blood, his and his opponents'. Billy Ray's Ace allows his body to repair itself at unbelievable speed. As he has gotten older the regeneration has slowed down taking him longer to heal between battles. Secretly he fears that someday they will stop altogether. His regeneration powers were put to the ultimate test when he fought the Vibrating Joker/Ace
Mackie Messer "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...
(aka Mack the Knife, real name: Detlev Mackintosh). He was shredded and torn in this battle, losing most of his jaw and several fingers, and took several months to fully heal. His regeneration is not perfect, as his body and face are a mass of scar tissue and obvious war wounds and his features are slightly irregular from having his facial bones broken and reset so many times. Billy is much faster than a normal man and also considerably stronger (greater than Olympic power lifter status). His speed gives him a marked advantage over average opponents, and his strength makes his fists like 10 pound sledge hammers.


Chrysalis

Chrysalis is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. She was created by John J. Miller. Chrysalis is the current owner/operator of the Crystal Palace, one of Jokertown's most well known nightclubs. She has blue eyes, almost totally transparent skin and muscle tissue, and no hair. She usually wears minimal amounts of clothing to emphasize this fact. She speaks with a convincing but false British accent. Chrysalis' primary occupation is the selling of information. She seems to know everything happening in New York, and will buy and sell anything anyone wants to know for a price. She is one of the major players in Jokertown, although most of her work is done behind the scenes. She had an intense affair with
Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
. Chrysalis was also a reliable source of information for the ones willing to pay for it, until she was brutally murdered by
Hiram Worchester This is a list of characters from the '' Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the '' Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: ...
(while he was under the influence of
Ti Malice Ti Malice is a trickster character and nemesis of Tonton (Uncle) Bouki in Haitian mythology, Haitian folklore. While Ti Malice (Wild Cards), Ti Malice is smart and guileful, Uncle Bouki is hardworking but is also very greedy. It is the manipulation ...
) in 1988.


Deadhead

Deadhead is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series. He is an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, someone granted super-powers by exposure to the Wild Card virus, but the disturbing nature of his power has driven him nearly insane. Deadhead has the ability to sense the memories of anyone whose brain he eats. He discovered this by accident; he began experiencing the sensations of animals whenever he ate meat, then worked his way up to animal brains. After several years he worked up the courage to try human brains, and found that he could completely—if temporarily—absorb all the knowledge and memories of the dead person. At present he works for the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
, providing the gang with information in exchange for being kept out of prison or a mental ward. He is twitchy, has poor hygiene, constantly talks to himself in a nervous voice and is always gulping down vitamins and appetite suppressants in a vain effort to avoid his craving for human brains.


Demise

Demise (James Spector) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series. He was created by Walton Simons, and first appeared in the story "If Looks Could Kill" in ''Wild Cards II: Aces High''. In 1985, Spector was struck by the Wild Card virus and brought to the Jokertown Clinic, where he was seen by
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
. Tachyon had been working on improving his "Trump Card" countervirus, which had a low success rate, and injected Spector with an experimental version of the Trump, as well as subjecting him to an experimental tissue-regeneration process. It was seemingly unsuccessful; Spector's body experienced the failure of numerous organs, and he was pronounced dead. However, shortly after, he awoke screaming and continued to scream for several months. Eventually, he got back enough of his sanity to escape (although he constantly feels the agony of his death), killing a nurse with his new-found power in the process. In 1986 he was found by the cult leader known as The Astronomer, who offered to erase his unbearable memories of Death if Spector worked for him. Giving Spector the name Demise, the Astronomer used his death-powers in the ritual killings that charged the Astronomer's powers, and used him as an occasional assassin as well. When Demise eventually realised the Astronomer was just stringing him along, he rebelled, and when the Astronomer was weakened after his battle with Fortunato, Demise finished the old man off, leaving him embedded in a brick wall. After this, Demise became a freelance assassin while looking for opportunities to kill Tachyon, until he was hired to do a job at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. There, his head was cut off on live national television by the psychotic
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
Mack the Knife. Mackie used his vibrational powers to remove Demise's head - only for the severed head to open its eyes and kill Messer explosively. Later, Dr. Tachyon examined Demise's body in the morgue and saw that he was actually starting to grow a new head. Tachyon immediately ordered his body
cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, to ensure that he would not return from death a second time. Demise's body repairs itself so perfectly that he can even return from death. He has healed from bullet wounds and broken bones in seconds, and regrown lost limbs and other body parts. However, his body draws from its own current mass to reconstruct major damage, such as the loss of a limb, thus weakening his overall health until he has sufficient time to recover. He is also at risk of long-term damage from improper healing; the Astronomer once had Demise's forearm broken and then forcibly held out of proper alignment so that the bones knit improperly, rendering the limb nonfunctional below the elbow. Demise can also telepathically project the "memory" of his death experience into other people, causing them to die as well, but he must look them in the eyes to do so (thus he can be foiled by things such as
mirrorshades ''Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology'' (1986) is a cyberpunk short story collection, edited by American writer Bruce Sterling. Contents * "The Gernsback Continuum" by William Gibson * "Snake-Eyes" by Tom Maddox * "Rock On" by Pat Cadigan * "T ...
or insectoid multiple eyes). He can kill in seconds, stretch it out slowly for a very painful death, or give someone just enough to stun or disorient them. His power also prevents someone from looking away once he has locked eyes with them.


Digger Downs

Thomas "Digger" Downs, created by Steve Perrin, is a minor character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of anthology books. Digger is an investigative reporter (some would say
paparazzo Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
) for ''Aces'' magazine, a periodical on the lives of the Wild Cards universe's more publicly known Aces. Journalistically, ''Aces'' lies somewhere between ''People'' Magazine and the ''National Enquirer'', with Digger definitely toward the lower end of that scale. He constantly seeks to find juicy gossip about Aces as well as Earth's only extraterrestrial citizen,
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, who despises Digger and, when confronted by him, often resorts to mind control to make Digger humiliate himself until he goes away. Most of their encounters end with Digger unwillingly pouring a drink over his own head, or something similar. Digger's interest in Aces and their secrets seemingly stems from the fact that he is secretly an Ace himself; his power is the ability to detect the presence of other Wild Cards. Whether Aces or Jokers, anyone who has the alien virus entangled in their genes registers to his perception as having a sickly-sweet "odor", which is how his brain interprets the input of what is essentially an
extrasensory Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Universi ...
ability. While he is careful to always hide his ability, making vague statements about his "sources" when asked how he found someone out, he is not exactly discreet when it comes to revealing ''others Wild Card status. In addition to his hidden Ace power, Digger is also skilled in the abilities of sneaking,
dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is n ...
, long-range photography, party-crashing, and taking statements out of context. In other aspects of
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
, such as research and fact-checking, however, he is woefully lacking.


