A powerful Avenger; these words all perfectly describe Jonathan “Jack” Hart aka Jack of Hearts. Jack of Hearts is a living timebomb with the power to project energy blasts powerful enough to take down the Hulk. Jack is filled with the power of a nuclear explosion, and while he tried to use his power for good by fighting alongside the Avengers, it eventually became too much for him to bear. While he seemingly met his end after recovering an out of control She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts is making his way back to Marvel Comics continuity to fight alongside She-Hulk once again. Before a new path is carved out for Jack of Hearts, it is important to know the history of this tragic Avenger.
Jack of Hearts made his Marvel Comics debut in 1976 in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #22 by Chris Claremont and Rudy Nebres in which Jack of Hearts battles it out with the White Tiger. While he made his debut as a villain of sorts, Jack of Hearts quickly became a main member of the Avengers. His body generates and stores Zero Energy, which he releases as powerful blasts. He also has the ability to fly, as well as superhuman strength and durability. Once Jack of Hearts became a more established character, his origin was explored and his powers were explained along with the tragic price he has to pay to wield them.
Jack Hart took on the name Jack of Hearts in honor of his father Phillip, who loved playing cards. He is the son of a scientist father and an extraterrestrial mother from the planet Contraxia. As Jack got older, his father realized that his mixed heritage was responsible for granting him super powers, though those powers would become deadly to himself and everyone around him if they were not put in check. Jack was becoming a nuclear reactor, so to mitigate his symptoms Phillip developed a radioactive inhibitor called Zero Fluid. Phillip was killed just as he introduced Jack of Hearts to the Zero Fluid, which was a tragedy for Jack for more than one reason. Jack’s father could no longer continue his research on helping Jack control and treat his deadly powers, and his death also sent Jack reeling with the sorrow of losing a loved one.
As Jack of Hearts overcame losing his father as well as controlling his powers as best he could, he became a member of the Avengers, one of the only in the team’s history to be able to take down the Hulk. In Avengers Vol. 3 #75, the Avengers are tracking She-Hulk after she loses control of her powers and goes on a rampage. The Avengers, along with an uninvited Hulk, find her but can not take her and the Hulk down together. Before the Hulks’ rampages grows deadly, Jack of Hearts arrives and unleashes a monstrous blast, incapacitating both the Hulk and She-Hulk in an instant.
After She-Hulk wi recovered and treated, Jack of Hearts starts on a downward spiral that quickly leads to his end. Soon after the She-Hulk mission, Jack rescues Ant-Man’s daughter from a child murderer. Instead of bringing the man to justice, Jack of Hearts flies him up into space and detonates, unleashing all of the energy he has been able to store safely inside of himself for years, killing the child murderer along with himself. While Jack of Hearts did make a brief return to Marvel Comics after his death through Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., he will reportedly become a main player in the wider universe as he once was with his official return in the Reckoning War as well as an ongoing role in She-Hulk. With the Avenger’s return, fans will once again be able to explore the layered and heroically tragic character of the Hulk-beating hero Jack of Hearts.
