Is there any turning back now for Steve Rogers after Secret Empire #1?
The first chapter of Marvel’s big event picked up after the betrayal and attack of Steve Rogers in issue 0.
Cosmic Cube, Skrull, Life Model Decoy? Some fans are willing to accept anything that proves Steve Rogers really isn’t Hydra after all.
What do those fans think now after the horrific ending of Secret Empire #1?
A beloved supporting character appears to have been set up as the heart of Nick Spencer’s Captain America run from Standoff to Secret Empire. Hearts are broken now.
The big moment, what it means for the Marvel Universe’s heroes and what this death means for this fan?
Before we continue here’s a SPOILER ALERT!
If you have not read Secret Empire #1 yet stop reading now.
Seriously.
OK.
Here it comes:
RIP Rick Jones.
In the Standoff event Jones was the one responsible for leaking the secret of Pleasant Hill – Maria Hill’s covert prison constructed with Kobik, the Cosmic Cube.
In Secret Empire #1, Rick Jones sits in a prison in the new world order ruled by Hydra. Jones smuggled a flash drive to help the resistance win the war. Rogers comes to Jones asking him to renounce his act and declare his allegiance to Hydra. He won’t.
Rick Jones is executed by a firing squad after uttering two final words, “Avengers Assemble!”
Who is Rick Jones?
Sidekick. Team leader. Omnipotent super being. Hulk. Hacker. The teenager turned icon has played many roles in Marvel history with strong ties to many heroes. Now Jones is a victim, a legend, a symbol of the revolution.
You can see in Captain America’s eyes via Steve McNiven’s powerful art – the conflict as he lets Rick die.
We honor Rick Jones with a look back at his greatest moments:
Rick was created by the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Incredible Hulk #1. Bruce Banner ran into the gamma bomb area danger zone to save a teenager driving in the desert. The rest is comic book history. Banner became the Hulk. Rick became the only confidant of the Hulk’s real identity. Out of guilt, Rick stayed close to Banner and became a longtime sidekick. Rick assisted the early Avengers as leader of the Teen Brigade, teenage ham radios operators against Loki.
Bucky II:
After Captain America was revived from his ice hibernation he became friends with Rick. After saving the teen from the Hulk on a rampage, they grew closer and Steve asked Rick to become his sidekick, taking the code-name and costume: Bucky.
Mar-Vell Moment:
Rick was cosmically joined with Captain Marvel when he was drawn to the Kree hero’s Nega Bands. This Mar-Vell connection put Rick front and center in the classic Avengers epic, the Kree-Skrull War.
Rom and Rick’s cancer:
After Mar-Vell’s momentous death, Rick attempts to turn himself into the Hulk but instead gets cancer after gamma radiation poisoning in this blood. When the Dire Wraiths attack, Rom the Spaceknight saves Rick and they became allies. Rick became part of another epic story, Secret Wars. The Beyonder cured Rick of his cancer.
Hulk reunion:
Rick was later reunited with Banner and the Hulk – the two were separate beings. Rick even became a Hulk-like monster. The Hulk soon evolved into a grey version who dubbed himself Joe Fixit, a mob enforcer in Las Vegas. during this time, Rick wrote a tell-all appropriately named Sidekick. While on the book tour Rick falls for Marlo Chandler, the ex-girlfriend of Fixit.
Love and Death:
During the Infinity Gauntlet epic, Rick is among half the universe killed by Thanos but later revived. Marlo is murdered. Rick revives her with an invention made by Hulk villain the Leader. Rick and Marlo marry and start their own talk show, Keeping Up with the Joneses. More super villains attacked but love prevailed. Rick and Marlo, Bruce and Betty were Marvel’s fun super couples.
Mar-Vell again?
Rick cosmically bonded with Genis Mar-Vell, son of the original Captain, but the two shared a body with each other in our world and the Microverse.
Death of Captain America:
What makes this week’s moment so ironic and tragic is that Rick was one of Captain America’s pallbearers when the Avenger was believed killed in the aftermath of Civil War.
A-Bomb to bombshells:
During World War Hulk, a Red Hulk emerged and Rick was transformed into a being resembling the Abomination code-name A-Bomb. After losing his A-Bomb powers, Rick kept his Taskmaster-like ability to learn and adapt at super speed. Rick became a hacktivist known as the Whisperer and exposed Maria Hill’s secret prison.
How I will remember Rick? Rick and Marlo, Bruce and Betty – two best friends and the women they loved, lost, loved again during the epic Incredible Hulk run by Peter David. Who could forget Rick’s Bachelor party? Marvel’s biggest heroes are gathered to celebrate Rick’s “last night of freedom” as a bachelor before he marries Marlo in a hilarious issue in which wholesome Steve Rogers was blushing as the naughty film screened.
Rick was a great hero but he didn’t need a costume, code-name or cosmic connection. Nick Spencer and Steve McNiven’s storytelling in this first issue powerfully demonstrated why Rick was such a beloved sidekick and now symbol of bringing heroism back to a corrupted Cap and Marvel Universe.
By Editor