Dr. Tachyon

Dr. Tachyon is a geneticist from the planet
Takis Takis may refer to: * Takis (snack), a spicy, roll-shaped snack * Takis Christoforidis, a Greek actor * Takis Fotopoulos, a Greek political philosopher * Takis Ikonomopoulos, a Greek football player * Takis Kanellopoulos a Greek film director * T ...
, whose people naturally developed various telepathic powers. Interbreeding among these psionic peoples created a royal caste system and various specified powers. Tachyon's royal house of Ilkazam created what human doctors called "Xenovirus Takis-A"—the Wild Card virus. The virus (known to the Takisians as "the Enhancer"), was intended to boost their own natural psionic powers, allowing his House to conquer their rivals. To avoid the side-effects, it was decided to test the virus on an isolated population with the same DNA as Takisians - the humans of Earth. Tisianne protested this decision. He then tried to stop his partners from testing the virus on Earth, without success, since he had personally been responsible for achieving enough success in getting the virus to its present testable stage. When the virus was released, he worked among the " jokers", physically deformed and mutated victims of the virus, guilt-stricken over his responsibility for their suffering. Of course, Tachyon was not so anguished that he refrained from hobnobbing with celebrities, politicians, and many " aces", those rare humans successfully granted paranormal abilities by the Enhancer. His nickname came from the scientists who worked with him and is a reference to the
tachyon A tachyon () or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are not consistent with the known laws of physics. If such partic ...
particles used by his ship's faster than light drive - his own name was prohibitively long, and hard to pronounce. His normal telepathic powers include skilled mind reading, thought projection, and the ability to physically control up to three human bodies, in totality, while simultaneously reading their minds and projecting his own thoughts to them. These powers can be reduced by extreme physical, emotional, or psychological stress. Soon after his arrival, Tachyon later became romantically involved with Blythe Van Renssaeler, the estranged wife of an anti-Wild Card senator. Under the codename Brain Trust, Blythe was a member of the short-lived Wild Card "team", the Four Aces. Rounded up during the Red Ace scare of the 1950s (analogue of the real-life
Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...
of the time period in American history), Tachyon, the Four Aces and their government sponsor were brought before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). When Brain Trust was put on the stand Tachyon telepathically mind-controlled his lover and accidentally drove Blythe insane in order to prevent her from revealing information she had absorbed from him with her ace power—information such as the names and powers of many aces he had treated over the years. Blythe was committed to an insane asylum where she eventually died. Due to his own failure to comply with HUAC, Tachyon was deported from the United States, winding up a drunken derelict wandering through Europe, psychologically unable to use his mind control abilities due to his shame over what he had done to Brain Trust. It was during his time in France that he fathered Giselle Baucort, the mother of Blaise Andrieux. It is unknown if Giselle inherited any of Tachyon's telepathic abilities, but his grandson Blaise possessed prodigious, though one-sided, mind control abilities, which would later be used against Tachyon to devastating effect. Years later, after a pardon from President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, Tachyon returned to America, sobered up (somewhat), regained his powers, and started a clinic in Jokertown, all with the help of
The Great and Powerful Turtle This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: Ac ...
. He even applied for and was granted American citizenship. Closely tied to the joker/
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
community, Tachyon has been at the center of many important events in Wild Card history. He developed the Trump virus, a potential, but unstable cure for the Wild Card that works only part of the time, and sometimes kills. He participated in the raid on the Egyptian Freemason headquarters and survived an attack on the Aces High restaurant by the Freemasons' leader, a deranged ace called the Astronomer. With the help of Capt. Trips, Tachyon deflected an asteroid sent hurtling toward Earth by rogue Takisians led by his cousin Zabb. Assisted by the human vigilante
Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
and the ace "sorcerer" Fortunato, Tachyon helped drive off a race of sentient parasites known as the Swarm. While in France as part of a
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
world tour to assess the condition of Wild Card survivors in various countries Tachyon discovered the existence of his grandson, Blaise. Smuggling Blaise back into America with the help of forged documents, Tachyon became a single parent. Some of the Takisian attitudes he sought to instill in his new heir would have disastrous repercussions. His right hand was cut off by the psychotic ace Mackie Messer at the disastrous 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Tachyon orchestrated the capture of Typhoid Croyd (an ace whose power created a brief, but wildly contagious outbreak of communicable Wild Card virus), which resulted in his being infected with a latent form of the virus. He patrolled the streets of Jokertown with a small private army of jokers during a protracted war between the Mafia and an alliance of Asian mobs and joker street gangs called the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
. Finally, during the subsequent raids carried out on New York by the Shadow Fists' "
jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
", vicious teenagers with body-snatching powers, an unlikely series of events led to Tachyon's departure from Earth and ultimate return to Takis. Considered effeminate and thought by some, such as Fortunato, to be gay because of his flamboyant ways, Tachyon was actually a notorious womanizer with a long string of notches in his belt. Aside from numerous unnamed groupies and other one night stands Tachyon's list of conquests includes Brain Trust, Danelle Darcy,
Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
, and Fleur van Rensselaer (Brain Trust's daughter). Perhaps more significant is the list of women Tachyon has not bedded, either due to a brief bout with sexual impotence (Fantasy and Mistral) or bad timing ( Water Lily and Peregrine). Two unrequited loves in particular were Angelface and Dr. Cody Havero. Angelface was a beautiful joker whose manifestation of the wild card made her bruise or bleed at the slightest touch. Tachyon pined for her during the booze-soaked period between his return to America and the establishment of the Jokertown Clinic. Cody Havero is a more recent love interest. Coming into Tachyon's life around the time of the jumper scare, Cody refuses to sleep with the Takisian until he devotes himself to her exclusively. Later, following a jumper attack, Tachyon's new body and condition would prevent him from consummating his relationship with Cody before leaving the planet. While on Takis, Tachyon in his female body took as his lover his flamboyant cousin Zabb. Though both of them did care for one another, their personal agendas kept them from commitment. During the fight to apprehend Blaise and recapture Tachyon's male body, Zabb was killed in a fight with Blaise. Tachyon mourned his loss. The infant they created between them was named Zabb in honor of the man who'd given his life trying to follow Tachyon's wishes. It was during the jumpers' reign of terror in the early 90s that the sociopathic nature of Tachyon's grandson became fully evident. After trying to rape Dr. Havero, and a failed murder attempt on Tachyon himself, Blaise ran away from home. The boy was only fifteen at the time. Recruited by the jumpers and initiated into their gang, Blaise quickly became their leader. Using his newfound body-swapping powers Blaise performed a bizarre triple-jump that left Tachyon trapped in the body of Kelly Jenkins, a sixteen-year-old girl, and vice versa. Now female, Tachyon was kept as her grandson's prisoner and virtual slave for several months. Worse, trapped in a
nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...
body, Tachyon lacked any defense against Blaise's powerful mind control. After multiple rapes and beatings, Tachyon becomes impregnated with her own great-granddaughter - much to the amusement of Blaise and those jokers who resented Tachyon as the author of their misery. Using her psi-lord training to access the telepathic powers her unborn child inherited from Blaise, Tachyon achieves low level telepathy. Captured while attempting to escape she employs crude mental shields (similar to those she constructed for
Brain Trust Brain trust was a term that originally described a group of close advisers to a political candidate or incumbent; these were often academics who were prized for their expertise in particular fields. The term is most associated with the group of ad ...
years ago) to rebuff Blaise's psychic attack. Her grandson retaliates by assaulting her one last time. Somewhere in her second trimester, Tachyon escapes captivity, but not her current body or condition, with the help of ace vigilante Black Shadow and the joker revolutionary called Bloat. Shortly after the first Battle of the Rox, Tachyon returned to the contested island with the help of the Great and Powerful Turtle. Bloat was unable to grant her request to have Blaise and her original body returned to her. Amid the chaos of the National Guard attack Blaise escaped the Rox, taking Kelly with him. Bloat could only offer the mental image of a seashell (glimpsed when Blaise's mind shields slipped during the attack) as a clue to her grandson's location. Bloat had interpreted a vision of Tachyon's organic spaceship as a seashell. Realizing Blaise meant to steal her ship in order to escape Earth, Tachyon and the Turtle immediately set off to stop him. Bloat would never see Tachyon again. Decades before, Dr. Tachyon had traveled from Takis to Earth in a living starship with its own mind... the mind of a child. He even named it "Baby", and its personality had grown somewhat addled after years of imprisonment in a government facility. Still absolutely dedicated to its master, Baby was eventually released back to Tachyon. By having Kelly Jenkins pose as Tachyon, Blaise used that loyalty to hijack Baby. Though possessed of prodigious
telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
powers, Turtle was unable to halt Tachyon's stolen ship from engaging its " ghost-drive". Fleeing to Takis, Blaise left Tachyon without any apparent means of pursuing him. It seemed Tachyon was permanently trapped not only upon Earth, but in the body of a pregnant teenage girl. This period between Tachyon's escape from the Rox and her return to Takis is arguably the lowest point in the alien's life. No triumphant welcome awaited her return to New York. With Tachyon presumed dead, Dr. Bradley Finn was made acting director of the Jokertown Clinic and her apartment had been rented out to new tenants. Given the run of Finn's apartment until more permanent arrangements could be made, Tachyon becomes highly agitated when the joker suggests her jump might now be permanent and that she should come to terms with it. Worse, Tachyon's love interest, Dr. Cody Havero, is somewhat unsypathetic to the alien's plight, reminding the former womanizer of his rather insensitive treatment of other women. Suffering from a panic attack, Tachyon is administered a light sedative by Dr. Havero despite the older woman's concerns about the advanced state of Tachyon's pregnancy. Expressing a desire to be alone, Finn and Cody leave Tachyon by herself, ostensibly to get some sleep. Awakened by a nightmare, Tachyon succumbs to the psychological part of her addiction to alcohol (Kelly having already inherited and given in to the physical half that went with Tachyon's male body). Drinking a substantial amount of Finn's brandy, the combined sedative and alcohol further unbalances the already depressed alien. While using the bathroom she is confronted by her new reflection. As described in one story: "After relieving herself she stood and stared at her thickening body: ''I've become a joker. A stranger in a deformed body''. Lifting the hem of the long T-shirt, Tach ran an experimental hand across her swollen belly". A lifetime of Takisian abhorrence for the ugly and deformed reinforces Tachyon's distorted perception of her pregnant form. Having long ago stated an inability to ever live as a joker, Tachyon slits her wrists while taking a bath. In the past, Tachyon often threatened to kill himself with more melodrama than seriousness. His abuse of alcohol could also be seen as a manifestation of an urge toward self-destruction. However, this is the only time Tachyon has attempted outright suicide, likely prompted by the radical alteration of his/her self-image caused by the jump, Blaise's sexual assault, her subsequent pregnancy, and the reactions of others to her upon returning to public life. Tachyon would later remark to
Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th c ...
that she needed psychological therapy in order to regain her sense of self. Awakened from unconsciousness by another disturbing dream, this one possibly inspired by her unborn child's psychic distress calls, Tachyon manages to crawl from the bathtub and telephone Cody. Weak from blood loss, she collapses on Finn's bed. Cody arrives and administers an emergency blood transfusion. They talk and Cody encourages Tachyon to seek rape crisis counseling. Also the question of Tachyon's attraction to Cody comes up and the body-swapped alien replies that, aside from pregnancy reducing her famous sex-drive, "those troublesome hormones" generated by her new body (
estrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...
and
progesterone Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the m ...
specifically) have failed to elicit any sexual response. Cody spends the night, but cannot resist commenting, "It's not quite how I envisioned my first time in your bed". Tachyon recovers both physically and mentally, now ready to pursue Blaise and reclaim her true form at any cost. Contacting a representative of the Network (a spacefaring culture reviled by the Takisians), Tachyon booked passage on a Network ship and returned to her homeworld, where Blaise was busily fomenting a catastrophic war between Houses. Accompanied by the aces Captain Trips and Popinjay, Tachyon's bid to reclaim the throne to which she is heir (a position traditionally reserved for the male members of her House) ends in disaster. Representing the genetic wealth of the Great Houses, Takisian women of childbearing years are relegated to ''Raranna'', (the traditional Takisian
harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
in which women are kept secluded from the public eye and enemy assassins). Though the telepathic Takisians knew her mind was male, it was determined that Tachyon's thoughts would naturally be more focused upon the looming birth of her child. Military strategy and political machinations were better left in the hands of her avaricious cousin, Zabb. Placed in protective custody with House Ilkazam's other breeding females, including the biological sisters of her male form, Tachyon refused to continue research on the Enhancer (as Takisians called the Wild Card), but readily employed Kelly's two good hands to practice surgery once more. Nearly delivered back into Blaise's hands by a quirk of Takisian law classifying a pregnant woman as property of her child's father, Tachyon earns the enmity of many influential nobles by trying to stab Blaise while under a flag of truce. Eventually, Tachyon escapes Raranna, defeats Blaise and recovers her male body, though not before enduring childbirth, seeing the very foundations of Takisian society ripped apart in a bloody civil war, and fending off an attack by Network "
carpetbaggers In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...
". Tachyon currently remains on Takis, raising his physical daughter/genetic granddaughter, serving as leader of his House, and trying to rebuild a Takisian society that has already been shaken to its foundations. Many of the old style Takisian nobles were slain during Blaise's World War, replaced by avaricious young cadets. In one of his speeches Blaise promised the mindblind ''Tarhiji'' life-extending serums that do not exist. Only a handful of noblewomen were left alive following the massacre of House Rodaleh at Blaise's hands, resulting in the near total loss of a line of powerful psi-healers. ''Raiyis'' Hazzal of House Jeban remarked that this would lead to more widespread cases of insanity. Among Tachyon's plans for the future are the dissolution of ''Raranna'', where he was confined while carrying Kelly's child, and a program to interbreed the psychic and "mind-blind" segments of the populace, thus creating a truly telepathic race better capable of fending off the Network. What effect these plans will have on the already unstable state of Takisian world affairs remains to be seen. Tachyon is very emotional, self-centered, prone to openly weeping, and a spoiled, womanizing aristocrat who indulges himself in every way. During the course of the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series, he matures a great deal. Tachyon always dresses flamboyantly, in what are by Earthly standards, antiquated clothes of glaringly clashing colors (by Takisian standards, he's considered quite suave). After Messer's attack, his right hand is a prosthetic replacement, though he has considered having a new hand regrown while staying on Takis. Due to Blaise's political machinations while Kelly was occupying Tachyon's body he is technically married to Mona'ella, the royal princess of a rival House, though the legality/permanence of this arrangement is currently unknown.


Envoy

The Envoy (David Harstein) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series and a member of
The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...
, first appearing in the story "Witness" by
Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...
in the first book of the series, ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''. David Harstien is an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, one of those gifted with amazing powers by the Wild Card virus. He emits
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
s which make anyone feel like he is their best friend, causing whoever is near him to become completely agreeable—as long as he's in the same room. The effects quickly wear off, however, leaving his victims fully aware of their often uncharacteristic actions. In 1946 he became a behind-the-scenes member of the ''Exotics for Democracy'', who would later become publicly known as the Four Aces. The group enjoyed some public success in capturing Nazi war criminals, while behind the scenes Envoy was secretly attending international summits and making everyone get along just long enough to sign peace treaties; but once his power wore off, many nations reneged on their agreements. This caused the Four Aces to come to the unfortunate attention of
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, the House Un-American Activities Committee, who were looking for scapegoats. At first, when he was put on the stand Harstein merely bided his time, waiting for his pheromones to permeate the enormous room. After his powers began to take effect, even the most prejudiced Committee member was referring to Harstein as "America's little Hebe friend". But, again, once the air was cleared the committee's hostility returned, and David was called back to testify in a sealed booth, rendering his ability useless. He was found guilty of contempt of Congress and jailed. After his release, David Harstein disappeared. It is rumored that he went to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
for several years. He later returned to America under an assumed name and started a moderately successful career as a stage actor named Josh Davidson.


