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Dart (comics)
Encyclopedia
Dart is a fictional Image Comics
superhero. Created by Erik Larsen
, she first appeared in 1992, in Savage Dragon
#2 (ongoing series).
as a supporting character, as well as being a major character in the Freak Force
series and subsequent mini-series. In February 1996
, she received her own eponymous three-issue limited series (Dart mini series: Story by Julie Ditrich
and Bruce Love with Artwork by Jozef Szekeres).
. She grew up timid and demoralized, witnessing her mother's constant spousal abuse at the hands of her father, and her friends' abuse at the hands of a cruel coach at school. She witnessed her father beat her mother to death, a crime for which he was sentenced to life in prison, effectively leaving Jill an orphan.
As a teenager, Jill saw a female friend being assaulted by several men in a bar in Detroit. Attempting to intervene, she fell against a dartboard hung on the barroom wall, and the men began to attack her as well. Instinctively, she used the darts to defend herself, throwing them at her attackers with astonishing accuracy, seriously injuring all of them. She subsequently decided to use this newly-discovered skill to both help others and manage her feelings of helplessness (and the rage that comes with those feelings).
Jill trained herself in a number of martial arts disciplines and sharpened her already formidable dart-throwing accuracy. She designed a costume and took the name "Dart" to become a superhero in Detroit. Early in her career, she occasionally teamed up with another Detroit-based hero, the narcissistic Kill-Cat.
After spending three years as a Detroit-based costumed vigilante
, Dart was contacted by the Chicago Police Department
to solicit her participation in a new program wherein super-powered vigilantes would be recruited into the police department for legitimate service. She accepted and moved to Chicago where she met the Savage Dragon
, Ricochet, Horridus, Barbaric, and other super-powered recruits. The program was a failure, though, as most of the costumed heroes could not or would not cope with the realities of everyday police work (such as wearing a police uniform instead of a costume). These recruits quit en masse and, along with newfound friends Superpatriot
and Mighty Man formed their own heroes-for-hire outfit known as Freak Force
, under the nominal leadership of Dart.
Dart attempts to assist in a reality-disruption event; however it's very nature causes many of the participants to forget their even was a problem.
After a few years of reasonable success as independent troubleshooters, Dart and most of the Freak Force were recruited by the United States government to replace Youngblood
, who were presumed to have been killed by Martians. This new group was called the Special Operations Strikeforce (S.O.S.), although Dart was refused active status for a number of months due to administrators' reservations about her reliability.
Once she was allowed active status, Dart participated in a raid on the fictional nation of Lieberheim to assassinate the super-powered dictator Dread Knight. During the battle, Dart was hit by an energy blast that vaporized both of her legs to just above the knee.
Due to her disability, Dart was relegated to a role as Strikeforce's team trainer. Several years later, Dart and other former members of Freak Force
were attacked by an evil Mighty Man while attending the funeral of Ann Stevens (the second Mighty Man). In the ensuing battle the Savage Dragon
killed this evil version, and the super-powerful Mighty Man persona was passed on to Dart, enabling her to transform into a massively powerful blond male by making a magic gesture of tapping her wrists together.
, a second, alternate Earth was introduced into that universe. Twenty-eight issues later, in #103, the original Earth was destroyed, killing virtually all of its inhabitants, including Dart, now the fourth Mighty Man.
The version of Dart from the alternate Earth continued to exist, however. In that reality, she never lost her legs, but also never became Mighty Man. Less than a year after the destruction after the original Earth, this alternate Dart was murdered by the villain Mako, who punched her head off.
Jill August's niece Alison Summers has since taken up the mantle of Dart, though Alison has become a murderous psychopath, rather than a hero.
It has also been revealed that, unbeknownst to her, Dart was the daughter of veteran super-hero Sgt. Marvel (a pastiche of sorts of Batman
). Her past origin, involving her abusive father, is now considered non-canon by creator Erik Larsen
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
superhero. Created by Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
, she first appeared in 1992, in Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
#2 (ongoing series).
