Johnny Thunder
Encyclopedia
Johnny Thunder is the name of three fictional characters in comics published by DC Comics
. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder.
It is also the name of an unrelated Lego character
.
-like "Thunderbolt" named Yz during a mystic ritual on his seventh birthday, which was intended to allow the Badhnesians to use Johnny to rule the world. However, the plan is soon aborted after an attack from a neighboring country. Johnny eventually returns to the United States
and lives an ordinary life until one day, while washing windows, he inadvertently summons the Thunderbolt with the magic words cei-u when he calls for someone to throw him a sponge, which he accidentally uses to become a successful boxer. Johnny underwent several adventures (each time inadvertently summoning the Thunderbolt via the use of "say, you" in his day-to-day conversation, never realizing the Thunderbolt was responsible for the extraordinary events that befell him) before finally learning of the Thunderbolt's existence.
Johnny's appearances with the Justice Society and in his own solo adventures tended to be quite comedic, as Johnny's main personality trait was being fairly dim-witted, which prompts his much-smarter Thunderbolt to possess a sarcastic (if patient) attitude toward his "boss." He accidentally joined, when saying he felt the Justice Society should have let him join, and was then taken to their meeting. Despite recurring impatience with his stupidity, his fellow JSAers genuinely valued Johnny's good-heartedness and dedication and considered him a friend. Furthermore, the Thunderbolt's vast power may have contributed to Johnny's continued JSA membership, his frequent blunders notwithstanding, since the more competent heroes doubtlessly thought it wise to keep an eye on the pair whenever possible. he finally became a member after the Flash left and the group told him to capture Mister X, which he succeeded in accidentally. Like most of the JSA members, he had his aging factor greatly slowed during an encounter with the villain Ian Karkull
.
Johnny's adventures ceased in the late 1940s when he was replaced in the Justice Society stories by a heroine he had begun teaming up with, the Black Canary
. The reason for his leaving the Justice Society is eventually explained to be that his control over his Thunderbolt is weakening, thanks to a spell cast by renegade Badhnesian priests. In the early 1950s, Johnny is kidnapped again by agents from Badhnesia, with the intention of executing their original world conquest plan. Johnny manages to summon Superman
, and the would-be conquerors' plans are defeated. Johnny spent some time in Badhnesia afterwards, teaching the native citizens about democracy
. He returns home after the country elects its first President
. Johnny joins the Justice Society on various adventures.
was the one-shot Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special (1986). This book depicted the sacrifice of Johnny and his JSA teammates as they left the 'new' post-Crisis world and entered into a limbo dimension. Caused by the actions of Adolf Hitler
in April 1945, a wave of destruction appears over Earth even as it is settling down from the Crisis. In order to stop a literal Ragnorok, the heroes enter into an eternal battle, and so leave the world.
After this Johnny is depicted as suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
. At one point he loses track of a pen in which the Thunderbolt is being stored. The pen eventually ends up in the ownership of a young African American
boy named Jakeem Williams, who takes up the name Johnny Jakeem Thunder or Jakeem Thunder
.
, Jakeem unwittingly cures Johnny Thunder of Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, Johnny immediately falls prey to the Ultra-Humanite, who takes over Johnny's body in order to command the Thunderbolt's powers. In the "Stealing Thunder" storyline, Jakeem is one of several heroes left free from Ultra's control. Eventually Jakeem wrests control of the Thunderbolt back from Ultra, but Johnny Thunder loses his life. Jakeem then wishes that the Thunderbolt could save Johnny somehow, so the genie chooses to merge with Johnny, creating a new being with the memories of both. He later assumes the name Johnny Thunderbolt.
Johnny Thunderbolt bears Johnny's likeness, though it is not clear how the personalities of Johnny and the two genies interact, and whether any one personality is dominant. Johnny's family is informed of his death and a funeral is held at Valhalla, a cemetery for superheroes. The family does not know that he lives on as the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt eventually stops displaying Johnny's likeness while still speaking as him.
.
retcons, an alternate version of Johnny Thunder existed on Earth-One. This version was a simple petty criminal with no Thunderbolt. Upon meeting the Earth-Two Thunder (who had traveled to Earth-One out of curiosity), the criminal Johnny Thunder knocked his counterpart out and seized control of the Thunderbolt. He uses it to temporarily reshape Earth-One such that several heroes, such as Superman
, Batman
, and Green Lantern
, retroactively cease to exist. The criminal exploits the fact that Thunderbolt is 'keyed' to simply obey Johnny Thunder, without any distinction made between alternate versions, leaving Thunderbolt obligated to obey whichever Johnny is conscious despite his own morality; however, Thunderbolt often tries to work in loopholes to give the heroes an advantage, such as informing the criminal that the Justice Society- who had come to Earth-1 to find out what had happened to their friends in the Justice League- had disappeared when they had in fact disguised themselves as the Justice League to try and provoke Johnny into revealing what had happened to their version, or making a barrier which keeps cops out, but not superheroes. The Earth-2 Johnny is apparently placed in a coma by the Thunderbolt's magic, though this is not actually shown.
