The Flash Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 17 - Tricksters

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

When a costumed criminal calling himself The Trickster bombs a playground with exploding packages on parachutes, Barry and Joe seek the advice of the original Trickster, James Jesse, who is currently imprisoned in Iron Heights. At first Jesse seems all too happy to help the police catch this upstart impersonator... but can be trusted?  Or is The Trickster plotting his greatest trick yet?  And can Barry truly trust Harrison Wells to help him?


Influences

Silence of The Lambs (James Jesse is kept in a special cell like Hannibal Lecter and is consulted in order to catch another criminal) Speed (referenced when The Flash is fitted with a bomb that will go off if he runs under a certain speed), Star Wars (James Jesse's "I am your father" speech to Axel Walker as well as Wells' speech to convince Barry to give himself over to a mysterious force he barely understands), The Flash comics of Geoff Johns and the 1990's The Flash TV series.


Goofs

James Jesse identifies the poison he used on the guests at Mayor Bellows fundraiser as trimethylmercury 32.  But when we hear him speaking to the crowd through Iris' phone later on, he calls the poison trimetyhline 32.


Performances 

Mark Hamill, unsurprisingly, steals the show as James Jesse.

Despite not getting as many great lines as Hamill, Devon Graye holds his own alongside Hamill in their scenes together and manages to go over the top in the right ways as Axel Walker.

It's a brief moment, but Joe West's pep-talk to Barry is one of Jesse L. Martin's finest moments yet on the show. And considering how many great moments he's had, that's saying something.


Artistry

The slow motion sequence in which we get to see the fight between The Flash and The Reverse Flash in the Allen home is very well executed.


Flash Facts 

The first Trickster was originally a circus acrobat named Giovanni Giuseppe. Afraid of heights as a boy, he crafted his first trick as a teenager - a pair of "air-walking" shoes that allowed him to levitate with a click of his heels.  Giovanni built a number of other ingenious devices and used them in his act until he became inspired to become a costumed criminal after learning about The Flash. Adopting the alias of James Jesse, the Trickster was an oddity even by the standards of The Rogues Gallery. He didn't care about money -  he just liked the idea of outsmarting The Flash and making him look silly.

The Trickster would later reform at the behest of the superhero Blue Devil, who pointed out that Jesse's tricks could make him a fortune as a special effects artist. The two became friends and supported one another's careers in Hollywood afterward.

James Jesse has the notable distinction of being one of the people people in the DC Universe who can honestly be said to have single-handedly saved The Earth.  This occurred during the Underworld Unleashed storyline, where Jesse was able - with an assist from Captain Marvel - to pull a con on The Demon Neron.  Unfortunately, nobody - save Neron and possibly Captain Marvel - has any memory of the incident.  This incident inspired Jesse to become a con-artist for the forces of good and for him to start collecting the gadgets and weapons of imprisoned super-villains to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands and led to Jesse becoming a special agent for the FBI.

It was one of these caches of gear that was found by Axel Walker, who crafted a new costume and began committing crimes in Keystone and Central City as the new Trickster. Axel was more blood-thirsty than James Jesse and quickly became a person of interest to both The Flash and James Jesse. Despite this, Captain Cold still took Axel on as a potential recruit for The Rogues Gallery and - to his credit - was able to keep Axel relatively under control.

Mark Hamill played the James Jesse version of The Trickster on the 1990s Flash show, though the character was quite different from James Jesse in the comics.  This Trickster was much closer in personality to The Joker, being more violent than the original Trickster.

Mark Hamill also played The Trickster in one episode of Justice League Unlimited. There, The Trickster was portrayed as a mentally unbalanced but good-natured man who only put on his costume and caused trouble because of an unspecified mental condition that required medication. He was quite happy to turn himself in after The Flash politely pointed out he was wearing his costume again.

Ironically, Mark Hamill would find success playing The Joker on Batman: The Animated Series not too long after The Flash was canceled.  Indeed, the voice Hamill used as The Trickster is not too far from his voice for The Joker. Hamill uses a similar tone of voice in this episode.

Oddly, the 1990's The Flash show foreshadowed the creation of Harley Quinn, who first appeared on Batman: The Animated Series. The Trickster had a similar female sidekick called Prank, who - in one incarnation - was a disturbed Trickster fangirl whom he alternated between barely tolerating and outright abusing. The other incarnation of Prank was a doctor with whom James Jesse became obsessed, whom he abducted and forced into the Prank costume.

This episode mixes various aspects of the many versions of The Trickster across different media. This version of James Jesse draws heavily off the version created for the 1990s Flash TV series in terms of personality.  The explanation for how Axel Walker got a hold of The Trickster's equipment is taken directly from the comics. And Jesse's attitude regarding someone taking his name and gear is pretty much the response James Jesse had regarding Axel Walker in the comics, though he was more intent on schooling the upstart and taking his gear back than killing him.

