Xavier Desmond
Encyclopedia
Xavier Desmond is a fictional character from the Wild Cards
series of books. He was created by George R. R. Martin
.
.
Desmond would go on to found the "Jokers' Anti-Defamation League", or JADL, the world's leading Jokers' rights organization. He became one of the Joker activists most widely known to the general public, earning him the nickname "the unofficial mayor of Jokertown". However, some of the younger generation of angrier, more radical Jokers felt disdain for Desmond's work-within-the-system attitude and mocked his "mayoral" status, particularly the violent Joker terrorist Gimli, who compared the polite and soft-spoken Desmond to a Joker version of Uncle Tom
.
Xavier Desmond was one of a number of high-profile Jokers, Aces and reporters asked by the World Health Organization
to go on a "World Tour" to examine the status of Jokers in various countries world-wide. In Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad
, the recurring inter-story segments titled From The Journal of Xavier Desmond tell a great deal about Desmond's life and feelings, and also reveal that he is dying of cancer
. The Journal segments also show some behind-the-scenes looks at the events on an airplane full of conflicting personalities and opinions.
Xavier Desmond died July 16, 1987 at the Blythe Van Rensselaer Memorial Clinic (commonly known as the Jokertown Clinic). The last, proud words written in his journal were, "My name was Xavier Desmond, and I was a man".
Wild Cards
Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, but it is mostly pulled together and edited by best-selling author George R. R. Martin with assistance by Melinda Snodgrass, also a...
series of books. He was created by George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
.
Character biography
Xavier Desmond was a 29-year old investment banker with a wife and young daughter when the Wild Card virus first struck the world in 1946. He was one of the lucky few who survived, and developed a trunk-like prehensile nose, tipped with seven functioning fingers. He immediately experienced the prejudice of being a Joker, losing his family and his job, and along with other victims of the Wild Card moved into New York's Bowery section, which would eventually be renamed JokertownJokertown
Jokertown is a fictional neighborhood in the Wild Cards anthology series.In the Wild Cards universe, it is an area of Manhattan. After the Wild Card virus was released over New York in 1946, many Jokers, those deformed by the virus, began to filter into this largely abandoned area, which was nearly...
.
Desmond would go on to found the "Jokers' Anti-Defamation League", or JADL, the world's leading Jokers' rights organization. He became one of the Joker activists most widely known to the general public, earning him the nickname "the unofficial mayor of Jokertown". However, some of the younger generation of angrier, more radical Jokers felt disdain for Desmond's work-within-the-system attitude and mocked his "mayoral" status, particularly the violent Joker terrorist Gimli, who compared the polite and soft-spoken Desmond to a Joker version of Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
.
Xavier Desmond was one of a number of high-profile Jokers, Aces and reporters asked by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
to go on a "World Tour" to examine the status of Jokers in various countries world-wide. In Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad
Aces Abroad
Aces Abroad is the fourth volume in the Wild Cards shared universe fiction series, edited by George R. R. Martin. It was published in 1988 and dealt with a world tour, sponsored by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, featuring many of the main characters from the previous novels...
, the recurring inter-story segments titled From The Journal of Xavier Desmond tell a great deal about Desmond's life and feelings, and also reveal that he is dying of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. The Journal segments also show some behind-the-scenes looks at the events on an airplane full of conflicting personalities and opinions.
Xavier Desmond died July 16, 1987 at the Blythe Van Rensselaer Memorial Clinic (commonly known as the Jokertown Clinic). The last, proud words written in his journal were, "My name was Xavier Desmond, and I was a man".