This forced Slade to admit to his wife that he was secretly the mercenary known as Deathstroke, the Terminator. Adeline and Slade (outfitted as Deathstroke) together confronted the Jackal. Slade refused to give the Jackal the information he requested, becuase it would violate his professional code of ethics. Slade gambled he could react fast enough to save his son; He saved Joseph's life, but not before one of Jackal's men had begun to slit his throat. Joseph was now mute.
Adeline, furious at Slade's betrayal and risking her son's life, confronted Slade... with a gun. Slade's quick reflexes saved his life, but he lost his right eye due to the gunshot inflicted by his wife. Adeline then divorced Slade and raised her two sons by herself. Grant followed in his father's footsteps and attended military school. Joseph, however, was quite different from his brother; He was a kind, gentle soul who flourished in the arts. Joseph was both a talented artist and musician. Adeline nurtured this side of Joseph, and he grew up to be a fine young man under Adeline's care.
Sometime after her divorce from Slade, Adeline established her own organization, Searchers, Inc. As he grew older, Joseph worked closely with his mother, apparently recieving combat training and tactical fighting maneuvers from her. Searchers, Inc. provided espionage services for a number of clients. On a mission for the US government, Joseph and his mother seperated briefly for reconnaissance. Joseph spotted his mother in danger from an assasin she did not see. Joseph wanted to scream, but couldn't. The assasin laughed and prepared to fire at Adeline. Joseph intensely stared at him across the room, desperately wanting to stop him. It was at this moment that his mutant power first manifested; Joseph felt his body separate and enter into the assasin, controlling the man's motor skills.
Joseph's DNA had been mutated, because of the biological experimentation that had been done on Slade Wilson. Joseph was a mutant. Joseph's half-sister, Rose Wilson, was also born with the meta-gene. Sadly, the two siblings would never meet.
Joseph continued to use his abilities for Searchers Inc. Shortly thereafter, Adeline discovered the Terminator's latest activities involving the Titans. With the help of Terra, Slade had finally fufilled the HIVE contract to deliver the Titans into their hands. Adeline and Joseph surveyed Slade's activities, and approached Nightwing, offering to help rescue the captured Titans. At this time, Joseph first adopted the name Jericho, and fashioned a costume for himself. Nightwing and Jericho sucessfully freed the kidnapped Titans and brought Slade Wilson to justice. Adeline was quite pleased with herself; It appears she wanted Joseph to become a member of this team of young adults.
It took awhile before the Titans fully trusted Joseph and offered him membership to the team. Joseph was, after all, the Terminator's son. And the Titans had just been betrayed by Terra. Changeling in particular was still hurting from this and convinced himself that Joseph was duplicituous as well. It didn't take too long for Jericho's true colors to show through: he was a loyal friend and team-mate.
Joseph was a caring and sensitive individual; he reached out to anyone in need. He found a sad quality in Raven and reached out to her many times. Unfortunately, this would ultimately end in tragedy. Raven felt Trigon's presense grow within her. Trying to help, Joseph entered Raven's soul, and was immediately thrown into a state of shock. This, however, brought him to the attention of Trigon. Raven's dark side took over and Trigon returned. The elders of Azareth gathered their strength and souls together; this force proved powerful enough to enter and overcome Trigon. Unknown to the Titans, however, the souls of Azareth (now tainted by Trigon) needed a vessel to survive. They sought Raven, but she was protected by her soul self. The souls of Azareth were aware of Jericho, and his powers made it easier for the souls to enter him. The souls of Azareth resided in Jericho, but were still quite weak. They would lay dormant, and build up strength as time passed.
In the meantime, Jericho continued to be a valuable asset to the team and a trusted friend to all. Notably, he helped a lost soul, a crystal spinner known as Kole; he provided emotional support for Dick and Kory through Koriand'r's marriage of state to Karras; and he always sought to help the troubled Raven.
Time passed. Slowly, the souls of Azareth regained their strength and merged with Jericho. The souls now needed powerful vessels for each of them to survive. Now possesssed by this force, Jericho sought to acquire superhuman beings as vessels for the souls of Azareth. Jericho also acquired new abilities to help in his mission: a savage and poweful soul self that took the form of a lion and a healing ability that repaired his throat and enabled him to speak. Jericho found a unique opportunity: He invaded and took over the Wildebeast Society (which was a petty group of villians made up of former HIVE operatives). Using them as a front, he abducted current and former Titans to act as vessels for the souls of Azareth. The remaining Titans Nightwing and Troia (along with new allies Arella, Phantasm, Pantha, Red Star and Deathstroke) found the Wildebeast lair and came into conflict with Jericho. During the soul transfer process, Jericho resurfaced briefly, begging his father to kill him; He was beyond help and killing him might destroy the twisted souls of Azareth. To spare his son any more pain and save the remaining Titans, Slade Wilson was forced to drive a sword through Jericho, killing him instantly.
