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Jonah Hex

Character » Jonah Hex appears in 369 issues.

A Civil War veteran turned bounty hunter, Jonah Hex's disfigured face and boorish personalty don't win him many friends, but his code of honor and expert marksmanship skills means he's always willing to fight for and protect the innocent and dispense lethal justice.

The Jonah Hex wiki last edited by Gordon Kelly on 05/18/13 12:04AM View full history

Origin

Jonah was born the only son to Woodson Hex and his wife, Virginia "Ginny" Hex. Growing up in Woodson's small farmhouse was a tumultuous time for young Jonah. Woodson was known for his excessive drinking and his abusive nature, and often took his violent urges out upon Jonah and Ginny. Finally on Jonah's tenth birthday Ginny abandoned her husband and child, after one of Woodson's drunken rages.

After his wife left, Woodson took Jonah and traveled out to California in the hopes of mining for gold during the California gold rush. In his travels, he came across a tribe of Apache American Indians and entered into a dialogue with the Apache chief. He sold his thirteen-year-old son to the tribe in exchange for some fur pelts. The Apaches raised Jonah and educated him in the ways of their tribe. Through the chief, Jonah learned how to track and to hunt, as well as fighting and survival skills. after saving the chief from a puma, Jonah was granted freedom. Even though he now possessed the ability to come and go as he pleased, Jonah had grown accustomed to life among the American Indians, and preferred to stay in the Apache camp.

The chief decided to test Noh-Tante and Jonah's worthiness as warriors. He instructed the two boys to sneak into a nearby camp and steal horses from a tribe of Kiowa Indians. Noh-Tante believed this would make an excellent opportunity to claim White Fawn for himself. During the raid, Noh-Tante attacked Jonah, knocking him unconscious. Satisfied that the Kiowa would finish him off, he brought the horses back to his father and told the Apaches that the Kiowa had killed Jonah during the raid.

While the Apaches believed Jonah dead, a group of bounty hunters conducted their own raid on the Kiowa camp. During the firefight, a stray bullet struck Jonah's body and he was left bleeding on the ground. Shortly thereafter, a trapper discovered Hex's limp form and nursed him back to health. Betrayed by his own family, Jonah swore to never return to the Apache camp. He relied upon their teachings in order to survive however, and eked out a meager existence as a buffalo hunter.

Major Story Arcs

Soldier

As Jonah grew into adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a cavalry scout. By 1861, the country was radically divided on issues of slavery and Southern rights. When war erupted between the Northern states and the South, Jonah shifted his loyalties to the newly formed Confederate army and enlisted as a lieutenant in the 4th cavalry. Ironically, Hex, a former slave, now found himself fighting to preserve the very institution that he had been a victim of. During this time, Jonah met a fellow soldier named Jeb Turnbull and the two became close friends. Jonah started to see that he could no longer support a system that elected to hold his fellow man in bondage. He abandoned his post and marched into the Union camp at Fort Charlotte to surrender. The camp's captain pressured Hex into revealing the location of his Confederate unit, but Jonah refused to yield the information. An orderly at Fort Charlotte examined samples of clay from the iron shoes on Hex's horse, and successfully determined where the Rebels were stationed.

The Union soldiers tracked the enemy back to their camp, and took them by surprise. As the Rebels were arrested, the Union captain publicly thanked Jonah for his assistance, marking him as a traitor in the eyes of his former unit. All of the soldiers were brought back to Fort Charlotte. The Union camp did not possess enough food in order to adequately feed all of its prisoners, so the captain manipulated Hex into staging a breakout. Jonah found a shaft beneath his cell and used it to access the compound where Jeb Turnbull and the other prisoners were being held. He aided them in trying to escape, but the Union captain was prepared for them. In an event that history will know as the "Fort Charlotte Massacre", the Union soldiers shot down every escapee in cold blood, including Jeb Turnbull. Jonah found himself a victim of a Union bullet as well, but managed to survive long enough to kill the camp's captain. Following the Fort Charlotte Massacre, Jonah patched himself up and moved out towards the Western territories.

Homecoming

Hex eventually returned to the Apache camp where he had lived, and discovered that his old rival, Noh-Tante, had since married White Fawn, a mutual love interest. The Apache chief was shocked to learn that Hex was still alive, and now doubted the honesty of his son's tale concerning the Kiowa raiding party. Jonah openly declared that Noh-Tante had betrayed him.

In order to determine the truth, the Apache chief orchestrated a trial-by-combat between Jonah and Noh-Tante. Noh-Tante feared that Jonah was a more capable fighter, and so he deliberately sabotaged the tomahawk that Jonah was to use during the fight. As the trial commenced, Jonah found himself losing to Noh-Tante's brutal attacks. Unable to rely upon his tomahawk, Jonah used his Bowie knife to bring Noh-Tante down, killing him in the process. By doing so, Jonah broke a sacred law which forbade the murder of an Apache. Jonah appealed to the chief, claiming that he was fighting in self-defense, but the chief would not listen to him. Several braves held Jonah down while the chief ordered him branded with the Mark of the Demon. Jonah's face was hideously burned and he was expelled from the Apache camp never to return.

Bounty Hunter is born

Some time later, Jonah wandered into a boom town to drown his sorrows. After drunkenly stumbling out of a saloon, he found an outlaw named "Mad Dog" Lucas McGill in the throes of attacking a young woman. In an inebriated haze, Jonah's mind replaced Mad Dog's image with that of his own father. Mad Dog's words echoed violent sentiments that he had heard visited upon his own mother many, many times. Without thinking, Jonah withdrew his colts and shot Mad Dog down in the middle of the street. A deputy ran out and graciously thanked Jonah for bringing the outlaw down. He told Hex that a man could make a lot of money by tracking down and apprehending wanted felons, and inspired Jonah to pursue the bounty hunting trade.