James Jesse and Axel Walker never worked together in the comics.

James Jesse did have an illegitimate son in the comics, but it wasn't Axel Walker.

The conceit that James Jesse is Axel Walker's father is also a nod to Mark Hamill's other most famous role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films - albeit with Hamill now playing the role of the father turning his son to a path of evil.

Devon Graye's costume as the new Trickster is fairly close to the design for Axel Walker's Trickster suit in the comics.

Production photos from the 1990's Flash TV show are used to show off James Jesse's past crimes.

In the flashbacks, we learn that The Reverse Flash somehow lost his connection to The Speed Force during the battle with Barry Allen.  In the comics, some speedsters manifested a power to manipulate the relative speed of other bodies in motion, either slowing them down or using their velocity to fuel their own speed.  Some even possessed the ability to drain the speed powers from other speedsters. It's possible that Barry Allen did this by accident, in this case, to depower The Reverse Flash.

Mark Hamill wears a long-haired wig in his scenes in prison that resemble his haircut when he played Luke Skywalker.

Joe comments that it looks like nobody has been in The Trickster's hideout since the 90s.  This was, of course, when Mark Hamill played The Trickster on the 1990s Flash TV series.

Mark Hamill's Trickster spandex suit from the 1990's Flash TV show can be seen on a mannequin in the background when Barry and Joe investigate The Trickster's hideout.  However, the costume also seems to have a blue cape that resembles the one worn by The Trickster in the original Flash comics.

The door to The Trickster's armory is decorated with a stylized likeness of The Trickster's face that bares more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Timm's design for The Joker - another nod to Hamill's voicing The Joker in various Batman cartoons and video games.

In another reference to the number 52 (a number of some significance in DC Comics lore), The Trickster says he planted a bomb between 52nd Street and Avenue B.

Actor Vito D’Ambrosio played a police officer named Tony Bellows in the 1990s Flash TV series. He appears in this episode playing Central City Mayor Anthony Bellows.

Strapping a speed-sensitive bomb to The Flash is a time-honored gimmick from the classic comics.

Vibrating his molecules to pass through solid objects - or phase - is another classic Flash trick.

Dr. Henry Allen notes, as he looks around STAR Labs, that "half of this stuff didn't even exist when I was practicing."  Dr. Allen is, of course, portrayed by John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen in the 1990s The Flash show and also worked out of STAR Labs in the B.I. (Before Internet) age.

Presumably, the technology Eobard Thawne uses to become Harrison Wells was originally intended to be used on a young Barry Allen.  In the original The Flash comics, Eobard Thawne's ultimate goal was to replace Barry Allen in some form or fashion.


Technobabble

The explosives used by Axel Walker have the exact chemical compositon as the bombs used by James Jesse 20 years earlier. It is later revealed this is because Axel Walker was utilizing the armory in James Jesse's hideout.

Axel Walker uses a "Felicity-level" scrambler to hide the origin of his video blog uploads.

James Jesse poisons the crowd at the Mayor's event with champagne laced with trimethylmercury 32. It is described as relatively fast-acting poison and we see one person die one hour after drinking it, foaming at the mouth and suddenly dropping dead.

Trimethylmercury 32 is not a real substance. Presumably it is an even more lethal form of dimethylmercury, which is one of the most lethal mercury-based compounds known to man.

Dimethylmercury is so toxic that it is hazardous if present in sufficient quantities as to be detected by odor. Dimethylmercury is particularly noteworthy in that it can pass through latex, PVC and butyl within seconds, making it unsafe to handle in all but the strongest of protective gear. It is not fast acting, with the symptoms sometimes taking months to show.

Barry is revealed to be able to phase - or move through solid objects - by vibrating his molocules at the natural frequency of air.


Dialogue Triumphs

Trickster: Tricked ya!  (laughs) Look who's back!  My tricks. My treat. But I'll give you something good to eat!  Today's special?  A city in ashes.  The Trickster proudly welcomes you all to the new disorder!
Cisco: Talking in the third person. That's never a good sign.

James Jesse: You know, when I was free and at my height, a day without casualties was like - well, like The Cubs winning the pennant. It just never happened!

James Jesse: I ask only one thing. When you find this shtick stealer, gimmick grabber, this pathetic wannabe FAKE... make sure your safety's off.

