All of Rick Jones’ Marvel Alter Egos, Ranked

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Rick Jones is Marvel’s ultimate Everyman, and to some, he’s a complete unknown. He’s not usually the star of the show, preferring to support superpeople in their heroic endeavors ever since the fateful day he cost Bruce Banner his life.

Rick started his heroic career as a sidekick bound to the Hulk through feelings of guilt and obligation. He brought the Avengers together for the first time and has served various roles in the superhero community under many different names. he was recently one of the suspected hosts of the All-New Venom, though he revealed yet another new alter ego to add to his extensive wardrobe.

10

Rick Tried To Replace Bucky

Bucky Barnes wasn’t a superhero title, it was the given legal name of Captain America’s sidekick and friend. After Barnes died, Ricky Jones stepped up to fill in as Cap’s sidekick, but he didn’t just start helping. Ricky adopted Bucky’s costume and, most confusingly, his name.

It started in Avengers #4 when Cap ran into Rick and confused him for Bucky. The interaction is fraught with subtext that grows more emotionally charged with Bucky’s ongoing legacy. Rick’s enthusiastic choice to go along with a trauma response did get Cap out of a few jams, but he ultimately gave up the mantle because it wasn’t safe for a teenager, and it was really bumming Cap out.

9

Rick Became The Hulk

Rick Jones was just there when the gamma bomb detonated to create the Incredible Hulk. It was partially his fault. Rick’s friends dare him to go out onto the test site, and nobody ever accuses him of being a coward and gets away with it. In issues like The Incredible Hulk #326, he gets to see what could have been when he becomes the Hulk.

Don Glut and Sal Buscema’s What If? #12 showed an alternate world where Rick pushed Banner into the safety ditch instead, thus turning Jones into the Hulk instead of Bruce and leading to a world where Rick is a respected Avenger and Hulk is his own man with adoring fans. In Simon Furman and Dave Simons’ What If? #52, they undo that happy ending and Rick remains the Hulk. As Hulk’s main sidekick, Rick turns big and green on several occasions, but his time as the Hulk never lasts long before Bruce finds a way to regain his curse.

8

Conduit For The Destiny Force

The Destiny Force isn’t necessarily an identity, but it completely overwhelms most users. Rick Jones had his inherent connection to the vastly powerful cosmic energy source on numerous occasions, turning him from a host and sidekick to a deity beyond mortal comprehension. He’s sometimes portrayed as arrogant, but there might be a good reason for that.

As the conduit for such powerful energy, Rick becomes a full-blown in-fiction plot device capable of doing whatever is needed to bring a story to a happy conclusion. He was able to defeat whole armies and spontaneously create or summon sentient beings, and losing the Destiny Force made him smart enough to earn his later tech whiz alter ego.

7

Ultimate Rick Jones Is Nova

The Ultimate Universe is still growing and changing, but the original was Earth-1610, where things were very different. The original Ultimate Rick Jones eventually took up the mantle of Captain Marvel, but he started as a Herald of the Watchers and his world’s Nova after being imbued with the power cosmic.

Ultimate Rick was as reckless and teenaged as the Rick Jones of Earth-616 when he started his career. He left Earth for months at a time, returning mostly for junk food to find himself wrapped up in cosmic plots. He chose the name Nova for himself, and his luminous form and cosmic powers fit the bill until he dons special armor and becomes an Ultimate version of Captain Marvel without the symbiotic relationship.

6

Shadow Base Resurrected Abomination

After Rick’s death at the hands of Hydra, he was reanimated by the shady scientists of Shadow Base. They used Rick’s body as a template, or “scaffolding,” in the pages of Immortal Hulk #18, sending the monstrous husk after the Devil Hulk as he smashed his way through corporate greed. Sets of gnarled fingers ran along the sides of the new Abomination’s dual faces, hiding Rick’s identity for a poignant reveal.

