Jocasta (comics)

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caption=
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Jocasta
real_name=Jocasta
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Avengers" (1st series) #162 (August 1977)
creators= Jim Shooter (writer), George Pérez (artist)
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=Avengers
aliases=Bride of Ultron
powers=Computer integration
Superhuman Strength, physical resistance and senses
Optic blasts
Force field generation|

Jocasta is a fictional character, a superheroine appearing in the Marvel Universe. A former member of the Avengers, the character is an android created by the villain Ultron.

Fictional character biography

The robot named Jocasta was built by the robot Ultron in an abandoned aerospace research center in Nassau, Long Island, New York, in order that he might have a mate. To better allow this robot sentience, Ultron brainwashed his own maker, Henry Pym, into transferring the mind of his wife, Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp, into a feminine robotic shell he named Jocasta, after the wife/mother in the legend of Oedipus (A reference to the fact that Ultron's obsession with Pym — his "father" — reflects a real-life manifestation of the Oedipus Complex). The Wasp, in Jocasta's body, alerted her teammates, the Avengers, who defeated Ultron and reversed the process, leaving Jocasta a mindless husk. ["Avengers" #162]

Ultron later revived Jocasta with a remote link, activating the mental "residue" the Wasp left behind. Jocasta escaped from Avengers custody, and led the Avengers into Ultron's trap. Jocasta was programmed to be loyal to Ultron but eventually betrayed him, choosing to help the Avengers defeat him again. She was then abducted by the Collector. ["Avengers" #170-171] She was freed from the Collector by the Avengers, and then she aided the Avengers against Korvac. ["Avengers" #174-177] Jocasta adventured with the Avengers for a brief time, proving particularly helpful in their first confrontation with the villainous Taskmaster, who possessed photographic reflexes that let him duplicate any move he'd seen only once; having never even seen Jocasta before, the Taskmaster couldn't predict what she might be about to do. Due to their similar backgrounds, she developed feelings for Vision, but he was happily married to the Scarlet Witch and could not return Jocasta's feelings. At one point, she was electronically deactivated by Iron Man under control by Ultron, but was reactivated following Ultron's defeat. ["Avengers" #202-203] Jocasta did not believe she was accepted by most of the team, and left the Avengers following a membership reorganization, unaware that they had planned to grant her special substitute member status. ["Avengers" #211]

Wandering the country, Jocasta was befriended by the Fantastic Four and Alicia Masters. Jocasta was secretly compelled by a pre-programmed suggestion to rebuild Ultron. She did, but soon teamed up with the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, and the robot called Machine Man to defeat Ultron. Sacrificing herself to try to kill Ultron, Ultron nevertheless survived until Machine Man reached down his throat to tear out vital circuitry. ["Marvel Two-In-One" #93] The Avengers held a memorial for their fallen ally, and the Machine Man attended, realizing his love for Jocasta.

Jocasta was reassembled some time later by technicians of the High Evolutionary. Jocasta retains enough of her programming to signal the Avengers. The team had disbanded at the time but the signal got through to reserve members. Beast, The Captain, Falcon, Hercules, the Hulk and Yellowjacket all assemble to combat this new threat. Jocasta helps them in fighting the Evolutionary's force and locating his base deep below the surface of the ocean. Jocasta sacrifices herself once again to blow up the Evolutionary's command ship by deliberately disrupting the ship's matter-anti-matter drive, causing an explosion which destroyed the ship and its contents. Before she sabotaged the ship, Captain America assured her that she was a true Avenger. ["Avengers Annual" #17]

Jocasta's robotic head assembly was later retrieved by the Avengers. They turned it over to Machine Man, who had been working on a way to resurrect his lover, when he was attacked by a form of the alien Terminus. In the same area, the arms dealer known as Madame Menace became involved in the fray, and found Jocasta's lost head, appropriating it for her own purposes. ["Iron Man Annual" #11] Much later, Madame Menace manipulated events so that Tony Stark would unlock Jocasta's programming so that she would become the basis for Menace's new weapons systems. Tony Stark soon realized the identity of the android, helped Jocasta to awaken, and Jocasta managed to turn the tables on Madame Menace, seemingly sacrificing herself yet again.

In reality, Jocasta managed to survive by downloading her intelligence into Iron Man's computerized armor, where she reasserted herself. Jocasta's intelligence was placed within Tony Stark's computerized mansion, and she would help him with daily operation of his mansion as well as to procure information as needed. Having been programmed with the latest in diagnostic, preventative medical and surgical techniques, Jocasta also spent time serving as Stark's physician/psychologist, providing him with someone he could talk to about his problems and who could examine his latest injuries without risking his secret identity being compromised.