Axel Walker: So what's next?  In your last letter you said you had something big in mind for when you got out.
James Jesse: I've had 20 years to come up with the perfect trick. It's going to be my masterpiece. My Mona Lisa. My Breaking Bad Season 5.
(Axel gives James a questioning look, as if wondering how he could have seen so recent a show)
James Jesse: They gave me cable in prison so I'd stop killing the guards.
Axel Walker: (nodding as if that explains everything) Right.

Axel Walker: There's just one thing I've been dying to ask. Why did you choose me?
James Jesse: Because... I knew you had the strength to fulfill my legacy.  Besides... it was in your blood.
Axel Walker: What do you mean in - in my blood?
Jame Jesse: The real reason I tracked you down and groomed you to be the best you could possibly be, Axel?  I am your father.
(Axel laughs as James kisses him on the forehead)

Joe: Look, whatever else he is, he's Harrison Wells. You love science!  He is science! It's like you made best friends with Einstein!
Barry: You're saying I wanted to be tricked?
Joe: You always want to be the person who sees the best in people.  I've been a cop for 25 years.  All I can see are the flaws. The lies. The dark thoughts that people think I don't see...  I wish I could be you.  As fast as you are, that is your real power. Don't let Wells take that from you. I don't know why he's helping us. All that matters is that he is.

Dr. Wells:  Listen to me, Barry. Breathe. Breathe. Feel the air. Feel that wind on your face. Feel the ground, your feet... lifting you up, pushing you forward and the lightning... Barry... Feel the lighting! Feel its power.  Its electricity. Pumping trough your veins,.crackling through you, traveling to every nerve in your body... like a shock!  You're no longer you now.  You're part of something greater. Part of the Speed Force. It's yours.


Continuity

James Jesse killed 10 civilians and 2 cops during his reign of terror as The Trickster 20 years earlier.

James Jesse  has his own special wing in Iron Heights prison. He was put in it five years earlier after he talked his psychiatrist into committing suicide.

James Jesse shows a fondness for red licorice twists and anyone who meets with him is given a package of the candy to keep him cooperative.

Harrison Wellls' original name for his independent science lab was Technological Engineering Scientific Studies or T.E.S.S. - in honor of the love of his life, Tess Morgan.  She suggests Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Labratories or S.T.A.R. Labs, because she sees Harrison Wells as the only star in her sky.

Iris West still has a key to the coffee shop she used to work at, despite being a full-time reporter.

Barry phases through solid matter for the first time.

Barry officially unmasks himself before his father, Dr. Henry Allen.

At the episode's end, Barry reveals his secret identity to Eddie Thawne.  Eddie lies to keep Iris from investigating Mason Bridge's death, though he is unhappy about it and says that he and Joe will have a long conversation about this after the three of them figure out what Wells is up to.

The flashbacks for this episode reveal a fair amount of information regarding Eobard Thawne - the biggest revelation being that the Reverse Flash who fought Barry Allen on the night of Nora Allen's death did not resemble Harrison Wells.

Before The Flash and Reverse Flash showed up, the wine in Nora Allen's glass was defying gravity, much like the liquid in the containers in Barry's lab just before he was struck by lightning.

An adult Barry Alllen was responsible for carrying his past self to safety during the battle with The Reverse Flash.  This is how a ten year old Barry Allen wound up in the middle of the street some distance away from his home.

This Reverse Flash somehow lost his connection to The Speed Force during the battle with Barry Allen and became stuck in the past.

Eobard Thawne tracks down Harrison Wells and causes a traffic accident that kills Tess Morgan.

Thawne uses some kind of futuristic technology to kill Wells and take on his appearance.  This device apparently works on a molecular level, actually changing Thawne into Wells physically.  This would explain why the second blood sample found by Joe and Cisco 15 years later did not match that of Harrison Wells!

Eobard Thawne's actions change the timeline in one major respect.  He says that originally Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan activated their particle accelerator in 2020.  He is unwilling to wait that long, kills Morgan and replaces Wells, stepping up the time-table to get the accelerator activated in 2014.


The Fridge Factor

Caitlin doesn't get much to do in this episode except offer hugs.  But that's better than Iris, who only gets to ask male characters to investigate Mason Bridge's disappearance for her before being taken hostage.


The Bottom Line

A brilliant episode that manages the neat trick of being self-referential and self-aware without being too annoying about how utterly goofy and  silly it is.  Hopefully we'll be seeing more of The Tricksters later on.

Come out upon my seas, cursed missed opportunities...

They say the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

The greatest trick James Jesse ever pulled was convincing the Devil that he wasn’t a threat.

It’s the big secret that most of the mystic heroes deny the truth of and most of the mundane heroes aren’t aware of; that a simple con-man and sometimes super-villain named James Jesse (a.k.a. The Trickster) managed to single-handedly save the world by cheating the demon lord Neron out of his due.