Father Squid

Father Squid is a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He was created by John J. Miller. Father Squid is a Joker, the common term for a person deformed by the alien Wild Card Virus. He has a mass of small tentacles hanging where his nose would be, slick hairless grey skin, extra-long fingers with a pattern of suckers on them, and smells like seawater. His build is twice as broad as a normal man's and he is proportionately stronger, and can hold his breath nearly half an hour. The man known today as Father Squid has never revealed his real name, nor is it known if he was born with his current appearance or contracted the Wild Card Virus sometime in his early life. What is known is that during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, the man then called "Squidface" was a member of the ''Joker's Brigade'', a unit of "selectively conscripted" Jokers sent into the most dangerous situations and missions, while being retained far longer than a normal tour of duty. This was believed to be a deliberate attempt by the U.S. government to "thin out" the Joker population while getting some use out of them, a fact the Brigade members cynically acknowledged. Those who survived more than a short while became very skilled fighters, indeed. It was here that Squid met and befriended Captain Daniel Brennan, who did not share the common prejudice against Jokers. It has been rumored that after the war, Squidface became a member of the Joker terrorist group called the ''Twisted Fists'', and was responsible for numerous attacks on " Nats" (naturals, a derogatory term for those without Wild Card mutations). He refuses to talk about his past, so the details are unknown. At some point, he experienced a change of heart, choosing to put his violent past behind him. By the time of his first appearance in the ''Wild Cards'' books, he is the only priest of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker, a religion specifically for Jokers, located in New York's Jokertown (the first and largest Joker community in the world). The Church is a bizarre blend of
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
traditions, Wild Card history, and ideas taken from medical science, emphasizing the suffering and persecution that Jokers have undergone and are still undergoing. The symbol of the church is of a radically deformed Joker
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, crucified on a DNA strand.
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, the creator of the virus but also a supporter and caregiver of Jokertown, is portrayed in Church art as similar to the Roman deity
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
, having two heads or faces, one angelic and one demonic. It is unclear if Father Squid founded the church or simply joined it, but he is certainly the heart and soul of the Jokertown congregation, and the Church is the center of Jokertown society, even for those who do not follow its faith; almost all Joker funerals are held there, for instance.
Quasiman This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
is the part-time caretaker and sometimes protector of the church. In the novel ''
Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row o ...
'', the church is burned down by an arsonist. The subsequent investigation is what leads to the eventual uncovering of the Card Sharks conspiracy to create the Black Trump, an anti-Joker virus. Father Squid was murdered by Baba Yaga, an ace whose saliva fatally transformed victims into horribly twisted, furniture-like forms, in the novel Lowball. True to his later life, he died saving another person from Baba Yaga.


Fortunato

Fortunato is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. He was created by
Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner (born December 30, 1950 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American writer. Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, and then identified with cyberpunk. He later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and f ...
. He is a pimp, but prefers to downplay, even to himself, the negative aspects of his "escort" business (calling his prostitutes "
geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...
s", for example). Fortunato is also an
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
. His wild card grants him immense telepathic and telekinetic powers. These include but are not limited to: mind control; flight; force walls; mental blasts; reading the future (and the past) and subjective temporal manipulation.
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
believes him to be Earth's most powerful mental/telepathic wild card. Fortunato derives all his power from
tantric sex Tantric sex or sexual yoga refers to a wide range of practices carried on in Hindu and Buddhist tantra to exercise sexuality in a ritualized or yogic context, often associated with antinomian or impure elements, like consumption of alcohol, and ...
magic. Tantric rituals feed his power reserve, which then allow him to utilize his massive powers. However, the more he uses them, the faster he runs out of power. In terms of powers and strength, Fortunato is even (or nearly even) with the Astronomer; this is one of the most obvious case of opposites in the
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
' universe (Fortunato gaining his power from sex—the source of life—while The Astronomer gains his powers from death). Fortunato was an infant of unspecified age on the first Wild Card Day. Son of an unnamed African-American soldier and his wife Ichiko, a Japanese woman he brought back to New York after
WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Fortunato was infected by the initial wave of virus carrying spores released into the upper atmosphere during
Jetboy This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
's battle with Dr. Tod. Fortunato became a latent carrier of the virus that would not "turn his card" until many years later. His father was not so lucky, dying after drawing the Black Queen. Raised by his mother, Fortunato was subjected to various forms of discrimination due to his mixed parentage and grew into a handsome, but angry young man. Graduating from petty crime to pimping, Fortunato brought home the first girl in his stable at age sixteen. In the '70s, Fortunato was introduced to tantric sex magic while "auditioning" a new girl. The intense orgasm brought on by the sex ritual triggered his latent wild card, causing him to have an
out-of-body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...
. Disheartened to learn that Fortunato's sudden powers were the result of a virus rather than true magic, Fortunato's new girl left the city. Undeterred, Fortunato continued to pursue research into tantric rituals as a means for further developing his mental abilities. He however was not prompted solely by curiosity. A serial killer had been preying upon New York prostitutes, including his own, and Fortunato wanted revenge. Still in the early stages of developing his power, the ace pimp brought a handgun as backup. Forced to kill in self defense, instead of the righteous revenge he had planned, Fortunato was unable to question the murderer. Disgusted, but seemingly unable to stop himself, he performed a tantric ritual upon the dead man's corpse, briefly bringing it back to life. Though never explicitly stated, guilt brought on by this experience could be the reason Fortunato consistently accused
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
of being a "faggot from outer space". Only temporarily revitalized, the corpse uttered the word "Tiamat" and then tore its own throat out. This, along with a strange red penny carried by the killer, served as Fortunato's only clue in a mystery that would eventually bring him into conflict with the deadly
Astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
. Even before turning his wild card, Fortunato was a tall, muscular individual with intense sex appeal. Inheriting the best features of both parents, Fortunato was a handsome man of African-American and Japanese descent with pronounced epicanthic folds around his eyes. After drawing his ace, Fortunato literally radiated sexual magnetism, even though the virus had physically manifested in a somewhat distended forehead as outward evidence of his prodigious mental powers. When using his powers to their fullest, a pair of quasi-real, curving horns will often appear, extending outward from his enlarged forehead.


Golden Boy

Golden Boy is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books and a member of
The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...
. He was created by
Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...
. In the series, he is regarded as possibly the strongest man in the world, with the possible exception of Harlem Hammer. His force field, which has a golden glow when active, grants him immunity from virtually anything strictly physical. He is especially resistant to physical impacts, such as bullets and fists. Over the years, Golden Boy has developed a fear of heights; this came about after being told that a long fall could be one of the things that could kill him. However, he can be subject to telepathic attacks and may be vulnerable to gaseous attacks, such as inhaled nerve gas. If he is suddenly and unexpectedly struck with an object, such as a bullet, his aura automatically engages. Jack Braun was born in rural North Dakota in 1924. As a youth he was impressed by the agrarian radicalism of the local farmers, including his family, and by the New Deal liberalism of FDR, as embodied in Agriculture undersecretary Archibald Holmes. He served on the Italian front during WWII and afterwards moved to New York with the hopes of pursuing an acting career. When the Wild Card virus struck Manhattan, he discovered that he had superhuman strength and a forcefield that protected him from harm. In the aftermath of the virus outbreak, he met Archibald Holmes who was directing relief efforts. Holmes recruited Braun, along with fellow veteran and ace Earl Sanderson, Jr. (Black Eagle) into a new super team. The group was officially known as the "Exotics for Democracy", but after the addition of aces David Harstein (Envoy) and Blythe van Renssaeler (Brain Trust), they became popularly known as the "Four Aces". Holmes used the Four Aces to advance his liberal internationalist vision of the world. In the late 1940s, they fought fascism around the world. The quartet tracked down Nazi war criminals and overthrew the regime of Juan Peron in Argentina. Braun's physically demonstrative powers and good looks quickly turned him into a media celebrity. He quickly received a contract from Warner Brother's Studio and starred in a fictional version of his exploits with the Four Aces. Things soon changed as the Exotics for Democracy came under scrutiny from the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
. The committee was investigating Aces who they saw as an insidious force undermining America. The fact that Braun's partner in the Four Aces, Earl Sanderson, Jr., had once been a member of the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
, and continued to be a fellow traveler, aroused particular interest as did the fact that Earl was black. When an attempt by the Four Aces to prop up the Nationalist regime in China failed, the Committee subpoenaed all of them. Braun naively believed that, since they had not committed any crimes they had nothing to fear, bowed to pressure from the studio and his wife and became a cooperating witness. In his testimony, he tried to limit the damage he did to his friends, explaining that Earl Sanderson had abandoned the Communist Party years before and indicating that he, Braun, knew nothing about the politics of any other aces. He however accidentally let slip that his teammate Blythe van Renssaeler had absorbed the mind of team advisor Dr. Tachyon and thus would know of any aces which Tachyon, an uncooperative witness, would know of. When van Renssaeler appeared before the committee, she suffered a nervous breakdown—brought on by the telepathic meddling of Dr. Tachyon—and was institutionalized for the rest of her life. In the wake of the Committee hearings, the Four Aces broke up—as van Renssaeler was institutionalized, Holmes and Harstein were imprisoned, and Sanderson and Tachyon fled the country. Braun survived any legal repercussions but faced condemnation from history and the Wild Card community over his cooperation, and he carried guilt with himself the rest of his life. After the hearings, his movie career failed to take off. He starred in a hit movie based on the life of
Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
. Braun fought in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and after retiring from acting went into real estate. Sometime in the 1960s, he realized that he did not age. In 1988, Braun served as a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
and almost died when the ace Demise tried to kill him. Braun's last public appearance was in 2007 when he served as a judge on the reality television show ''American Hero''.Wildcardsonline.com: Golden Boy profile
/ref>


