Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Well, maybe not all at the same time, at first. Wait, who can that be then? Jesse Chambers! Daughter and historian of heroes who would go on to become one herself. So what’s with the differing power sets? Let’s find out!
Jesse Belle Chambers is the daughter of Golden-Age heroes, Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick. While her father had high hopes his daughter would follow in her parents footsteps, Jesse found the history of superheroes far more fascinating. She’d become a historian of people like her parents and spend a lot of time researching them.
When she was delivering some paperwork to the Justice Society of America, her parents’ old team, she would end up having to get involved using her father’s fourth dimensional formula, 3×2(9yz)4A, to draw on the Speed Force to gain super speed as Jesse Quick. She’d work with both the JSA and the other speedsters of the DC Universe often. She was announced to be the next in line for Wally West, The Flash, role. This turned out to be a way to manipulate Bart Allen, Impulse, into getting his act together so he’d be next in line. This would cause animosity between Jesse and Wally for a long time.
Losing her power from the Speed Force, Jesse suspected Wally had done something with his latest harnessing of the dimension but it turned out to be a cult leader named Savitar. Jesse would join Wally on getting back the Speed Force to all speedsters but her father would die in the process. This would leave Jesse in charge of her father’s company, Quickstart Enterprises. Even though she was leading a whole company she would join the Titans as Jesse Quick as well.
While helping Nightwing with a murder mystery it would come out that Jesse had been having an affair with her mother’s fiancé, who had been the victim of the case. This would put a strain on her relationship with her mother for some time. The Titans would disband soon after the murder case and Jesse would spend most of her time as CEO of Quickstart Enterprises.
When the villain Zoom arrives, Jesse would sacrifice her own speed to give it to Wally to defeat him. This caused her to forget the fourth dimensional formula that granted her powers and she turned down Wally from giving it back to her, deciding she wanted to take life a little slower for a while. She w0uld become the business manager of the JSA and reconcile with her mother after an adventure to help her regain control of her own powers which had gotten out of hand.
After the year with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, life would show that Jesse had married Rick Tyler, the second Hourman and taken on her mother’s codename and powers as Liberty Belle. Now she would gain super strenth and toughness by hearing the ring of the Liberty Bell, which she kept a small fragment of to ring to gain access to her powers anywhere.
During the return of Barry Allen, Jesse’s father returns from the Speed Force for a short time and Jesse enters a state, upon seeing him again, where she repeats the fourth dimensional equation over and over for some time. When she finally snaps out of this, she claims to have solved the equation and uses this to revive Wally’s daughter Iris after she nearly kills herself using so much of the Speed Force.
The Blackest Night brought her father back to her again, this time as a Black Lantern. Though he is back, he shows no malicious intent and the two run across the globe together, as father and daughter, this is the last time Jesse will ever see her father.
The JSA would split into two teams and Jesse would remain on the original while Rick joined the All-Star division. While many worried about their relationship they stated it they were simply a couple with different workplaces now and how that is perfectly normal. Jesse would be asked to join the Justice League of America and she would gladly accept. Though her time on the team was short as she realized her powers were slowing down and while being checked by a doctor, learned she was pregnant. When the JLA disbanded she would join Rick back with the JSA.
There you have it folks! I think Jesse Chambers is a character perfect for TV. She has such an interesting history and she’s always busy with a dozen plates to spin. Historian, superhero, CEO, and business manager. She does it all. I’d love to see her doing all that in an episodic style. Maybe some day. See you next time! 3×2(9yz)4A!
Suggested Reading
Justice Society of America Vol. 2 #1
Justice Society of America Vol. 3
JSA
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
