| “ | I am not a hero, not by training or inclination. And I do not have a hero's pristine morality.
— Starman
|
” |
Jack Knight is a superhero stationed in Opal City and one of the many people to assume the title of Starman. An antique dealer and amateur historian, Jack was the son of Ted Knight, the first superhero to call himself Starman. Their relationship would be strained as Jack grew up and found superheroes weird, where at one point, he even insulted his father’s costume which further affected the two. After becoming old and retiring, Ted would pass the torch to David Knight, Jack’s brother.
However, Ted’s archnemesis, the Mist, would launch a massive attack on the former, which would injure Ted and his son Jack, destroy his lab, and kill David Knight. In order to stop the Mist’s further rampage, Jack decided to become the new Starman. He donned a new more casual costume and his father’s cosmic staff, and managed to fight the Mist’s family and private gang successfully on his own. After making his father proud, and finding out that he was good at being a superhero, Jack continued serving Opal City. Throughout his adventures, he would meet up other people and beings who also donned the title of Starman over the years, before retiring and passing the torch to Courtney Whitmore, the girl who would become Stargirl.
Battle vs. Jotaro Kujo (by Killermoves)[]
The once famous delinquent, Jotaro Kujo, stood on a grassy cemetery in Rome, Italy. He lingered in front of a grave, deep in thought, with somberness as his only companion. There were no gloomy clouds to comfort him. No stinging rain to cry with him. He was alone in his grief, he was alone in his weeping.
Buried in this grave was the man who helped him become who he was. The man who built him up to become the greatest he could ever be.
Joseph Joestar
1920 - 20XX
A Good And Loving Family Man
It had been years since his death, and he had quite the impact on the people who knew him. Joseph Joestar was not perfect; in fact, he had a ton of shortcomings and a lot of mistakes. But Jotaro could still remember the quips and the embarrassing yells. The wisdom and the cries of a senile old champ. The many adventures they had, as well as the dangers, the losses, and the tragedies that came with every success. It was not easy being a member of this family. Some might even consider it a curse. But with that old man, he felt like he was part of something. With him, he felt like a Jojo.
But the loss of the old man was one thing. Jotaro’s youth used to be full of coolness, charisma, and an entourage of amazing companions. His adulthood, however, was wrecked with nostalgia, painful knees, family problems and divorce.
Jotaro knelt down and placed a bouquet of roses. There were other bouquets laid on the grave; no doubt from other family members like the old man’s son. It was kind of Josuke to fly here for his father’s death anniversary. Strong family ties, after all, was the strongest trait in his bloodline. Jotaro wished the kid could have known more about the old man. But then again, Josuke was young. He still had family members to love, friends to enjoy, and new people to meet. Jotaro, however, was far from his prime. In his current life, he only had a few friends and loved ones left.
“Gramps… Kakyoin… Polnareff… Avdol… Iggy…”
Jotaro ended his visit with a silent prayer for Joseph Joestar and all other loved ones he had lost, as well as a prayer for a good life for those who remained. He decided to head back to Josuke, and maybe have a little sight-seeing along the way. He had heard that his family had a history in this city, and Joseph himself may still have living relatives. As he left, a wind blew to sweep and clean some of the leaves off Joseph’s grave. It also cleaned the grave next to it, which had a tombstone that said:
Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli
1920 - 1939
A Great Hero and Brother
“Would you believe it? That I just fought the ghost of Trajan himself?” the superhero, Jack Knight, said before chugging down a bottle of cold beer. It was already afternoon inside the cabin-like resort somewhere outside of Rome. The resort was indeed huge, two stories tall, with a large ground floor to play craps on, a bar to serve drinks, and a gigantic swimming pool outside. Yet, even in this big resort, Jack sat lonesome and in near silence as one of its few customers.
