MARTIN JONES
Real Name: Martin Jones
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Ultraverse) human
Occupation:
Collector, criminal and impersonator
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Formerly Vivian Beaumont
Enemies: Vivian Beaumont, unnamed memorabilia dealer, Solitaire, Victor, Henry "Lollipop" Wellington
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Vivian Beaumont
Base of Operations: Mobile across the USA, especially Los Angeles, USA
First Appearance: Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1 (January, 1995)
Powers/Abilities: Martin Jones was a normal human with the size and build that allowed him to play the role of Vivian Beaumont. He became murderously obsessive about the artificial glamor of Hollywood's movie industry, becoming deranged to the point that he killed to acquire only certain movie memorabilia. He used stage props to commit murder including the sword of Zorro and an old handgun. His disguise meant that opponents underestimated his basic fighting skills.
History:
(Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vivian Beaumont was a retired actor, a star of Hollywood's golden age, who had maintained her collection of movie memorabilia.
(UDF: Prime & Solitaire#1 (fb)) - Martin Jones traveled to Hollywood to find his dreams and became intoxicated with the grandeur of movies, gaining employment working in movie sets. As the industry started to decline and relics of the era were sold or destroyed, he left the studios disillusioned but found new life when he was hired as Beaumont's live-in curator. However, she later decided to move into a Westwood condominium and sell off her collection. The obsessive Jones felt betrayed and strangled her.
(UDF: Prime & Solitaire - BTS) - Jones assumed Beaumont's identity, constantly wearing her clothes and make-up, and obsessively surrounding himself with movie relics. He stole three of the five pairs of ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" movie, murdering others on the way, and set about to get the other two pairs.
(UDF: Prime & Solitaire#1) - A dealer of Hollywood memorabilia went to Victor's place to collect on an "old debt" but instead witnessed his murder by "Beaumont". The killer quickly left after stealing another pair of ruby slippers, avoiding the newly-arrived police, but the dealer was confronted by Solitaire, who was on the trail of the ruby shoe hunter-killer. Jones returned to his adopted home but was confronted by the armed memorabilia collector. Underestimating the would-be frail movie star, Jones overpowered him and shot him dead. Jones then hunted down the last of the five remaining pairs of the famed ruby slippers, which was owned by Henry Wellington. Jones attacked Wellington at his retirement home just as the "Lollipop Man" was showing off the shoes to others by wearing them. Jones grabbed him and threatened to cut his feet off to get the glittering shoes but was knocked aside by Solitaire. The two scuffled but Jones escaped and related his past to Wellington. Solitaire caught up with the killer, punching him again, but Jones fell backward onto a nearby lifesize mannequin of Errol Flynn brandishing a sword and was skewered through the chest, dying as he sang "Over the Rainbow." Jones' death reminded the vigilante of his own prior obsession to stop his criminal father.
Comments: Created by Gerard Jones & Julie Huffman (writer), Mark Miraglia (pencils) and Dan Schaffer (inks).
Various old movie items and memorabilia can be seen in Martin Jones' collection, including the Maltese Falcon, the toboggan Rosebud, plus movie posters and assorted costumes from popular vintage movies like Frankenstein, Ben Hur, etc., and many movie references also litter the story. Jones' swan song as he died was "if happy little bluebirds fly" from Judy Garland's song "Over the Rainbow."
Vivian Beaumont looks remarkably like the character Norma Desmond from "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) with Jones, delusionally dressed as Beaumont, using the famous line from the film, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up" at one murder scene.
There is a Vivian Beaumont theater in New York, USA, named after a former actress and heiress to the May Department Stores fortune who died in 1962.
Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1 was a "flip"book with a Prime story on one side and this Solitaire tale on the other side; technically there is no first story.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Martin Jones has no known connections to:
The unnamed memorabilia dealer collected original vintage movie items and props, buying and stealing goods then selling them on, and knew the rough value of various original movie memorabilia, but he owed money to loan sharks. He encountered Solitaire where Victor had just been killed and went with him to the Beaumont residence. He then shot Solitaire at close range so that he could confront Beaumont (actually Jones in disguise). Jones quickly disarmed him and then shot the dealer dead, calling him competition. He knew how to handle a gun and had no qualms about killing people to achieve his goals.
He looked very similar to William Holden from "Sunset Boulevard," although he looked quite like Alec Baldwin in one panel.
--Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1
Vivian Beaumont was a retired and aging movie star who had hired Martin Jones as a live-in curator of her movie memorabilia When she told Jones that she planned to sell her collection and asked him to leave, Jones strangled her and assumed her identity.
--Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1
"Hank" Wellington, dubbed the "Lollipop Man", had long retired from Hollywood but enjoyed relating his stories to others. He had inherited one of the five remaining pairs of ruby slippers. Seeking to complete his collection, Jones targeted Hank and was prepared to kill him to obtain the shoes but was stopped by Solitaire.
--Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1
images:
(without ads)
Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1, p9 (main image)
Appearances:
Ultraverse Double Feature: Prime and Solitaire#1 (January, 1995) -
Gerard Jones & Julie Huffman (writer), Mark Miraglia (pencils),
Dan Schaffer (inks), Phil Crain & Hank Kanalz (editors)
Last updated: 07/29/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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