For the most part, the fact that hardly anybody knew what he’d done suited James Jesse just fine. Having your face broadcast on the news does wonders to kill your career as a con-man. And he certainly wouldn’t want to be a superhero, even if most of the community had been as understanding as The Flash regarding the many shades of grey in the world and the fact that there are Heroes, Innocents, Villains and Rogues. James was quite definitely a Rogue.

Still, The Trickster decided it would do his soul some good to try and play the side of the angels a little more often. So James Jesse became something of a Robin Hood; using his wits and his cunning to take money from The Villains then turning it around and using it to make things better for the Innocents.

It was this new desire to do good that lead James to top himself and defeat Neron a second time. With Neron chasing after all of The Rogues following their escape from Hell (long story) James sent the rest of The Rogues after a holy artifact called The Sun Disk of Meshta. Meshta was an obscure but powerful god of Light and his Sun Disk was said to have the power to repel even the most powerful of demons. The Rogues thought the plan was to steal the disk to protect themselves. But as always, The Trickster had an angle.

James had been contacted days earlier by an old girlfriend, Mindy, who told him about the Meshtan religion and explained that her son Billy was the new Majee – a holyman who is selected by Meshta once a millennium to usher in a new golden age. Billy and the rest of the monks of Meshta had been kidnapped by a warlord who sought to use the legend of the Majee to subdue the populace and to convince them to surrender the region without fighting.

To make a long story short, James’ plan to save Billy AND The Rogues worked, although not quite as he had intended. Most of the warlord's followers scattered following a “manifestation” of Meshta that was created by a mixture of Trickster illusions and Pied Piper sound effects. Neron manifested only to be struck down by a true manifestation of Meshta that Billy summoned forth. Neron was injured severely, forcing him to make a deal with James to forget about the Meshtan Monks, Billy and all the Rogues … except James, who said “I want you to remember the guy who fed you two plates of crow!”

Neron did remember. He remembered the name of James Jesse well. So when James Jesse died after being unceremoniously shot in the head AND heart, he was not at all surprised to find that Neron was waiting for him and had lain claim to his soul by Right of Insult. (Ever read Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits? Same thing.) James was however, somewhat surprised when Meshta appeared and said that the beating Neron received before would be nothing compared to what would happen that day...

...Unless Neron was ready to make a deal.

For not only did James put himself in Meshta’s good books by saving his Sun Disk, his temple, his monks and his chosen one; James was the biological father of The Chosen One. In going to help out an old girlfriend, James inadvertently wound up saving his own son and – through Billy – developed a direct line to The Powers That Be Upstairs. Who, it turns out, have a pretty good sense of humor.

The short version is that James Jesse is now free of Neron’s clutches and no longer has to worry about his past deeds taking him into the fire. The bad news is that Meshta, who has need of agents on Earth, now owns him... body and soul. This does beat the Hell out of the alternative (the alternative literally being Hell, of course) but James Jesse is too wild at heart to like the idea of owing anyone a favor and having to follow orders all the time. Luckily Meshta is understanding about this and finds amusement in James’ token efforts at rebellion.

Regardless of how he feels about it, James Jesse is now a man with a mission from (an aspect of) God. Basically, the mission is a rather vague standing order to keep doing what he was doing; steal from the thieves and give to the poor. But, and this was a pretty big but, be ready to move if your son calls and says you need to do something.

James hasn’t made contact with any of his old buddies in The Rogues – he’s moved past them and he’s not too sure how they’ll feel about his new mission. Besides, being legally dead is rather useful in most circumstances for somebody who makes a habit of pretending to be other people. In fact, the only piece of his old life that he’s accessed recently is his collection of “procured” super-villain weapons, which he was studying to make some new “tricks”. And that’s where he was when Billy called him and said that he needed to get Walker Gabriel’s old watch out of the safe it was locked in.

And that was how James Jesse came to the rescue of our time-lost heroes and set everyone on the road to restoring the time-stream. James was rather relieved to see Ollie (such as he was) and noted that he’d have been glad to have helped them out with this even if he weren’t “getting orders from the boss” to do so. “I owe Ollie a big one,” was all James would say on the subject.

Ollie was confused by this but accepted James at his word and agreed to dismiss any debt that James owed him.

So why did Meshta care about so much about restoring the time stream, apart from the obvious reasons any deity/demigod might wish to ensure that reality stay intact? Believe it or not, it was because of love. Above all else, Meshta is a being of pure love and one of the few times he is able to take a direct hand in matters in the Earthly realms is when great destruction would result due to the death of a true and noble love.

Ollie and Dinah’s love is such a love. A love forged in destiny the destruction of which would have dire consequences for the world at large.

(Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m a romantic sap at heart….)

There is one problem though; Per Degaton saw this coming and has an army of his Red Morgue soldiers waiting. And in their current state, none of Team Arrow are in fighting shape...

Except Cissie King, who in this moment finds the purpose she was seeking and the connection she’d longed for as the Arrowette of this world became a real hero.

The basic end result is that the timeline will “settle” into something very much like what we have now. Some of the fine details will be changed (i.e. retconning away the stuff that doesn’t make sense) but for the most part everyone will show up back in front of Ollie’s brownstone. Including The Trickster, who will ask if Ollie or Dinah have any objection to him relocating to Star City. He needs a new place to start a base of operations and he’s pretty sure – given the city’s history with demonic invasions – that they could use the help of someone who has some experience in thinking his way around the boys downstairs.

They agree to give it a shot - after all, it’s not this is first time anyone in the family has made arrangements with a semi-reformed villain who has settled into the city, after all - Deadshot’s ex and daughter are still around somewhere and Catman is still on the Christmas Card list.

So James begins to set himself up as The Shade to the Arrow family’s O’Dares; a rogue but an honest rogue who will help them with the trials to come. And Oh Brother, are there going to be trials to come…


***


I freely admit - this one is just for me. Because I don't think anyone did him justice after what he did in Underworld Unleashed and I HATE the way he died like a punk in Countdown.

Still, I think I've done a fairly good job of giving him a reason to be the savior at the end of this story and a supporting player in a Black Canary/Green Arrow book I'd write.

And yes, I do plan to tell the story of why he owes Ollie one. Later.

Another Awesome Quiz...

This one from Marionette!



1. A current obscure title that nobody else has heard of, which goes to show how cool you are for being aware of it. - Ex Machina. Some may say that it isn't obscure, but I have it on the good authority of Philadelphia Daily News comic critic Jerome Maida - whom I took to task for calling the concept of Green Arrow as a superhero mayor unique and original - that he can't read every obscure title that comes out. Of course I don't consider a book that's first issue won multiple Eisner Awards to be obscure... but hey, what do I know?


2. A title that everyone has heard of but doesn't think is that special, but for which you have a cunning argument for why it is cool. - Green Lantern Corps.... because Green Lantern is awesome... so a book about lots of them should be even more awesome!


3. A title that everyone already knows is cool, just to show that you have some common ground with the rest of comic fandom. - Green Lantern. Because Green Lantern is awesome.


4. A golden age title that nobody else has heard of (you can make one up if you like as there are lots of short lived golden age comics that sank without trace). - Madame Fatale. Because if there is one thing this world needs, it's a comic about an actor who fights crime by disguising himself as an old woman and then beating criminals up. He'd scare criminals straight because... well, would YOU keep mugging old women if there was a chance of getting beat up? :)


5. An indie comic that nobody else has heard of because only 5 copies were ever printed. - Here Come The Big People. Maybe not a comic with only 5 copies... but it is hard as hell to find... appropriately enough for a comic written by the original Crow T. Robot.


6. Some outrageous kitchy light-hearted silver age element that could only be reused today with heavy-handed symbolism or knowing self-reference. - Any story featuring the original Trickster, James Jesse.


7. A comic, or particular run of a comic that has been out of print for at least twenty years, which you can lobby for collected reprints of. - Mike Grell's Green Arrow.


8. A title you think must be very cool because you completely fail to make any sense of it. If it's a manga, you can't even work out whether to read it left to right or right to left because it makes as little sense either way. - The final issue of Chuck Austen's Superman run. I defy you to make sense of it!


9. A hideously expensive deluxe collection of some title . I mean if people are going to pay hundreds of dollars for it then it must be good, right? - The Starman Compendium Vol. 1. I already have all the single issues - but I must haves it!


10. A comic so obscure that it was never actually published. Or even written. - A Red Sonja/Tyris Flare fan comic I drew when I was 12. The less said about the contents the better.

James Jesse: The Man Who Sold The World

It was a disaster of biblical proportions. Quite literally. Metahuman villains, newly powered by the demon Neron were spreading chaos on a global scale. The mightiest of all the heroes gathered together, and led by Blue Devil, entered Hell to confront Neron. About half a dozen survived the journey to Neron's lair. But upon entering, all the heroes became possessed by the dark sides of their nature and thus, susceptible to Neron's commands. All the heroes but Captain Marvel, that is. Ordering the other heroes to attack The Big Red Cheese, Neron hoped to enrage him enough to get a handhold on Captain Marvel's very pure soul; an item that would make Neron omnipotent. There was only one man who save the world and maybe the Universe… a man in bright yellow-striped clown pants.

