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Judomaster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Judomaster is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.[1]

An unidentified incarnation of Judomaster appears in the DC Extended Universe television series Peacemaker, portrayed by Nhut Le. Le will reprise his portrayal in the second season, which takes place in the DC Universe.

Creation

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Creator Frank McLaughlin explained the character's creation: "I had developed the character Judomaster and was anxious to leave… Charlton to work freelance exclusively, Charlie Santangelo was in charge of Charlton at the time. He and I played judo at the same dojo, so his interest in my character was more than a passing one… Reagreed to give me a shot and publish Judomaster, and that's when it hit the fan".[2]

Fictional character biography

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Hadley Jagger

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Judomaster
Rip as Judomaster. Cover of Special War Series #4 (October 31 1965), art by Frank McLaughlin.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSpecial War Series #4 (October 31 1965)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoHadley "Rip" Jagger
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Team affiliations
AbilitiesMartial artist specializing in judo

Judomaster's secret identity was Hadley "Rip" Jagger, a sergeant in World War II in the United States Army. He rescued the daughter of a Pacific island chief and in return was taught the martial art of judo.[3] He had a kid sidekick named Tiger who later became Nightshade's martial arts instructor as an adult.

Judomaster #98, artist Frank McLaughlin.

Judomaster's title lasted from #89 to #98, from June, 1966 to December 1967. It was a retitling of Gunmaster, which was itself a retitling of Six-Gun Heroes.[4]

Along with most Charlton Comics superhero characters, the rights to Judomaster were sold to DC Comics, with Judomaster becoming a member of the All-Star Squadron.[5] Tiger was re-imagined as the villain Avatar in the L.A.W. miniseries published by DC Comics, which re-teamed the Charlton characters that had been acquired by DC. In the same series, it is shown Judomaster lived for some time in the fictional city of Nanda Parbat, and did not age there due to the altered passage of time.

During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Judomaster is killed by Bane.[6]

Unnamed

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Judomaster
Judomaster as seen in the interior artwork for Justice League Quarterly #14 (March 1994).
Art by Mike Collins.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceJustice League Quarterly #14 (March 1994)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoUnnamed
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
AbilitiesMartial artist specializing in judo

Andreas Havoc, an enemy of Thunderbolt, challenged Thunderbolt to battle, feeling that his rightful position as "Vajra" had been stolen by him. The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Nightshade assisted Thunderbolt in battling Havoc in a psychic battle while the new Judomaster helped rescue the heroes in the physical world.

He later appeared as attending a memorial service for the citizens of Star City.[7]

Thomas Jagger

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Judomaster
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceCheckmate #1 (July 2006)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoThomas Jagger
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Team affiliationsCheckmate
AbilitiesMartial artist specializing in judo

Thomas "Tommy" Jagger is Hadley Jagger's son and an agent of Checkmate who also operated as a double agent within Kobra. When Checkmate becomes involved in Santa Prisca's elections, he confronts and defeats Bane in a fight.[8]

Sonia Sato

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Judomaster
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBirds of Prey #100 (January 2007)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoSonia Sato
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Team affiliations
AbilitiesMartial artist specializing in judo

A female Judomaster, Sonia Sato, was introduced in the Birds of Prey series as a member of the eponymous group who can project an "aversion field" that protects her from attacks specifically aimed at her.[9] She is additionally in a relationship with Damage before he is killed by Jean Loring and later resurrected as a Black Lantern.[10][11][12]

In Doomsday Clock, Judomaster appears as a member of Big Monster Action.[13]

Other versions

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  • An unidentified female Judomaster appears in Kingdom Come as a member of Magog's Justice Battalion.
  • An unidentified, alternate universe variant of Judomaster, visually based on Rip Jagger, from Earth-4 makes a cameo appearance in 52.[14][15]
  • An alternate universe variant of Sonia Sato from Earth-2 appears in Earth 2 #9. This version is Japan's representative in the World Army.[16]

In other media

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Television

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  • Sonia Sato appears in the Stargirl episode "Summer School: Chapter Ten", portrayed by Kristen Lee. This version is a Blue Valley citizen who runs a coffee stand.
  • An unidentified Judomaster appears in Peacemaker, portrayed by Nhut Le.[17] This version is a bodyguard for United States Senator Royland Goff and an ally of the parasitic alien Butterflies.

Film

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Rip Jagger appears in Batman: Soul of the Dragon, voiced by Chris Cox.[18] This version is a student of O-Sensei and member of the Kobra cult. He kills Jade to unleash Nāga from his dimension before being killed by his demonic servants.

Video games

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The Sonia Sato incarnation of Judomaster appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Cooke, Jon B. (2022). The Charlton companion: a history of the Derby, Connecticut, publisher and its comic books. Raleigh, North Carolina. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-60549-111-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Markstein, Don. "Judomaster". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. ^ Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-1605490557.
  5. ^ Thomas, Roy (2006). The All-Star Companion: Vol 2. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-1893905375.
  6. ^ Infinite Crisis #7
  7. ^ Justice League: The Rise and Fall Special.
  8. ^ Checkmate #11-#12. DC Comics.
  9. ^ JSA All-Stars #7 (August 2010)
  10. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #22
  11. ^ Blackest Night: JSA #1 (December 2009)
  12. ^ JSA All-Stars #7 (August 2010)
  13. ^ Doomsday Clock #6 (July 2018)
  14. ^ 52, no. 52, p. 13/5 (May 2, 2007). DC Comics.
  15. ^ Brady, Matt (2007-05-08). "The 52 Exit Interviews: Grant Morrison". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  16. ^ Earth 2 #9. DC Comics.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 4, 2021). "'Peacemaker': James Gunn HBO Max Series Adds Nhut Le As Judomaster". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Dar, Taimur (December 11, 2020). "Check out new images from BATMAN: SOUL OF THE DRAGON animated feature". Comicsbeat. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
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