There are parts of some hero’s existence that must come to pass, Batman must lose his parents in that alleyway. Krypton must perish. A spider must bite someone. Jericho must die. That last one isn’t as familiar as the others but it’s a story that has been told again and again in the lore of the Teen Titans. So who is Jericho and why must he die? Let’s find out!
Joseph William Wilson was the youngest son of Adeline Kane and Slade Wilson. He was a happy child and skilled at whatever he took to. His father’s work would come home with him though, this would nearly get Joseph killed. He was kidnapped by people displeased with his father, it would take the combined efforts of both his parents to rescue him. He would still get his throat slit so badly that while he was able to survive, he would lose the ability to speak.
This danger that his father’s job brought upon the family caused his parents to divorce and his mother to take Joseph and his older brother Grant as far from their father as possible. Besides that big change up in his life, Joseph would learn that he had gained metahuman powers from his father having been experimented on before Joseph was even born. When one of his friends was in danger of being badly hurt, Joseph learned he could possess others, and saved his friend. This was a traumatic experience and so it would be years before he could even attempt it.
He would train to follow in his mother’s footsteps in the armed forces, even getting to join her on missions. It was here that he once again used his powers, this time to save his mom, he would then develop how to use these powers to help others. Soon, he was able to use powers and his fitness training to be a hero. Hearing that his father was now set on taking down the Teen Titans, he and his mother agreed, Joseph could help the team out against his father and any other threats.
While the Teen Titans were hesitant at first to accept new members due to the betrayal of Terra, the mole Joseph’s father had sent in, his earnestness won them over. Fitting in well, Joseph would become a core member of the team for quite some time. He would even get rather close with teammate Raven for a time. Unfortunately, the corrupted souls of Azaroth, the home dimension of Raven and her father, would come to possess Joseph. Over time, he would be corrupted as well and with his powers, he could possess more people and became a threat not only to the team, but the world at large. In a moment of lucidity, he would beg his father to kill him, to stop the Azaroth spirits from continuing to use him. His father granted this wish reluctantly.
While his body was destroyed, Joseph had used his powers one more time to possess his father, residing in his mind in a dormant state. He would eventually return but his mind was not well and used his father to attack the Titans. They would be able to contain him inside of a computer program thanks to his attempt at trying to possess Cyborg. Raven would be able to get him a new body and he was able to join the team once again. That is, until he was needed to possess Superboy’s “elder brother” Match, to help contain him. Forced to stay in Match’s body until they could contain him, it was discovered that Joseph spending too much time in a single body was terrible for his mental health and would deal with dissociative identity disorder.
This would lead to a sad pattern where Joseph would often lose himself to the many voices of those he had once possessed and end up going up against the people he called friends. He would take over people until he would attempt a possession that couldn’t work, say, Superman then fade away for time before returning once more. This continued until he had his eyes gouged out, eye contact was how he possessed people so he no longer had his powers.
So, thing about Joseph’s dad’s powers, he can regenerate. Turns out, Joseph was able to regenerate his eyes by the time the Blackest Night came. He would be forced to fight his mother and brother, who had both been brought back from the dead as Black Lanterns. He would possess them each to set them to attack one another. During the Brightest Day, he would discover he was dying and so his father united with the Teen Titans to cure him. Joseph would learn the machine used another metahuman to fuel it. Disgusted, Joseph was ready to destroy the machine, his dad, and himself but his friend, Arsenal, Roy Harper, would talk sense into him and say they could unite to create a new Titans team.
In the New 52, Joseph William Wilson would be experimented on by his grandfather granting him psychic powers, with a specialty in possession. He would join his sister, Ravager (Rose Wilson) on the Teen Titans. To save Rose’s life after an accidental psychic blast of his, he would join Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins. This would lead to him fighting with his own family until it was revealed Rose was never damaged to a point that she needed Ra’s al Ghul’s medical help, Joseph would join the battle against the League of Assassins.
In the Rebirth, Joseph William Wilson has a similar life to his original telling but when his parents divorce, which was also already on the verge before Joseph was put in danger from his dad’s work. Instead of he and his mother continuing with combat training, they become successful in the tech world. He’s still been a hero but his path gets more and more complicated thanks to his father once again.
There you have it! Jericho tends to have a habit of dying at least once in his story. He’s often one of the Teen Titans first and greatest casualties. Many times he’s just as much a teammate as he is a memorial statue to not be forgotten. He’s appeared on the small screen both animated and live-action but not the big screen yet. Maybe that will change in the future. Jericho was originally going to be gay but his creators thought his tenderness, artistic ability, and kindness would be stereotypical, so when Rebirth came around, they made him bisexual. See you next time!
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Dr. Bustos
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