Kind of hard to believe, isn't it? But it happened. For in that instant a sinner turned saint… a sinner named James Jesse. Hand-picked by Neron to be his right hand man, James Jesse had long been an antagonist to the Barry Allen Flash and to Blue Devil. Known for being a master con man and using toys as weapons, James went by the name The Trickster. Neron appreciated James's skills as a con artist, saying they were much alike, in that Neron made promises but never quite gave what was expected, like the Devil in Faust. He even told James that he couldn't refuse any deal that anyone made him.

It was this secret that James exploited to save Captain Marvel, explaining to him his plan to stop Neron. It was then that Captain Marvel asked Neron for a bargain: his soul in exchange for the promise to leave the world alone. True to what he said, Neron was unable to refuse the deal and tried to claim Marvel's soul. But since James was able to stop Captain Marvel from killing the other heroes, his soul was still too pure for Neron to touch. Neron jumped back from the Captain; his hand burned. He was unable to claim his prize and worse still, he was bound by his deal to restore the world as it had been. So in the Earth's darkest hour, it was not the World's Finest who came to the rescue, but an ordinary man in really loud pants…a man who outsmarted the devil.

Now, this really impressed me when I read Underworld Unleashed. Most recent DC crossovers have followed the same three-step formula. Step One: Big bad guy comes out of nowhere and threatens the Earth. Step Two: All the heroes in the DCU get together and unload seven kinds of whoop-ass on the bad guy. Step Three: We all waste 20 bucks collecting all the "special" issues and feel very disappointed. Here, the traditional "let's throw the heavies at the bad guy until he screams for mercy" plan is tried… and fails. It is a fitting end to this story, which was written mainly as a way of giving exposure to some little used characters that the person who beats the devil is a Z-list villain who has often been referred to as a "poor man's Joker". I've been a big fan of Trickster ever since, having always loved heroes and villains who used smarts over strength as well as a fondness for characters with a silly attitude.

With Underworld Unleashed having been very well received by fans and critics alike, a strong future for James Jesse seemed certain, what with his being the narrator for most of the tale. But as James lamented after conning Neron "…I engineered the greatest sting of all time… and nobody saw me do it". Indeed, with the exception of Neron and possibly Captain Marvel, nobody knows that it was the Trickster who saved them all. In an eerie parallel to the DC world, James seems to have been nearly forgotten by comic fans and writers after having made such a great showing in Underworld Unleashed.

In the four years since then, James's appearances have been very few and far between. Aside from a mention in Flash and an issue of Impulse I have yet to track down, James has in fact disappeared off the map. But when James HAS shown up, it has just shown what great potential there is and what a waste it is to keep him in Limbo.

James's most notable recent sighting came in "The Rogues" one-shot during DC's "New Year's Evil" week ; a book that covered the post-UU exploits of Flash's Rogues Gallery. The curtain rises on the just-saved-from-Hell Rogues (Captain Cold, Boomerang, Heatwave, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard) breaking into the Holy Temple of Meshta in Zhutan. We find that they are at this temple, because The Trickster told them that the temple contains the Sun Disk of Meshta- a large holy object reputed to have great evil-banishing powers. Since the Rogues are all nervous about Neron coming after them again, they figure having the disk will be good protection.

Actually, James is just using the other Rogues as a distraction, for while the Rogues break in, James watches from afar along with a woman named Mindy. In a discussion that sounds like it came from an Indiana Jones movie, James notes the main beliefs of the religion that worships Meshta (Saavistranism) and how he is exploiting them in his plan. In short, the people of Zhutan believe that every thousand years, a child is picked by Meshta to be the Majee: a special agent who observes and judges mankind's progress. If the Majee gives Meshta a good report, then five elemental angels (Yavatis) appear to usher in a new Golden Age of Peace and Enlightenment. (This isn't nearly as hokey as it sounds) Mindy, who is an ex-girlfriend of James', is the mother of the current Majee and is being held prisoner by the Warlord who rules Zhutan. The warlord is using the Majee is a shield against any uprisings by the religious folk of Zhutan who obviously don't want to see their Golden child get hurt.

With the exposition out of the way, we see the Rogues try and make off with the disk when Heatwave notices a carving depicting five men who are controlling the forces of fire, ice, weather, light and curved sticks. (You mean you didn't know that Boomerangs were the Fifth Element?) The Rogues pause long enough to wonder what the heck it means when members of the warlord's army and the Warlord himself burst in and capture the Rogues. The Warlord is about to have them shot when his nephew/adviser tells him of the legend of the Yavatis. He suggests the Rogues might be convincing substitutes for the real thing. With the temple, the Majee and the Yavatis under his command, the Warlord should be able to conquer the entire mountain region.

