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Quote1 I didn't ask for this monkey-suit, man. I was given it -- same as you. And I'll say this... not a day's gone by since, where I don't think... of giving it back. Quote2
Ricochet[src]

History

Early Life[]

When Johnny was younger, his mother always said he was special, even calling him her "Little Hero". One day his mother was killed by the superhuman criminals Nanny and the Orphan-Maker. After losing his mother, Johnny was left with his burgeoning genetic mutation and an emotionally distant father, who appeared to blame him for her demise. Some time later Johnny discovered he was a mutant endowed with hyperactive agility and the ability to sense danger before it struck. For most of his life, he attempted to keep this secret from his widowed father and his long time friend Kathy.

Joining the Slingers[]

Johnny eventually enrolled at Empire State University where he met his future teammates Eddie McDonough, Cassie St. Commons, and Ritchie Gilmore. It was there that the quartet was recruited by retired vigilante Daniel Lyons, a.k.a. the Black Marvel, into a group of teenage superhumans called the Slingers. Lyons provided Gallo with the costume and identity of Ricochet, which had been briefly adopted by Spider-Man during a time when the web-slinger operated as four different heroes to evade bounty hunters while falsely accused of a murder. Johnny readily accepted since, as Ricochet, he could freely use his powers to help people without revealing his mutant nature.

On a training mission, while Hornet was trying to coax Dusk into leaping across a rooftop, Ricochet lost his balance and fell off the adjacent roof. Prodigy caught him, but told him that someone would have to die for Ricochet to take being a hero seriously. Prodigy then let go of Ricochet's hand, and Ricochet would have fallen and died if he hadn't grabbed Prodigy's hand with his other hand. Just after that, Dusk stepped off the edge of the roof to her death.

Though it was no one's fault, Ricochet and Hornet agreed to keep Dusk's accident a secret. Unknown to them, Dusk came back to life, although how she came back has never been explained. Shortly afterwards, Ricochet, Hornet, and Prodigy had their first real adventure as a team, saving a man called Mac Garrity who was trying to commit suicide by rerouting trains so that they'd kill him. Despite Ricochet and Prodigy stopping the trains whilst Hornet flew Garrity out of the way, this mission would come back to haunt them.

The team were soon sent to investigate the train lines beneath a hotel run by the Maggia. They found that the Maggia were dumping radioactive waste which was mutating rats into monsters. During an encounter with the rats, Ricochet caused a cave-in in order to escape, but Hornet was trapped as a result of this. Ricochet called Prodigy to ask for his help, but Prodigy coldly smashed his phone, saying that real heroes could save themselves. Hornet was rescued by Dusk, although he didn't realize it was her at the time. Shortly after this, Ricochet and Hornet went to investigate the hotel on its opening night.

There, they encountered Prodigy, who was there with Black Marvel. Ricochet questioned Prodigy about his actions and Prodigy threw him off the hotel's roof. He was teleported back inside the hotel by Dusk, finally realizing that she was still alive. By then, the Black Marvel had triggered bombs he planted inside the hotel, just so that he could save people and be a hero. Ricochet and Hornet confronted the Black Marvel about his purpose in giving them their costumes. Ricochet and Hornet then managed to escape the building before it burned down, but Prodigy seemingly died, holding up half the building to give them a chance to escape.

After the hotel fiasco, Ricochet, Hornet, and Dusk met up at their unofficial headquarters, a billboard promoting New York's superheroes. Because Ricochet was skeptical about Dusk's return to life, she suggested that they play a game of truth or dare. After Dusk revealed all she knew about her revival (which wasn't much), Ricochet leaped backwards off the building they were on for his dare. When Dusk failed to save him, Hornet flew down and caught him a few seconds before he hit the ground.

Upon returning to the top of the roof, Hornet flew off, giving Dusk the chance to kiss Johnny, showing that she liked him. This put a bit of a strain on their relationship, since Johnny already had a girlfriend and Hornet liked Dusk. Despite this, Dusk and Ricochet teamed up shortly afterwards to save Hornet from The Griz, the rail worker whom they saved during their first real adventure.[3]

End of the Slingers[]

Some time later, Johnny went to the hospital where Black Marvel had been kept after the hotel incident, only to find him gone. He called a meeting with the rest of the Slingers to discuss Black Marvel, and was given new explosive discs by Hornet. After testing one, Mephisto attacked the Slingers, bringing the superheroes on the billboard which was their headquarters to life. Although all the Slingers fought valiantly, eventually they were defeated and sucked into a pocket dimension where they found Mephisto holding the Black Marvel hostage.

It turned out that Black Marvel had made a deal with Mephisto for the costumes which the Slingers possessed. Mephisto told the Slingers that to save the Black Marvel, all they had to do was forgive him. Since the Black Marvel had made them heroes for his own purposes, they were all reluctant to do so. They were then all forced apart, to endure trials unique to each one of them. Ricochet was sent to an arena where he used his powers to overcome various traps. At first the people in the arena were cheering him on, but before long they started throwing rocks at him for being a mutant.

