Johnny Thunder (DC)

John L. Thunder, also known as Johnny Thunder and Johnny Thunderbolt, is a fictional character and superhero from DC Comics. 
He is a Golden Age superhero who fights crime with the help of a Thunderbolt named Yz, a magical being from the 5th Dimension who grants his wishes. His blundering demeanor often contradicts with the fact that he is one of the luckiest men on the planet. He is a member among both the All-Star Squadron and the Justice Society of America.
He was created by John Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier, and first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in January of 1940.
==History==
===Background===
John L. Thunder was born 7 July 1917, which coincidentally, occurred on a day with multiple sevens (a number often associated with good luck in the western world): the seventh day of the seventh month in a year ending in a seven and on a Saturday, the seventh day of the week. This coincided with the seventh Circle of the Mooon Lahseen in the the calendar of a small, fictional Asian country called Badhnesia, where a protective high priest ordered his minions to kidnap the child to protect his power of "luck" from falling into the wrong hands.
A spell was cast upon the boy was not immediate, as it would be activated on his 7th birthday, however Johnny did not become aware of his powers until the age of 22. With his powers becoming apparent to him, he soon joined the JSA and became their mascot. In addition, Johnny served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War.
In 1945 at the age 28, the war ended. Following the end of the major conflict, the high priest of Badhnesia cast a spell that gradually reduced Johnny's powers that the Thunderbolt only responded in about 1 in 4 calls. Eventually gradually started to fail more often, until his powers disappeared completely. Following his lose of powers, Johnny was forced to resign from the JSA, with Black Canary taking up his position following his departure.
==Biography==
===Early Life===
John L. "Johnny" Thunder was born at seven a.m. on July 7th, 1917 as the seventh son of Simon B. Thunder and Mildred Thunder, and his father was a seventh son in his family as well. Due to the numerous sevens at his birth, Johnny is considered lucky. As the seventh son, he is the younger brother of Jacob, James, Jason, Jefferson, Jordan and Joseph Thunder, and the older brother to two unnamed siblings. His birth caused him to be kidnapped by mystics from Badhnisia as they knew someone born at that time would inherit powers when they reached the age of seven. The mystics gave Johnny the zodiac belt so they could control the djinn Yz the Thunderbolt, but Johnny escaped back to America after Badhnisia was attacked.
===Becoming a Hero===
Johnny didn't inherit the power of Yz when he was seven since he didn't know the magic words to summon the djinn, and become a window washer at a young age. One day, he summoned Yz by saying "CEI-U" (which is pronounced as "say you"), which allowed him to become a successful boxer. Thunder didn't know that it was the djinn that brought him his supernatural powers until he realized that saying the magic words brought Yz, and decided to join the Justice Society of America. Due to not knowing how to control his powers, Johnny was seen as the comic relief of the team, and worked on trying to find various jobs. By the 1940s, Johnny started a romantic relationship with Daisy Darling, and adopted the orphan Peachy Pet.
During the height of the Second World War, Johnny joined the United States Navy alongside several superheroes to fight against the Axis Powers. After the end of World War II, Johnny started working with Dinah Drake, also known as the Black Canary, in fighting crime. Around this time, Johnny's power with Yz started to weaken due to renegade priests, and Dinah took his place on the Justice Society. Thunder was later kidnapped by the mystics once again, wanting to continue their plans, but were defeated when Johnny summoned Superman to help him. Despite defeating the mystics, Johnny had become the king of Badhnisia, but left after teaching the country democracy and helping Badhnisia gets its first president.
===Later Heroics===
Returning to the states, Johnny returned to the newly reformed Justice Society in the 1960s, and later had a son with an Apache woman. Fearing of the prejudice of a mixed race child, Johnny abandoned his son William, but later regretted it. During the late 70s to the 1980s, Johnny started to suffer from Alzheimer's disease due to his older age, and later lost the pen that had held Yz. He later died after the Ultra-Humanite used his body to take control of the Thunderbolt, but Thunder's soul was merged with Yz after Jakeem Thunder wished it so. Merging into one, Johnny took on the name "Johnny Thunderbolt", and was dormant personality of the thunderbolt. At an unknown point, Johnny's soul was separated from Yz, and he decided to retire to the fifth dimension alongside Peachy Pet.
==Trivia==
*Like his brothers, all of the Thunder's first initial starts with a "J".
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