“Wish we have more of you guys here, signore” the bartender said as he handed Jack another bottle. “You yankees are lucky. You have a lot of metahumans who give a helping hand. My country’s supes are either assassins, vigilantes, or mad cult killers—“
Jack took a sip but didn’t swallow, letting the bitterness of the beer to stung his palate. A reminder for him that every sweetness in life came with painful challenges. “I admit, I only became a superhero because of my father,” replied Jack. “But I also confess that I do enjoy it. It feels good to help out. To make sure people are safe so that you’ll know that they will live on to continue doing great things.”
“But the job isn’t easy, right signore?”
“No, it’s not. I love being a superhero, no matter how corny that sounds. But at the same time, I dislike getting hurt. Or getting my loved ones hurt. Or disappointing them. But those are only the minor troubles.”
“Anything worse than those?”
“Well, I certainly don’t like fighting demons or aliens above my weight. Or failing people and watching them die. I myself don’t wanna die. And I don’t like being raped too…”
“Madonna santa…”
“Indeed. You ever heard the expression of ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’? That is true. Every good thing that you do as a superhero collects all unwanted villains and miseries that make up your own hell.”
The bartender apologized before giving Jack another bottle on the house. Jack wasn’t always this talkative, especially when it came to these things. But he didn’t know anymore, nor did he care. It was good to let those things out — the memories of the many hellish experiences he went through, and the realization that while he loved being a superhero, he didn’t want to remain one forever.
“I’m sorry dad”, Jack said to himself. “I keep failing you, do I? I wish I was like you. Be more qualified. All smart and brave and can find solutions to every problem, including this. Of all the Starmen in history, I have got to be worst. David… David would have been a better Starman than me…”
The door of the resort opened and the little silver bells chimed. Along came Jotaro Kujo who went straight to the bar. With his hands in his coat, Jotaro walked with seemingly no interest in the world around him. Yet, as he sat down, he had scanned the whole floor, taking in everyone who was present.
Jack noticed the man who walked in; a man with a cold and mysterious atmosphere. The Starman had enough experience to discern between a egotistical fool made of hubris and swagger, and a dangerous man who knew how to hide his capabilities and agenda. But even as his nerves flared, Jack went back to his drink. He’s a superhero after all. Nothing more than a glorified cop who wouldn’t make a move when there’s no danger.
The bartender was nowhere to be found, and Jotaro didn't like to wait. He jumped over the bar and went into the beverage machine, where he poured himself a mug of iced tea. He then returned to his chair and consumed it with four straight gulps. Jack saw what he did, and such disrespect plucked the superhero’s sense of justice.
“You gonna pay for that?” Jack asked with a stern look.
“私は彼に会ったらこの場所を所有している人に私の給料をあげます (I will the moment the person who owns this joint appears),” responded Jotaro.
But the foreign words fell meaningless. Jack’s Japanese wasn’t good, and he could only understand little of what the former delinquent said. Nonetheless, Jack was sure that stealing was an offense to every culture. Especially to countries who suffered previous wars and hunger.
“You put that down right now, sir,” Jack warned. He got up from his seat and attempted to grab the mug from Jotaro. But as his hand got closer, a strong force suddenly pushed Jack away. He flew a few feet, landing on his butt with a large thud. Although stunned, Jack quickly looked up to see what hit him. There, he could see an almost transparent silhouette of a large being, standing and floating behind Jotaro.
The bartender heard the commotion, but when he went out to investigate, he immediately went out the back door screaming for help. Bar fights made by average folks were bad enough. But a superpowered barfight? It was like staring straight into armageddon.
“飲み物代を払うと言った (I told you, I will pay),” said Jotaro. “今私を放っておいて (Now leave me alone you)—“
The cosmic staff suddenly flew towards Jack’s hand. With it, Jack telekinetically grabbed a wooden chair and flung it at Jotaro. But the silhouette, a Stand named Star Platinum, punched it into a million pieces. Jack hastily flew into the air, and continued raining down furniture on Jotaro. The delinquent dodged and rolled a few, while the rest was pulverized by Star Platinum.
“Stay still!” Jack yelled.
