Jericho

For the episode of the same name, see Jericho (episode).

Jericho Wilson, (born c. 1990-1993)^[1] is the son of Slade Wilson and Adeline, and the brother of Rose Wilson. He is a former member of the Titans and was seemingly murdered after being lured into a complicated situation involving the Titans and his father, causing repercussions.

Biography

Early life

Jericho was born to Adeline and Slade Wilson, the latter of who was absent a majority of his life. Despite that, there were times when Jericho would be visited by his father, but the encounters mostly brought him sorrow. He was given a special bracelet to always remember his father. Among other things, Jericho would be driven to extracurricular lessons by his father. It was during one of these situations where Jericho first revealed his powers to Slade.^[2]

Unfortunately, there came a time where Jericho and Adeline were attacked and held hostage by enemies of Slade. Although Slade was able to kill his opponents, Jericho's throat was slashed as a casualty. He made a successful recovery but lost his voice as a result and began communicating via American Sign Language.^[2] He continued to live happily with his mother and remained a safe distance from Slade. A week after Garth's death, Jericho was shopping in a record store when he was approached by Dick Grayson, offering to trade a rare music album.^[3]

Meeting the Titans

Overtime, Jericho befriended Dick Grayson and was introduced to Donna Troy, Dawn Granger, and Hank Hall. Oblivious to the fact that they were using him as bait, Jericho trusted them. They spent time with one another at the beach one night, where Jericho elaborated on his past and relationship with his father.

One day in a record store, Jericho used his powers to control an obnoxious customer who was harassing an employee at his beloved record store. However, Dick Grayson witnessed it and attempted to recruit him into the Titans. Their identities were revealed but Jericho was also told the truth of his father being an assassin, Garth's death, and the Titans' initial plan to use Jericho for revenge. Jericho became overwhelmed and cut all ties with his father and mother, moving into Titans Tower. He was then approached by Wintergreen who attempted to manipulate him into siding with his father.

Death

Torn on which side to choose, Jericho met with his father at a chapel to talk things out. That's when Robin appeared and a fight between them commenced, having Jericho in the crossfire. However, as Deathstroke prepared to kill Robin, Jericho jumped in front of the lethal blow, sacrificing himself.^[2] Just before he died, however, Jericho tried to take possession of his father, but due to Slade's meta-enhancements, Jericho's mind was trapped within Slade's.^[4]

Aftermath

In the aftermath of Jericho's apparent death, the Titans disbanded and shut down Titans Tower.^[2] It caused a lot of friction between the Titans as well as it did Jericho's sister, Rose Wilson, and Slade.^[5] Dick has dealt with a lot of grief and guilt, having difficulty admitting that he was the indirect cause of Jericho's death. Slade also lived in isolation for years until he learned of the Titans' reformation and merely seeks revenge for what happened to his son.^[6] Slade's guilt motivated where he fought, tormented, and even manipulated the Titans into breaking up by having Dick Grayson confess to how he was partly to blame for Jericho's death. He claimed he succeeded in his revenge but would kill all the Titans if they ever reformed the team. While intended by Slade to demonstrate his love for his son, Jericho called him out on his real motivation: Pride. Even before Jericho's death, Slade felt he had to turn his son against them-however, his arrogance cost Jericho his life, because Slade never took the time to understand him, preferring to spend his time as an assassin instead.

Dick eventually discovered that his consciousness is still alive within his father.^[7]

Thanks to Dick and Rose, by killing Slade, Jericho managed to get out of Slade's body and enter Rose's body, sharing a body with her, being able to decide who has control of the body but decided not to return to the Titans and adapt to living in one body with Rose.

Personality

Jericho has always been a timid young boy, especially after his accident. He was a well-mannered and kind individual which also made him very likable. Despite his inability to vocally communicate, he was able to strike up conversations and quickly establish friendships. His hobbies included cooking and had a love for music, often visiting a favorite vinyl record store of his. He also has a childish yet entertaining side to him. For instance, he has used his powers on two occasions: Making Hank uncontrollably dance and causing a rude customer to say obscene things about themselves in order to publicly humiliate them.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of sadness that festered in Jericho because of his relationship with his father, wanting nothing more than to regularly spend time with him. He can also be very trusting to a fault, putting his trust in the Titans when oblivious of their ulterior motives to use him as bait. Even after learning the truth about his father, he was still willing to remain friends with them, despite the possibility of vengeance still being the case. He also showed himself to be selfless. However, this can be an issue when in a dark place. Putting loved ones before himself, he avoided his father from murdering Dick by standing between a lethal blow. It is unclear whether he did it for himself, his father, or two people he cared about.

Powers and abilities

Powers

• Artificially enhanced physiology: Jericho had metahuman abilities, theorized by Slade to be a result of the experimentation he underwent prior to Jericho's birth.
  • Possession: Jericho had the ability to possess others through eye contact. When he does so, he can control their movements and speech, though his body is left lifeless. The possessed individual does not retain any memories of their time under Jericho's control , Jericho's power also allows him to save himself from death since even if his body dies he can transfer his consciousness into another body to survive indefinitely.

Abilities

• Sign language: Jericho was able to communicate through signing words with his hands as a result of being mute.

Weaknesses

• No physical body: Due to his powers and body dying, Jericho has no physical body of his own and has to stay in his sisters body.

Former Weaknesses

• Dormant body: When Jericho leaves his body, it is vulnerable to physical harm due to it being completely immobile, but because his body is dead he no longer has this weakness.

Appearances

Season 2

• "Ghosts" (mentioned)
• "Aqualad" (flashbacks)
• "Deathstroke" (mentioned)
• "Bruce Wayne" (mentioned)
• "Jericho" (flashback)
• "Atonement" (mentioned)
• "E.L._.O." (mentioned)
• "Faux Hawk"
• "Nightwing"

Season 3

• "Blackfire" (mentioned)

Gallery

Promotional images

Trivia

• Like his comic book-counterpart, Jericho has a visible scar on his neck; due to his father's actions as a mercenary.
• Jericho is bisexual. ^[2]
• Jericho was between 21-24 years old age in 2014.^[1]

Behind the Scenes

• In DC comics, Joseph Wilson is the son of Deathstroke, half brother of Ravager and a member of the Titans, known as Jericho. In that continuity, when eye contact is made, Jericho is able to enter another's body and control their motor functions (except their speech). If the person is unconscious when Jericho enters, he can also speak through them, but retains any speech patterns the person may have (such as an impediment, lisp or accent).
• In the casting call released in January 2019, producers used the fake name "Max" for Jericho in order to avoid potential spoilers for Season 2.^[1]

References