Jax-Ur is a fictional Kryptonian villain in Superman comics. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #289 (October 1961).

Fictional Character Biography

Pre-Crisis

Jax-Ur was an amoral and criminally deviant scientist on the planet Krypton. He was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for destroying Wegthor, an inhabited moon of Krypton (population: 500), while experimenting with a nuclear warhead-equipped rocket. His sentence for his act of mass murder was imprisonment for eternity^[1]. He called himself "the worst criminal in the Phantom Zone." Jax-Ur was bald, chubby and had a thin mustache.

Jax-Ur's intention was to launch a nuclear missile to destroy a passing space rock. If this test proved successful, Jax-Ur would then commence the build-up of a massive, privately-held nuclear arsenal with which he would overthrow the Kryptonian government, and place the entire planet under his dominion. In the World of Krypton miniseries, his missile collided with a spaceship piloted by Superman's father Jor-El and went off-course to destroy Wegthor. Because of this, space travel was forbidden on Krypton.

In his first appearance, Jax-Ur escaped from the Phantom Zone and posed as a super-powered version of Jonathan Kent^[2]. Superboy eventually sent Jax-Ur back to the Phantom Zone. Most of his later Silver Age appearances show him in his ghostly Phantom Zone form, except during rare escapes. He was often depicted plotting against Superman with fellow Phantom Zone inmates General Zod and Faora Hu-Ul. Although he possessed typical Kryptonian super-powers when on Earth, the out-of-shape Jax-Ur was no match for Superman in combat.

Post-Crisis

Jax-Ur did not appear after the Crisis on Infinite Earths for some time, as until the recent appearance of Supergirl there was a rule that no Kryptonians survived except Superman. On the occasions that a pseudo-Kryptonian villain was required, writers have usually gone for General Zod.

Jax-Ur's first post-Crisis appearance is in Action Comics #846, written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner. He is one of the criminals unleashed from the Phantom Zone by Zod. In the current continuity, Jax-Ur destroyed Krypton's moon during an attempt at interstellar space travel. When the moon was destroyed, Kandor was lost as well, though the city appears to have been shown in recent months as a bottled city Superman keeps in his Fortress of Solitude. It was later revealed that the bottled Kandor was not actually the Kryptonian Kandor. The true fate of the Kryptonian Kandor has yet to be shown. Jax-Ur subsequently became the first prisoner banished to the Phantom Zone.

Other Media

Jax-Ur, from Superman: The Animated Series

Superman: The Animated Series

Jax-Ur appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, where he was voiced by Ron Perlman. He was portrayed as similar to General Zod; a military genius who had attempted to overthrow the Science Council. His co-conspirator, and possible lover, is a beautiful Kryptonian female with long white hair named Mala (based on Ursa and Faora).

During Jax-Ur and Mala's last appearance on Superman: The Animated Series, Jax-Ur reveals to Superman that a rift into the Phantom Zone had been torn open, releasing them into space. They were saved by nearby voyagers and soon took control over their planet. Upon seizing control of the planet, they had the inhabitants rebuild everything so that it was very reminiscent of Krypton, even going to far as to make the inhabitants wear clothes similar to that of Kryptonians. After meeting with a rebel, Superman found out that Jax-Ur and Mala intended to invade Earth. After Superman battled in space with the pair, Jax-Ur and Mala were sucked into a black hole and are likely dead. However since they did not die on-screen that remains unconfirmed and debatable.

Superman Adventures

In Superman Adventures #21, he and Mala joined the Argosian criminal General Zod, giving Jax-Ur the position as the 'strongman' of the trio, much like Non and Quex-Ul.

Justice League Unlimited

Jax-Ur and Mala also appeared in the Justice League Unlimited comic book spin-off, in issue #34 as parts of General Zod's army of Phantom Zone criminals placed in the Phantom Zone for insurrection against the Kryptonian council, although neither of the two had any dialogue.

Smallville

In Smallville, a Kryptonan scientist named Dax-Ur lives as a human on Earth using Blue Kryptonite. He was a scientist who created Brainiac and regretted it. The similarity of the name and character indicates that this is a reference to Jax-Ur. The change in the name was likely because this character was not a villain like all of the incarnations of Jax-Ur. It is also possible that Dax-Ur is a relative of Jax-Ur following the Kryptonian nomenclature as Jor-El, Zor-El, and Kal-El are related.

References

External links

• Supermanica: Jax-Ur

tl:Jax-Ur