Jericho died a hero, trying to selflessly save others. He showed that he was a compassionate and caring man, even with his last breath. His memory is cherished by his Titans friends. They would remember him as he was: A sensitive soul with a heart of gold.
Powers:
When eye contact is made, Jericho is able to enter another's body and control their motor functions (except their speech). If the person is unconscious when Jericho enters, he can also speak through them, but retains any speech patterns the person may have (such as an impediment, lisp or accent).
Jericho prefers solving things through non-violent means, but he is an above average fighter, having been trained by his mother, Adeline Kane.
Notes on Jericho
* The Women in Jericho's Life: Joseph is quite the ladies' man, as many women find themselves attracted to his sweet, caring and romatic manner. Joseph seems to date quite frequently, never settling down seriously with any one woman. However, there have been a few women that have touched his life:
* Penelope Lord: Joseph met Penelope Lord while working with his mother. Joseph fell in love with the beautiful young woman, and they were engaged to be married! Penelope's father was a former HIVE agent who convinced Adeline he wanted to turn over a new leaf. Adeline helped him and his daughter fake their deaths, which broke Joseph's heart. Later, Lord and Penelope resurfaced, and it was revealed that Joseph and Adeline were played for fools; Lord was attempting to revive the HIVE in Japan. Penelope's romance with Joseph was part of the plan. It was obvious through her actions, however, that Penelope was truly in love with Joseph. She blamed Joseph for forcing her to shoot her father, leaving him paralyzed. As the two parted, the bitter Penelope swore revenge on Joseph and his mother. (See TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT #3-6 for the full story).
* Raven: Although they never had a physical relationship, Raven and Jericho cared for each other deeply. Raven did not want to let anyone into her world, fearing the destruction it would cause to their life. Shotly after they met, however, Joseph reached out to the troubled empath. Raven undoubtedly sensed the gentle soul of this young man, and responded as much as she could let herself. Raven was cleansed of Trigon's evil, and returned to the Titans during a long drawn out battle with Brother Blood. Raven was just learning to explore her emotions. During this exploration, she convinced herself that she was in love with Dick Grayson. She then learned that there were different kinds of "love". She then became involved Eric Forester, who was a soul vampire. Jericho saved Raven from Forester, who was using her to drain her soul. It was emotionally crippling for Raven, but tender Joseph gave his emotional support. Sadly, this is the closest the two ever came to a real realtionship. Two issues later, Titans Hunt began, which would ultimately destroy both of their characters...
* Kole: Kole was a troubled young woman who also became close with Joe. Kole was a crystal spinner who was under the control of Titan's goddess Thia (this is the pre-Crisis origin of Kole; there has been no post-Crisis update; see the marvelous Kole Who's Who entry for more details). When Kole broke free of Thia's control, she settled in New York, trying to build a new life for herself. Kole quickly fell in love with Joey. In a moment of emotional despair, she asked "Joe, would you make love to me?" Joe replied "No." "Just friends." Joe didn't want to take advantage of Kole's emotional state. Joe also helped Kole find her father, who was a mad scientist. Shortly thereafter, Kole died heroically trying to save people in a battle with the Anti-Monitor (during the Crisis on Infinite Earths). Joe was deeply saddened by this. He cared deeply for Kole, and, had she survived, their relationship may have evolved further.
* Some letter writers surmised that Joey might be gay, since he didn't make love to Kole. This theory was quickly dashed; Joey didn't want to take advantage of her situation. Later, when George Perez returned to the series, he established Joey as quite the ladies' man.
* Indeed, Jericho was very much George Perez's character. Joe thrived when Perez was involved with the series. Marv Wolfman never developed an affinity to the character. Other than some wonderful bits with Kole, Jericho wasn't used to much effect from then on, until Perez returned to the series. Then came Titans Hunt.. and one can't help but think Joey was one of the first targeted for destruction...
* The Wilson Family has been intensely interconnected with this group of Titans. Grant Wilson (Joe's brother) became one of their first foes, the Ravenger. Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) became a long-time adversary, then, a valued ally. Adeline Wilson introduced Joey to the Titans, and became an ally as well. Finally, Rose Wilson (Joe's half-sister he never knew) was under the Titans' care during the final gasps of the dying series.
This entry was compiled and researched by Bill Walko, who appreciates any comments, opinions or additional information. Ticon designed by Bill Walko.