Jonah is gunned-down and murdered by George Barrow. from which he would return from the dead and received supernatural powers, he traveled throughout the American West, he also ended up in South America and China.

New Ongoing Series (2006)

The 2006 ongoing series

In his Brand-New ongoing series, Hex's origin seems to have changed; he was a soldier who fought in the southern ranks during the American Civil War and he was scarred for life by a cruel union officer. He was also raised by Native Americans (and was given a tomahawk). Apparently, he quit the tribe and is now earning a living as a bounty-hunter in the wild west of the U.S. Fighting injustice and thugs, Jonah Hex thunders the arid plains with his two companions...one is Death itself...the other, the acrid smell of gun smoke.

Blackest Night

During the Blackest Night Numerous Black Power Rings attempted to resurrect Don Hall, Dove (The avatar of Peace). Each ring failed, receiving the message "Don Hall at peace", and becoming inert. With the help of the light weilding super hero The Ray, Simon Stagg captured one of the rings for study. He returns to an underground lab, and meets with Joshua Turnbull, Quentin Turnbulls descendent. Stagg wants Joshua to try and harness the power of the ring to resurrect his own army. As Stagg leaves to his own base to remain safe, he has Josh stay with his coworkers to investigate the ring. As Joshua gets aggrivated in the incompetence of his co-worker, hundreds of Black Lanterns destroy the wall of the base to retrieve the ring (this includes Firehair, Super Chief, Scalphunter and The Trigger Twins, and thousands of deceased native americans). As Joshua's co workers are murdered, Ray is forced to leave the ring with Josh in a light cage. He then unleashes a giant blast of light, blasting away the Black Lanterns. It is unknown if he truly destroyed the Black Lanterns and survived.

Joshua and his assistant run through the abandoned and bloody hallways, Hearing the sound of cowboy spurs following them. Josh then leaves behind his assistant outside the elevator, hoping to distract the unknown enemy long enough to escape. The assistant stares in horror as the enemy reveals himself to be a newly resurrected Bat Lash.

Grabbing a rocket launcher, Joshua runs out into the old western town expecting an army of zombies. Instead, he notices he's all alone except a single figure across the street from him. Jonah Hex, resurrected as a Black Lantern, appears to him. Instictively, Josh fires a rocket at Jonah, exclaiming "They're right Hex. Your one ugly son of a bitch". Hex regenerates and shoots out Joshuas knees. As he crawls away, he runs into his ancestor, Quentin Turnbull. Quentin, disgusted that he's now forced to work with Hex, listens to his descendent plead with him, saying they could kill Hex together. Quentin shoots Joshua and retakes the ring, leaving only death. Death, and the acrid smell of gunsmoke.

Black Lantern Hex

All-Star Western (2011)

In this series Jonah Hex teams up with Amadeus Arkham to track down a serial killer in Gotham City. The serial killer is known for brutally murdering prostitutes in a Jack the Ripper style. The killer murders one of Hex's friends and hangs him on a public street as a message to anyone who wants to apprehend him. His series was recently cancelled, along with the Deathstroke series.

Weapons

Jonah Hex's main weapons are a colt single action revolver with a 7.5 inch barrel, and a tomahawk.

Other media

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series

An elderly Jonah Hex appeared in the episode "Showdown" voiced by William McKinney. The episode features a flashback tale as Ra's Al Ghul tells Batman the story of meeting Hex sometime in 1883 hunting for his son Arkady Duvall.

Justice League Unlimited

Taking place in the same universe as B:TAS, Adam Baldwin voices Jonah Hex in the episode, "The Once and Future Thing Part 1: Weird Western Tales" set in 1879. He teams up with fellow western ehroes of the period when the Justice League travel back in time.

Batman: The Brave and The Bold

Jonah Hex in Batman: The Brave and the Bold

He appears in eleventh episode of the series: " Return of the Fearsome Fangs! ". He is tied to four horses on his wrists and ankles by the Royal Flush Gang in order to torn him apart, but before get dismembered Batman saved him cutting the ropes. The two heroes captures the gang. He makes fun of Batman´s costume arguing that he "can't be partnering up with someone who parades around in a ridiculous bat getup". He also appears in "Duel of the Double Crossers!". He shown capturing Despero for Mongul's Warworld. He is doing this because Mongul captured him from his time and Hex made a deal with Mongul to capture fighters in return to send him back to his own time. Mongul then wants Hex to capture Batman. He does capture Batman and when Mongul goes back on his deal he helps Batman win in Warworld and frees all the prisoners. In the end Batman goes home but Jonah stays on Warworld and he is shown on his horse with Lashina riding away.

Film

Jonah Hex (2010)

Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex

A live action version of the Jonah Hex character was released on June 18th, 2010. Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) stars as Jonah Hex. The film also features Megan Fox as a love interest, Will Arnett, and John Malkovich. The movie focuses on the origin of Jonah. It is a heavy action film that focuses on Jonah using his hunting and tracking skills to find the killer of his wife and son and avenge their deaths. The film opened to negative reviews and a poor box office.

DC Showcase: Jonah Hex

Long time Jonah Hex fan Thomas Jane voiced the character in the animated short film attached to the animated movie Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD.

Board Games in Heroclixs

In 2010 when the movie Jonah Hax was in movie theaters it did not do well at all it was the worst movie ever made When the movie was made they promote the Heroclixs games pieces with only three pieces thet are Jonah Hex and his girlfriend and his arch villian. In the series they have cards with there powers to attack and there movie refference based on the film in 2010.

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