Experiment Jack

See Jack o'Lantern for the game Jack stars in and O'Lantern for the McBoo's Mansion character.
Experiment Jack (also known by the pseudonym Jacqueline Redd and the vigilante title Jack o'Lantern is the primary protagonist of the 2022 beat-em-up game Jack o'Lantern. A young adult whose memory was wiped in experiments that presumably also granted them the ability to control flame, Jack does battle with crime on the streets of Ares City, utilising their newfound pyrokinetic abilities and an array of gadgets sponsored by the enigmatic Pythia alongside their best friend and sometimes lover, Kizzy Thunder, who moonlights as the vigilante Snow Angel.
Jack is a reboot of a prior incarnation of the character from the cancelled Agate, and debuted in 2022's Jack o'Lantern.
==Character==
===Appearance===
Outside of their superhero persona, Jack is lithe but muscular, with short-cut red-dyed hair and brown eyes. They are latino. Often, they ease into a relaxed slump posture, making themselves intentionally less threatening visually, despite their ability to pack a mean punch. When in their costumed guise, Jack wears a large helmet styled after a pumpkin, which is highly resistant. The rest of their suit is made primarily of light-but-resilient materials, albeit some portions are considerably more armoured than others, and they have a utility belt filled with various gadgets. 
===Personality===
Jack revels in mischief and trickery, gladly pulling pranks and tricks even on their closest friends. They usually quip a lot in battle, making jokes even in the least opportune situations, and try to always get into fights with a smile on their face. Surprisingly, they have a relatively positive relationship with many minor rogues, styling themself as a defender of the poor and sympathising those who are largely harmless in their plots, but harbor a heavy disdain for gangs and other organisations that prey on the helpless and the suffering. Generally, Jack tries not to kill their foes, but often gets violent when they witness horrific acts, sending criminals to the ACPD with various injuries. Jack absolutely despises those who exploit the weak and revel in privelige, and has a strong sense of retributive justice, which is one of the few things that can draw them out of their happy-go-lucky, trickster mannerisms. Jack cares very strongly for those close to them and is hit especially hard by any form of betrayal, but is willing to lay down their life to protect their friends.
===Abilities===
Jack is a skilled martial combatant for reasons they don't understand, and are highly athletic and acrobatic. They are competent with gymnastics and hand to hand, blending these together into a swift fighting style that leverages their training, blows hitting harder due to inbuilt brass knuckles and enemies having trouble hitting them due to Jack's ability to jump around easily. Jack is also skilled in the use of firearms, but they avoid this due to their lethality.
Jack's primary superpower is pyrokinesis - they can provide both heat and fuel for fire with their mind, and exert fine motor control over flame in a 10m radius of them, and minor control over flame in a larger range. Jack themself is also highly resistant to flame, able to stop fire from making contact with their body with relative ease and thus preventing any lasting damage, though their clothes are not necessarily immune. While Jack can exert general control over fire, they are also a master of several specific pyrokinetic techniques, channeling precision to create constructs and specific moves with their flame - for example, a concentrated burst of fire they then make explode, a shield made of magically solidified flame, or an ongoing beam of blazing flames. Their control generally contradicts traditional explanations of physics, but it's not something they know how to explain. 
==History==
Sixty days prior to the opening of the game that shares their name, Jack woke up in a dumpster, with the only sign to their identity being a name tag stating "Experiment Jack", which they took as a name. Equipped with the ability to conjure flame, Jack crafted themself a cape and suit, engaging in combat with the gangsters that defined Slugrest - and nearly dying due to a lack of equipment, despite martial arts abilities they have no idea how they knew.
Bruised and beaten, Jack was taken in by Kizzy Thunder, who also moonlighted as the vigilante Snow Angel. Kizzy nursed Jack back to health, and the two became close friends in that time, with Jack eventually joining Kizzy under the patronage of the enigmatic entity Pythia, who equipped them with a new, hardy suit and the resources to tinker with various weapons. Jack took the name Jack o'Lantern, based on an old Earth tradition Kizzy joked about, and set out to fight gangsters and various low tier rogues on the streets of the Slugrest district, repeatedly petitioning (so far unsuccessfully) for C-Grade membership into the Guild of Heroes.
===Jack o'Lantern===
Jack is the primary player character and the main protagonist of the game that shares their name. It features their rise in the hero scene of Ares City from aspiring vigilante to full-fledged hero while investigating the mysterious Boost drug that has overtaken the city's criminal underworld.
==Non-Canon Appearances==
===Fantendo Smash Bros. Radiant===
Jack is slated to appear in Scarlet's Fantendo Smash Bros. Radiant. They have not yet been introduced into the game, but when they are, their moveset will be posted here.
==Relationships==
===Kizzy Thunder===
Kizzy is Jack's best friend, rival, and occassional lover. The two have an explosive, sporadic friendship, getting along like wildfire but often erupting into large scale fights. However, Jack considers themself in great debt to Kizzy, who in return is immensely thankful to them for being a friend in difficult times - as such, no matter how much they might fight, the two are incredibly close, and are each willing to lay down their life for one another. The duo tend to patrol together, largely dreaded by criminals in Slugrest, their base of operations, mixing Jack's speed and explosive gadgets with Kizzy's super strength and heavy armour to apprehend many goons and gang members threatening the people of Ares City.
==Gallery==
Jack O'Lantern.png|Official art of Jack from Jack o'Lantern
Jack O Lantern.png|Old art of Jack from Agate.
FCC2 Jack.png|Fan art of Jack by Spheal.
Crakabolazy4090jack.png|Fan art of Jack by Crakabo.
==Trivia==
*Jack was first designed on the 19th of June, 2020. Their current incarnation was designed on the 21st of January, 2021, with touchups done on the 26th of March, 2022.
*Piper has stated that Jack is slated to be her mascot and the most important of her characters - and, because she really likes them, one she would implore to be used in any theoretical crossovers.
*Jack's origin has changed several times since they were originally concepted nearly two years ago, ranging from a mutated firefighter turned anti-hero to a researcher kidnapped and experimented upon by terrorists to their current, ambiguous origin.
*Jack has been in the New Fantendoverse, Fantendoverse τ, and the Boundless Fantendoverse. Unfortunately, it is unlikely they will be retconned into the original Fantendoverse, so O'Lantern will have to do.
*Please use Jack in your crossovers!
Category:Non-binary Characters
Category:Bisexual Characters
Category:Pyrokinetics
Category:Superheroes
Category:Jack o' Lantern Franchise
Category:Piper's Box
Category:Heroes
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Martial Artists