Thursday, April 11, 2013

J: Jack T. .Chance!



is for Jack T. Chance.

(Before I get into this post, proper, I just want to give myself a little 'high five' for making this my 100th post to the blog, since starting back in August of 2011. Woo hoo! :) Also, in the past four months I've posted around 55 entries which is more than I did in 2010 and 2011...combined.)

Now...on to letter "J".

Jack T. Chance was created by John Ostrander and, as the story goes, loosely based off another Ostrander character....GrimJack.

For the uninitiated, the Green Lantern corps was founded by an ancient race of beings called The Guardians as a, sort of, intergalactic peace keeping force. Choosing a champion from each planet and giving them one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxies (the amazing power ring), the Green Lanterns are to keep peace in their respective sectors while still adhering to the Guardians strict code of non-lethality.

Jack T. Chance was the exception to that rule.

From the planet Garnet, also known as "Hellhole" due to it being one of the worst criminal planets in existence, Chance was chosen basically as a last resort. A loose cannon...and one of the Guardian's secret weapons on the war against evil.

Chance was given something that no other member of the core had been given before that time.



He was allowed to use more "questionable methods to get the job done...,but there was a catch. While most Green Lanterns had jurisdiction over an entire sector of space, Chance was to be confined just to his planet. The ring wouldn't work offworld and he was to be subjected to periodic checks by the Guardians to make sure he wasn't getting too out of hand. As if there was such a thing on Hellhole.

Even though he was a very minor character in the Green Lantern lore, I always liked Jack. He could 'stick it to the man' and get away with it, because they needed him to keep a lid on his planet. 

Chance billed himself as a "good, bad man", chain smoked, and carried a big gun as backup to his power ring. He refused to wear the typical Green Lantern uniform and, instead, just put a pin on his lapel to designate his membership in the Corp. Plus...he wore a bolo tie and I was big into bolo ties in the 90s. Don't judge. :P

Like another rebel Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, Jack T. Chance was a nice change from the usual 'boy scout' type member of the Corp...even reciting his own oath while recharging his power ring.

The typical oath goes like this:

In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power, Green Lantern's light.

Jack's oath was:

You who are wicked, evil and mean
I'm the nastiest creep you've ever seen!
Come one, come all, put up a fight
I'll pound your butts with Green Lantern's light!

Chance was killed when the entire Green Lantern Corp tried to stop the galaxy wide threat known as Parallax and his ring crushed.

And before you ask, no, I don't know what the "T" stood for. :)

Tomorrow we'll speed along with one of the big gun's sidekicks....

38 comments:

Elise Fallson said...

Jack T Chance rings a bell, but I can't remember reading anything specific with him in it. Anyway, congrats on your 100th post! That's awesome. And your haiku was great. (:

Sheena-kay Graham said...

You got me liking Jack just to find out he got killed. Never heard of him before today but I know about the Green Lantern back story. Jack sounds so cool and wicked yet kept things in line.

Suzanne Furness said...

High five, Mark! I'm nearly there myself I've done 93 I think. Yay for small milestones! Thanks for introducing me to yet another previously unknown character, shame he was killed.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

Jack Rocks... kind of a on diet beast from x-men. congrats on 100, will there be cake? I will come back if there is a cake... :)

Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

Dani said...

This guy seems familiar... hmmm...
100 posts! Congrats!

S.P. Bowers said...

I always wanted a ring with special powers, though I have to question a superhero with a bolo tie. Sorry, but there it is.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Back to the DC universe - now you're talking!
And congratulations on one hundred posts.

Unknown said...

Happy one-hundredth day!
I love the look of this guy- an unlikely hero, just getting the job done.

Julie Flanders said...

I love the chain-smoking pic. Honestly he looks like he is smoking more than cigarettes LOL.

Congrats on your 100th post!! I'm glad you started blogging more, your posts are awesome. :)

Regina said...

Congrats to you, Mark!

mshatch said...

I had no idea there were bad ass super heroes like the Green lantern. I like him!

Yolanda Renée said...

Love Jack's oath, and the T -- trouble?

My sons name is Jason T Patrick, and that T didn't have a meaning either, till he was about 2!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Jack T Chance sounds like a fun character - love his take on the oath! That is so funny.

Thanks for introducing me to all these different characters!

jaybird said...

Congrats on your 100th post. Rock on! My daughter might be the only third grader who wears a green lantern ring and can recite the entire In brightest day, in darkest night speech, but to me, she's the coolest for being able to do it!!

cleemckenzie said...

I love anti-heroes. Jack seems to be one of those. Chain smoking, colorful language and unorthodox methods. T for Terrific? Terrible?

PK HREZO said...

Yay congrats on 100 posts! mega achievement!!!

