Ricochet

Ricochet was an alternate identity used by the fictional superhero Spider-Man, and later adopted by college student Johnny Gallo, who appeared in the Marvel Comics' series, Slingers.

Ricochet (Peter Parker)

When Spider-Man was accused of murder during the Spider-Man: Identity Crisis storyline, he donned several different costumes to continue saving lives without anyone knowing it was him.^{[volume & issue needed]} One of the identities he adopted was that of Ricochet.^{[volume & issue needed]} Starting with a leather jacket with an R on it, his wife Mary Jane Watson-Parker created a costume and weapons to match it. This persona was similar to his Spider-Man persona, but even more jocular, and he relied primarily on his agility while posing as a criminal-for-hire.^{[volume & issue needed]} Using this identity he collaborated for a time with his old foe Delilah while searching for information about new villain the Black Tarantula, battling Roughouse and Bloodscream in her company (Although the final fight featured him using all four of his new identities to put them off-guard and decrease speculation that the new heroes were the same person).^{[volume & issue needed]} When he cleared his name, he abandoned the costume.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Although the hero called Black Marvel later gave Johnny Gallo a duplicate Ricochet costume, Spider-Man remained in possession of the original. It has not been seen since.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Powers and abilities

In addition to his regular abilities, the Ricochet costume included flying disc-like weapons which he wore on his sleeves.

Ricochet (Johnny Gallo)

Ricochet II
Ricochet from Slingers #1. Art by ChrisCross.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Slingers #0 (Dec. 1998)
Created by	Joseph Harris Adam Pollina
In-story information
Alter ego	Johnny Gallo
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	Loners Slingers
Abilities	Superhuman agility, reflexes, coordination, danger sense.

Johnny Gallo was a college student who lived with his widowed father, trying hard to conceal his secret from both his father and his girlfriend, Kathy. The secret that he was a mutant endowed with hyperactive agility and the ability to sense danger before it happened. But the Black Marvel presented him with the Ricochet costume, and the chance to be part of his team, the Slingers. Johnny accepted, and became the new Ricochet. As Ricochet he could freely use his powers to help people, without revealing his mutant nature. Much like Spider-Man, Ricochet enjoyed joking during the heat of battle, even though his humor did annoy his teammates (especially team leader Prodigy). However, one of his teammates, the Hornet, became his closest friend, and gave Ricochet special throwing disc weapons to use in battle. His other teammate, Dusk, was attracted to him, but he didn't share the feeling. Ricochet fought crimelords, mutated vermin, and even Spider-Man himself, using his leaping abilities and reflexes.

Ricochet learned that the Black Marvel had made a deal with Mephisto, the demon king, to get the costumes and find the youths to become the Slingers, and Mephisto had the Black Marvel as his captive. When offered the chance to save Black Marvel, Ricochet was the first to suggest abandoning their "mentor", but Hornet convinced him to free Black Marvel. Shortly after, the Slingers disbanded.

Later, Ricochet joined another team of teen heroes, Excelsior, now called the Loners, with the goal to dissuade young people from becoming superheroes, noting that all of his efforts had not earned him one ounce of fame and recognition; though it was revealed that he blamed himself for the Hornet's death at the hands of a brainwashed Wolverine. During the aftermath of M-Day, when a majority of mutants lost their powers, Ricochet was one of the few who kept his abilities.

The Initiative

Johnny is being considered as a "potential recruit" for the Initiative program, according to Civil War: Battle Damage Report. He is currently in Los Angeles alongside other "retired" superheroes.

Powers and abilities

Ricochet has the mutant power of superhuman agility, enabling him to leap great distances. He has incredible reflexes and coordination, and when combined with his leaping powers, can seemingly bounce off walls (ricocheting, as it were). His mutant powers also give him a "Danger Sense", that functions much like Spider-Man's "Spider-Sense", allowing Ricochet to sense danger before it happens. Thanks to Hornet, Ricochet has special throwing discs which he stores on the sleeves of his jacket. These discs can bounce off walls and targets with incredible force. Later, Hornet gave Ricochet new discs that could explode on impact. Ricochet's super reflexes and coordination enable him to throw his discs with amazing speed and accuracy.

DC Comics

An unrelated Ricochet appears in Hawkman Annual #1. He's an acrobatic criminal who can leap across distances. He was genetically created for the Sunderland Corporation by Dr. Moon. Ricochet had fought, and was defeated by, Katar Hol and Shayera Thal in Chicago.

In other media

Television

• In The Spectacular Spider-Man episode "Probable Cause," Fancy Dan (voiced by Phil LaMarr) alongside Ox gain new suits that enhance their abilities from the Tinkerer, and Dan takes the codename Ricochet, as the suit allows him to fly around and ricochet off walls. They were hired alongside Shocker (their former teammate Montana) by Tombstone. They first face Spider-Man during a bank heist, where Spidey is swiftly defeated. The new Enforcers then break into a gold vault where they plan to escape by an underground subway. The train is stopped by Spider-Man and the Enforcers head to the streets where they are unknowingly stopped by Hammerhead and some road spikes. They are last seen being arrested by Captain Stacy and his men.^[1]

• In the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "X-Calibre". A female named Ricochet is a member of Spiral's Reavers. Her powers were offensive in nature, firing cannonball type objects.

References

External links

• Ricochet (Johnny Gallo) at Marvel.com
• Johnny Gallo at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe