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Rapture (comics)
Encyclopedia
Rapture, real name Sharona Jackson, is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen
for his Image Comics
series Savage Dragon
. Rapture was inspired by, and named after. The Knack
's song My Sharona
. She first appeared in a back-up feature in ongoing series Savage Dragon issue 4 and was killed in issue 43.
Dragon and Rapture first met in pages drawn exclusively for the Savage Dragon: A Force To Be Reckoned With collection. The pages were not printed elsewhere, which caused confusion among many fans about when it happened.
Dark Ages Miniatures manufactured a large poster of Rapture, the second in a line of Savage Dragon posters.
, Illinois
. She is unknowingly picked up by Dr. Nirvana, a long-standing enemy of the superhero Mighty Man. Dr. Nirvana was kidnapping people who he thought would not be missed and experimenting on them. His experiments on Jackson go awry and she gains electrical-based powers. Nirvana is electrocuted, leaving him in a coma.
Because of the Savage Dragon
's success, and because he was being loaned out to other police forces across America on a regular basis, Police Captain Stewart starts a 'freak force' program to create a super-powered department of the Chicago Police Force. One of the candidates, Ricochet, though too young to join herself, accidentally catches Rapture about to murder her abusive pimp Brian and talks her out of killing him. Brian pulls a gun, forcing Rapture to kill him anyway. Ricochet suggests Rapture for Captain Stewart's scheme and she and the other candidates are accelerated through the police training academy.
Besides The Dragon, all members of the program leave the Chicago PD after they are forced to work under strict restrictions, not the least of which are impractical police uniforms. The group soon become super-powered bounty hunters Freak Force
.
Rapture becomes a maternal figure to the child-like Horridus. She also dates The Dragon and they became lovers. Rapture showed deep jealousy and becomes possessive.
Rapture's leg is broken during a battle with The Cosmic Cops, intergalactic invaders who take over Manhattan
Island. She becomes involved in the conflict after an old acquaintance of fellow Freak Force member, Superpatriot
, forces them to help stop the aliens for the U.S. Government. Her broken leg means she cannot physically fight the rampaging villain Bludgeon, who badly injured some of her team-mates. However, Rapture stops the creature by bringing the phenomenally-strong Joey Finklebarr, who was gaoled when he cannot control his super-powers, from prison to kill him.
In the final issue of the Star mini-series, Rapture and Dragon learn that rock-star Peter Klaptin had set up an elaborate scheme to convince people he was the vigilante Star, who was really Klaptin's bodyguard, Chris Robinson. When The Dragon was missing and presumed dead, Rapture meets with Klaptin in a back room of the police station and bribes him to cover it up. A tape, damaged halfway through, led The Dragon to believe Rapture and Klaptin had sex, causing a breakdown in their relationship.
Erik Larsen held a poll for readers to decide if Dragon should accept Rapture's proposal of marriage in the series' 27th issue Readers voted for him to refuse. When The Dragon refused, Rapture reveals she is pregnant and throws him out of her apartment for asking if the baby is his. The Dragon is sent to Hell by a villain called The Fiend
and was missing for several months, during which time Rapture gives birth. The Dragon is the father and the baby has inherited The Dragon's super-strength. Rapture suffers internal damage, is forced into premature labour and the child is born before The Dragon, busy elsewhere, can arrive. The baby is taken by the shadowy organization, Covenant of the Sword
, and replaced with a simulacrum to make them believe the child has died. After this, Rapture and The Dragon end their relationship.
Image Co-Founder Rob Liefeld
had been voted out of the company by his fellow co-founders and his characters, including Youngblood, were phased out of the 'Image Universe'. After being bridesmaid to Freak Force team-mates Barbaric and Ricochet, Rapture is killed by a time-travelling despot named Darklord
during a mission with Special Operations Strikeforce (SOS), a government-sponsored team The Dragon had formed to replace the MIA Youngblood
. Darklord had sought to replace his Darkworld, an alternate version of Earth, with the Savage Dragon's Earth. After he appears to kill The Dragon, and another S.O.S member Jennifer Murphy, Rapture insults Darklord and she was disintegrated by the villain's eye beams.
Rapture later returns in the body of an old, prostitute friend. She joins the Special Operations Strikeforce as 'Lightning'. It is revealed that she is the Covenant Of The Sword Operative 'Impostor'. This entity is killed by accident while posing as Jennifer Murphy during her wedding to Dragon.
An alternate time-line Rapture is kidnapped by Damian Darklord in order to raise the son of Dragon and the original Rapture, Malcolm. Damian is destined to become the entity who kills the original Rapture.
After issue 75, the Savage Dragon series takes place on an alternate earth
, known as the 'Savage World'. The previous earth was destroyed in issue 103. Everyone on it, exception a few characters - including Rapture's son Malcolm - are killed. This includes the Rapture taken from the Alternate reality, who was raising Malcolm in Dragon's absence in the Special Operations Strikeforce complex there.
In the 'Savage World', Ricochet does not stop Rapture from killing her pimp, and Rapture becomes insane. During the two year break between issues 96 and 97, Rapture becomes destitute, repulsive and overweight, foraging food from trash. Like Barbaric and Ricochet, Rapture has since been phased out of the book and the main cast, and has not appeared since issue 115 in a tongue-in-cheek Freak Force story. Almost raped, Rapture is saved by the restored hero Solar Man. However, Solar Man kills Rapture in retaliation for her murder.
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:...
for his Image Comics
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...
series 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...
. Rapture was inspired by, and named after. The Knack
The Knack
The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
's song My Sharona
My Sharona
"My Sharona" is the debut single by The Knack, released in 1979 from their album Get the Knack. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart where it remained for six weeks and was #1 on Billboards Top Pop Singles of 1979 year-end chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry...
. She first appeared in a back-up feature in ongoing series Savage Dragon issue 4 and was killed in issue 43.
Dragon and Rapture first met in pages drawn exclusively for the Savage Dragon: A Force To Be Reckoned With collection. The pages were not printed elsewhere, which caused confusion among many fans about when it happened.
Dark Ages Miniatures manufactured a large poster of Rapture, the second in a line of Savage Dragon posters.
Origins
Sharona Jackson is a prostitute in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. She is unknowingly picked up by Dr. Nirvana, a long-standing enemy of the superhero Mighty Man. Dr. Nirvana was kidnapping people who he thought would not be missed and experimenting on them. His experiments on Jackson go awry and she gains electrical-based powers. Nirvana is electrocuted, leaving him in a coma.
Because of 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...
's success, and because he was being loaned out to other police forces across America on a regular basis, Police Captain Stewart starts a 'freak force' program to create a super-powered department of the Chicago Police Force. One of the candidates, Ricochet, though too young to join herself, accidentally catches Rapture about to murder her abusive pimp Brian and talks her out of killing him. Brian pulls a gun, forcing Rapture to kill him anyway. Ricochet suggests Rapture for Captain Stewart's scheme and she and the other candidates are accelerated through the police training academy.
Besides The Dragon, all members of the program leave the Chicago PD after they are forced to work under strict restrictions, not the least of which are impractical police uniforms. The group soon become super-powered bounty hunters 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...
.
Rapture becomes a maternal figure to the child-like Horridus. She also dates The Dragon and they became lovers. Rapture showed deep jealousy and becomes possessive.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
Island. She becomes involved in the conflict after an old acquaintance of fellow Freak Force member, 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....
, forces them to help stop the aliens for the U.S. Government. Her broken leg means she cannot physically fight the rampaging villain Bludgeon, who badly injured some of her team-mates. However, Rapture stops the creature by bringing the phenomenally-strong Joey Finklebarr, who was gaoled when he cannot control his super-powers, from prison to kill him.