“試してみてください! (Keep trying!)” snarked Jotaro.
It’d been a while since Jotaro participated in such an adrenaline-fueled fight, and it's good to know that he still got it. Having had enough being on the defensive, Jotaro decided to take this fight to the American. Star Platinum dashed towards Jack with blinding speed, before letting out a million straight punches in overdrive. “Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Oraaaaaa!!!!” Star Platinum screamed as it punched.
But Jack managed to block the barrage of punches by summoning a force field. Although protected, the sheer force of Star Platinum’s attack was pushing Jack back. To make him stop, Jack pummeled Star Platinum in the head with his cosmic staff. But the attack was ineffective and the Stand was unhurt. So unhurt that it quickly countered with a hook that sent Jack crashing on a wall.
“降伏しますか? (Give up?)” Jotaro asked with a smirk.
“Fuck you!” yelled Jack.
The Starman twirled his cosmic staff before aiming its headpiece at Jotaro. In an instant, a beam of light shot out of the staff. Star Platinum managed to block the beam but the impact caused a small explosion that sent the Stand and the Jojo crashing unto a few chairs and tables. Jotaro felt that crash; a few of his ribs seemed broken by the energy attack. Seeing how effective it was, Jack relentlessly began spamming beams at Jotaro, but Star Platinum took Jotaro, leaping into the air and taking cover behind the bar.
“Time to finish this, you punk!” Jack yelled. He then flew away through the ceiling, leaving a giant hole. As he hovered above the establishment, he used the cosmic staff to telekinetically lift the whole resort off the ground. Although it was heavy, the cosmic staff’s gravity manipulation allowed Jack to carry it like it was a football. And like a football, Jack slammed the building unto the ground, completely destroying it.
“You… left me no choice…” an exhausted Jack said as he landed back to the ground.
“M-My… resort! My home!” cried the bartender.
“Don’t worry. I can rebuild it,” explained Jack.
But as he rested, someone from behind him made a sarcastic cough. As Jack looked back, he was surprised to see his opponent, Jotaro, alive and well, with Star Platinum still floating behind him.
“私はあなたが次に何を言おうとしているのか知っています (I know what you’re going to say next),” Jotaro said. “あなたは言うつもりです, なぜあなたはまだ生きているのですか" (Your next line will be ‘how are you still alive?!)”
“How are you still alive?!” replied Jack.
Jotaro closed his eyes and smiled. He did it. He did what his grandfather was famous for. Although his attempt was mere elementary and unimpressive, he still managed to do it in the midst of battle. If that geezer was here, Jotaro hoped that it would have made him smile too.
It wouldn’t be long before Jack snapped out of it. He again aimed his staff, this time deciding to use his gravity manipulation on Jotaro himself. But before he could so, Jotaro tipped his cap and murmured, “世界... (Za warudo...)”
Time then stopped in its tracks completely, leaving Jack in an almost perpetual frozen state. Before time would revert back to normal, Jotaro finally unleashed his coup de grace.
“スターフィンガー... (Sutā Fingā...)”
With a yell, Star Platinum jabbed his fingers through Jack’s body, penetrating through in a spray of blood and organs. Time then went back to normal and Jack’s dead body fell on the ground, his face still having that same look of fear and desperation.
The bartender ran away screaming, but Jotaro would only gaze down upon his dead enemy. He scoffed, then shook his head, before tiredness finally set in. Back then, he would have said something witty and cool, probably mentioning a receipt since this took place in a resort after all. But Jotaro was an old man now. He didn’t have the energy and motivation anymore to say any banter or one-liner.
Adjusting his cap, Jotaro could only utter, “Yare yare daze…” before finally walking away.
Expert's Opinion[]
Experts believed Jotaro Kujo won this fight because of his ability to time stop, which Jack has no defense against, and would nullify every power the latter has, allowing Jotaro to dictate and control the battle. Jotaro is also more tactical and calculative than the brash Jack Knight.