Mark Means said...

@Elise: Haha...thank you. I figured it was -maybe- a "good, bad, haiku" :)

@Sheena: I know, it's a shame they killed him off. Though, as we all know, comic characters rarely stay 'dead':)

@Susan: Pre-emptive 'congrats' on that! It does always feel nice to hit a milestone like that.

@Jeremy: LOL...of course there will be cake. Just don't tell my wife, I'm supposed to be watching what I eat (and I'll watch that cake go straight into my mouth) =)

@Dani: Thank you!

@S.P: Gasp!! You question the bolo tie? O.k...well, I think I can see your point, these days :)

@Alex: Thank you and more D.C. on the way :)

@Melanie: Thanks! Yep, he certainly had his own style, for sure.

@Julie: LOL! Well...um...maybe it's an 'alien' cigarette....right? :D Thank you very much for those kind words, I really appreciate them.

@Regina: Thank you very much!

@mshatch: One of the 'baddest'...but a 'good' bad.. :)

@Yolanda: Ohhh...yeah, it -could- be trouble! Great call :)

@Tyrean: Thank you and glad you're enjoying!

@jaybird: Thank you much and your daughter IS the coolest. By the powers given to me by the D.C Universe...I dub her an honorary Green Lantern! The Guardians would be proud :)

@Lee: I always enjoy the anti-hero too. They seem to have many more layers to them.

@PK: Thank you and didn't think I'd ever unlock that one :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

He looks like a rough customer.

Empty Nest Insider said...

Congrats on your 100th post! Sounds like Jack was a multidimensional character with a real fighting spirit.

Julie

J.L. Campbell said...

Haven't come across this character before, but he sounds like a real rebel.

Jenny said...

Congratulations on your 100th post! What took you so long? :-)

I kind of like this guy, especially his oath.

Jenny at Choice City Native

Christine Rains said...

There's so many cool stories in the Green Lantern universe. I've never heard of Chance. I was going to ask if he was from the same planet as Lobo, but I googled my answer. Nope! Though that would've been cool.

Robin said...

First of all, congratulations on your 100th posting.

I am learning so much about the comics right here. You must know by now that I was not a comic book reader. I pretty much glean all of my information from the TV and movies. So, thanks to the Green Lantern movie I was familiar with the Green Lantern Corp.... just not this character. Thanks for filling me in. He sounds quite roguish.

Al Diaz said...

I liked Green Lantern a lot, but I didn't know about this guy. He sounds like a tough guy I would have liked.
Congratulations on your post 100! It's great that you're posting more often because otherwise we wouldn't get to enjoy your writing. :)

Unknown said...

Congrats on 100 posts! We only have 92 more to catch up with you! lol. Another interesting post. And I kinda love Jack's oath. Would it be weird if I made it my own?

Karen

Mark Means said...

@Diane: I think, where he's from, you have to be!

@Julie: Thank you very much :)

@J.L: Part of the 'good, bad' image, I'm sure :)

@Jenny: I know, right? It only took me three years...haha.

@Christine: He is sort of Lobo-esque, I agree.

@Robin: Thank you and I'm sorry your only exposure to the Lanterns was from that movie...ugh! (but, that's for another post) Let's just say the movies didn't do the characters justice.

@Al: Yeah, I definitely think this character would be right up your alley :) Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate them!

@Karen: Haha...no, I don't think it'd be weird at all. But, if you do make up your own...you have to come back and post it :)

Allison said...

haha. I like his oath better. Congrats on the posting!

Allison (Geek Banter)

Mina Burrows said...

Congrats on the 100th post! Awesome. I love Jacks oath.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I never heard of that part of the legend. I guess the movie took a lot of liberties.

ilima said...

Congrats on your 100th post!

Carrie Butler said...

High five for 100 posts! :D

Anonymous said...

wow... you know a lot about comics! If I need to research comic book history or characters, I'll come here!

Chancelet said...

These stories were deep. Who knew? I sure didn't. Makes me wish I'd gotten into reading comics way back when. And I never knew that the heroes, even good, bad heroes died.

No shame. Bolo ties were big back then!

Valerie said...

This is a good one!! Never heard of him! I love learning new things.

Happy 100th post!!!

Hugs!

Valerie Nunez and the Flying Platypi

Lisa said...

I don't remember him at all, and that's sad because he sounds so COOL! I love his oath. I love him being so individual! And congrats on your 100th post!! They are so worth readying!!!

sfdada said...

Wow, he's really cool looking. Must take the kiddos to the comic book store!

Jessie Humphries said...

Geez, you're a total comic book genius! So cool :)

Rebecca Green Gasper said...

Slightly shady hero. Interesting character and not a highly trusted one it seems since they kept him confined to Hellhole.

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