Jesse Chambers

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Jesse Quick
Jesse Quick Art by Ethan van Sciver.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Justice Society of America, vol. 2 # 1 (August 1992)
Created by	Len Strazewski Mike Parobeck
In-story information
Full name	Jesse Belle Chambers
Team affiliations	Justice Society of America Teen Titans The Conglomerate
Notable aliases	Jesse Quick, The Flash, Liberty Belle
Abilities	Super-speed, Strength. Whether or not she can still fly, or use her mother's subsonic bursts are unknown.

Jesse Chambers is a comic book character that exists in DC Comics' main shared universe. Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick^[1] and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick^[2] and Liberty Belle.^[3] She inherited both of her parents powers.

Publication history

Justice Society of America (1992-1993): this series re-introduced the JSA after their disappearance into and re-emergence from the limbo of Ragnarok, it also introduced the character of Jesse Chambers.

Fictional character biography

Origin and early career

In hopes of creating a successor, Johnny Quick taught the formula that gave him his enhanced speed to his daughter Jesse. The formula worked on Jesse as well and she gained super-speed. Contrary to what her father had intended however, Jesse instead opted to continue her education, rather than becoming a costumed crimefighter.

While Jesse was studying at Gotham University, the first superhero team, of which her parents had been colleagues, the Justice Society of America, reemerged, following a long absence. Naturally, her thesis topic became "The Impact of Superheroes on Society" and she began to follow the returned heroes, cataloging their adventures. When her father asked her to deliver some documents to the Society, that encounter would result in her aiding the team as Jesse Quick, finally living up to her father's dream of her being a costumed crimefighter.

It was during that time that she met Wally West, the Flash, who would later ask her to be his replacement if something were to happen to him. It was all an elaborate plan on his part, trying to force Bart Allen, Impulse, to take his role in the legacy of the Flash more seriously, and be Wally's successor. Although she felt betrayed, she would end up saving Wally's life, although her leg was hurt in the process. When Wally returned from the mythical Speed Force, he healed her leg, and the earlier deception was largely forgiven, but not forgotten.

When, shortly after, Jesse lost her enhanced speed, the person she blamed was Wally who had been directly using the Speed Force energies instead of simply tapping them like the other speedsters did. In fact it turned out to be the villain Savitar who was the cause, having severed her connection to the Speed Force, as well as multiple other speedsters. Nonetheless, Wally chose the depowered Jesse to accompany him to Savitar's lair, where she succeeded in regaining her powers. During the following battle with Savitar, her father gave his life in order to protect his daughter from one of Savitar's forces and merged with the Speed Force. Although Wally would ultimately triumph over the villain, Jesse was left to mourn her father.

Titans

Jesse accepted the reins of managing her father's corporation, Quickstart Enterprises, while also operating as Jesse Quick, even joining the members of the New Titans to stop a nuclear threat. When the Titans were later going through a reorganization, Wally, a founding member, selected Jesse to join the roster, hoping to soothe their old wounds. After initially declining the offer, she ultimately joined the Titans, but was only on the team for a short time, feeling herself to be second-best to Wally.

Nightwing, another founding member, persuaded Jesse to return to the Titans. Later Jesse became involved in a murder mystery involving her own widowed mother, Libby Lawrence. The victim was Philip Geyer, Libby's fiancé. An investigation by the Titans revealed not only the killer, but also an ongoing affair between Philip and Jesse which had contributed to his death. Although Jesse attempted to reconcile with her mother, the saddened Libby found it hard to forgive her daughter, although she apparently did, as in later appearances the two had returned to their friendly relationship. The Titans were disbanded not long afterwards, as two of the team's members were killed in an attack by a rogue Superman robot in the limited series Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day.

Powerless

Jesse saving Wally West during the battle with Zoom.

