A-Bomb (Richard Jones)

== History ==
: It's too much for me! I've got the most powerful thing in the world under my control, and I don't know what to do with it! But one thing I do know... I don't dare go to sleep again, unless he's locked up back in his dungeon! 
: -- Rick Jones
: 
Richard "Rick" Jones was orphaned at a young age, and after being expelled from several orphanages for disciplinary reasons he was placed into a state institution called Tempest Town. A troubled and rebellious youth, Jones soon came to the attention of the institution's chief administrator who smashed his guitar, a gift from his late father, and then had him severely thrashed. Soon afterward, Jones ran away from the institution. He spent the first half of his teens drifting from town to town throughout the Southwest, trying to avoid the authorities, and doing menial work when he could get it.
At age 16, he got his driver's license and managed to save enough money to buy a used car. Overhearing a teenager dare a friend to ride out with him on the desert where it was rumored an atomic bomb was going to be tested, Jones offered to take him upon the challenge. He drove his car out to the test site to discover his challenger was too timid to show up. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, designer of the Gamma Bomb to be tested, learned that someone had ventured onto the test site, and believing the countdown had been delayed, ran out into the desert to warn him back. Banner managed to throw Jones into a protective trench before the bomb detonated, but he himself was bombarded with gamma radiation. This radiation triggered a mutagenic change in Banner, causing him to turn into the raging superhuman Hulk.[7] Feeling responsible for Banner's condition and being the only person to know that the rampaging brute was actually Banner, Jones became the Hulk's sometimes unwanted companion and ally. Jones soon organized the Teen Brigade, a group of young amateur ham radio enthusiasts to help him monitor the Hulk's activities.[8] Jones was present during the Hulk's first encounters with the army, as well as superhuman menaces as the Gargoyle,[7] the alien Toadmen,[9] the Ringmaster,[5] Tyrannus,[10] and the Metal Master,[8] and even a run-in with the Fantastic Four.[11]
The Avengers formed due to Rick's radio broadcast warning about the Hulk.[12]He temporarily became a sidekick for Captain America. His resemblance to Bucky was noted,[13] Rick even wore Bucky's costume for a time. However, Captain America felt he did not want to lose another partner and that while Rick was a good athlete, he was not quite up to the level Bucky was. When Iron Man suggested that Rick be made a full member of the Avengers, Cap strongly opposed the idea.[14]
=== Travels with Marvel ===
The Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell was bonded to Rick due to only being able to function out of the Negative Zone for a few hours.[15] Using the Negative Zone portal in the Baxter Building seemed to remove that limitation. Shortly after Rick and Mar-Vell had to be re-merged. Eventually, they were separated.
During the Kree-Skrull War, an 'omniwave' machine from the Supreme Intelligence caused the Destiny Force to trigger within Rick.
Rick received one of the Nega-Bands and gained similar powers to Captain Marvel[16].As it turned out, this was a plot by the Supreme Inelligence so that Jones and Mar-Vell had to share the power of the Nega-Bands. As the Supremor, challenged them in battle at the same time, intending to defeat them in time for their minds being ravaged by the Millenia Bloom, leaving them mindless soldiers which the intelligence would use to destroy Earth and absorb Jones' potential. He was defeated when Jones activated the Intelligence's ship's weapons systems to cause a solar flare from Hala. The Intelligence was forced to divert all of its energy into the planetary shields, leaving it and all of the Kree powerless and unconscious[17].
On their way back to Earth, they passed too close to a black hole, merging them and trapping Jones in the Negative Zone once more[18]
=== Later Adventures ===
An attempt to cure the Hulk instead gave Rick radiation poisoning. In the hospital, the Dire Wraiths began to replace the staff, but were stopped by Rom. Rick assisted Rom against the Wraiths, and temporarily lived with Brandy Clark. Jones was cured by the Beyonder at the same time Rom and Brandy left for Galador.
Rick began dating Marlo Chandler, a former girlfriend of the Hulk's. The two later married with a great number of heroes in attendance. The Impossible Man did his best to usurp the proceedings by inviting the Kree, Skrulls, even Mephisto to the ceremony. After a period of estrangement that also involved Moondragon and Death becoming involved with Marlo, the two reunited.
