Meet Rick Jones, the Most Versatile Hero of the Marvel Universe

Since taking his car out for a ride near a gamma bomb test site, Rick Jones has walked through several major moments in Marvel history, starting with Bruce Banner’s transformation into the Hulk. After tagging along with the Avengers and Captain America, Rick fused with the cosmic power of multiple Captains Marvel and wielded Hulk-like strength in some of the Marvel Universe’s defining sagas.   

Now, Rick Jones is using his newest powers to untangle the mystery of the new Venom in ALL-NEW VENOM (2024) #4 by Al Ewing, Carlos Gomez, Frank D'Armata, and VC's Clayton Cowles. As Rick tries to figure out the identity of the Venom symbiote’s mysterious new host, let’s look back at Rick’s heroic history through the Marvel Universe.

RICK JONES AND THE HULK

Rick Jones made his first appearance in INCREDIBLE HULK (1962) #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While wandering through the American Southwest, Jones unwittingly drove onto the Los Diablos Missile Base, where Bruce Banner and his team of scientists were about to test a gamma bomb. As Banner stepped into the testing area to save the teenager, a massive blast of gamma radiation bombarded him and transformed the scientist into the Hulk. 

Since he felt responsible for the Hulk’s creation, Rick became a friend and unlikely sidekick to both Banner and the Hulk. In addition to accompanying Hulk on many of his early adventures, Rick tried to help Banner maintain his secret identity and formed a group called the Teen Brigade to keep track of the Hulk’s exploits.

RICK JONES AND THE AVENGERS

When Loki took control of the Hulk, Rick Jones put out a call for heroes that inadvertently brought Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, and Ant-Man together as the Avengers in AVENGERS (1963) #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Once the Avengers gelled into a permanent group, Jones stayed with the team throughout their early adventures, including the discovery of a frozen Captain America. Iron Man even suggested that Rick join the group as an official member, but Captain America shut down the idea since he was still coping with the death of Bucky. 

After training Rick, Captain America warmed up to him and agreed to take him on as the new Bucky in CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #110 by Jim Steranko. However, Jones already felt awkward about his relationship to Bucky’s legacy, and he quit being his sidekick when the Red Skull—who had taken over Captain America’s body—rejected him.

RICK JONES AND CAPTAIN MAR-VELL

After hanging out with the Avengers, Rick Jones got particularly close with the cosmic hero Captain Mar-Vell. When the alien Kree hero was trapped in the Negative Zone, he made Jones don the Nega-Bands, which bonded them together in CAPTAIN MARVEL (1968) #17 by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane. By striking the bands together, Mar-Vell and Jones would switch places, which allowed the hero to operate on Earth again. 

When war broke out between the Kree and Skrull alien empires, Jones discovered his ability to tap into the limitless power of the Destiny Force, and he played a crucial role in ending the major cosmic conflict in AVENGERS (1963) #97 by Thomas and John Buscema. 

After Mar-Vell died from natural causes, Jones focused on his successful music career, partnered up with the Hulk again, and briefly turned into the Hulk. Around this time, Jones also began dating and married a woman named Marlo Chandler.

RICK JONES AND GENIS-VELL

When Avengers from multiple timelines teamed up to battle Immortus in the Destiny War, Rick Jones bonded to Genis-Vell, the son of Mar-Vell. While Genis was trapped in the Microverse, Jones could swap places with him, and the pair began operating as Captain Marvel starting in CAPTAIN MARVEL (2000) #1 by Peter David and Chris Cross. 

Initially, the pair acted as an effective team, and Genis even helped Jones recover when he was prematurely aged into an old man. However, Genis eventually went mad, trapped his partner in the Microverse, and went on a rampage that destroyed the universe. At Rick’s urging, Genis rebuilt the universe and eventually had his sanity restored. 