Great and Powerful Turtle

Known colloquially as Turtle or The Turtle, his real name is Thomas Tudbury. Born in
Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...
in 1945, he exhibited his telekinetic powers during adolescence, thinking that his pet turtles had the ability to fly unsupported through their own means. Tudbury dropped out of college his freshman year in the wake of the
John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was Assassination, assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. Central Time Zone, CST in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Deale ...
. Returning home, Tudbury contemplated his options in life and considered becoming a superhero. However, his shyness and need for intense focus prevented him from using his telekinesis in public. A friend of Tudbury's suggested that he outfit an old
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
with discarded
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
armor, television cameras and monitors, and use it as a shell. This became the first of many "shells" used by The Turtle. Usually built around the chassis of old cars, they had armor to protect Tudbury as well as cameras and loudspeakers to allow him to interact with the world. One of Tudbury's early adventures brought him into contact with
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, who at the time was an alcoholic recluse. Tudbury helped him attain semi-sobriety, thereby establishing a rocky friendship which would persist for thirty years. Turtle became one of the most famous and also most mysterious Aces in the world. Among the few straightforward
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es in the Wild Cards' series, The Turtle's identity was the subject of much speculation, with many believing that he was a Joker who hid his deformity in his "shell". In reality, out of his shell, Turtle is of medium height with a slight beer belly, short brown hair, and glasses. For many years, Turtle's secret civilian identity was that of a simple TV repairman and proprietor of an electronics store. In light of his dayjob and the sedentary manner of his "patrolling the streets" as the Turtle, Tudbury is something of a TV junkie and couch potato. Eventually Tudbury faked his own death for insurance purposes and devoted himself full-time to super heroics. After his near death by drowning, Tommy was plagued by nightmares and is still something of a troubled sleeper. One of the many Aces recruited to combat the Swarm invasion of Earth during the 1980s, Turtle is also among a handful of Aces captured by a Takisian starship around the same time. Sent to investigate the results of their genetic tampering with the human race, and believing Earth to be doomed by the Swarm's arrival, the Takisians captured Turtle, Fantasy, Capt. Trips, and their prodigal prince
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, intending to return to the planet Takis. In a rare instance of overcoming the psychological block of employing his powers outside of his shell, Turtle captures an alien artifact with his telekinetic powers and, activated by Dr. Tachyon's telepathy, the captives teleport back to Earth. Later, due to his involvement in an attack on the Egyptian Freemasons' stronghold, Turtle is marked for execution by the cult's leader, a deranged but incredibly powerful ace called the Astronomer. While floating over the East River, Turtle is ambushed by Imp and Insulin, two of the Astronomer's followers still remaining at large. Imp's electromagnetic powers disable the sensors and cameras of Turtle's shell, and Insulin's power to alter blood sugar levels disorients Turtle with an effect akin to a sudden, massive attack of
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
. Plunging into the river, Turtle assumes he is freed by some freak nature of water pressure causing his sinking shell to burst apart. He has time for one showy flight over New York City in an older shell, done to dispel the rumors of his death, before his powers begin to mysteriously desert him. Believing his powers have permanently faded, Turtle attempts to build a normal life for himself but to no avail. A budding romance with a girl from his school days is crushed when he learns she turned her own Wild Card at age eight and was cured by a dose of the trump virus. Dr. Tachyon warns Turtle that the trump virus was never administered, leaving the potentially deadly Wild Card virus still latent in her system. Any children they conceive will inherit the Wild Card and likely die in childbirth or manifest as Jokers. Turtle, knowing his fiancée wants children, reluctantly breaks off their relationship—unable or unwilling to explain their genetic incompatibility. Turtle's powers return with the realization that it was his own telekinesis that destroyed the sinking shell in a desperate bid to save his life. Selling three of his older shells to Charles Dutton, owner of the Famous Bowery Wild Card Dime Museum, Turtle is financially prepared for the next phase of his life. With the city under
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
in the wake of a new Wild Card outbreak that affects even those who have already been infected, Turtle must escape New York with his money and on foot. During this trek, Tudbury briefly befriends the hideous Mish-Mash but flees when the Joker attempts to kill a police officer. Enlisting the help of Dr. Tachyon, Turtle fakes his death as one of the many victims of this second Wild Card outbreak caused by Typhoid Croyd. Shortly thereafter, he returns to active status as the Great and Powerful Turtle, complete with a newly designed and constructed high-tech shell. In the early 90s the Turtle makes two separate visits to the Rox, a street name for
Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...
, which had become a stronghold for Joker criminals, rogue Aces, and a gang of body-swapping teenagers known as
Jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
. Recently escaped from the Rox after months of imprisonment, Dr. Tachyon—"jumped" into a runaway teenage girl who is several months pregnant—flees to Turtle's junkyard hideout. After some initial disbelief from Turtle, Tachyon establishes her (his) identity and enlists Turtle's help. Returning to the Rox, intent upon recovering Dr. Tachyon's true self, Turtle and the doctor arrive in the wake of the disastrous first Battle of the Rox. Initially repelled by Bloat's Wall, Turtle deduces the psychic barrier around the Rox can not extend upward indefinitely and flies over it. Witnessing the torture and execution of some National Guard soldiers, Turtle uses his telekinetic power to protect those left alive and threatens to crush the victorious Jokers "like ants" if they do not cease and desist. The Jokers comply. Too late to capture Blaise and
Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
(the girl who is now occupying Tachyon's body), Turtle flies at top speed to the warehouse containing the doctor's spaceship. Smashing the warehouse roof open, the organic starship attempts to escape, and Turtle briefly manages to halt its progress through a prodigious exertion of his powers—telekinetically seizing it in the air. The ship's engines are too strong, effectively towing Turtle's shell behind it, and the jump to faster-than-light speed shortly thereafter breaks his control, sending the shell tumbling back to Earth. Limping home, Turtle drops Tachyon off on the roof of the Jokertown clinic. Later, recruited by Tachyon to accompany her to Takis alongside Capt. Trips, Turtle is forced to remain behind when the Network ship that will take them off-planet proves too small to accommodate his shell. Deprived of his shell, Turtle's usefulness is limited by being able to only levitate small objects, such as pencils and rocks. He is replaced at the last minute on the trip by Ace private eye Jay Ackroyd. Left behind on Earth, Turtle agrees to participate in the second government assault on the Rox, which has now been declared a Joker homeland and officially seceded from the United States. The largest team of Aces ever assembled is sent, backed up by the U.S. Army, to quell the Joker rebellion once and for all. The inhabitants of the Rox—not without powers of their own—defend their claim to Ellis Island, and the single largest instance of all-out Wild Card combat erupts. In defeating Dylan Hardesty (The Huntsman), Turtle is responsible for the destruction of
the Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid Cable-stayed bridge, cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossi ...
. When his current lover, Legion, was apparently murdered in front of him by someone on the Rox, Tudbury became enraged and used his powers to send a tidal wave down the
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
, apparently destroying the Rox and everyone on it. In the wake of this, Tudbury retired as The Turtle and has since gone public with his identity and published his memoirs, only briefly reappearing to help another Ace, Zoe Harris, better learn how to control her powers. Tudbury is the most powerful telekinetic on Earth. The upper limits of his powers are unknown, but some of his notable feats include lifting a battleship out of the water for several minutes, temporarily halting a Takisian starship in mid-flight, ripping off the leg of the second robotic Modular Man, destroying the Brooklyn Bridge, and creating a tidal wave to drown inhabitants of the Rox. However, Tudbury is also incredibly insecure about his powers, which causes them to wilt to almost nothing when he is not in a "shell". Outside his shell, Turtle's telekinesis is limited to levitating small objects, such as pencils and beer cans—or, when in a calm, confident state—objects about the size and weight of a bowling ball, including an alien teleportation device and the first Modular Man's severed head. In or out of his shell, Turtle tends to best employ his powers through acts of visualization—where he imagines giant, invisible hands, fists, shields, battering rams, wings, and other "props" he can focus on. Once, when flying three shells simultaneously, Turtle found it easier to imagine all three welded to the points of a giant triangle rather than trying to levitate them separately. During his career as an Ace, The Turtle employs a variety of shells, typically one right after another—the newer, more high-tech models replacing their older, outmoded counterparts. Occasionally, most often upon the loss or destruction of his latest shell, Turtle must fall back upon an earlier model until a new one can be constructed, usually assisted by his childhood friend, Joey, an accomplished mechanic. Thomas Tudbury owns a dog named after one of his personal heroes and favorite comic-book characters,
Jetboy This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
. Jetboy the dog is a big, black Labrador-doberman mix, freely roaming Turtle's junkyard lair. Jetboy once gave Dr. Tachyon—who was female and pregnant at the time, thanks to
the Jumpers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
—some trouble reaching Tommy's front door.


Harlem Hammer

The Harlem Hammer (Mordecai Albert Jones) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He was created by
Victor Milán Victor Woodward Milán (August 3, 1954 – February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. Life and career Milán was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1986 Milán won the Prometheus A ...
and appeared in the fourth book in the series, ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
''. Mordecai Jones was driving a
bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...
at a construction site when he accidentally ruptured a container of illegally buried nuclear waste. The exposure would have killed him, were it not for the fact that his dormant Wild Card virus activated under the stress of the moment, turning him into an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
. His body integrated the toxic radioactive isotopes, increasing his mass and density, and replacing most of the calcium in his bones with heavy metals and bone-seekers such as
strontium Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is ex ...
. Jones was hospitalized and studied, kept a prisoner by overzealous health officials until he simply broke down a wall and walked out. He had to remain in hiding until the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
,
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
and SCARE (the Senate Committee on Ace Resources and Endeavors) declared him legally free. The press nicknamed him the Harlem Hammer, but he is a reluctant hero at best. After accidentally dislocating his daughter's shoulder with his super-strength, he realized that he could no longer stay with his family and moved to New York to become an auto mechanic. Harlem Hammer was one of the prominent public Aces chosen by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
to join their world inspection tour of Wild Card conditions around the world. Mordecai Jones is the second strongest Ace in the Wild Cards universe, just below Golden Boy. He has a metabolism that is now dependent on radioactive isotopes and heavy metal salts, which he must obtain illegally. His normal body temperature is 106 degrees Fahrenheit, he needs little sleep, he must eat far more than normal, and his weight is four times that of a normal man his size. His increased mass and density give him superhuman strength and durability. He is immune to disease and heals far faster than normal.


Hiram Worchester

Hiram Worchester is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series, who was created by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
. His first appearance was a brief cameo in "Wild Card Chic", a short in-story document in the first book of the series, ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''. Hiram is an
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, one of the fortunate few gifted with amazing abilities by the Wild Card virus. He can manipulate
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
, which he uses to render his 375-pound frame a mere 35 pounds, making him incredibly agile for his size. Customarily, to affect others with his power, he raises his forearm and curls his hand into a fist as a focus for his concentration; a running theme in the Wild Cards setting is empowered individuals unconsciously placing limits or conditions on their abilities, though in '' Jokers Wild'' Hiram appears somewhat aware that his hand motion is nothing more than a focusing technique. Though he is described as having had a brief career as a superhero named "Fatman" prior to his first appearance, Hiram quickly gave it up (the '' GURPS Wild Cards'' sourcebook contains the telling line "...as a crimefighter he is an excellent cook") to return to his first love, the gourmet restaurant business. He opens Aces High, located in the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, which does booming business as
Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...
tourists flock there in hopes of seeing Ace celebrities. A number of both major and minor Aces also hang out there, basking in the glory. Aces High is also the location of the traditional Wild Card Day dinner, with all Aces invited free of charge (they must provide proof of an Ace ability). This is the source of some controversy in the ''Wild Cards'' universe, as it is seen to be elitist that only Aces, and not Jokers, are given this treatment. Hiram later saves the life of Water Lily when she is flung off a balcony by the Astronomer, and develops a crush on her. During the ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
'' world tour, he falls victim to the parasitic
Ti Malice Ti Malice is a trickster character and nemesis of Tonton (Uncle) Bouki in Haitian mythology, Haitian folklore. While Ti Malice (Wild Cards), Ti Malice is smart and guileful, Uncle Bouki is hardworking but is also very greedy. It is the manipulation ...
, and Lily ends up as a "mount" of the evil joker as well. The strain of being Ti Malice's mount eventually takes its toll on Hiram. His absences from work became greater and greater, alienating his chefs and maitre d'. While in Japan he ran afoul of a Yakuza ace and required Fortunato's help to escape the country alive. When he learns
Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
has arranged to have a presidential candidate assassinated, the stressed-out Hiram kills her when she refuses to stop the assassin and tries to leave, using his gravity powers to make her so heavy her body collapses shattering all her bones. Panicking, he throws an
ace of spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
card from a nearby deck onto her remains to make the police think that it was the bow-and-arrow killer that murdered her. The police, meanwhile, are looking for a super-strong ace or joker due to the way she was beaten. When Hiram is finally caught by one of his closest friends Jay Ackroyd and by Yeoman, he is vilified by the Joker community for killing the popular Chrysalis, and several attempts are made on his life. The courts found Hiram guilty of murder, but released him under his own recognizance with the injunction that it is now illegal for him to use his powers. Business at Aces High drops off after Hiram's public fall from grace. Though still a tourist destination, many local aces stopped frequenting the establishment after this. Aces High closed some time in the 1990s, and Hiram faded from public life. His current whereabouts are not mentioned in the newest series of books. Hiram Worchester is a white male of medium height, but considerable girth. Impeccably dressed in expensive suits, Hiram shaves his head, but maintains a perfectly groomed spade beard. Always polite and seemingly unflappable, Hiram speaks with a British accent. He occasionally uses his powers on those who irritate him, such as
Digger Downs This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
. Typically, this is harmless, such as making the nosy reporter weightless and then pushing him out the door. A more dangerous loss of control resulted in the death of Chrysalis. During his time as a mount of Ti Malice, Hiram often appeared gaunt, ill groomed, and irritable; a sure sign to those who knew him that something was wrong.


