| JAMM | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Tom Bierbaum, Mary Bierbaum, Darryl Banks, Stuart Immonen, Nick J. Napolitano, Joe Phillips, and Christopher Taylor |
PERSONAL DATA
Aliases: “Jamm-Tastic;” “Jamm the Mechanical Man;” “Jamm the Thrashin’ Man”
Occupation: None
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Unnamed mother, Unnamed step-father
Base of Operation: San Francisco, California
Gender: Male
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
First Appearance: Legion of Super-Heroes Annual Vol. 4 #4 (1993): "Jamm"
Creators: Tom Bierbaum, Mary Bierbaum, Darryl Banks, Stuart Immonen, Nick J. Napolitano, Joe Phillips, and Christopher Taylor
OVERVIEW
Arguably known best for surfing, Jamm found himself in the 30th Century beside the Legion of Super-Heroes following an attack by Angon, one of the Bloodlines Aliens. Like other 'New Bloods,' Jamm soon exhibited super powers. After his masadventures in the future, Jamm was returned to the present day. He has not been seen since the defeat of the creature known as the Taker.
HISTORY
Jamm was a young skateboarder living in San Francisco, California with his mother and stepfather when he ran into Angon of the Bloodlines Aliens. Angon, in its human disguise as an attractive redhead, tried to lure Jamm in as a victim by pretending to have car trouble. While Jamm pretended to fix Angon’s car, Angon prepared to suck out Jamm’s spinal fluid. This first meeting was interrupted by a police officer who took Jamm’s place as the redhead's savior and Angon’s eventual victim. Upset at being shown up by a cop, Jamm accidentally ran himself down a steep street ramp on his skateboard. Jamm lost control going down the ramp and ended up falling into a dumpster and getting knocked unconscious.
Later that night, Jamm was roused in the dumpster by a drunk homeless man. Angon in its giant, red alien form happened upon the dumpster and grabbed the homeless man right in front of Jamm. Jamm grasped a lead pipe and attempted to come to the homeless man’s rescue, but he once again lost consciousness before he could even reach the beast. This made Angon decide that Jamm was the easier prey, so the alien let the homeless man go and began sucking Jamm’s spinal fluid. Luckily for Jamm, the time-displaced hero Timber Wolf of the 30th Century’s Legion of Superheroes witnessed the scene and leapt to Jamm’s aid. As Timber Wolf made his leap to the struggle, a malfunction in the Legion of Superheroes’ Time Cube caused the device to lock onto Timber Wolf and open a time portal to retrieve him from the present. The portal locked unto Angon and Jamm as well and brought all three beings into Legion’s headquarters in the 30th Century.
Timber Wolf was able to free Jamm from Angon’s grasp and a battle was initiated between Angon and a startled group of Legion members including Infectious Lass and Night Woman. Jamm came to just as Angon was about to kill honorary Legion member Rond Vidar. In desperation, Jamm called out to Angon, told the alien to leave Rond alone, and begged it to go back to where it came from. Angon couldn’t help but obey so it put Rond down and left back through the time portal.
Jamm accidentally used this new power over verbal commands three more times as he recovered from the battle in the Legion’s med bay. He first used them to stop Infectious Lass from changing his bandages, then again to convince Jacques Foccart to allow him to stay in the future, and finally he used it to get Night Woman to acquire a spaceship and explore the galaxy with him. These instances made Jamm realize that he now could command anyone to do anything he wanted as a side effect of the alien attack.
This set Jamm loose upon the galaxy. While in the 30th century he visited alien beaches and amazon villages; forced Valor to be his bodyguard; made Night Woman and Shadow Lass strip for him; got batteries for his walkman; hogged the Legion’s holo-deck; had Andromeda and Apparition dress like skater-babes; created an anti-gravity skateboard for himself with the Legion’s synthesis device; and jammed with 30th Century rock band Victims of Society.
During his travels Jamm learned that his powers don’t work on androids as he tried to get an android lady to strip and ended up getting his face slapped. Finally, Jamm decided to make himself president of the universe, but on his way Jamm accidentally steered the ship he and several Legion members were on toward a sun while trying to escape danger. To save the ship and everyone on it, Shadow Lass had to get Jamm to release her from his power as earlier Jamm had commanded her never to use her powers again. With her powers back, Shadow Lass empowered Night Woman to save the ship. Then Shadow Lass forced Jamm to return to the present making him promise to behave himself or face severe consequences. - Bloodbath #2
Later, Jamm appeared on scene at a battle at the park land around Old Reservoir Road between an army of Earth’s greatest super-heroes and the Taker, a giant creature the bloodlines aliens were collecting spinal fluid for and gave their lives to bring into existence. Jamm and a group of fellow new bloods, or people who had gained super powers from being attacked by the bloodlines aliens, were found standing over an unconscious Amanda Waller by the Flash (Wally West). Jamm assured the Flash that they were just trying to help Waller and then suggested that she fainted. Flash explained to Jamm and the rest that Amanda had really been knocked out by the Taker’s paralysis field that the new bloods seemed to be immune to.
Jamm along with new bloods Chimera and Hook joined the Flash in searching for survivors among the super-heroes that had been taken down by the paralysis effect. They found all of the missing heroes in a digestive sack on the Taker’s body. Hook managed to rip the sack open to free the heroes while Jamm revived them all with a command. Jamm then joined the rest of the new bloods in pooling their collective energy into Anima’s Animus beast. The Animus, supercharged with new blood power, beat the Taker into unconsciousness, which allowed the heroes of the world to pick the Taker up and toss it into the sun. Jamm was last seen celebrating this victory with the rest of the new bloods.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Jamm possessed persuasive mind control abilities. When Jamm issues a verbal command to someone they are forced to obey it. This form of verbal mind control appears to work on any living, sentient being. However, it does not seem to have any power over androids or any other form of artificial life.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Jamm in chronological order click here