Publication history
Dart has appeared in numerous issues of Savage DragonSavage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
as a supporting character, as well as being a major character in the Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
series and subsequent mini-series. In February 1996
1996 in comics
-Year overall:* Malcolm Jones III commits suicide at circa age 37.* Boody Rogers, creator of Sparky Watts, dies at c. age 92-January:* January 19: Bernard Baily, co-creator of The Spectre and Hourman, dies at age 79.* January 28:...
, she received her own eponymous three-issue limited series (Dart mini series: Story by Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich is an Australian freelance writer, editor and publishing consultant and a director of the Black Mermaid Productions creative team based in Australia.Ditrich has a background in therapy and publishing...
and Bruce Love with Artwork by Jozef Szekeres).
Fictional character biography
Jill August was born on August 12, 1969, in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. She grew up timid and demoralized, witnessing her mother's constant spousal abuse at the hands of her father, and her friends' abuse at the hands of a cruel coach at school. She witnessed her father beat her mother to death, a crime for which he was sentenced to life in prison, effectively leaving Jill an orphan.
As a teenager, Jill saw a female friend being assaulted by several men in a bar in Detroit. Attempting to intervene, she fell against a dartboard hung on the barroom wall, and the men began to attack her as well. Instinctively, she used the darts to defend herself, throwing them at her attackers with astonishing accuracy, seriously injuring all of them. She subsequently decided to use this newly-discovered skill to both help others and manage her feelings of helplessness (and the rage that comes with those feelings).
Jill trained herself in a number of martial arts disciplines and sharpened her already formidable dart-throwing accuracy. She designed a costume and took the name "Dart" to become a superhero in Detroit. Early in her career, she occasionally teamed up with another Detroit-based hero, the narcissistic Kill-Cat.
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, Dart was contacted by the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
to solicit her participation in a new program wherein super-powered vigilantes would be recruited into the police department for legitimate service. She accepted and moved to Chicago where she met the Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
, Ricochet, Horridus, Barbaric, and other super-powered recruits. The program was a failure, though, as most of the costumed heroes could not or would not cope with the realities of everyday police work (such as wearing a police uniform instead of a costume). These recruits quit en masse and, along with newfound friends Superpatriot
SuperPatriot
SuperPatriot is an Image Comics superhero created by Erik Larsen in 1992. SuperPatriot has had regular appearances in Erik Larsen's titles, whether in his own mini-series or as a supporting character and is currently a member of the Liberty League....
and Mighty Man formed their own heroes-for-hire outfit known as Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
, under the nominal leadership of Dart.
Dart attempts to assist in a reality-disruption event; however it's very nature causes many of the participants to forget their even was a problem.
After a few years of reasonable success as independent troubleshooters, Dart and most of the Freak Force were recruited by the United States government to replace Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
, who were presumed to have been killed by Martians. This new group was called the Special Operations Strikeforce (S.O.S.), although Dart was refused active status for a number of months due to administrators' reservations about her reliability.
Once she was allowed active status, Dart participated in a raid on the fictional nation of Lieberheim to assassinate the super-powered dictator Dread Knight. During the battle, Dart was hit by an energy blast that vaporized both of her legs to just above the knee.
Due to her disability, Dart was relegated to a role as Strikeforce's team trainer. Several years later, Dart and other former members of Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
were attacked by an evil Mighty Man while attending the funeral of Ann Stevens (the second Mighty Man). In the ensuing battle the Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
killed this evil version, and the super-powerful Mighty Man persona was passed on to Dart, enabling her to transform into a massively powerful blond male by making a magic gesture of tapping her wrists together.
Alternate Earth
After issue #75 of the Savage DragonSavage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
, a second, alternate Earth was introduced into that universe. Twenty-eight issues later, in #103, the original Earth was destroyed, killing virtually all of its inhabitants, including Dart, now the fourth Mighty Man.
The version of Dart from the alternate Earth continued to exist, however. In that reality, she never lost her legs, but also never became Mighty Man. Less than a year after the destruction after the original Earth, this alternate Dart was murdered by the villain Mako, who punched her head off.
Jill August's niece Alison Summers has since taken up the mantle of Dart, though Alison has become a murderous psychopath, rather than a hero.
It has also been revealed that, unbeknownst to her, Dart was the daughter of veteran super-hero Sgt. Marvel (a pastiche of sorts of 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...
). Her past origin, involving her abusive father, is now considered non-canon by creator Erik Larsen