They may be seen by many as the 'teen version' of the Cyborg.
With the ability to take over motor function control from any person he makes eye with, Jericho has been vital in rescuing fellow heroes and escaping his own near-death situations. What many casual DC fans might not know is that the character is both mute and openly bisexual. And he also has an origin story only possible for the son of a killer like Slade Wilson...
Jericho's Comic Book Origin Story
After being held hostage by his father's enemy, Jackal, as a young child, Joseph Wilson (Jericho's real name) had his throat slit and, though he survived, came out of the attack mute, communicating through American Sign Language from then on out. Soon he discovered that he had the metahuman ability to essentially possess humanoids through eye , rendering him able to take over their motor control. Joseph's powers frightened him as a child, and he did not use them until he had to in order to save his mother as a teenager.
In the New Teen Titans series Jericho would actually the team after helping rescue the Teen Titans from one of his father's attacks. He's portrayed as sensitive in his first appearances, and is the first of the to fully understand Rachel a.k.a. Raven's dark side (able to possess her and see her demonic past). This interaction, however, led the souls of Azarath to possess Jericho, and use him as a vessel to get to Raven and wreak havoc on the world. In a battle during New Teen Titans: Titans Hunt, the real Jericho was able to regain control of his body for one moment, using it to beg Deathstroke to kill him in order to free him. Shocking the readers, his father complied.
Jericho's Powers & Story Continue to Unfold
This would not be the true end of Jericho, as death is never permanent for a superhero. Years later, it turned out that Jericho's soul had survived by merging into his father's body as his own was killed. He was awoken from dormancy after learning of Donna Troy's death, and proceeded to use his father's body to confront his old team. This combo of his father's body and his soul, however, led to an unstable character who was occasionally violent without cause. Cyborg was forced to trap Jericho in a computer file that was then stored at the Titans Tower.
After Infinite Crisis, Raven was able to resurrect Jericho into his own body, minus his childhood throat injury. Yet again, after getting trapped in villainous Match's mind, Jericho was corrupted. Eventually the truth is uncovered, as the heroes realize Jericho suffered from dissociative identity disorder after body hopping recklessly for so long (he was finally stopped when Vigilante gouged his eyes out, removing his access to his powers). Thus, the true Jericho returned. Come Blackest Night, however, Jericho is once again using his powers and is seen reconciling with Deathstroke. In Brightest Day, Jericho's whole body is restored by the Methuselah Device after he was dying of leprosy. At the end of this story arc, Jericho and Arsenal vowed to create a new team of Titans.
Jericho in The Modern DC Universe
When the mysterious DC supervillain Ra's al Ghul.
With the arrival of the DC Rebirth, editorial decided maybe erasing Jericho's muteness and his backstory was not the best idea, so they restored both of those plot features to his new origin. Jericho shows a bit more edge in this rebooted universe, and not quite as sensitive. It's also this Rebirth that established Jericho's bisexuality explicitly. At one point he is engaged to his female interpreter, Etienne, but is confronted by his ex-boyfriend, David Isherwood, who disapproves and works to prevent the marriage. In this updated story, the Catholic Isherwood is given credit for dubbing Joseph "Jericho," based on the Bible story focused on the city of the same name. Similar to the New 52, Jericho is very attached to his sister Rose, but currently enjoys stronger powers via tech supplied by Lex Luthor.
Titans' Version of DC's Jericho
Jericho has also appeared in media outside of the comics, starting with the Teen Titans animated series that ran from 2003-2006. That incarnation of Deathstroke's son had all his original characteristics, including his powers and his muteness. Although the show never actually addresses his relation to Deathstroke. Technically, Joseph Wilson also appears in The CW's Titans on the DC Universe streaming service.
Jericho's complex history of coping with his father's mistakes and working toward true heroism is a journey filled with successes, failures, and sacrifice, but it is clear that Jericho is a character unlike Deathstroke. He is constantly showing the audience new sides to his story, and the complex trials that come with being a Teen Titan. Not to mention having an origin is rooted in the the very evil he wishes to defeat.
