JERRY JAXON
Real Name: Jerome K. Jaxon
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Associate vice-president of Roxxon Oil; former supervisor of research and development at Am-Can Petroleum Corporation
Group Membership: Omega Flight (Box, Diamond Lil, Flashback, Smart Alec, Wild Child)
Affiliations: August D'Angelo, Delphine Courtney
Enemies: Alpha Flight (Aurora, Guardian, Northstar, Puck, Sasquatch, Shaman, Snowbird)
Known Relatives: Wife, son, and daughter(?) (all unidentified)
Aliases: Box
Base of Operations: New York City; formerly from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
First Appearance: Alpha Flight I#2/2 (September, 1983)
Powers/Abilities: None. A former supervisor and master of organization, Jerry Jaxon probably held several degrees in business administration. Due to a botched suicide attempt, Jaxon was left unable to walk and was confined to a wheelchair.
As Box II, Jaxon was mind-linked to the robot and had all the strength and abilities that were present in that early version of the Box robot.
History: The previous history of Jerry Jaxon is unknown.
(Alpha Flight: In the Beginning#-1) - While working at Am-Can, Jerry Jaxon reprimanded his new secretary, Heather McNeil, for her flirtatious behavior toward James MacDonald Hudson. Hudson then approached Jaxon, his supervisor, and stated that he had an idea for building an electromagnetic suit which could bore through the earth. [NOTE - Hudson would later marry McNeil]
(Alpha Flight I#2/2) - Jerry Jaxon made a deal to sell the underground exploratory suit built by Hudson to the American military. Hudson vehemently objected -- not wishing to see his work turned into a weapon of war, Hudson later broke into Am-Can, destroyed the only copy of the plans of the suit, then flew away in the suit itself. Leaving the suit nearby where it could easily be found, Hudson took only the cybernetic helmet (which was his property, since he had designed and built it before he worked for Am-Can), rendering the suit inoperable. [NOTE - Hudson would later rebuild the first version of his suit for the Canadian government and it would be used by Groundhog]
(Alpha Flight I#12 (fb) ) - Two days after Hudson stole the suit, Jaxon was summoned to the head office in Houston and fired for his failure -- after eighteen years of service, he became a corporate non-entity, an "unemployed unemployable". His wife and children left him, and he was completely destitute with no money, no prospects, and no future. Living in a squalid one-room apartment, Jaxon decided to commit suicide and hanged himself, but before his death, Jaxon was discovered by his landlady, who had come to evict him. While recovering in a charity ward, Jaxon found out that the crude noose he fashioned had cut off the oxygen to his brain -- he would never walk again, and would be forever confined to a wheelchair.
(Alpha Flight I#12 (fb) ) - With the first public appearance of the Canadian super-hero Guardian, Jaxon was able to deduce his true identity of Jim Hudson when he realized that Guardian's battlesuit operated on the same principles as Hudson's invention. Blaming Hudson for all the troubles of his life, Jerry Jaxon sought revenge against him and went to New York City. Going to the headquarters of Roxxon Oil (knowing that they were interested in obtaining and controlling unique energy sources), Jaxon met with chairman August D'Angelo and told him what he knew of Guardian. Intrigued, D'Angelo introduced Jaxon to the robotic Delphine Courtney, who was programmed to assist Jaxon as an intermediary in achieving his goal.
(Alpha Flight I#6 - BTS) - As part of his scheme for revenge, Jaxon had a letter sent to Jim Hudson with a job offer from Roxxon.
(Alpha Flight I#7 - BTS) - Jaxon sent Delphine Courtney to Southbrook Mall in Winnipeg, Manitoba to recruit Alec (Smart Alec) Thorne.
(Alpha Flight I#10 - BTS) - While Jim Hudson was in New York, Jaxon sent a drone missile to spy on him (see comments).
(Alpha Flight I#11 - BTS) - Jaxon sent Delphine Courtney to Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, to the home of Roger (Box) Bochs to recruit him.
(Alpha Flight I#11 - BTS) - Jaxon sent Delphine Courtney to abduct Jim Hudson's wife Heather from the airport in New York.