The alternate version of Earth-One that Johnny creates is sometimes referred to as Earth-A (Earth Alternate), which Johnny thinks up himself. Thunder's 'Lawless League' of evil Justice League heroes, which are made up of Johnny's fellow criminals who were given powers of Justice League members, are defeated by the visiting Justice Society
of Earth-Two, who had originally disguised themselves as the JLA, after learning of Johnny's disappearance, the Society's greater experience allowing them to easily defeat their criminal counterparts. They subsequently face off against Johnny Thunder on the moon, and the three creatures the Thunderbolt creates, Medusa-man (Who turns people into wood), Absorbo-man (Who can absorb the powers of others), and Repello-man (Who throws attacks back at their origins). All the members are defeated except for Doctor Fate. He creates a golden mask over Medusa-Man's face, and sends the wooden Mr. Terrific and Atom at Absorbo-Man, who had absorbed Green Lantern's power, meaning he is vulnerable to wood and is destroyed. He uses repello-magic on Repello-man, which is repelled and destroys him. When the fight comes down to a struggle between Doctor Fate
and the Thunderbolt, Johnny Thunder is so battered about by the combatting magic wielders- whose powers fail to do any actual damage to each other- that he finally gives up his attempts to use the Thunderbolt and wishes that none of these events had taken place. The two Earths and their respective heroes are restored, with the Justice League mentioning their world's Johnny Thunder as a small-time criminal at their meeting. The Johnny Thunder of Earth-One would return as a threat in Justice League of America #219 and #220. It is implied at the end that the Thunderbolt remembers the events though.
#100 in 1948. His name was John Stuart Mill Tane and he lives in the Mormon
settlement of Mesa City, Arizona. The son of a sheriff and a schoolteacher, Johnny's mother makes him promise never to use guns and to instead follow in her footsteps. Johnny became a schoolteacher, but he soon found himself in a situation where violence was required. In order to keep his vow, Johnny created the identity of Johnny Thunder by changing clothes and darkening his hair to black. Thus, "Thunder" is not the character's genuine surname, making it unlikely that any familial connection exists between the two Johnnys.
In Impulse
Annual #2 (1997), a backup story revealed that, at the time of his mother's death, Johnny Tane is inspired to create a secret identity
by Max Mercury
. The young Johnny is briefly under the impression Max is a genie, in a reference to the later Johnny Thunder. Eventually, Johnny retired from action, marrying the similarly-retired outlaw Madame .44, and the couple bore a son and a daughter.
. A small gold statue gives her the power to turn into a human thunderbolt, while leaving her body behind. In later issues of Infinity, Inc., the thunderbolt is revealed to be a hostile alien energy-being, who is defeated by being re-imprisoned in the statue, leaving Jonni without powers. Since she was created by Golden Age expert Roy Thomas
and appeared with the descendants of the original JSA in Infinity Inc., a potential connection to Johnny Thunder seemed likely but was never expounded upon. Jonni existed on Earth-Two before Crisis and is briefly seen on the merged Earth resulting from the Crisis, attending a detectives convention.
In the Kingdom Come
continuity, she and Black Lightning
have a child who becomes the anti-hero
known as "Lightning", possessing the electricity-based powers of both of her parents. However, in the contemporary DC Universe, Black Lightning's daughter Lightning
, who recently joined the JSA, is identified as the daughter of Black Lightning and his ex-wife Lynn Stewart.
woman. Afraid of prejudices against mixed marriages, Johnny abandoned his son, something he later regretted deeply. However, it seems as if Johnny's partner, the magic Thunderbolt named Yz, left his mark on young William, who developed astonishing thunderbolt powers later in his life. As Will Power, William joined the supernatural/meta-human team of heroes called the Leymen (a.k.a. Primal Force) until it was disbanded. He was last seen searching for his father, touring with a rock band as a "human light show".
Twotrees has neither reappeared since the cancellation of the Primal Force series nor been referenced in any way in the later Justice Society of America
titles.
: "Johnny Thunder" from the album The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society
and the same character as an older man in "One of the Survivors" on Preservation Act 1. It appears to be a nickname for the songs' English character, based on the comic book action hero.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder.