Trickster and Mindy walk down to the temple and surrender themselves; James reassuring her it's all part of the plan. Once inside the temple, James chants some stuff and the room lights up and a deep booming voice orders the guards to let everyone go. Of course, it's just Pied Piper using a light board and a microphone, but the effect is convincing enough to get the nephew into chanting a real chant that will summon Ahrnyu (Meshta's devil). His body turns into that of a giant snake man and he gets ready to tear everybody in the immediate area to shreds. In a scene that will either make you laugh or groan, depending on how much you love classic Silver Age material, Trickster single-handedly fights Ahrnyu by running around him in mid air (while doing a plug for his Air Jesse shoes) squirting him with seltzer. At the same time, the other Rogues cut down the Sun Disk and use it to protect everyone in the area, albeit after some prodding from Heatwave. After taking several taunting squirts in the face from Trickster, Ahrnyu reveals himself as a masked incarnation of Neron. Neron grabs James and is about to eat him when the Rogues and the Majee attack. Of course the ice and fire guns have no effect upon Neron, but they do keep him distracted long enough for the Majee to summon up an angel of vengeance. After getting cut up pretty badly by the angel, James makes Neron a deal: forget the Majee and the Rogues and he won't die. Neron asks James if he wishes to be forgotten too, to which he responds "Nah. I want you to remember I'm the guy who fed you two plates of crow."

"The Rogues: One Shot" didn't do very well compared to the other New Years Evil one-shots, despite being a rather good story. Admittedly, the story was a little hokey in some place but it was in a good, Silver Age way (like most Waid-written Flash stories). But after that one-shot, James disappeared again despite some major revelations in the end of the book, like the Majee being his son and the notion that he was going to become a full time hero. It looked like James was going to be trapped in Limbo again. That is until the news came out that he would be part of a three-story arc at the conclusion of Devin Grayson's run on Catwoman. Now, I've got to admit that despite loving Grayson's work, I was a little nervous about the announcement. After all, the last second stringer to do a guest shot on Catwoman, Nemesis, got killed. So it was with deep dread that I read through Catwoman 69-71.

To sum up previous issues, after Gotham was sealed off Selina left Gotham for New York and decided to steal the city. She gets a job for a major corporation and through a scam too complex to describe, she manages to cheat on the stock market and makes a few billion dollars for the company. An impressed Board of Directors decides to make her CEO after only a few days on the job. With a company and a new reputation as a master businesswoman, Selina decides to run for mayor of NYC. The local Mafia is not too thrilled about this, since the current mayor is in their pocket (no comments about this suggesting anything about Gulliani). So they hire various assassins (the Body Doubles and Lady Vic among others) to kill Selina Kyle, but Catwoman stops them. It's at this point (the beginning of #69) that Carlino, the head of the Mafioso hires Trickster to find some way to stop Kyle besides killing her.

Now right after reading that I became worried. After all, working for the Mafia to derail an election isn't exactly the type of thing likely to build good karma. And when we last saw James, he was definitely leaning towards the light side of the scales. It seemed to be a complete and total 180 on everything that has been done with the Trickster's character for the last half a decade. My fears turned out to be rather groundless, for as James explains later, he figured his reputation as a con man was too good to give up so he just uses it as one more tool as he does good things while everyone thinks he's a bad guy.

Trickster and Catwoman meet by "accident" on the roof of Selina Kyle's hotel room. Trickster is setting up a spy camera, which Catwoman offers to set up inside the room for him. James turns around to for a second after he hands Catwoman the camera, at which point she disappears. It's not much of a surprise to us, but not much of a surprise to James either, as he responds by grinning and saying "Cute, but predictable".

The next day, we see Trickster moving around New York in a suit. First, James intercepts an S.E.C. (Security Exchange Commission-the guys who regulate the Stock Market) agent who has just frozen the assets of Selina's company so that they can investigate the stock market tampering Selina did. Posing as an old classmate, James switches briefcases with the man after running into him. He then makes several calls to various media whores, spreading a rumor that Selina Kyle is Catwoman. Finally, he goes to Selina's campaign office, which is in total chaos due to the rumors. He introduces himself as James Jesse and tells Selina he knows who is responsible for spreading the rumors and how to find him. The name he gives for the responsible party is "Trickster".

Sometime later, Catwoman shows up at the bar where she finds Trickster. She starts beating him up and asks, "How did you know?" He says he doesn't know what she is talking about and asks if he's upset that he mentioned her in the rumors. Catwoman goes with this suggestion, accepting that Trickster didn't discover her secret identity and it was just a coincidence that he decided to use a "Selina Kyle is Catwoman" rumor to cause a scandal that would force her to stop running for mayor. She completely forgets about one thing though: why would Trickster finger himself in the first place? Because he told Selina Kyle who started the rumors, but not Catwoman. So the fact that it was Catwoman who came after him told him one of two things: either Catwoman worked for Kyle… or was Kyle.