Prodigy arrived and saved Ricochet, showing him that it had all been an illusion. After the others overcame their trials, Mephisto gathered the Slingers together again, this time to test them as a team. He summoned thousands of demons for them to fight against, but these were all defeated by Dusk, who had started to realize her potential. Eventually, Hornet convinced the others to forgive the Black Marvel, and he and the team were set free. The Slingers then disbanded, but before doing so, Ricochet and Hornet spray painted "Slingers were here" at the base of the billboard which had been their base.[4]

Sometime after the disbandment of the Slingers, Ricochet joined the Loners. The group tried to dissuade and discourage young people from becoming superheroes, noting that all of his efforts had not earned him an ounce of fame or recognition; though it was revealed that he blamed himself for Hornet's death at the hands of a brainwashed Wolverine. Alongside the rest of the group he was eventually drawn back into heroics.[5][6]

Avengers Academy[]

Johnathon was one of the few mutants who retained their powers after M-Day. Following the Civil War, he was listed as a potential recruit for the Initiative.[7] Johnny was later seen as a part-time student of the Avengers Academy.

Slingers Reunion[]

After being liberated from Hell, a demon that had become fixated on the Black Marvel decided to impersonate him and fulfill his desire to continue teaching the Slingers. After outfitting the former supervillain Cyber with the equipment of the late Hornet, the imposter Black Marvel contacted Prodigy.[8] Without telling him about the Black Marvel's supposed return or the new Hornet, Prodigy asked Ricochet to trail Las Vegas vigilante Scarlet Spider.[9]

To his surprise, Ricochet eventually stumbled upon Hornet,[10] and joined forces with Scarlet Spider to learn more about the man wearing his late friend's equipment.[11] Ricochet and the Scarlet Spider tracked Hornet to his employer Silas Thorne and confronted him. Dusk made an appearance to help them defeat a demonic creature summoned by Hornet.[12]

After the Scarlet Spider brutally attacked Thorne, Ricochet decided to put aside his mistrust for Hornet in order to bring the Scarlet Spider to justice. After Prodigy reunited with the other three, and placed a vote of confidence for Hornet, the Slingers held the Scarlet Spider's ally, Cassandra Mercury, hostage at the Thorne Theater to make him turn himself over for hospitalizing Thorne.[9]

After the Black Marvel met up with the reunited Slingers for the first time, the quartet of heroes and their mentor were attacked by the Scarlet Spider and his posthumous namesake, Kaine. During the fight, Dusk turned against Black Marvel, since her abilities allowed her to detect that he was a demon.[13]

After learning the truth behind their mentor's alleged return, the Slingers fought him and Hornet. After driving them off, the Slingers attempted and failed to apprehend Hornet while the Scarlet Spiders killed the demon. In light of the revelations, the Slingers decided to make peace with the Scarlet Spider, but still holding him to his promise that he would give up on his extreme levels of violence.[8]

Beyond Corporation[]

When the Beyond Corporation delved into privatized super heroics, Johnny took a job at their hero division. He was assigned to a Beyond facility experimenting with inter-dimensional technology. After Dusk's ESP powers misled her to believe Johnny was being held by Beyond against his well, she recruited the help of the new Hornet, Hobie Brown, and both broke into the facility when Ricochet and his team were attempting to stop a monster outbreak. After clarifying Ricochet's situation, the intruders helped him shut down the device responsible for the anomaly, saving the day.[2]

Attributes

Power Grid[15]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Some Training:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Single Type: Medium Range:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Peak Human:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Normal

Powers

Superhuman Agility: Ricochet possesses the mutant power of superhuman agility, enabling him to leap great distances. He has incredible reflexes and coordination, and when combined with his leaping powers, can seemingly bounce off walls (ricocheting, as it were).

Danger Sense: Ricochet's mutant powers also give him a "Danger Sense", that functions much like Spider-Man's "Spider-Sense", allowing him to sense danger before it happens.

Superhuman Reflexes: Ricochet's natural reaction time is enhanced to a level beyond the human body's natural limits.

Abilities

Skilled Marksman: Ricochet has been seen hitting targets from great distances with his throwing discs.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Weapons

Ricochet has special throwing discs which he stores on the sleeves of his jacket, four on each. These discs can bounce off walls and targets with incredible force. Later, Hornet gave Ricochet new discs that could explode on impact. Ricochet's super reflexes and coordination enable him to throw his discs with amazing speed and accuracy. In the Runaways series, Ricochet used an E.M.P. disc at one point, although where he got it is unknown.

Transportation

Ricochet usually travels by foot across city rooftops through the art of parkour, freerunning, or by riding on the top of buses.

See Also

Links and References

References

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