In their later adventures, Genis and Jones traveled into the future, where they saw their exploits remembered as celebrated legends and minor myths. Once Rick repaired his fraying relationship with Marlo, the heroes separated from each other, and Rick wrote a bestselling autobiography that cemented him as a minor celebrity.

RICK JONES HULKS OUT

As the Hulk attacked Earth during WORLD WAR HULK (2007), Rick Jones tried to calm his old friend down on multiple occasions. However, he was seriously wounded by Miek, one of Hulk’s Warbound alien allies. So, shortly after they transformed General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross into the Red Hulk, the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. also bombarded Rick with gamma radiation and transformed him into A-Bomb. 

With a striking resemblance to Abomination and a Hulk-like demeanor, Rick debuted in this form in HULK (2008) #2 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. While A-Bomb was one of the few beings strong enough to fight the Red Hulk to a standstill, he initially possessed only fractions of his memories. Once he regained more of Rick’s memories, A-Bomb began helping Marvel’s heroes with his immense strength. When the Hulk set out to depower the world’s gamma-powered superhumans, he started by reverting A-Bomb back to his human form.

THE DEATH OF RICK JONES

Rick Jones immersed himself in technology and emerged as a hacker called the Whisperer in AVENGERS STANDOFF: ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL ALPHA (2016) #1 by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz. In his new persona, Rick revealed the existence of Kobik—a living Cosmic Cube in the form of a young girl—and told Captain America (Sam Wilson) about Pleasant Hill, a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison for brainwashed villains. 

After working with Wilson, Jones was seemingly approached by Captain America (Steve Rogers). However, this Rogers was an imposter loyal to Hydra. As the commander of S.H.I.E.L.D., the imposter used Rick to hack into Earth’s Planetary Defense Shield. When the imposter and Hydra took over the United States, he activated the planetary force field to trap many heroes in space. Rick tried to help the resistance against Hydra, but he was discovered and executed on live television in SECRET EMPIRE (2017) #1 by Nick Spencer and Steve McNiven.

RICK JONES AND IMMORTAL HULK

As the Hulk faced one of his most horrifying foes in the all-powerful One-Below-All, Rick Jones went through several bizarre transformations of his own. Rick was initially resurrected in the body of an Abomination-like creature by Shadow Base, a Hulk-hunting group, in IMMORTAL HULK (2018) #6 by Al Ewing and Lee Garbett. 

After the Hulk helped him return to a more human form, he fell under the telepathic control of the Leader. Although Jones was freed, he merged with Del Frye, another gamma mutate, and became part of a grotesque two-headed creature. Rick and Del joined some of the Hulk's other allies in the team Gamma Flight before they eventually separated. 

When Rick started fading in and out of reality, he donned the Nega-Bands again and bonded with Genis-Vell once more. When Genis was mortally wounded, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) used the last of the Nega-Bands’ power to heal Genis, who subsequently distanced himself from Rick.

RICK JONES AND THE ALL-NEW VENOM

After supporting heroes behind the scenes and on the battlefield, Rick Jones started writing for The Daily Bugle as the paper’s super hero correspondent. Although his title may identify him as a celebrity columnist, Jones also joined a serious investigation into identifying the mysterious new host of the Venom symbiote. 

After Eddie Brock and his son Dylan fought over the right to wield the symbiote in VENOM WAR (2024), Venom bonded with a new host who was present at the trial of Madame Masque. Along with Masque, Jones was initially one of the most likely candidates to be the new Venom, as were Mayor Luke Cage and Robbie Robertson, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Bugle. 

During a battle between Masque and Venom, Jones stepped onto the scene and revealed he had actually bonded with another symbiote: Sleeper. The Sleeper symbiote is one of Venom’s youngest offspring, and it originally formed a particularly close bond with Dylan. Even though Sleeper appears to be in government custody with other symbiotes, Jones and his new symbiote partner seem ready to jump into action to defend the Marvel Universe. 

See Rick Jones step into the world of symbiotes in ALL-NEW VENOM #4, on sale now!

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