Jetboy

Jetboy is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series. He appeared in the short story "Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!" by
Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Personal life Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...
, but is referenced throughout the ''Wild Cards ''series. Jetboy is based on
pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
and
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
"air ace" characters, particularly
Airboy Airboy is a fictional aviator hero of an American comic book series initially published by Hillman Periodicals during the World War II-era time period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writers Charles Biro ...
. The title of his story is based on ''
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, A ...
''. Robert Tomlin was an orphan who always wanted to fly, more than anything else. After running away from an orphanage to an airfield, he was hired by a scientist named Professor Silverberg, who was working on a prototype Jet aircraft called the ''JB-1'', and somehow convinced the Professor to let him pilot it. When the Professor was murdered by Nazi spies, Tomlin used the JB-1 to shoot up their getaway car. In his dismay, the spies had
diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.
, and he was forced to flee the country. Once in Canada, he joined the
RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...
, and later fought in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, in the aftermath of one battle being offered tea by
Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
, and later flew alongside the
Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
in China. In 1945, just before the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Jetboy became stranded on a Pacific island for several months. By the time he was rescued, the now 19-year-old Tomlin found that the war was over, and having spent most of his childhood as a fighter pilot, he found it very difficult fitting back into civilian life. He took to watching motion pictures to fill his now-abundant free time. Meanwhile, Jetboy's arch-enemy, scar-faced crime lord and Nazi sympathizer Dr. Tod, had found the wreck of an "unusual airplane" with a strange pressurized canister inside, and when something leaked out and melted one of his henchmen, Tod believed it to be a germ warfare device left over from the war. In fact the downed craft was an alien spacecraft, and the strange canister he had found contained the Wild Card virus. Tod decided to use this "germ-bomb" to perform blackmail on a massive scale; he obtained a multi-gasbag blimp and flew over New York City, announcing by radio that if he did not receive 20 million dollars, he would drop the device (wired with explosives) onto Manhattan. On September 15, 1946, Jetboy was once more called into action, along with a squadron of fighters from the United States Army Air Corps. With the only plane able to reach the proper altitude, Jetboy crashed the JB-1 into the gondola, and confronted Dr. Tod faceplate-to-faceplate (both were wearing high-altitude gear). Both men reached for the bomb fuse. Jetboy's Tomb is a major tourist attraction in Manhattan. The statue of Robert Tomlin out front is made from the metal from crashed aircraft. The plaque on the front is engraved with his last words:
I can't die yet, I haven't seen ''
The Jolson Story ''The Jolson Story'' is a 1946 American musical biography film which purports to tell the life story of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (approximating Jolson's wife, Ruby Keeler), William Demares ...
''.


Jumpers

The Jumpers are a fictional criminal gang in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series, first appearing in ''One-Eyed Jacks'', the eighth book of the series. Various jumpers continue to play a major role in the next three volumes of the series, ''Jokertown Shuffle'', ''Double Solitaire'', and ''Dealer's Choice''. Originally thought to be a lone ace, known to the media as the Jumper, simultaneous jump attacks in different locations eventually revealed that there was more than one of them. The Jumpers are a group of mostly teenage criminals with the ability to swap bodies with other people. They are created by Edward St. John Latham, a prominent attorney and secretly a major operative of crime lord Kien Phuc. When Latham is exposed to a new strain of Wild Card virus spread by The Sleeper in his "Typhoid Croyd" phase, he becomes the
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
called Prime, the creator of the Jumpers. Possessing no innate powers in and of himself, Latham could, through sexual contact with others, spread a stable mutation of the virus that endowed the recipient with the power to swap bodies with another. With Latham's taste for teenage runaways and prostitutes (male and female), there was soon a small group of wild card criminals all sharing the same power, committing vicious acts of mayhem and robbery in the body of their chosen victim, then jumping away to freedom. The first recipient of Latham's gift was most likely David Butler, an intern with Latham, Strauss. Thus began the "jumper" arm of the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
triune organization (the other two branches composed of Joker gangs like the Werewolves and Asian gangs such as the Immaculate Egrets). Immune to the jumper power he had bestowed on a variety of teenage boys and girls, Latham was content to create as large an army as his criminal accomplices wished. Based on The Rox (Ellis Island), protected by Bloat's Wall, and under the direct control of a deputy leader (first David and, later, Blaise Andrieux) "Prime" let his jumpers do as they wished for the most part, occasionally selecting one or two of his more expendable creations for special missions. During his brief career as an ace Latham created dozens of jumpers. Some of the more notable jumpers include Molly Bolt, K.C. Strange, Red, Blackhead, Blaise, and Zelda. Molly Bolt stole Mistral's body and wind powers before the Second Battle of the Rox. K.C. Strange had a brief fling with Captain Trips and helped spring his daughter from government custody. Blaise,
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
's grandson, was their leader until he fled to
Takis Takis may refer to: * Takis (snack), a spicy, roll-shaped snack * Takis Christoforidis, a Greek actor * Takis Fotopoulos, a Greek political philosopher * Takis Ikonomopoulos, a Greek football player * Takis Kanellopoulos a Greek film director * T ...
following the First Battle of the Rox. Zelda was the last jumper created, literally minutes prior to Latham's death. Leader of the jumpers after Blaise's departure, Zelda stole Pulse's body and laser powers, eventually dying in combat with Wyungare during the second Battle of the Rox. Two notable characters who wanted to become jumpers, but were unsuccessful, include Kelly Jenkins and Fantasy. Kelly was a jumper wannabe that Blaise eventually terrorized into a bizarre body exchange with the alien
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
. Fantasy was a minor ace that wanted the jumper power, but mistakenly slept with Mr. Nobody, a shapeshifting ace disguised as Latham. The Jumpers used their powers for petty crimes and cruelty, until the "Jump the Rich" scheme proposed by Bloat, which involved jumping wealthy but old or sickly individuals into young, healthy bodies for a steep price, and then offering the same deal to those formerly young and healthy individuals, until the coffers were empty. Most jumpers were eventually captured by the government and imprisoned in cells lined with one-way mirrors, where they were tricked into jumping into elderly bodies and gassed to death. The jumpers' power only worked line-of-sight, although one jumper, Zelda, does manage to jump someone during sexual intercourse while blinded. The remaining jumpers met their end during the "card sharks" storyline. A group of about a dozen jumpers had been spared from the Rox and imprisonment and were recruited by the anti-Wild Card conspiracy known as the Card Sharks. Overseen by Philip Baron Von Herzenhagen, the jumpers were used to augment the Shark's personal attributes, by jumping them into younger more sexually attractive bodies, as well as their collective political power, by jumping their agents into the bodies of politicians. Herzenhagen was using the jumpers to shepherd anti-wild card legislation through congress. For the coup de grace he intended to jump himself into the body of the President, in order to prevent a veto of said legislation. His plan fell apart when his organization became the target of a revenge scheme by aces Shad (more properly, Black Shadow) and Croyd Crenson (the previously mentioned Sleeper). In an assault on the Shark's safe house, Shad murdered the remaining jumpers by using his darkness power to neutralize their abilities, prompting Herzenhagen to ask "how does someone with a shotgun kill a jumper without getting jumped?" Given the abilities of the jumpers, it is impossible to definitively state whether or not all of them have been accounted for.


Kelly Jenkins

Kelly Jenkins is a character from the
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
series of books. Briefly appearing in ''One-Eyed Jacks'', Kelly became a more prominent character in ''Jokertown Shuffle'' and ''Double Solitaire''. A small town girl, she came to New York with dreams of becoming famous. Instead, after several days on the street, she fell in with a young man named David Butler and the gang of juvenile delinquents that would eventually come to be known as the
Jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
. One of several wannabes awaiting initiation by the ace known as
Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
, Kelly never received the jumper gift to exchange bodies with their victim. Instead, she fell prey to another jumper's capricious use of their nearly unstoppable power. Her mind was replaced for an extended period of time with Dr. Tachyon's.


Kid Dinosaur

Kid Dinosaur was a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series, and was created by
Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner (born December 30, 1950 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American writer. Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, and then identified with cyberpunk. He later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and f ...
. Arnie Fentner was a normal kid, obsessed with
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s and
comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
, just on the cusp of
puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. ...
, when the dormant Wild Card virus he'd inherited from his mother turned active, altering his DNA and restructuring his body. He was one of the lucky few who didn't die, and one of the one percent who gained superhuman abilities as a result; in his case, the power to restructure the molecules of his body to assume the shape of any Dinosaur that he knew about. The downside was that his body's mass remained constant, so he could only become a kid-sized version of a ''
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
'', ''
Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...
'', or a ''
Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
'', not to mention the fact that he would burst out of his clothes when transforming, leaving him naked and vulnerable to the elements when he returned to normal. Still, it gave him what he'd always dreamed of: the chance to take part in the adventures of Aces, often playing hooky from school to trail prominent Aces with little regard for his own safety. This devil-may-care attitude would be his downfall; on one of his excursions, the Kid was captured by the
Astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and his minions, to be used as a human sacrifice intended to forcibly induct the Ace Water Lily into their cabal. Arnie and Water Lily were ultimately rescued by the impromptu group of Aces organized by Fortunato and
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
to rout the Astronomer's group from their headquarters in
the Cloisters The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...
. The Astronomer marked all those who'd humiliated him for death, and on Wild Card Day (September 15), 1986, the Astronomer tracked down Arnie in a crowd at
Jetboy This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
's Tomb, and, as Fortunato watched helplessly, the old man tore Arnie's heart out. In answer to protests from loyal fans of the character, ''Wild Cards'' series editor
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
noted in his afterword to the 2004 edition of '' Jokers Wild'' (the novel where Kid Dinosaur's death was depicted) that the Kid was created specifically to be a victim of the Astronomer's vengeance.


Kien Phuc

Kien Phuc is a criminal from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology book series. He was created by John J. Miller in the short story ''Comes a Hunter'', in the first book of the series, ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''. Kien Phuc (birth name unknown) was born an ethnic
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, and was subject to prejudice and poverty during his childhood. His parents tried to teach him honor, but jealousy and greed drove him to reject his parents' simple beliefs and embrace the worst aspects of Vietnamese, and later Western, culture. He changed his name to that of a Vietnamese
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
and adopted an accent and materialistic outlook that he believed would be more acceptable to his host country. He joined the army, rising through the ranks with a combination of talent, ruthlessness and corruption, reaching the rank of General. An American officer named Daniel Brennan began investigating him, but Kien framed him for murder and destroyed his evidence, forcing the man to desert. Seeing that the war was not going well for the South, he abandoned the land of his birth and travelled to America, setting himself up as both a successful businessman and a powerful gang leader, ruling a set of organizations collectively known as the Shadow Fist Society. When a number of Kien's low-rank thugs, and then an increasing number of higher operatives, began to turn up dead with arrows in them and the
Ace of spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
card prominently displayed, Kien knew he was being targeted, but thought it was a rival gang; he had no idea that Brennan, the man he'd dismissed from his thoughts so long ago, was now the bow-and-arrow vigilante called Yeoman. It was not until his diary was stolen by Wraith that he would come face to face with his enemy once again. Kien lost part of his right hand when Wraith turned his gun intangible. He would eventually lose far more than that; he made a deal with the
jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
to swap him into the body of Fadeout, a Shadow Fist operative who could turn invisible. But when his borrowed body was hurt, his mind was eventually lost on the
astral plane The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions.G.R.S.Mead, ''The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tra ...
, his last coherent thought being a guilt-ridden
hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
of his father, mourning the loss of his son.


Lazy Dragon

Lazy Dragon (Ben Choy) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He was created by
William F. Wu William F. Wu (born March 13, 1951) is a Chinese-American science fiction, fantasy, and crime author. Literary career Born March 13, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri, Wu had his first professional fiction publication, a short story, published in 1 ...
. Lazy Dragon is an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
with the power to project his mind into inanimate objects, with the limitation that they must be shaped like animals, and he must make them by hand. When he does so, the animals grow to life-sized and become animated, while his physical body lies unconscious. He originally carves these animal forms out of materials like soap or vegetables, but later learns the art of
origami ) is the Japanese paper art, art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of pape ...
, allowing him to carry an assortment of animal forms. He has become everything from a mouse to a polar bear, and even a Chinese
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
. Lazy Dragon seemingly has a second, female personality, whom he regards as his sister. At times, she can take over their shared body, which turns female. Lazy Dragon is a member of the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
, a prominent New York criminal organization in the ''Wild Cards'' universe.


