Friday, May 1, 2009

Jakeem Thunder

Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Johnny Williams), also known as J.J. Thunder is a DC Comics character that has no powers but controls a magical genie named Johnny Thunderbolt. The genie is quite powerful and can, in theory, fulfill his every wish. When inactive the genie resides in an ink pen but can be easily summoned by his master by saying the magic word So Cûl (pronounced "So Cool"). He is a relatively new character so to speak, whose first appearance was in Flash (vol. 2) #134 in 1998.
Jakeem is a young teenager whose history in the DC Universe is and continues to be about him learning self control and conquering his personal issues. His mother died while he was very young and she left his father before he was born.He was a latch key kid who came upon the magic pen (given to him by the original Flash) quite by mistake. Prior to this the genie was under the control of the original Johnny Thunder who has a long Superhero history himself. One of the challenges when controlling the genie is that commands must be phrased properly in order to achieve the desired results. Jakeem is often impetuous so many of his commands have unexpected results. He has also been known to wish for things without thinking.
The genie's power is considerable and Jakeem has lost control of him more to villians recognizing and capitilizing on the opportunity.
Despite the power at his command, Jakeem Thunder is a B-level Superhero in terms of popularity. He is currently an active member of the JSA where he is learning to become a better hero. The character is in need of a good writer to showcase his real potential. Time will tell.

2 comments:

Samax said...

like you said, this is a character that has mad potential. i would love to see him handled by a hip writer/artist team that could capture the essence of what a kid like that would do with such massive power.

Justice F. Lohr said...

I'm a black author myself and i'd love to embrace this character and create a realistic world for him and the characters around him. I'm currently in the process of creating a few none typical black superheroes and anti-heroes.
I'm under Justice.Lohr on facebook. Look me up if interested.