Keeper of Infinite Earths - Hero Club
Created by Bob Justice
Jackdaw
Alter Ego: Jonathan Blaine
Occupation: Private Investigator
Known Relatives: Marcus Blaine, brother-deceased
Group Affiliation: Hero Club
Base of Operations: London
Background/History:
Jonny and Mark were orphaned due to a train accident that killed their parents.
Marcus, the eldest, was never adopted, fell in with a bad crowd, and took up a
life on the streets. Jonny was taken in as a foster child and grew up in a
happy, middle class home. Jon was fascinated by criminal fiction and decided to
pursue a career in law enforcement. His brother who had always kept in loose
touch with him was amused by the irony as he had never let on to what his true
line of work was. Jon went through school and college with his plan to join
Scotland Yard, but his application was rejected despite excellent test scores. A
friend who had been accepted discovered the reason and filled him in on his
brother’s criminal record. Angry and disappointed, he decided to become a PI
with visions of being a modern Sherlock Holmes. Jon was quite good and did well
for himself. Sadly, there came a call from the Yard to identify a body reported
to be his brother found dead without a mark on him. Truthfully, they were happy
enough to be rid of him and there was no evidence of foul play. Jon wanted to
know what happened and began digging. His brother had progressed from a thug to
a very proficient thief for hire. The only clue in his flat was notes concerning
an ancient weapons collector named Lord Bentley Brighton detailing his home. Jon
discovered that Brighton had used some not quite legal suppliers to fill his
collection. Jon went to him and, indeed, the night before Marcus’ demise had
seen an unreported theft from that collection. Brighton had stiffed Marcus on a
payment and he had apparently decided to even the score. Brighton knew he would
look like a suspect if he came forward. He told Jon that he suspected the thief
was Marcus, but he had no proof and certainly had no reason to kill him. The
piece in question had only sentimental value, a cloak of black feathers that was
reputed to be both ancient and magical. Brighton had acquired it in his youth,
but he claimed there was no way to verify any value to it. Brighton offered him
a reward for the return of the cloak whether it was involved with Marcus or not.
Jon’s instincts were screaming that Brighton was lying, but he said nothing
and left. Jon went back to his brother’s flat and turned the place inside out.
When he was ready to give up, he noticed a small feather apparently caught when
the closet door was closed. When he pulled it out, he started seeing nightmarish
visions and the voice of his brother echoed in his head. The feather seemed to
be pulling him toward something, so he followed it’s guiding to a train
station locker. He picked the lock easily and removed the single garment bag
that hung inside. Once back at his office, he opened it, found the cloak, and
put it on against his will. His mind was in a realm of shadows and voices.
Instinctively, he cried out to his brother and Marcus answered. He explained
that the Cloak of the Jackdaw, a type of crow, granted it’s wearer heightened
abilities and had been designed to aid a thief in the past. A curse placed upon
it caused the soul of the wearer who died committing a crime to be trapped
inside, condemning it to aid the next wearer. With each soul, the cloak granted
greater strength and abilities. Brighton had worn it and lived in fear of it’s
curse. Marcus didn’t believe it, but knew Brighton would give anything to have
it back. Where things went awry was that Brighton caught Marcus in the act and
used a heavy duty Tazer to try and subdue him, the cloak protected him, but the
shock damaged his pacemaker. He hid the cloak in the locker as his heartbeat
grew more irregular. Before he could get to a hospital, his heart stopped and
the curse drew his soul into the cloak. Jon went back to Brighton wearing the
cloak with dozens of voices demanding vengeance in his head, but his brother had
seen the error of his ways. Being dead trapped with dozens of evil souls had
changed his perspective. While Marcus tried to quiet the rest, Jon confronted
Brighton. A short scuffle ensued and Brighton accidentally went over a railing
and impaled himself on an ornamental spear trying to get to a weapon powerful
enough to kill Jon. His voice was added to the choir in the cloak. Jon picked up
a few pieces of the collection using Brighton’s knowledge to create a suit to
match the cloak and set out to use the cloak for good in hopes of breaking the
curse and freeing his brother and the rest. He started using a raspy, bird like
cawing sound to block the din of the voices and allow him to focus. It has the
side effect of making him sound quite insane and distracts opponents (and
allies) very often. Happening upon a battle between the Hero Club and the
Anachronist Society, he ended up impressing Stunner enough to be asked to join
the group, but he generally patrols the darker streets of London alone with
those voices in his head.
Personality/Motivations:
Jon really enjoys the notion of being heroic and helping people. The love of his
foster parents impacted him greatly and he really wants to repay that debt by
helping others. The cloak enables him to do things that the law really cannot.
Quote: "Bloody unnerving racket, isn’t it?."