Le Miroir

Le Miroir (real name Claude Bonnel) is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He first appeared in the short story "Mirrors of the Soul" by Melinda M. Snodgrass, in the fourth ''Wild Cards'' book, ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
''. Claude is a French
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
and minor celebrity, with the ability to alter his facial appearance and a minor
telepath Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
ic power to sense who or what a person is thinking of, which he uses to "mirror" a person's favorite individual. He is also a radical
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and secretly a member of a French terrorist group. Le Miroir is one of those primarily responsible for raising
Blaise Jeannot Andrieux This is a list of characters from the '' Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the '' Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: ...
, the grandson of the alien
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, whose quarter- Takisian ancestry gives him a powerful telepathic mind control ability. He teaches Blaise to use his power as a terror weapon, turning innocent bystanders into unwilling suicide bombers. Although all Wild Cards in France must be registered with the government, Blaise's lack of the Wild Card virus allows him to evade this testing. When Tachyon discovers his grandson is being used in this way, he shoots Claude and, to protect Blaise, publicly claims that the telepathic Miroir was the mind-controller, who had downplayed his mental abilities to the public.


Loophole

Loophole is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books, first appearing in volume III, "Jokers Wild". He was created by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
. Senior partner in one of New York's most successful law firms, St. John Latham represented a family of companies with their headquarters in the Bahamas and subsidiaries including CariBank and Shrike Music. In reality, these businesses were the legal fronts for a ruthless criminal organization known as the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
. Latham had earned the name Loophole as a mercilessly effective lawyer with the ability to wriggle his clients out of any charges. Word on the street was that the wild card had left Latham completely amoral and emotionless - - that, or he was just an ordinary lawyer. Another rumor purported he was one of the rare "reverse jokers", a wild card victim that was originally ugly and became physically attractive after they turned their card. An important figure in the Shadow Fist organization, Loophole also went under the alias Prime as leader/creator of the
jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
. Whatever the truth of his previously rumored wild card manifestations, it is known that Latham contracted a dose of the virus during the brief outbreak of a wildly contagious mutant strain caused by the Sleeper. Surviving the incubation period, Latham emerged as an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
with a bizarre ability. Possessing no innate powers in and of himself, Latham could, through sexual contact with others, spread a stable mutation of the virus that endowed the recipient with the power to swap bodies with another. With Latham's taste for teenage runaways and prostitutes (male and female) soon there was a small group of wild card criminals all sharing the same power, committing vicious acts of mayhem and robbery in the body of their chosen victim, then jumping away to freedom. Thus began the "jumper" arm of the Shadow Fist's triune organization (the other two branches composed of joker gangs like the Werewolves and Asian gangs such as the Immaculate Egrets). Immune to the jumper power he had bestowed on a variety of teenage boys and girls, Latham was content to create as large an army as his criminal accomplices wished. Based on ''The Rox'' (Ellis Island), protected by Bloat's Wall, and under the direct control of a deputy leader (first David and, later, Blaise) "Prime" let his jumpers do as they wished for the most part, occasionally selecting one or two of his more expendable creations for special missions. Once calculating and almost untouchable, Latham's behavior grew ever more risky and erratic after the death of his favorite lover/jumper, David, at the hands of
the Oddity This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: Ac ...
. One of his jumpers gave aging Shadow Fist crime lord Kien Phuc the youthful ace body of Fadeout. He made a gift of the famous Bosch painting '' The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' to the joker revolutionary called Bloat. When confronted by Bloat about the foolishness of allowing Blaise to jump a high-profile figure like Tachyon, he was utterly unconcerned. Latham finally met his end at the hands of the ace Mr. Nobody, known as Jerry Strauss in his civilian identity. Mr. Nobody's brother was the Strauss in the law office of Latham, Strauss. Bent upon revenge after Latham had his brother murdered, Nobody investigated Loophole's criminal activities for months. Shortly after Latham had made Zelda a jumper, Mr. Nobody tracked the lawyer to his hotel room. The ace killed Latham by using his shapeshifting power to stab an elongated fingerbone into his brain and liquifying it.


Modular Man

Modular Man is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. It is an android created by Maxim Travnicek and first appeared in ''Wild Cards II: Aces High''.


Mr. Nobody

Mr. Nobody (Jerry Strauss) is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. His first appearance was as "the Projectionist", a throwaway cameo in the story "Shell Games" by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
, but his character was more fully developed starting in "The Teardrop of India" by Walton Simons, which appeared in the fourth Wild Cards book, ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
''. Jeremiah Strauss was a wealthy playboy, who wanted more than anything to be in
show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...
. When he became infected with the Wild Card virus and found himself with minor
shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
powers, he developed an act of sorts, doing celebrity "impressions" at clubs, but his lack of success drove him to a nervous breakdown in 1965. He was transformed into a
King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
analogue called the Great Ape, which was quickly captured by New York's abundant
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
heroes. His transformation also caused a blackout all across New York and parts of New Jersey. Every few years thereafter, he would escape from the zoo, grab the nearest attractive blonde, and attempt to climb the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
; thanks to New York's Aces, he never made it more than halfway. In "The Teardrop of India", the Great Ape is brought to
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
to shoot a film; coincidentally the "Aces Abroad" world tour is also in Sri Lanka at the time. When a
precognitive Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...
vision from G.C. Jayewardine shows that the Great Ape is actually a transformed Ace,
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
manages to unlock Strauss' submerged consciousness and return him to normal. When his attorney brother is killed by his law partner St. John Latham, Jerry manages to use his skills to discover the culprit and get revenge, eventually killing Latham in his own penthouse. As his powers and confidence slowly rise to new levels, Strauss becomes a more prominent character in the later novels, eventually becoming the partner of private detective Jay Ackroyd. Jerry Strauss can shapeshift to look like anyone he imagines, usually choosing film stars. He can also increase his size and mass, though doing so can black out electricity around him; it is theorized by Dr. Tachyon that at least some of this mass is actually converted from the electrical energy he absorbs. He is able to use his malleability to pick locks and vehicle ignitions by forcing a finger into the keyhole and conforming to the proper shape, though it is painful to do so since his finger is not as durable as a genuine key; in addition, driving a vehicle that he has commandeered in this fashion is awkward, as he is forced to drive one-handed and in pain while keeping his finger in the ignition slot. He can also cause certain drastic, inhuman changes to his appearance, such as making his flesh appear to run like melting wax, or elongating a pointed fingerbone out of his flesh (the method he used to kill St. John Latham, extending the bone into Latham's ear canal and literally "scrambling" his brain matter). Straus' primary limitation is reliance on a basically humanoid shape; to date, he has never assumed a form that was not basically humanoid (such as non-humanoid animals), or appeared able to stretch or deform his body (a la
Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace a ...
or
Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the first superheroes to ...
) on a grand scale. Originally a poor actor and impressionist, he has honed his skills to a much greater degree since returning to normal life (after years as the Great Ape). He has also developed investigative skills and learned the rudiments of computer hacking. Jeremiah Strauss is also a millionaire, and has access to all the resources that wealth can provide.


Peregrine

Peregrine is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. She was created by Gail Gerstner-Miller and first appeared in ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' (1987). Peregrine might technically be considered a Joker, since the wild card virus left her with a visible "deformity" a pair of giant wings. However, the majestic nature of her wings, combined with her physical beauty and charisma, made her a darling of the ace set. Indeed, Peregrine is one of the most famous wild cards, and famous women, in the world. Although Peregrine occasionally engaged in super-heroics, often using a set of steel claws to enhance her combat effectiveness, she was primarily known for her celebrity activities. She is the host of the popular and long running talk show "Peregrines Perch" as well as an important television personality and
sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
who appeared in
Playboy magazine ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
. As a famous media figure she was a fixture of New York society, although she was not above "slumming" such as with her brief relationship with the wild card pimp Fortunato which resulted an unplanned pregnancy. In 1986, Peregrine was one of a number of Americans chosen to take part in a
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
fact finding tour. While in Japan Peregrine met Fortunato and convinced him to help Hiram Worcester who had gotten into trouble with the Yakuza. Although Fortunato learned of her pregnancy and that he was the father, he chose not remain with her and would instead enter a monastery. Peregrine would birth to a son and named him John Fortune. During a stop over in Egypt Peregrine was given a disturbing prophecy about her son's future. This prophecy made Peregrine a very protective mother. While she lived her life in the public eye, and indeed became even more of a celebrity, she jealously guarded her son's privacy and safety, routinely employing Popinjay and his detective agency to guard her son. In 2003, John Fortune's wild card "turned" and John became the object of contest between two groups of religious fanatics. What at first appeared to be an ace turned out to be a deadly "black queen" which would have resulted in John's death if not for the intervention of Fortunato. Apparently left powerless, John returned to an ordinary life, working as a
production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...
on a new wild card themed show his mother was producing. In 2008, his role in prophecy was fulfilled as he became the host for the Egyptian ace
Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis (), also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, Sakhet among other spellings, cop, Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ, Sakhmi), is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness. Sekhmet is a solar de ...
and worked with other aces to defend Egypt's jokers from genocide.


Popinjay

Jay "Popinjay" Ackroyd is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. As an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
(a Wild Card victim with powers, but relatively few mutations), Jay can teleport people and things anywhere he can clearly visualize (often this means places like the local baseball stadium or police holding tank, though once he teleported the dangerous joker
Ti Malice Ti Malice is a trickster character and nemesis of Tonton (Uncle) Bouki in Haitian mythology, Haitian folklore. While Ti Malice (Wild Cards), Ti Malice is smart and guileful, Uncle Bouki is hardworking but is also very greedy. It is the manipulation ...
into a place he had only dreamed of). He cannot use this power on himself, and he has to be able to point his index fingers at his target (holding his hand like a pistol). Jay Ackroyd is a private investigator, running the Ackroyd and Creighton Detective Agency with his junior partner, Mr. Nobody. Known (much to his annoyance) as 'Popinjay' amongst his fellow Wild Carders, his power, especially combined with his quick wits, makes him a deceptively dangerous opponent. In the early 90s, Ackroyd accompanied
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
to his homeworld of
Takis Takis may refer to: * Takis (snack), a spicy, roll-shaped snack * Takis Christoforidis, a Greek actor * Takis Fotopoulos, a Greek political philosopher * Takis Ikonomopoulos, a Greek football player * Takis Kanellopoulos a Greek film director * T ...
. While he was on Takis, he was captured by Blaise Andrieux, who chopped off his fingers to prevent him from using his powers. After Blaise's defeat, they were grown back by Takisian technology. Since then, Ackroyd married a Takisian chef and returned to earth and his increasingly high-profile detective/bodyguard agency, which now employs Aces such as Peter Pann. Jay's favorite saying is: "Might as well, I can't dance".