It is also the name of an unrelated Lego character
Lego Adventurers
Lego Adventures is a Lego theme based on an 'explorer' concept. The characters explore new areas, and go on adventures. Unlike other lego themes, which take place in a fictional "Lego Universe", most of the Adventurers sets takes places in real-world locations, such as Egypt, the Amazon...
.
Fictional character biography
John L. Thunder is the seventh son of a seventh son, born at 7 a.m. on Sunday, July 7, the seventh day of the week, the seventh day of the seventh month in 1917. This causes him to be kidnapped and sold to a group of men from the fictional country of Badhnesia who had been looking for someone born at this time on this day. As an infant, Johnny is given possession of the genieGenie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
-like "Thunderbolt" named Yz during a mystic ritual on his seventh birthday, which was intended to allow the Badhnesians to use Johnny to rule the world. However, the plan is soon aborted after an attack from a neighboring country. Johnny eventually returns to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and lives an ordinary life until one day, while washing windows, he inadvertently summons the Thunderbolt with the magic words cei-u when he calls for someone to throw him a sponge, which he accidentally uses to become a successful boxer. Johnny underwent several adventures (each time inadvertently summoning the Thunderbolt via the use of "say, you" in his day-to-day conversation, never realizing the Thunderbolt was responsible for the extraordinary events that befell him) before finally learning of the Thunderbolt's existence.
Johnny's appearances with the Justice Society and in his own solo adventures tended to be quite comedic, as Johnny's main personality trait was being fairly dim-witted, which prompts his much-smarter Thunderbolt to possess a sarcastic (if patient) attitude toward his "boss." He accidentally joined, when saying he felt the Justice Society should have let him join, and was then taken to their meeting. Despite recurring impatience with his stupidity, his fellow JSAers genuinely valued Johnny's good-heartedness and dedication and considered him a friend. Furthermore, the Thunderbolt's vast power may have contributed to Johnny's continued JSA membership, his frequent blunders notwithstanding, since the more competent heroes doubtlessly thought it wise to keep an eye on the pair whenever possible. he finally became a member after the Flash left and the group told him to capture Mister X, which he succeeded in accidentally. Like most of the JSA members, he had his aging factor greatly slowed during an encounter with the villain Ian Karkull
Ian Karkull
Ian Karkull is a fictional supervillain in some comic-book titles published by DC Comics. He first appeared in More Fun Comics #69 as a foe of the sorcerer Doctor Fate...
.
Johnny's adventures ceased in the late 1940s when he was replaced in the Justice Society stories by a heroine he had begun teaming up with, the Black Canary
Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
. The reason for his leaving the Justice Society is eventually explained to be that his control over his Thunderbolt is weakening, thanks to a spell cast by renegade Badhnesian priests. In the early 1950s, Johnny is kidnapped again by agents from Badhnesia, with the intention of executing their original world conquest plan. Johnny manages to summon Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, and the would-be conquerors' plans are defeated. Johnny spent some time in Badhnesia afterwards, teaching the native citizens about democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. He returns home after the country elects its first President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. Johnny joins the Justice Society on various adventures.
Crisis on Infinite Earths & Ragnorok
Following the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
was the one-shot Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special (1986). This book depicted the sacrifice of Johnny and his JSA teammates as they left the 'new' post-Crisis world and entered into a limbo dimension. Caused by the actions of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in April 1945, a wave of destruction appears over Earth even as it is settling down from the Crisis. In order to stop a literal Ragnorok, the heroes enter into an eternal battle, and so leave the world.
Johnny's Return
The absence of the JSA and of Johnny Thunder did not last long. In 1992 DC published Armageddon: Inferno, the mini-series which brought the JSA out of limbo and into the post-Crisis world. This was followed by Justice Society of America (1992–1993). This series showed how the heroes were adjusting to a 'normal' life. Johnny is depicted as an overweight man, not as old as his friends, but nostalgic for the past. It is explained that before he had entered into limbo he had lent his foster daughter a few thousand dollars and during his time fighting for the universe, she had created Peachy's Frozen Yogurt, a very successful chain of which Johnny is half owner... and now very wealthy. Of greater import to Johnny Thunder is his discovery that the Bahdnesians have all but disappeared. A visit to the island of Bahdnesia (now under the ownership of Pol St. Germain) proves that no Bahdnesians are left there. In issue #7 Johnny states: "There were never very many of them... and the island magic had worn out. T-Bolt was all that was left, and he was with me in limbo. They had to leave or starve to death." This series also introduced the young Kiku, according to the Thunderbolt, the last remaining Bahdnesian.After this Johnny is depicted as suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. At one point he loses track of a pen in which the Thunderbolt is being stored. The pen eventually ends up in the ownership of a young African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
boy named Jakeem Williams, who takes up the name Johnny Jakeem Thunder or Jakeem Thunder
Jakeem Thunder
Jakeem Thunder , initially called J.J. Thunder, is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America. Jakeem first appeared in Flash Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Johnny Williams), initially called J.J. Thunder, is a fictional character in the...