In the final issue of the Star mini-series, Rapture and Dragon learn that rock-star Peter Klaptin had set up an elaborate scheme to convince people he was the vigilante Star, who was really Klaptin's bodyguard, Chris Robinson. When The Dragon was missing and presumed dead, Rapture meets with Klaptin in a back room of the police station and bribes him to cover it up. A tape, damaged halfway through, led The Dragon to believe Rapture and Klaptin had sex, causing a breakdown in their relationship.
Erik Larsen held a poll for readers to decide if Dragon should accept Rapture's proposal of marriage in the series' 27th issue Readers voted for him to refuse. When The Dragon refused, Rapture reveals she is pregnant and throws him out of her apartment for asking if the baby is his. The Dragon is sent to Hell by a villain called The Fiend
The Fiend
-Plot synopsis:A young woman named Marusia goes to a feast where she meets a kind, handsome and apparently wealthy man. They fall in love with each other and Marusia agrees to marry him. She also consents to her mother's directive that she follow the boy to discover where he lives and more about...
and was missing for several months, during which time Rapture gives birth. The Dragon is the father and the baby has inherited The Dragon's super-strength. Rapture suffers internal damage, is forced into premature labour and the child is born before The Dragon, busy elsewhere, can arrive. The baby is taken by the shadowy organization, Covenant of the Sword
Covenant of the Sword (comics)
Covenant of the Sword is a fictional, covert organization bent on global domination appearing in the Image Universe and created by Erik Larsen. Although appearing in Larsen's flagship title, Savage Dragon, the Covenant also appeared in a number of Extreme Studios comics by Rob Liefeld, most notably...
, and replaced with a simulacrum to make them believe the child has died. After this, Rapture and The Dragon end their relationship.
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
had been voted out of the company by his fellow co-founders and his characters, including Youngblood, were phased out of the 'Image Universe'. After being bridesmaid to Freak Force team-mates Barbaric and Ricochet, Rapture is killed by a time-travelling despot named Darklord
Darklord
Darklord is a term used in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game campaign setting Ravenloft, referring to the mystically imprisoned and cursed ruler of a domain in Ravenloft.-Background:...
during a mission with Special Operations Strikeforce (SOS), a government-sponsored team The Dragon had formed to replace the MIA 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...
. Darklord had sought to replace his Darkworld, an alternate version of Earth, with the Savage Dragon's Earth. After he appears to kill The Dragon, and another S.O.S member Jennifer Murphy, Rapture insults Darklord and she was disintegrated by the villain's eye beams.
Later appearances
While escaping the doomed Darkworld, The Dragon tries to find that world's version of Rapture, but was distracted by finding that world's Debbie Harris. The Dragon World's version of Debbie is killed in The Dragon's apartment. The Dragon, Smasher and this Debbie fled in an alien spacecraft before Darkworld explodes. Rapture, and everyone else, was killed.Rapture later returns in the body of an old, prostitute friend. She joins the Special Operations Strikeforce as 'Lightning'. It is revealed that she is the Covenant Of The Sword Operative 'Impostor'. This entity is killed by accident while posing as Jennifer Murphy during her wedding to Dragon.
An alternate time-line Rapture is kidnapped by Damian Darklord in order to raise the son of Dragon and the original Rapture, Malcolm. Damian is destined to become the entity who kills the original Rapture.
After issue 75, the Savage Dragon series takes place on an alternate earth
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, known as the 'Savage World'. The previous earth was destroyed in issue 103. Everyone on it, exception a few characters - including Rapture's son Malcolm - are killed. This includes the Rapture taken from the Alternate reality, who was raising Malcolm in Dragon's absence in the Special Operations Strikeforce complex there.
In the 'Savage World', Ricochet does not stop Rapture from killing her pimp, and Rapture becomes insane. During the two year break between issues 96 and 97, Rapture becomes destitute, repulsive and overweight, foraging food from trash. Like Barbaric and Ricochet, Rapture has since been phased out of the book and the main cast, and has not appeared since issue 115 in a tongue-in-cheek Freak Force story. Almost raped, Rapture is saved by the restored hero Solar Man. However, Solar Man kills Rapture in retaliation for her murder.