Jones was temporarily paralyzed while Hulk was the Horseman War. In an attempt to stop this 'War Hulk' he was thrown against a pyramid. Rick was cured during the Destiny War, summoning Avengers from various realities to battle for their very existence against the Time-Keepers. The strain was incredible, and a future version of Genis-Vell bonded to him, much like Rick had with Mar-Vell. Rick and Genis later discovered this bond still applied to the current Genis.
Rick authored a best-selling novel on his days as a sidekick.
When the Hulk returned to Earth, Jones attempted to calm him down by telling him about Captain America's death, but when the Hulk almost calmed down, Dr. Strange invaded the Hulk's mind. Rick later went to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, but was attacked by the Hulk's allies.
=== A-Bomb ===
Wounded, Rick was transported to the gamma bomb site that gave birth to the original Hulk. After being dropped off, he encountered the Red Hulk. After seeing that he had murdered Emil Blonsky, the Abomination, Rick was transformed by Intelligencia members the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. into a new blue creature who quite resembled the Abomination;[6] calling himself A-Bomb. In his new form, he was much like the original Hulk incarnation in that he could not remember being anybody else once the transformation was complete, had a temper which flared easily, and simplified speech patterns. He held his own against the Red Hulk for an extended period of time, withstanding all of his blows and injuring him multiple times, which previously nobody had been able to accomplish. The battle was interrupted by several giant android harpies that were specifically designed by United States Military in case Bruce Banner escaped the facility as the Hulk. A-Bomb has proven to hold onto fragments of his memories as Rick Jones because he recognized the harpies all had the face of Betty Ross; Bruce Banner's first love. A-Bomb managed to disable one mid-flight, and they both crashed to Earth. The robot exploded.
: A-Bomb joined with several heroes including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk and the Hulk to help stop an impending earthquake in San Francisco which was caused by Red Hulk.[20] After the Red Hulk was defeated, A-Bomb reverted back to Rick. He attempted to reveal who Red Hulk really was, but was shot and dragged away by Doc Samson from the area.[21]
=== Depowered ===
Rick would use his powers as A-Bomb to help people, but when the Hulk, under a new persona called "Doc Green," decided to eliminate all the other Gamma powered people, he started with Rick. A-Bomb confronted Doc Green and refused to be "cured," but ultimately, Hulk proved himself stronger, and injected A-Bomb with a dose of the cure, which made Rick completely human once more.[22]
=== Whisperer ===
As a byproduct of being depowered, Rick's brain suffered side effects, he discovered his learning capabilities had been greatly increased. He decided to direct his new ability towards communications technology, and ended up becoming a hacktivist known as the Whisperer.[23]
One of Rick's major accomplishments as the Whisperer was leaking to the public the existence of the proposal for a S.H.I.E.L.D. project named Kobik, which consisted of the fusion of different fragments of Cosmic Cubes into a single one, to reshape reality as it would be deemed necessary.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to hunt the Whisperer down, he was helped by Captain America to evade the authorities, as Cap believed the Whisperer's intentions to be righteous and opposed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s potential disproportionate retribution. From then on, Rick became an ally of Sam Wilson, while keeping his identity a secret, helping him in numerous cases.[24]
Shortly later, Rick found out that the Kobik program had actually never been terminated. [23] He gave Sam Wilson the location of the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. site and fled into the underground, only to be captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents because Rick had misjudged Jemma Simmons.[25] He subsequently was freed by the new A.I.M.'s New Avengers whom he had contacted.[26]
Even though the New Avengers had rescued Rick, he doubted their true intentions due to the track record of the previous iteration of A.I.M.[27] This lack of trust prompted Rick to refuse to flee from Avengers Island through a portal to the Savage Land when S.H.I.E.L.D. forces invaded the facilities. Instead, Rick remained hidden in the island,[28] and eventually escaped unnoticed by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents confiscating it.
Rick was tracked down by Captain America,[29] and offered amnesty for his crimes as the Whisperer at the cost of being forced to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. as tech support.