Joseph Wilson (New Earth)

I want you to understand. Everything I went through, everything I've accomplished. Everything I've suffered. It's all here. Inside me, and now... it's in you.

— Jericho ^src

History

Origin

Jericho was the son of Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator. When he was a child, he was held hostage by The Jackal, a terrorist who was after his father. Deathstroke refused to give Jackal the information he wanted because it went against his professional code of ethics. Deathstroke managed to rescue his son, but not before one of Jackal's men had started to cut his throat. As a result, he was rendered mute.

As a result of that incident, and the fact that Slade had lied to her, his mother divorced his father, and took her two sons (Joseph and his older brother Grant) with her.

His metahuman power, a result of the biological experimentation done on his father years before, appeared in his late teens, while trying to save his mother, Adeline, from an assassin. He had the power to take possession of any humanoid being he can make eye contact with. Once inside, Jericho takes possession of his target's voluntary motor functions for his own use, attaining full physical control if the body is unconscious. In addition, if the host is unconscious while Jericho is in control, he can speak through the host's body, but only with that person's accent and vocabulary and easily control the body physically. Jericho's body changes into an astral form seconds before possession.

Judas Contract

Sometime later (during The Judas Contract), Adeline and Joseph discovered that Deathstroke had accepted a contract on the Teen Titans. They approached Nightwing to help him rescue the Titans. It was then than Joseph adopted the identity of Jericho. The rescue mission was a success but it took a while for the Titans to trust him (they had been already betrayed by Terra, and Jericho was Deathstroke's son). Finally they offered him membership and Jericho was a loyal Titan for many years.

Unfortunately, some months later, Jericho was possessed by the souls of Azarath, now tainted by the essence of the demon Trigon, Raven's father. Unable to possess Raven herself, the souls entered Jericho. They were weak at first, but gained strength with time and eventually merged with him.

The souls now needed individual vessels to survive and Jericho sought to acquire superhuman ones for them, taking over the Wildebeest Society and using them to abduct current and former Titans to act as vessels. Jericho also got new powers: a powerful lion soul-self and a healing ability that repaired his throat and allowed him to speak again.

Nightwing and Troia, accompanied by some new allies, found and confronted him. During the battle, the real Jericho resurfaced and begged his father to kill him. There was no help for him and, to spare his son any more suffering, Deathstroke killed him.^[1]

Return

Several years later, it was revealed that Jericho's spirit had survived by jumping inside his father right before he was killed. He had lain dormant until hearing that his friend Donna Troy had been killed in battle. Taking control of his father's body, he sought out the latest group of Titans; hoping to convince them that children shouldn't be superheroes, as they could easily be killed like he was, and wanting to spare them his fate. He also killed his father's closest friend, Wintergreen, and mounted the man's head on a wall.

Further demonstrating his mental instability, while in Deathstroke's body he viciously attacked his former friends, and even shot Impulse in the knee.

During the combat, he jumped from body to body until Raven absorbed him. During a battle with Brother Blood, she repelled him when she unintentionally absorbed her teammates, Deathstroke and Rose into her soul-self. Jericho managed to use the bodies of Wonder Girl and Superboy against the team, but when he tried to enter Cyborg, Cyborg used his cybernetic eye to transfer Jericho's spirit to a computer file, now stored in Titans Tower. Beast Boy says that they check on Jericho every day.

One Year Later

After the "One Year Later" jump following the events of Infinite Crisis, Raven takes the disk with Jericho's essence and, using the same ritual the Church of Brother Blood previously employed to raise her from the dead, resurrects Jericho in an undamaged body now missing the throat scars from his childhood injury. However, for reasons never explained, despite the fact he no longer has the physical damage of his old body, Joey remains unable to speak, and continues to use sign language to communicate. Jericho joins this latest incarnation of the team, taking the opportunity to bond with his half-sister Rose, who is the new Ravager. After possessing the body of Superboy dangerous clone Match, Jericho moves to S.T.A.R. Labs until they can find a way to control Match.