Following that disbanding of the team, Jesse threw herself back into her responsibilities at Quickstart Enterprises, finding little time for a social life. When Wally would later need assistance to defeat the villain Zoom who was capable of moving at speeds surpassing any of Earth's other speedsters, Jesse lent Wally a portion of her special abilities, temporarily boosting Wally's speed so that he was moving almost faster than light and allowing him to defeat Zoom, but leaving her powerless and unable to remember the formula to access her powers. Although Wally knew the formula, she told him not to remind her, reminding him that he'd earlier told her that she needed to slow down anyway.

Since then, she has taken a new position as business manager for a newly-reformed Justice Society of America. Jesse was affected by the disappearance of Rick Tyler, the JSA member known as Hourman, to whom she had grown quite close, but he has since returned. A reunion between the two has not been shown, although she did meet the JSA when they were able to rescue her mother, who had returned to her role as Liberty Belle, but whose powers had gone out of control. In that same adventure, mother and daughter reconciled.

One Year Later

As of Justice Society of America (Vol. 3) #1, Jesse has become a member of the Justice Society, carrying on her mother's legacy as the new Liberty Belle. She is now married to fellow second-generation hero Rick Tyler, also known as Hourman.

After hearing the news of Bart's death she, along with Jay Garrick mourned his demise; her reaction to Wally West's return from the Speed Force is as yet unknown.

In an encounter with Zoom, it is revealed that Jesse has retained her speed powers by repeating her father's formula. This of course, adds onto her super-strength which means she inherited both of her parents' powers.

In The Flash: Rebirth mini-series, an explosion suddenly occurs in front of the pair, Jesse is shocked to see her father Johnny Quick is seen alive in the Speed Force materializes and begs Barry Allen not to hurt Jesse before vanishing (but he dies later).^[4] Hourman is tending to Jesse, who (since seeing her father) has begun repeating her father's speed formula over and over. Jesse, now crackling with Speed Force energy, stops repeating the Speed Formula. She reveals that she has finally solved the equation: "Jesse Quick. Max Mercury. Jay Garrick. Wally West. Bart Allen. Barry Allen. The Speed Force".^[5]

When Wally West's twins Jai and Iris are struck with crippling pain thanks to Professor Zoom, Iris takes Jai's connection to the Speed Force and nearly kills herself doing so. Jesse arrives and recites the now-revealed Speed Mantra to revive Iris, telling Jai and Linda West that Iris is the next generation of speedsters. The two join the battle between the revealed Professor Zoom and the combined forces of the three Flashes (Jay, Wally and Barry). Max Mercury and Kid Flash. With the speedsters reunited, Wally uses a trick with the Speed Force, revitalizing the speedsters and transforming his, Jesse and Iris's outfits. Jeese now dons a uniform designed like her father's. It is safe to assume that she has giving up the "Liberty Belle" title and returned to using her old "Jesse Quick" identity. ^[6] However, during the Blackest Night event, she is seen wearing her Liberty Belle costume. She is also attacked by the reanimated corpse of her father.^[7]

When the JSA splits into two teams in Justice Society of America #33, Jesse remained with the JSA, while her husband Rick went to the JSA All-Stars. However, Rick and Jesse remain happily married, although her teammates and the large public believe otherwise, forcing Rick to explain their condition as A working couple working in different offices. ^[8]

Powers and abilities

Just like her father, Jesse has powers of flight and accelerated speed resulting from the state of mind achieved from the visualization of the speed-formula: 3x2(9YZ)4A. Her powers are linked to the Speed Force. She also has her mother's superstrength enabling her to lift weights like a car with ease.

As with her mother, the mechanism of her super-strength remains unexplained, which irritated her father. She attributes her powers to a "mantra"-like the formula used by her father to unlock his speed.

Other Version

Jesse Quick appears in Teen Titans Go #52 as an alternate alias of Robby Reed. Unknown to both Robby and the Titans, his Hero Dial borrows power from any hero who's in close proximity to him, and thus becomes Jesse Quick when Kid Flash is close by.

References