.
Johnny Thunderbolt
In a later battle with Solomon GrundySolomon Grundy (comics)
Solomon Grundy is a fictional character, a zombie supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. Named after the 19th century children's nursery rhyme, Grundy was introduced as an enemy of the Golden Age Green Lantern , but has since become a prominent enemy for a number of superheroes, such as Batman and...
, Jakeem unwittingly cures Johnny Thunder of Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, Johnny immediately falls prey to the Ultra-Humanite, who takes over Johnny's body in order to command the Thunderbolt's powers. In the "Stealing Thunder" storyline, Jakeem is one of several heroes left free from Ultra's control. Eventually Jakeem wrests control of the Thunderbolt back from Ultra, but Johnny Thunder loses his life. Jakeem then wishes that the Thunderbolt could save Johnny somehow, so the genie chooses to merge with Johnny, creating a new being with the memories of both. He later assumes the name Johnny Thunderbolt.
Johnny Thunderbolt bears Johnny's likeness, though it is not clear how the personalities of Johnny and the two genies interact, and whether any one personality is dominant. Johnny's family is informed of his death and a funeral is held at Valhalla, a cemetery for superheroes. The family does not know that he lives on as the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt eventually stops displaying Johnny's likeness while still speaking as him.
Blackest Night
During the Blackest Night crossover, Johnny's body is reanimated as part of the Black Lantern CorpsBlack Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
.
Johnny Thunder of Earth-One
Prior to the Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
retcons, an alternate version of Johnny Thunder existed on Earth-One. This version was a simple petty criminal with no Thunderbolt. Upon meeting the Earth-Two Thunder (who had traveled to Earth-One out of curiosity), the criminal Johnny Thunder knocked his counterpart out and seized control of the Thunderbolt. He uses it to temporarily reshape Earth-One such that several heroes, such as Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, and Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, retroactively cease to exist. The criminal exploits the fact that Thunderbolt is 'keyed' to simply obey Johnny Thunder, without any distinction made between alternate versions, leaving Thunderbolt obligated to obey whichever Johnny is conscious despite his own morality; however, Thunderbolt often tries to work in loopholes to give the heroes an advantage, such as informing the criminal that the Justice Society- who had come to Earth-1 to find out what had happened to their friends in the Justice League- had disappeared when they had in fact disguised themselves as the Justice League to try and provoke Johnny into revealing what had happened to their version, or making a barrier which keeps cops out, but not superheroes. The Earth-2 Johnny is apparently placed in a coma by the Thunderbolt's magic, though this is not actually shown.
The alternate version of Earth-One that Johnny creates is sometimes referred to as Earth-A (Earth Alternate), which Johnny thinks up himself. Thunder's 'Lawless League' of evil Justice League heroes, which are made up of Johnny's fellow criminals who were given powers of Justice League members, are defeated by the visiting Justice Society
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
of Earth-Two, who had originally disguised themselves as the JLA, after learning of Johnny's disappearance, the Society's greater experience allowing them to easily defeat their criminal counterparts. They subsequently face off against Johnny Thunder on the moon, and the three creatures the Thunderbolt creates, Medusa-man (Who turns people into wood), Absorbo-man (Who can absorb the powers of others), and Repello-man (Who throws attacks back at their origins). All the members are defeated except for Doctor Fate. He creates a golden mask over Medusa-Man's face, and sends the wooden Mr. Terrific and Atom at Absorbo-Man, who had absorbed Green Lantern's power, meaning he is vulnerable to wood and is destroyed. He uses repello-magic on Repello-man, which is repelled and destroys him. When the fight comes down to a struggle between Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
and the Thunderbolt, Johnny Thunder is so battered about by the combatting magic wielders- whose powers fail to do any actual damage to each other- that he finally gives up his attempts to use the Thunderbolt and wishes that none of these events had taken place. The two Earths and their respective heroes are restored, with the Justice League mentioning their world's Johnny Thunder as a small-time criminal at their meeting. The Johnny Thunder of Earth-One would return as a threat in Justice League of America #219 and #220. It is implied at the end that the Thunderbolt remembers the events though.
John Tane
The second Johnny Thunder, completely unrelated to the original, first appeared in All-American ComicsAll-American Comics
All-American Comics was the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948, at which time it was renamed All-American Western. In 1952, the title was changed again to All-American Men of...