Later Jericho, still trapped in Match's body, seemingly escapes from S.T.A.R. Labs in visible distress and asking for his friends' help. The Titans manage to help him escape Match's body, but it soon becomes apparent how much the experience twisted Jericho's mind, leaving him bent on the Titans' destruction.

Jericho briefly escapes the Titans to plague the Presidential Election of 2008 of the main DC Universe, going so far as to use Green Lantern's body to fight the Justice League upon being discovered. The will-based powers of Hal prove to be his undoing, as Hal is able to push Jericho out of his body. Jericho is brought to the JLA Satellite for safe-keeping. Mento mindprobes Jericho, discovering that he is suffering from a particular and severe form of dissociative identity disorder, caused by years of reckless body-hopping. Unable to purge his mind of the lingering echoes of the personality he had to submerge when taking possession of an individual, he has his mind overruled by the most evil and strong willed patterns, causing him to take on a criminal, ruthless personality opposed to his former gentle self. The JLA decides to send him back to S.T.A.R. Labs, hoping for a cure.

Jericho manages to escape the JLA, and returns to the Titans, inhabiting Nightwing's body. The JLA arrives to reclaim him, and he starts jumping into the bodies of whoever tries to capture him. This backfires when Jericho jumps into Superman's body. Although stronger than he once was, Jericho found himself unable to control Superman's alien body. Jericho briefly manages to gain control of himself over the evil impulses, and seemingly vanishes into nothingness.

He later returns, having entered Cyborg's body. He uses Titans Tower's defenses to try to kill the Teen Titans, but their new member Static uses his electrical powers to short out the Tower's systems, creating feedback that knocks Jericho out of Cyborg. Jericho escapes once more and, spurred on by the multiple personalities inside him (particularly that of his father), sets into motion a "Deathtrap" scenario. Jericho unsuccessfully attempts to murder both the Teen Titans and the twentysomething Titans (his former teammates), who apprehend him. While in police custody, he is confronted by Joe Flynn, the new Vigilante. Determined to end the villain's rampage permanently (but having promised Rose Wilson that he would not kill him), Flynn gouges out both of his eyes, rendering him unable to use his possession abilities.

Blackest Night

Main article: Blackest Night

Jericho took possession of Grant's body, now a member of the undead Black Lantern Corps, and saved Rose from the attack of other Black Lanterns (Adeline, Wintergreen, and Wade DeFarge). Jericho revealed to Rose that his eyes grew back after Vigilante's attack, and that he used his power to enter Grant's body when he attempted to kill him. Jericho then entered his mother body, tricking the Black Lanterns into destroying each other. In the aftermath, Jericho reconciled with his father, reasoning that Deathstroke would be the only one who could kill him if he were ever to succumb to the murderous personalities inside his mind.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Possession: When eye contact is made, Jericho is able to enter another's body and control their motor functions (except their speech). If the person is unconscious when Jericho enters, he can also speak through them, but retains any speech patterns the person may have (such as an impediment, lisp or accent).

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Jericho prefers solving things through nonviolent means, but he is an above average fighter, having been trained by his mother, Adeline Kane.
Sign Language: Jericho communicates with sign language when not possessing someone or when his victim is conscious.
Artistry: talented painter.

Weaknesses

Mute: He was mute due to a stabbing as a child. When he was brought back by Raven, he did not have the scar, but still does not talk.

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Trivia

Jericho has been romantically linked to Raven and Kole.

External Links

Footnotes

↑ New Titans: Titans Hunt

Titans Villain(s)

This character has been primarily an enemy of the Teen Titans, the Titans, or any of the other various Titans incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans Villains" category.

Teen Titans member

This character is or was primarily a member of the younger superhero team known as the Teen Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Teen Titans members" category.

[1] New Titans: Titans Hunt

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