Rick was likely a fit for the program because his own gamma mutate form resembled Abomination, but blending Hulk’s favorite and least favorite humans into a single monster was a poignant and horrifying message, which the Hulk did not take lightly. He freed Rick, but the new Abomination led to another new alter ego. Gamma mutates never stay dead, and it was only a matter of time before Rick reanimated, but his new ability to bond with other gamma mutates made him a grotesque new threat to every other Hulk.

5

The Sleeper Agent Is A Symbiote

The Sleeper Symbiote is incredibly crafty. It has the innate ability to turn invisible and gave a piece of itself to the Life Foundation to create the Symbiote-powered Sleeper Agent as part of a plan to protect Dylan Brock. Symbiotes care deeply for their hosts, and Rick Jones appears to be the latest step in Sleeper’s plan to defend its family.

Rick was one of the four suspects suspected of being the All-New Venom in Al Ewing’s series of the same name. Suspicions are allayed in issue four, however, when Rick reveals his new alter ego as the Sleeper Agent, complete with symbiotic fluid tanks and gadgetry. The symbiote can replicate chemical compounds at will along with all the other fantastical powers of a symbiote, giving Rick a suite of new abilities he’s shockingly never had before as a sidekick to the stars.

4

Subject B Was Horrifying

The after-effects of Shadow Base’s mettling turned Rick Jones into a horrifying mass of glowing, translucent limbs in Immortal Hulk. Subject B was like an eldritch nightmare, contorting the human form into something horrifying and totally alien. It spoke with Rick’s voice and his casual demeanor, but there was nothing behind its hollow eyes.

Eventually, the Hulk knocked some sense into Rick, freeing him from his monstrous state but leaving him with eerie gamma powers. He later combined with the irradiated Del Frye and suffered from some existential issues after their separation that led him back to the mantle of Captain Marvel, restarting his cycle.

3

From Teen Brigade To Whisperer

Ricky started as the Hulk’s sidekick, but in The Incredible Hulk #6, that role became far more important. Ricky started by forming his Teen Brigade around their shared Ham radio, but in The Avengers #4, the team assembled thanks to Rick’s broadcast. His role as the leader of the teen brigade started his whole career as a sidekick to the stars, but it also led him to another career of his own.

Rick has always been a bit of a whiz kid, so it should come as no surprise that he dabbled in hacking. As the Whisperer, he hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. databases and inadvertently led to Hydra’s takeover at the cost of his own life. He returned with another identity and a new set of abilities, but he helped two Captain Americas in his time as the Whisperer, despite how quickly it may be forgotten.

2

Rick Hosted Captain Marvel

The title of Captain Marvel is one of the most shared superhero monikers in comics, passing between multiple users across multiple publishers. Billy Batson took the name way back in the 40s, but Marvel’s first attempt had the added advantage of representing the publisher’s name and being named Mar-Vell. Unfortunately for him, his story didn’t last long, and he was eventually banished to the Negative Zone, and that’s where Rick comes in.

Rick Jones is truly down for whatever, establishing a psychic link to the extradimensional Mar-Vell and providing him a conduit on Earth. The transformation only lasted a few hours, and their partnership wasn’t easy. Mar-Vell’s missions led Rick into some dangerous places, and eventually Captain Marvel developed cancer. Rick later bonded with his son, Genius Vell, similarly, becoming Captain Marvel once more.

1

A-Bomb Was Incredibly Cool

One of Rick’s most memorable transformations came in Hulk #2 when he was revealed as A-Bomb. The reveal came after Ricky fell from a plane to his death, shocking fans with a fun twist for the boy who started in Hulk’s shadow. He bore a striking resemblance to the Abomination and was dubbed A-Bomb by himself.

A-Bomb had gamma-mutate strength, but he could also turn invisible and roll himself into a heavily armored ball. He was a great Hulk and more in control than most of his contemporaries, but Doc Green decided he should be the only Hulk and forcibly cured Rick. A-Bomb didn’t have a long run, but he was one of Rick’s most memorable and original-feeling alter egos to date.

“}]] Rick Jones’s latest heroic reveal in All-New Venom adds another costumed alter ego to his roster, joining other roles like Bucky and Captain Marvel.  Read More