Catwoman goes to Carlino and tells him to call off the other assassins and hired villains and SHE'LL kill Selina Kyle for him. One well-placed whip crack later, he agrees. As she's leaving the hideaway she runs into Trickster. She tells him he might as well go since the contract on Kyle is all hers now. Trickster agrees to go since he has found something more profitable than discrediting Kyle anyway. He shows Catwoman the papers he took from the briefcase of the S.E.C agent. It turns out the agent who froze Selina's assets used paperwork that would allow the funds to be redirected anywhere if it was found that she had done something illegal like insider trading. After a brief struggle, Trickster suggests they work together and split the funds for the assassination job and the thievery 50/50. Catwoman reluctantly agrees, as she tries to figure out a way to lose Trickster, get the papers and fake her death.

To stall for time, she leads Trickster into a fight with the Mafia, claiming that Kyle is in with them and that they might be able to find something suggesting where she is hiding. Trickster, of course, doesn't buy this, asking why the Mafia would have a hit on someone they are protecting. But he is distracted long enough in the fight, for Catwoman to "find" two fake ID's that belong to Kyle and to find out the frequent hangouts of those identities. She suggests they split up and each cover one of the ID's. James disguises himself as a photographer and goes to an Italian restaurant that "Alida Bennet" frequents. He spots her easily (it's Selina in a blond wig) and he tries to get her to come with him by threatening her with a gun built into a camera. They get into a fight during which Selina steals the envelope with the papers that James is carrying on him. The chef/owner and his son break up the fight, asking why James is trying to kidnap the woman. James tries to explain his actions by saying the woman is a crook. The owner says this is impossible, since the woman is his daughter. Apologizing profusely, James leaves the café. A relived Selina removes her wig and pays the owner for playing his part well. She goes off, changes into her costume and opens the envelope that holds her money… to find a note written in purple crayon that reads "BAD KITTY".

Catwoman tracks Trickster down. She tries to take the real envelope from him, but it turns out he has several on him. He offers to play Three-Card Monte for the papers, but Catwoman just whips the three envelopes out if his hand. Trickster says he's disappointed that with all her reputation and all the bragging Catwoman has done to Carlino, that she's going to settle for stealing Selina Kyle's bank account. He also says that Carlino is very upset that Catwoman hasn't killed Kyle yet and that he is going to do the hit himself at her bank the next morning, figuring that Kyle will be there trying to stop her accounts from being liquidated. Trickster then escapes, noting that he still has the paperwork. This puts Catwoman in quite a bind. She can show up at the bank as Kyle and try to save her money from Trickster. Or she can show up as Catwoman and salvage her reputation as a master criminal by somehow killing Kyle.

Catwoman chooses to save her reputation. Finding a body that looks a lot like her (usually you don't see morgue break-ins outside of a Vertigo book), she dresses it in her clothes, throws it over the side of the building and shows Carlino and his gang that Selina Kyle is dead. Tipped off by Catwoman, the police show up just as Selina sees Trickster walking out of the bank, holding a bank-book. She jumps down to confront him and the two get caught in a cop/mob firefight. Barely escaping into a dark alley, Trickster says he admires the scam although he'd rather not think about how she got the body. Catwoman starts to ask what he is talking about, when he tells her how he figured out she was Selina Kyle. (Basically a combination of them having the same body language and the fact that he isn't a complete idiot) He also explains to her how he's stopped stealing for himself and how he didn't take her money, but funneled into charity. He then hands her the book, noting that he was going to give it to a wildlife foundation but that he finally decided on giving it to Gotham Relief. With tears in her eyes, Selina kisses James and they both go their separate ways.

A marvelous story arc, although a bit convoluted, this story was everything I've been wanting to see since Underworld Unleashed. I was a bit worried about the story while reading it, because it makes no sense unless James knows or suspects Selina Kyle is Catwoman. But once you get to the final chapter and find that is the case, you realize how really wonderful the story is. Hopefully James will poke his head up somewhere else soon. In fact, it's pretty much a given. After all, for a man who can contest with Catwoman, think faster than the Flash and then out deal the devil, it is very difficult to sit idle. In fact, rumors already are circulating that Trickster will have big parts in the upcoming "Hell on Earth" story line and possibly even the conclusion of No Man's Land.

Well, I for one cannot wait to see Jesse James: The Man Who Sold The World again.