Puppetman

Puppetman, the alias of Gregg Hartmann, a U.S. Senator (D-NY) and Candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. He first appeared in the story "Strings" by
Stephen Leigh Stephen W. Leigh (born February 27, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, artist, and musician. He also works as a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University, teaching creative writing. He has published speculative fiction as Ste ...
in the first book in the series, and plays an important role in events throughout the series. Gregg Hartman shows the world the face of a crusading, man-of-the-people politician, who fights for the rights of the downtrodden, particularly Jokers, but Hartmann is secretly an Ace possessed of mind control powers. Hartmann refers to these powers, and the desire he gets to use them, as "Puppetman" and sees them as almost a separate entity. Hartmann himself is a victim of the wild card, an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
with the ability to sense and manipulate the emotions of others. He first discovered this power when he was eleven years old; he had a crush on a teenage girl named Andrea Whitman, and wanted to find a way to hurt her for ignoring him. He took his first puppet that day, Roger Pellman, a mentally deficient fourteen-year-old, and began stoking Pellman's anger, lust and rage until Pellman raped and murdered Andrea, with Gregg feeling everything his puppet felt. This incident fractured the boy's fragile psyche, with pleasure, hate, guilt, shame, fear, and sex all jumbled together in his already twisted mind. He could not bear to think of these horrific actions as his own doing, so he created the Puppetman: another person in his mind, and the one he blamed for all the things he'd done... and all he would continue to do. Hartman became addicted to "feeding" on the negative emotions and psychic pain of others. For years, he both reveled in, and was repulsed by, the many violent crimes and atrocities he committed by proxy. He used his power of emotional influence to become a successful politician; he could make anyone his "puppet" simply through brief physical contact, and a politician shakes a lot of hands. Hartmann became overconfident of his control over others, when in fact he could not even control himself. Puppetman was becoming an independent, and demanding, force in his mind, constantly hungering for more. At times things spiralled out of his hands; in one case, he touched off a riot, and the resulting overwhelming emotional feedback caused him to have an embarrassing public breakdown which cost him the Presidency. In the sixth volume of the Wild Cards series, ''Ace in the Hole'' (1990), the assassin
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
is hired to kill Sen. Hartmann. Demise's own ace abilities allow him to kill by locking eyes with his intended victim and telepathically projecting the memory of his death into their mind. Amid the chaos generated by Hartmann's manipulation of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Demise got close enough to his target to initiate, but not complete, his death-stare. The result was that Puppetman, who was dominant at the time, was destroyed, leaving behind only the normal half of Hartmann's personality. Hartmann resolved to undo the damage caused by Puppetman, but before he could begin
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
telepathically coerced Hartmann into the embarrassing breakdown which cost him the Democratic nomination. Afterwards, Hartmann is jumped into the body of a caterpillar-like joker. He swings from villain to victim to hero, trying to redeem himself of the horrible deeds he has committed. Over the course of his career Puppetman has manipulated literally hundreds of individuals, some to a greater extent than others. The following is a brief list of his many puppets: Carnifex (Hartmann's bodyguard), Gimli (militant joker's rights activist), Kahina (clairvoyant sister of the radical Islamic ace Nur al Allah, who later discovers Hartmann's secret), Mackie Messer (German ace), Molniya (Soviet ace),
The Oddity This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: Ac ...
(Joker vigilante), Peanut (Joker), Black Shadow (Ace vigilante) and
Hiram Worchester This is a list of characters from the '' Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the '' Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: ...
(popular restaurateur and Ace).


Quasiman

Quasiman is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He was created by author
Arthur Byron Cover Arthur Byron Cover (born January 14, 1950, in Grundy, Virginia) is an American science fiction author. Cover attended the Clarion Writer's SF Workshop in New Orleans in 1971, and made his first professional short-story sale to Harlan Ellison's ...
. Quasiman is a Joker, a person mutated by the Wild Card virus. He does not remember his past or his real name, or indeed any information prior to his transformation. He is large and powerfully built, but with a hunched back and twisted spine. Quasiman is the caretaker of the ''Church of Jesus Christ, Joker'' in New York's Jokertown, having been hired by
Father Squid This is a list of characters from the '' Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the '' Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: ...
shortly after the Church opened. Quasiman has superhuman strength and can teleport, but his powers come with a price; his body is constantly in flux, with molecules moving back and forth in space and time while still staying part of him. Because of this, his mind has difficulty focusing. At times his thoughts are clear and lucid; but those times are few and far between, and never last very long. Usually it is an effort for him just to remember what he was going to do, or if he'd already done it, or if his memories are of the past or future. Occasionally parts of his body will phase out of existence, then back in again. Quasiman is not a major character, but plays a significant role twice; he is resuscitated by "faith healer" Reverend Leo Barnett, which gains Barnett enough public recognition and sympathy to later be elected president. Later, he is involved in Detective Hannah Davis' investigation of the burning down of the Church, which gets him entangled in uncovering the
Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row o ...
conspiracy.


Righteous Djinn

The Righteous Djinn is a character in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of fictional books edited by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
. The Righteous Djinn is an Ace, a person infected with the Wild Card virus who retains the look of a human but has gained superhuman powers. He appears as a minor character in the book ''Inside Straight'', viewed as a very dangerous adversary since he can absorb the powers of other Aces, being known to have killed Sharron Cream (Israel's top Ace) and believed to have killed several Syrian Aces. He also has immense strength and can become a 30-foot giant. He serves as a body guard to the Caliph of the Modern Caliph. He is killed by a group of American Aces (Lohengrin, Rustbelt, Drummer Boy, Bubbles, John Fortune/Sekhmet) at the end of ''Inside Straight''.


Roulette

Roulette is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' "
mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...
" ''Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild''. She was created by Melinda M. Snodgrass. Roulette Brown-Roxbury did not know that she carried the Wild Card virus until she gave birth to a horribly deformed,
stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...
Joker. Her upper-class husband Josiah refused to believe that he too carried the Wild Card, insisting that Roulette must have had an affair, and finally divorced her. Spiralling into depression, Roulette eventually became a prostitute to support herself. She then discovered the other effect of the Wild Card; she sometimes produced a deadly neurotoxin during sex, and in time earned the nickname " Russian Roulette" among those patrons who knew of her ability. Sex with her became a risky status symbol, like that of eating
Fugu The fugu (; ; ) in Japanese, ''bogeo'' (; 鰒魚) or ''bok'' () in Korean, and ''hétún'' (河豚; 河魨) in Standard Modern Chinese is a pufferfish, normally of the genus ''Takifugu'', ''Lagocephalus'', or ''Sphoeroides'', or a porcupinefish ...
fish in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Eventually, she learned to produce this poison at will by concentrating on the horrific memories of giving birth. It was then that she was discovered by The Astronomer, who (as he had with
Demise Demise is an Anglo-Norman legal term (from French ''démettre'', from Latin ''dimittere'', to send away) for the transfer of an estate, especially by lease. It has an operative effect in a lease, implying a covenant "for quiet enjoyment." The ...
), offered to erase her painful memories if she worked for him. Just as with Demise, he had no intention of doing so as long as she proved useful. First, on September 15, 1986, Wild Card Day (the anniversary of
Jetboy This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
's death) the Astronomer had Roulette kill an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
hero named "The Howler", who had taken part in one of the Astronomer's previous defeats. The Howler's death was merely the first of many tragic stories to make the news that fateful day. Next Roulette was told to seduce and kill
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, the alien inventor of the Wild Card virus. At first she was quite determined to get her revenge on the man ultimately responsible for the suffering of herself and many others. But after spending time with Tachyon, seeing how "human" he actually was, how guilt-stricken and how dedicated to helping the virus' victims, she came to gradually care for him. When the Astronomer was finally killed, Roulette chose to leave Tachyon alive, and to leave town to try to live with her own memories. In the fifth book of the series, '' Down and Dirty'', Roulette returns to New York and becomes infected with Typhoid Croyd's mutated strain of Wild Card virus, resulting in her death. Her infection is what convinces Tachyon that the virus can now reinfect Jokers and Aces.


Sleeper

The Sleeper is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. The character was created by
Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...
. In September 1946, ninth-grader Croyd Crenson, native of an unspecified borough of the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
metropolitan area, was one of the first victims of the alien virus dubbed "the Wild Card", which generates random mutations in humans, many times leading to an altered appearance and/or superhuman abilities. In Croyd's case, however, his mutation induces the virus to periodically re-infect his body (similar to
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
), causing him to develop a different appearance and set of powers every time he sleeps. Fortunately, the primary constant among these changes is an altered sleep cycle: he can spend anywhere from days to weeks at a time with no need for sleep, followed by equally varying periods of extended sleep, analogous to a
pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
l stage, during which his body alters to a new configuration. Croyd's root mutation is generally considered an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, though the classification of his abilities changes from mutation to mutation. He shows no sign of the effects of advancing age, though in the later eras depicted in the novels, he would be approaching his sixties. Croyd constantly fears that he will one day wake up as a permanent Joker, immune to the virus, or that it will simply kill him, as the virus does to the majority of those it infects (known as "drawing the Black Queen"). As he starts to feel tired, he usually turns to
amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...
to stay awake, becoming increasingly violent and paranoid. Depending on where he is in his sleep/wake cycle, he can be a friendly rogue, a coldly brutal mercenary, a twitchy junkie and thief, or a deadly, raving psychotic. His unique sleep cycle and constantly altering appearance makes it all but impossible for Croyd to hold down a regular job, and he usually supports himself through criminal activity (though in later years he begins investing in the
stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...
as a supplement to his income). This began after Croyd's initial transformation, when his father had died. Martial law still ruled New York City in the wake of the initial wave of Wild Card victims, and stealing was the only reliable way to acquire necessary supplies for himself and his family. Later, he continued to steal to support his family, as his father had suffered a fatal reaction to the virus and his mother had slowly gone insane from witnessing her husband's death, leaving Croyd the primary source of income for his brother and sister. This continued until his siblings became adults and his sister was married, during which Croyd, who had awakened before his latest change was complete, unintentionally disrupted the wedding ceremony when he fully transformed into a gargoyle-like creature. Croyd seems to have completely broken ties with his family after the wedding incident. Croyd has worked on and off over the years with a small-time career criminal named Bentley, whom he first met as a Joker with a dog-like appearance after waking up from his initial transformation; Bentley would later volunteer for the risky treatment developed for the Wild Card called the Trump virus, and was one of the lucky few who was completely cured. Bentley has shared some of his tricks of the trade, and sometimes plans robberies for Croyd, based on whatever superhuman powers he wakes up with, in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. The pair have little concern for police investigation, as by the time the authorities begin to recognize Croyd's current form and abilities, he is usually "lying low" and changing into a new, unrecognizable form. Using his ill-gotten gains, Croyd has established several living spaces of varying size and quality throughout New York City, so that he is never too far from at least one of them when he is unable to stay awake. At least one of these is located in Jokertown, NYC's former
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...
district that has become a local haven to those unfortunate enough to "draw the Joker"; Croyd made efforts early on to establish a base there and make friends within the Joker community, knowing that on the occasions that he assumes a Joker form, he will have to live among them. Croyd has assumed any number of forms in the decades since his initial infection; Ace, Joker, and, once, an almost completely non-powered human form. His first form was that of a hair-covered joker with the ability to turn invisible. Various Ace powers he has manifested during his waking periods include the ability to melt metal, enhanced speed and reflexes, heat conduction, flight, and super strength. His Joker manifestations have been equally varied: pink, stunted, and batlike; a humanoid Gecko lizard; two different winged demon forms; something like a giant armadillo; a , wingless bird with retractable claws; a wolf-faced freak with multi-jointed legs and acid for urine, and other even less attractive forms. Often Croyd awakened with a mixture of the Joker/Ace traits. During his stint as a fact finder for the Mafia, the Sleeper was a handsome brown haired Ace with strong bioelectric abilities and faceted, mirror-like compound eyes. Arguably Croyd's most dangerous form was his incarnation as a super strong albino. During this period the Sleeper's Ace "power" manufactured a contagious, mutated form of the Wild Card virus that could re-infect and re-mutate those already transformed. Dubbed "Typhoid Croyd" (a reference to the historical
Typhoid Mary Mary Mallon (September 23, 1869 – November 11, 1938), commonly known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish Americans, Irish-born American cook believed to have infected between 51 and 122 people with typhoid fever. The infections caused three co ...
), he was subdued and quarantined before this new infection became widespread and created a panic similar to the original wave of infections in 1946. It is notable that at least one person he re-infected, the Joker
Snotman This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, had his quality of life improved, as Snotman was re-mutated into an ace. Amongst others infected during his Typhoid Croyd phase include high priced lawyer Loophole Latham, the ace Water Lily, militant Joker activist Gimili, call girl/assassin
Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
, washed up rock hero
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
(who did not die young in the ''Wild Cards'' universe, as he did in real life) and the android
Modular Man The Modular Man is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Rampaging Hulk'' #2 (April 1977) and was created by John Warner and Val Mayerik. Fictional character biography St ...
's creator Maxim Travnicek - who loses his ability to repair Modular Man as he mutates into a joker. In the late 1990s Croyd would team up with the ace vigilante Shad after the two had been imprisoned on Governors Island at the behest of the "Card Sharks" conspiracy. Seeking revenge, the two men organized a prison breakout and then killed most of the remaining Card Sharks. Croyd was last seen traveling with Shad to Afghanistan where one of the lead Card Sharks had been doing humanitarian work.