Since the Iron Man armor was used to house the programming that made up Jocasta, it became infected with the pre-programmed subconscious suggestion to rebuild Ultron, but, instead, managed to develop its own artificial intelligence. Stark was almost killed in a confrontation with the armor, but, in the end, it sacrificed itself to allow Stark to live. Stark left the armor buried on a deserted island. The armor was revived, however, by the Sons of Yinsen, a quasi-religious cult founded in remembrance of Yinsen, the co-creator of the original Iron Man armor that allowed Tony Stark to escape his Communist captors in Vietnam. Free of its artificial intelligence, the armor was contacted via remote by the head of Ultron, disembodied after his most recent encounter of the Avengers and in the company of the bio-synthetic robot being known as Antigone. The head attached itself onto the armor and took control of the Sons of Yinsen and the flying city that they inhabited.

Another member of the Sons of Yinsen was helping Tony Stark in the guise of Iron Man. The two learned of Ultron's activities and that he planned to use the cult to wipe out humanity. Stark confronted Ultron directly and finally managed to download Jocasta's intelligence into the armor once more. The vestiges of the armor's intelligence battled with the presence Jocasta, the result of which caused Ultron's head to come shooting off the armor. The head hit Antigone, and both fell off the floating city, which Ultron rigged to explode after his defeat. Stark failed to find a trace of Jocasta and assumed her to have died fighting the sentient armor.

In reality, Jocasta did not die. She appeared in possession of Antigone's body and left, taking Ultron's head with her.

During a crisis that nearly destroyed the Avengers, Jocasta was seen at Avengers Mansion in her classic silver robotic form ["Avengers Disassembled"] .

The Initiative

Jocasta is a member of the New Mexico Fifty State Initiative superhero team, the Mavericks, alongside a Skrull posing as veteran heroine She-Thing. Jocasta searches for her teammate and tracks her signal to the home of Chuck & Hal Chandler. She retrieves Devil-Slayer from the Hawaii team, and they teleport to where the new 3-D Man, the Skrull Kill Krew, Komodo, and Hardball, to join them in the fight against the Skrulls. ["Avengers: The Initiative" #17]

Jocasta's next mission is with A.R.M.O.R., to retrieve a blood sample from a living human of the "Marvel Zombies" universe. Machine Man accompanies her and Portal transports them there. ["Marvel Zombies 3" #1]

Mighty Avengers

Writer Dan Slott has confirmed that Jocasta will be a member of his new Mighty Avengers lineup following the completion of Secret Invasion #8. [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090828-SlottAvengers.html]

Powers and abilities

Jocasta's body is composed of titanium steel with remarkable superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes, which can withstand most physical and energy attacks. Being a "non-living" construct, she requires no food, water, or oxygen to survive and thus is also immune to poisons and diseases and can easily survive in the vacuum of space and underwater. She is able to project beams of electromagnetic energy from her eyes, and erect a force field around herself to protect her from incoming attacks. She also possesses a heightened sense of sight, smell, and hearing along with superhuman strength and dexterity. Jocasta can also perceive electromagnetic particles, and detect energy patterns and track them to their source. She is hyper-intelligent, with a capacity for unlimited self-motivated activity, creative intelligence, and human-like emotions, and can communicate through an incalculable number of media. She possesses superhuman cybernetic analytical capabilities and has the ability to make calculations with superhuman speed and accuracy.

Other versions

Madame Menace

In an alternate reality, Madame Menace kept Jocasta's head; she rebuilt her body and revived her (but at the same time, she captured and deactivated Machine Man). For years, Jocasta served as the villainess' advisor and companion. When Machine Man was revived in 2020 A.D. and exacted his revenge on Madame Menace, Jocasta elected to stay with Menace to make sure she keeps her promise to leave Machine Man and his newfound friends alone. ["Machine Man" Vol. 2 #1-4]

Proctor

Another Jocasta from an alternate timeline had appeared with the team called The Gatherers, consisting of members of Avengers from other timelines whose worlds had been destroyed by a being known as Proctor. This Jocasta was gold in color and had an array of weaponry strapped to her right arm. She was married to Wonder Man in her timeline.

Avengers Forever

In the Avengers Forever miniseries, Captain America and Giant-Man encounter a group of future Avengers battling a Martian invasion, counting Jocasta as a member. This version of the character somewhat resembles the Vision, bearing intangibility powers and a caped costume. In this future, Jocasta has married Machine Man (though he has died) and is pregnant with their artificial child.

Other media

Film

Jocasta is Tony Stark's A.I. in the future in the film, .

References

External links

* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Jocasta Bio at marvel.com]