(Alpha Flight I#11) - In an office in the World Trade Center (see comments), Jaxon introduced himself to some of the former members of Beta Flight (Box, Flashback) and Gamma Flight (Diamond Lil, Smart Alec, Wild Child) who had all been gathered by Courtney. Jaxon explained to them that he had brought them all together to crush the dreams of James MacDonald Hudson and proposed nothing less than the utter destruction of Alpha Flight and the annihilation of Hudson.
(Alpha Flight I#11- BTS) - Because Roger Bochs was still loyal to Hudson and was only there spying on Jaxon's plans, Jaxon had him captured and used technology to remotely takeover the Box robot himself.
(Alpha Flight I#11) - Jaxon contacted Hudson via the cyber-helmet of his battlesuit and told him of Heather's abduction. Using Heather as a hostage, Jaxon lured Guardian to the World Trade Center where he (as Box) joined with the other Betas and Gammas as Omega Flight.
(Alpha Flight I#12) - As Box, Jaxon fought along with the rest of Omega Flight against the arriving members of Alpha Flight. Leaping at Guardian and knocking him into a secluded area, the two fought as Jaxon/Box incapacitated Hudson's Guardian battlesuit. Using some of the circuitry of his damaged suit, Hudson finally managed to short-out the remotely-controlled Box, the feedback seemingly killing Jerry Jaxon (see comments).
Comments: Created by John Byrne.
As stated by Jaxon, the events of Hudson's theft of the suit in Alpha Flight I#2/2 occurred ten years prior to the story in Alpha Flight I#12.
I say that Jaxon was "seemingly" killed by the feedback because Roger Bochs was tied up only a few feet away from Jaxon when he received the "fatal" zap, yet in Alpha Flight I#22, after Bochs (with the aid of Madison Jeffries) has built a new version of Box, Bochs told Jeffries that he was going to track down Jaxon and punish him. This implies to me that perhaps Bochs knew something -- maybe Jaxon was not completely dead, maybe getting his brain fried just put him into a coma and Delphine Courtney hid him away on life-support equipment (Hey, if Jim Hudson can return after his fiery "death" in Alpha Flight I#12, someone could easily find a way to bring back Jerry Jaxon).
Regarding the drone missile spying on Hudson in Alpha Flight I#10: It was never actually confirmed, so I'm only ASSuming that it was sent by Jaxon -- who knows, maybe John Byrne had some other plans in mind...
And sadly, because of the events of September 11, 2001, Alpha Flight's battle with Omega Flight at the World Trade Center is probably now a topical reference.
His appearance in the backstory of Hudson took place
before the existence of the Fantastic Four became
public knowledge (as noted in Marvel Saga#1 as well as
in the original stories themselves in Alpha Flight back-ups).
--John McDonagh
Thanks to MarvellousLuke for the updated images.
Profile by John Kaminski
CLARIFICATIONS:
Jerry Jaxon has no known connections to:
A giant "psi-borg" originally built by Roger Bochs, Jerry Jaxon used technology to hijack it and control it with a virtual mind-link helmet. In his final battle with Guardian, Jaxon/Box severely beat Jim Hudson, but fortunately Hudson (having helped Bochs develop the robot) knew of its vulnerable spot -- under its chin -- and managed to short-circuit the robot, the resulting feedback apparently killing Jaxon.
--Alpha Flight I#11 (Alpha Flight I#11-12
images: (without ads)
Alpha Flight I#11, p8, pan2 (main image)
Other appearances:
Alpha Flight I#6-7 (January-February, 1984) - John Byrne
(writer/artist), Linda Grant & Denny O'Neil (#7) (editor)
Alpha Flight I#10-12 (May-July, 1984) - John Byrne (writer/artist),
Denny O'Neil (editor)
Alpha Flight: In the Beginning#-1 (July, 1997) - Steven Seagle
(writer), Anthony Winn (pencils), Marlo Alquiza, Matt Ryan & Kevin
Conrad (inks), Jaye Gardner (editor)
Last updated: 05/25/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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