#100 in 1948. His name was John Stuart Mill Tane and he lives in the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
settlement of Mesa City, Arizona. The son of a sheriff and a schoolteacher, Johnny's mother makes him promise never to use guns and to instead follow in her footsteps. Johnny became a schoolteacher, but he soon found himself in a situation where violence was required. In order to keep his vow, Johnny created the identity of Johnny Thunder by changing clothes and darkening his hair to black. Thus, "Thunder" is not the character's genuine surname, making it unlikely that any familial connection exists between the two Johnnys.
In Impulse
Bart Allen
Bartholomew "Bart" Allen is a superhero in the . Allen first appeared as the superhero Impulse. He would later go on to become the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash. Allen's first cameo appearance was in The Flash #91, while his first full appearance was in issue #92...
Annual #2 (1997), a backup story revealed that, at the time of his mother's death, Johnny Tane is inspired to create a secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
by Max Mercury
Max Mercury
Max Mercury is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero based on Quality Comics' Quicksilver.- Publication history :He first appeared in Quality's National Comics #5, cover dated November 1940, as Quicksilver...
. The young Johnny is briefly under the impression Max is a genie, in a reference to the later Johnny Thunder. Eventually, Johnny retired from action, marrying the similarly-retired outlaw Madame .44, and the couple bore a son and a daughter.
Jonni Thunder
Jonni Thunder is a female private detective who first appeared in a four issue miniseries from 1985 named Jonni Thunder AKA Thunderbolt, written by Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
. A small gold statue gives her the power to turn into a human thunderbolt, while leaving her body behind. In later issues of Infinity, Inc., the thunderbolt is revealed to be a hostile alien energy-being, who is defeated by being re-imprisoned in the statue, leaving Jonni without powers. Since she was created by Golden Age expert Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and appeared with the descendants of the original JSA in Infinity Inc., a potential connection to Johnny Thunder seemed likely but was never expounded upon. Jonni existed on Earth-Two before Crisis and is briefly seen on the merged Earth resulting from the Crisis, attending a detectives convention.
In the Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come (comic book)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
continuity, she and Black Lightning
Black Lightning
Black Lightning was one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. He debuted in Black Lightning #1 , and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden.- Publication history :...
have a child who becomes the anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
known as "Lightning", possessing the electricity-based powers of both of her parents. However, in the contemporary DC Universe, Black Lightning's daughter Lightning
Lightning (DC Comics)
Lightning is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. A member of the Justice Society of America, she is the youngest daughter of Black Lightning and sister of the heroine Thunder. The current version of Lightning debuted in Justice Society of America vol...
, who recently joined the JSA, is identified as the daughter of Black Lightning and his ex-wife Lynn Stewart.
Son of Johnny Thunder (Will Power of Primal Force)
William Twotrees is the illegitimate son of 1940s hero Johnny Thunder and a Jicarilla ApacheJicarilla Apache
Jicarilla Apache refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athabaskan language...
woman. Afraid of prejudices against mixed marriages, Johnny abandoned his son, something he later regretted deeply. However, it seems as if Johnny's partner, the magic Thunderbolt named Yz, left his mark on young William, who developed astonishing thunderbolt powers later in his life. As Will Power, William joined the supernatural/meta-human team of heroes called the Leymen (a.k.a. Primal Force) until it was disbanded. He was last seen searching for his father, touring with a rock band as a "human light show".
Twotrees has neither reappeared since the cancellation of the Primal Force series nor been referenced in any way in the later Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
titles.
Television
- Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt appear in three non-speaking roles in the animated series Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
. Johnny himself only appears in the first episode, "Initiation." Thunderbolt goes on to appear in two more episodes by himself. Thunderbolt appears in "Initiation", "The Greatest Story Never Told", and the series finale "Destroyer." In "Initiation", he is seen with Johnny during SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's speech. In "The Greatest Story Never Told", he is seen helping the Justice League in the battle against MordruMordruMordru is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics' main shared universe.Mordru is the most prominent Lord of Chaos who is fated to survive even after the end of the universe, although he is usually shown as a powerful wizard...
without Johnny. In the series finale "Destroyer" he is seen at the end as the League walks down the stairs, also without Johnny.
Music
The name Johnny Thunder appears in two songs by The KinksThe Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
: "Johnny Thunder" from the album The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1968. It was the last album by the original quartet, as bassist Pete Quaife left the group in early 1969...
and the same character as an older man in "One of the Survivors" on Preservation Act 1. It appears to be a nickname for the songs' English character, based on the comic book action hero.