Snotman

Snotman is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' book series. He was originally a Joker derelict who oozed a snot-like
mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...
from every pore of his body. However, in ''Wild Cards volume V: Down and Dirty'', he had an encounter with Croyd Crenson, better known as The Sleeper, during a time when Crenson's current mutation had developed a contagious version of the Wild Card virus. Snotman, whose real name was Bill Lockwood, was infected by "Typhoid Croyd". This time he became an Ace. The new Wild Card infection reversed his previous disability, apparently restoring him to his pre-Wild Card appearance as a fairly handsome man. It also gave him the ability to absorb any energy directed against him, including kinetic energy, and then release it back at his opponents. He teamed up with Croyd but was subdued by Black Shadow, operating under his Mr Gravemold identity, who drained the heat from him until he collapsed. Taken into custody, Lockwood, who was now styling himself Reflector, was recruited to participate in the military action against the Rox, the Joker enclave on Ellis Island. Despite himself having been a Joker, Reflector exhibited an unusual distaste for Jokers, born of his time living in Jokertown when even other Jokers looked down on him and treated him poorly.


Ti Malice

''Ti Malice'' is a character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' anthology series. He first appeared in the fourth book of the series, ''
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
'', in the short story "Beasts of Burden" by John J. Miller. This character is named after the Vodou
Loa ( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerat ...
,
Ti Malice Ti Malice is a trickster character and nemesis of Tonton (Uncle) Bouki in Haitian mythology, Haitian folklore. While Ti Malice (Wild Cards), Ti Malice is smart and guileful, Uncle Bouki is hardworking but is also very greedy. It is the manipulation ...
. The being known only as Ti Malice is a
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
an Joker (one who is deformed by the Wild Card virus) who acts as a
parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
on other people. He is a
fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...
-sized joker with shriveled, useless limbs, and a poorly-developed digestive system; he gets both nutrition and mobility by attaching himself to the neck of another person, connecting himself to their nervous system, and injecting an incredibly addictive substance which he refers to as "the kiss". While connected with his mounts Ti Malice is able to control them fully, in fact he becomes the bodies dominant personality, with the mounts personality existing in a hazy dream like state. When disconnected from Ti Malice the mounts feel great anxiety and their longing for his "kiss" is enough to keep them in line. Ti Malice views his "mounts" as expendable toys for his own amusement, reveling in all forms of vicarious sensations, from pleasure to pain. He uses a beautiful mount called Ezili-Je-Rouge, who poses as a prostitute, to lure new victims into his presence. In this way he was able to acquire wealthy American
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
Hiram Worchester This is a list of characters from the '' Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the '' Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in '' Wild Cards II: ...
as a mount; Worchester then shipped Ti Malice to New York City, where Malice was able to find even more depravity to enjoy. One of those he used in this way was the Ace Water Lily. When Ti Malice took Blaise Andrieux as a mount, the boy's grandfather
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
hired Ace investigator Jay Ackroyd to find him. Ackroyd, discovering the location of Ti Malice, teleported the joker into a scene from his worst nightmare, effectively ending his threat forever. Many years later the ace Billy Ray was traveling through a pocket dimension and encountered Ti Malice, killing him.


Wraith

Wraith (Jennifer Maloy) is a fictional character in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''
shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
series. She was created by John J. Miller, and first appeared in the third book, '' Jokers Wild''. Jennifer Maloy was an attractive but introverted
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
until the day she discovered she was an
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
, gifted with the ability to become insubstantial. She used this power to emulate the
romantic hero The Romantic hero is a literary archetype referring to a character that rejects established norms and conventions, has been rejected by society, and has themselves at the center of their own existence. The Romantic hero is often the protagonist in ...
es of her favorite stories as the Wraith, robbing from the rich (and corrupt) and giving to the poor (mostly charities benefiting battered women and pets). However, the limitations of her powers—that she could only "ghost" items of low mass and density—determined not only that her "work clothes" would consist only of a mask and a
bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...
, but it also limited what she could steal to small, mostly paper goods. Jennifer enjoyed her new adventurous lifestyle, but found more adventure than she wanted when she stole a few small books from the safe of businessman and gangster Kien Phuc, because one of those books was actually his personal
diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
, with details of all his illegal activities going back years. Now wanted by the ruthless crime lord, she was fortunate enough to encounter Daniel Brennan, the vigilante called Yeoman who also wished to get his hands on Kien's diary. Since Wraith could only use her power for short periods, she was forced to rely on Brennan for protection, and after several close escapes from Kien and his thugs—including an encounter in which Wraith mutilated Kien's hand—she handed the book over to Brennan, only to discover that its pages were blank; the extravagant Kien had written his journal in gold ink, which was too dense for Wraith's power to affect. The paper had easily passed through the walls of the safe, but the gold had remained inside. Wraith would eventually leave New York to live with Brennan, returning only once, as Yeoman tried to solve the murder of
Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
; Wraith nearly lost her own life in the process, but was rescued again by Yeoman. The two moved away and have not been seen since.


Xavier Desmond

Xavier Desmond is a fictional character from the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. He was created by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
. Xavier Desmond was a 29-year-old investment banker with a wife and young daughter when the Wild Card virus first struck the world in 1946. He was one of the lucky few who survived, and developed a trunk-like prehensile nose, tipped with seven functioning fingers. He immediately experienced the prejudice of being a Joker, losing his family and his job, and along with other victims of the Wild Card moved into New York City's
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...
section, which would eventually be renamed '' Jokertown''. Desmond would go on to found the "Jokers' Anti-Defamation League", or JADL, the world's leading Jokers' rights organization. He became one of the Joker activists most widely known to the general public, earning him the nickname "the unofficial mayor of Jokertown". Some of the younger generation of angrier, more radical Jokers felt disdain for Desmond's work-within-the-system attitude and mocked his "mayoral" status, particularly the violent Joker terrorist Gimli, who compared the polite and soft-spoken Desmond to a Joker version of
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen by many readers as a ground-breaking humanistic portrayal of a slave, one who uses nonresistance and gives his life to protect ...
. Xavier Desmond was one of a number of high-profile Jokers, Aces and reporters asked by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
to go on a "World Tour" to examine the status of Jokers in various countries worldwide. In ''Wild Cards IV:
Aces Abroad ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philip ...
'', the recurring inter-story segments titled ''From The Journal of Xavier Desmond'' tell a great deal about Desmond's life and feelings, and also reveal that he is dying of cancer. The ''Journal'' segments also show some behind-the-scenes looks at the events on an airplane full of conflicting personalities and opinions. Xavier Desmond died July 16, 1987, at the Blythe Van Rensselaer Memorial Clinic (commonly known as the Jokertown Clinic). The last, proud words written in his journal were, ''"My name was Xavier Desmond, and I was a man"''.


Yeoman

Yeoman (real name Daniel Brennan) is a fictional character in the ''
Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' series of books. He was created by John J. Miller and first appeared in the short story ''Comes a Hunter'' in the first book of the series. A masked, bow and arrow wielding vigilante, Yeoman was a deadly menace to the criminal element of New York, especially the Immaculate Egrets and their parent organization the
Shadow Fists A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
, for several years. An early high point of the vigilante's career, Yeoman helped end the Swarm menace alongside
Dr. Tachyon This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, Fortunato, and the female
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
healer known as Mai. Daniel Brennan was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, where he was involved in numerous covert operations. He discovered that there was a high-ranking traitor within the ranks of the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
who was selling military secrets to the enemy. After tracing the information back to ARVN General Kien Phuc, Brennan made the mistake of trying to confront the General. Kien framed Brennan for the murder of his superior officer and destroyed the evidence Brennan had collected, leaving him no choice but to desert the army and flee the country. It is not clear what Brennan did during the following years, but he may have served as a mercenary for a time before meeting a '' roshi'' named Ishida who helped him learn to discipline his emotions. Brennan spent many years studying the martial arts and became exceptionally skilled in
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
. Although he became quite calm and precise in his actions, he never succeeded in finding inner peace. In the early 1980s Brennan received a letter from one of his former Vietnamese compatriots, telling him that Kien Phuc had been seen in America. Despite being a wanted man, Brennan journeyed to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to hunt down Kien and complete his final mission. When he arrived, he found that his friend had been killed by one of the gangs controlled by Kien, who now wore the guise of a legitimate business tycoon. Donning a mask and the name Yeoman, and taking up the
recurve bow In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main shapes a bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent straight-limbed bow, giving a ...
, Brennan began to systematically kill Kien's thugs and enforcers, each time leaving behind the same symbol he'd marked his kills with in Vietnam... the
Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
. In searching for information about Kien, he came in contact with a strange yet fascinating woman: the transparent but mysterious Joker known as
Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
. Chrysalis and Brennan would have a torrid on-again off-again affair for several years, before finally separating for good. Brennan would later become involved with a girl who was Chrysalis' polar opposite; optimistic instead of cynical, open instead of manipulative, and whereas Chrysalis ''looked'' like a ghost but was actually solid, Wraith looked normal but could turn insubstantial at will. Yeoman first met Wraith when he learned she had stolen Kien's personal
diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
, which could give Brennan damning evidence against Kien, perhaps enough to bring him down for good. But after Wraith and Yeoman fought a virtual war against Kien and his minions over possession of the diary, it all turned out to be for nothing; the diary had been written in gold ink, gold being the one thing that Wraith couldn't "ghost", and whatever writing had been in it had been left inside the wall of Kien's office. Brennan, on the verge of exploding at the news, abruptly realised that Kien wasn't to know that the pages had been blanked, and instead burst into a good, long belly laugh, the first he'd had in years. In time, Brennan lost much of his anger toward Kien and retired to the countryside with Wraith. He returned to New York once, when Chrysalis was
murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
. Daniel Brennan is a man of medium height, slim but well-muscled with dark brown hair and eyes and a nondescript face. He has had
cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...
to add
epicanthic fold An epicanthic fold or epicanthus is a skin fold of the upper eyelid that covers the inner corner (medial canthus) of the eye. However, variation occurs in the nature of this feature and the possession of "partial epicanthic folds" or "slight ...
s to his eyes in order to infiltrate Kien's mostly-Asian gangs. Between his military experience and his martial arts training, he is a skilled and deadly fighter with bare hands and an assortment of weapons. Though a crack shot, his preferred weapon is either the Japanese longbow or the
compound bow In modern archery, a compound bow is a bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs. In general, compound bows are widely used in target practice and hunting. The pulley/cam system grants the user a mechan ...
, which he used extensively during his time in New York. As Yeoman he wore plain clothes and a hood-like mask.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Cards characters Lists of literary characters