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| Jungle Boy | |
| Aliases: | Jungle Boy Jack Spears, Jr. |
| Continuity: | Atlas Universe |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Adventurer |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Kadubi Province |
| Associations: | Monkey Tribe |
| Relatives: | Jack Spears, Sr. |
| Status: | Status unknown |
| First: | Jungle Action #1 |
Jackie Spears, aka Jungle Boy, is a fictional adventurer featured in comic books published by Atlas Comics and Marvel Comics. He first appeared in the third story from Jungle Action #1 in October, 1954 titled "The Skulls of Bleak River!"
Biography[]
Jackie Spears was the son of big-game hunter Jack Spears, Sr. and an unidentified mother. They lived in a settlement not far from the Kadubi Province in Africa. As a teenager, Jack frequently went off on various adventures, accompanied by a tribe of monkeys, who had bonded to him, and would obey his wishes at times.
One day, Jack witnessed Chief Kasuba of the Kadubi Tribe rounding up one-hundred members of his village who had apparently sold their land to foreigners, thus disgracing the tribe and its ancient traditions. He intended on having them executed, but before his warriors could strike down the offenders, Jungle Boy descended from the trees with his monkeys. As Jungle Boy argued with Kasbua over his right to execute these perceived criminals, the poor workers fled the scene.
As the accused were no longer in immediate danger, Jungle Boy took off, but kept a wary eye on Chief Kasuba. He returned to his settlement but was surprised to see Chief Kasuba, whom he had just left, holding a conversation with his father. Kasuba told Jungle Boy that he had been with his father all day. Jack told his son that he didn't want him traipsing about in the jungle with his monkey friends any longer.
That evening, Jungle Boy disobeyed his father, and the monkeys and he found a dark tunnel that he had seen Kasuba using earlier that day. As they descended into the cavern, they came across a giant spider. The monkeys tore down the webbing, and Jungle Boy killed the spider with his hatchet.
As they pressed on, they found an underground river filled with human skulls. He came upon Kasubi, who was in league with a white fortune hunter named Borelli. Kasubi had an arrangement with Borelli to sell him gold from the tunnels. Borelli went to shoot Jungle Boy, but Kasubi warned him off, citing that the gunshot might cause the cavern to collapse. He ordered his warrior, Babu, to spear him instead. Borelli ignored Kasubi's warning, and aimed to shoot Jungle Boy anyway.
From out of nowhere, Jack Spears arrived. He shot Borelli dead before he could open fire on his son. Oddly, he was attended by another Chief Kasuba. The real Chief Kasuba unmasked the other, who was impersonating the chief, and killing off his own people so he could get his hands on the gold on their land.
The real Kasuba and the impostor fought with one another, while Jungle Boy's monkeys leaped upon the impostor's followers. The impostor fell into the river, cracking his head on the skulls of his previous victims. The river's current washed the impostor and Borelli away. Jungle Boy returned safely home with his father. [1]
Abilities[]
- Acrobatics: Running, jumping, climbing trees, etc.
- Animal empathy: Jungle Boy seemingly held the ability to command respect from monkeys, and coax them into following his commands.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Jungle Boy could handle his own in a fist fight.
- Survival: Jungle Boy possesses all of the skills needed to survive on his own in the jungle.
Equipment[]
- Hatchet: Jungle Boy carried a crude stone hatchet. Not great at cutting, but very ideal for bludgeoning giant spiders.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Jackie Spears was created by writer Don Rico and artist John Forte.
- A similar character to Jungle Boy is Korak, who is the son of Tarzan and Jane Porter. In the Johnny Weissmuller films, this character was re-imagined with the un-creative name of "Boy".
- It is unknown whether Jackie Spears is considered part of the mainstream Marvel Universe.
- The final fate of Jackie Spears has yet to be revealed.
See also[]
Tarzan
King Kong
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
Black Panther
External Links[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Jungle Action #1, "The Skulls of Bleak River!" Written by Don Rico. Artwork by John Forte.