Charles "Chuck" Lane also known as The Jester 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, ...

, a

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 ...

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, ...

created by Paul Gustavson and published by Quality Comics. He first appeared in '' Smash Comics'' #22 (May 1941). Like most of Quality's characters, the Jester was later purchased by

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and incorporated into their

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. Though little used by the company, he appeared in '' All-Star Squadron'' #31 and #60 and ''

Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...

'' #46. The character's last Golden Age appearance was in ''Smash Comics'' #85 (Oct 1949).

Fictional character biography

Rookie cop Chuck Lane learns that he is a direct descendant of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

court jester. Because of this, and the fact that he feels he is not doing enough good as a cop alone, he becomes a colorfully costumed adventurer known as the "Jester". The Jester is a comical crime fighter who makes laughing-stocks out of the criminals he fights. He is known to be an unpredictable hero whose eerie laugh and jingling bells are an ominous sign to his enemies. His costume is worn under his police uniform. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "most of the Jester's enemies are ordinary humans, but there is the occasional name villain like the stoic gangster Stoneface and the femme fatale Lady Satan". The Jester becomes a member of both the All-Star Squadron and Uncle Sam's Freedom Fighters. His last recorded mission is in 1952, and sometime after that he gives up being the Jester to become a normal cop again. In modern times, an aged Jester is the head of a group of patriotic radicals known as The Arcadians, seeking to "cleanse" America of its "corrupt" governments. To this end, he has his underlings (among whom is his grandson, Charles, who has taken on his costumed identity) kidnap the Vice President and his wife, with the ransom being the recovering of mystical artifacts by the Freedom Fighters. When government agents track the group's communications to Lane's home, he sets off powerful explosives, killing the agents and himself along with them.''Freedom Fighters'' (vol. 2) #4

Powers and abilities

The Jester has no superpowers, but is an Olympic-level athlete and a brilliant hand-to-hand combatant and in some later adventures is aided by a small flying sphere with a smiling face and handles on the side called "Quinopolis". He is also a skilled detective, trained in various techniques of police procedure.

In other media

Jester appears in the 2010 film '' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'', voiced by James Patrick Stuart. This version is a heroic version of the Joker from a parallel earth and a member of that version's Justice League. He sacrificed himself allowing his partner, that Earth's Lex Luthor to cross into another dimension to get help.

References

External links

Jester
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 8, 2016.
Earth-2 Jester Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jester, Quality Comics Comics characters introduced in 1941 DC Comics superheroes Golden Age superheroes Fictional jesters Quality Comics superheroes