Prince Jason

Prince Jason is a secondary hero in the third volume of Inhumans, published by Marvel comics and debuting in its second issue, "Sons of Hala and Rhiannon", which was published in 2000. He is the prince of the Spartoi Empire, who opposed many of his people's imperialist actions that would harm many innocent worlds, and was unwittingly roped into a Kree conspiracy to destabilize the Shi'ar Empire, which ended with Jason being implicated and exiled. As a Spartoi, Jason is externally identical to a human.
Jason was originally meant to be a younger version of Emperor Jason of Sparta, the father of Peter Quill, better known as Star-Lord. However, an appearance by an adult Star-Lord placed only a few years apart from the events of Inhumans vol 3 made that impossible, so the classic Star-Lord stories were retconned into an alternate universe, Earth-791. Earth-616 Star-Lord's father was retconned into being J'Son of Spartax, a completely separate and more villainous character, although Prince Jason remained in the Earth-616 continuity. Regardless, both characters have a homeworld named Spartax, although J'Son's Spartax is presumably from the Milky Way, while Jason's Spartax is from the Large Magellanic Cloud.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Prince Jason, son of Emperor Eson, was the heir to the throne of the Spartoi Empire, based on the planet Spartax in the Large Magellanic Cloud, bordered with the Kree Empire. However, after a war between the Kree and the extragalactic Shi'ar, the Shi'ar Empire took control of the Kree border territories, and held a shaky peace with the Spartoi. In accordance to Spartoi laws that dictated how heirs to the throne were to be educated, Jason was raised on a number of planets throughout the empire, working a number of professions as he grew up, including as a miner, poet, servant, star pilot, and soldier. While gaining all the experience he needed to take up the throne, Jason also began to see the empire from other points of view, gaining unorthodox beliefs that somewhat alienated him from other, more imperialist and conservative Spartoi. He lived a rather solitary life for some time, and while he took on no wife or lady, he eventually became linked to a female sapient starship named Soulship under unknown circumstances. The two became incredibly close companions, with Soulship considering Jason to be her mate, and Jason flying her on every mission he went on.
For some time, Jason acted as a sort of lone knight, traveling across vast swathes of space and gaining the ire of the Spartoi Council of Ministers, and at some point in time, crossed paths with an alien merchant named Kyras Shakati, and did some action that placed the merchant guilds of the Spartoi Empire, of which Shakati was a part of, in his debt. Additionally, Emperor Eson grew very distant from his son as he aged, and then began to make all his public appearances suspended in what appeared to be a crystalline coffin, most of the populace believing that Eson was dying, and the Council of Ministers became the effective rulers of the empire. While suspecting that Eson may have already died, and his body in the coffin was just a hologram, Jason also thought that Eson may be trapped between life and death, and kept in stasis by the Council of Ministers for the sole purpose of preventing Jason from taking the throne.
=== Spartoi-Shi'ar alliance and Kree-Inhumans conspiracy ===
At some point around the early 2000s, by Earth's time, the Spartoi and Shi'ar Empires sought a more formal, peaceful, and mutually beneficial alliance, as their scientists had determined that the two species were of common ancestry. After tense negotiations, a proposal for an alliance was reached, via a symbolic marriage between Eson and Shi'ar Majestrix Lilandra. As part of the alliance, Shi'ar and Spartoi forces would dissolve the neutral buffer zone of frontier worlds between the two states, removing or exterminating any natives who resisted and giving Kree refugees in the buffer zone to Spartoi for slave labor, while the planets themselves would be given to Spartoi colonists. Jason, still technically a part of the Spartoi military force, was deployed to the frontier worlds to begin transporting Kree refugees to prisons and death camps. Quickly realizing what he was really doing, and disgusted by the fact that the atrocities were being done supposedly in the name of peace, Jason began to believe that the alliance with the Shi'ar was doing nothing more than tainting the identity of the Spartoi race, but appeared unable to defy his orders.
Sometime later, Jason was assigned to escort some dignitaries to the former Kree planet Kritnah, where the symbolic marriage was to take place, only to be informed that the dignitaries' ship was being attacked by alien marauders. Along with two other Spartoi starfighters, Jason rushed through a stargate to reach the Shi'ar ship, although Soulship tried to insist that it may be too late to help. Arriving at the site of the attack, Jason and his men fought the marauders in a fierce dogfight, Jason losing one of his pilots but managing to successfully defend escape pods launched from the Shi'ar ship, with the marauders teleporting back to their ship and fleeing through a stargate, where Jason knew that pursuit was futile. Unknown to Jason, the "alien marauder" ship was actually Attilan, the city of the Inhumans, an offshoot of humans created by the Kree, that was forcefully converted into a warship by Ronan, supreme Kree Accuser. The marauders themselves were Inhumans, enslaved by Ronan as soldiers in a bid to interrupt the Shi'ar-Spartoi alliance and destabilize the Shi'ar Empire. Docking with the Shi'ar ship after retrieving the escape pods, Jason spoke with the Shi'ar captain, also finding that Kyras Shakati was among the dignitaries, who noted that the merchant guilds were in Jason's debt once more. Jason stayed aboard the ship as it passed through the stargate to Kritnah, sharing a meal with Shakati and the captain, P'kkrd. As all three of them were unfamiliar with Inhumans, they suspected that the "marauders" were an alliance of alien races, likely due to the varied appearances and powers Inhumans possessed. Shakati then claimed that the "marauders" were set on raiding ships for new recruits, but Jason and P'kkard never heard of such raids happening in or near their states. In response, Shakati merely said that the symbolic marriage should ensure greater happiness and security, but Jason expressed some doubt in that sentiment.
Arriving on Kritnah, Jason was assigned to protect the city of Kritnalar, where the marriage would be held, as a number of pilgrims from across the galaxy were flocking to it. He personally led Spartoi security squads up and down the city streets, as thieves and other gangs began popping up to rob the pilgrims and tourists. After two weeks, approaching the day of the wedding, Jason and his soldiers fought off a group of alien thugs who had just robbed a trio of Kree refugees. Unknown to Jason, said Kree refugees were actually Inhumans Black Bolt, Medusa, and Gorgon, still under Ronan's control and disguised as Kree refugees by none other than Shakati, who was now on Ronan's payroll. Medusa introduced herself as Medusalith, and claimed that Black Bolt and Gorgon were her mute husband and servant, respectively. Jason, entranced by Medua's beauty, especially her flowing red hair, bought her story that they were from a distant Kree settlement, and were seeking to secure a new place in the frontier. Taking pity on them, and hearing that their currency-carrying datachips were stolen, Jason invited them to dine with him, assuring them that he would get them a prominent place in the wedding.
Later, while at dinner with the Inhumans, with the food being served by an android servant, Jason noted that he had never seen a member of their species before despite his extensive travels. Gorgon eventually left the table, and Jason kept talking with Medusa, noting that while he was not above the law, being royalty gave him some perks, such as allowing him to share a meal with Kree refugees. He then explained his upbringing, how the ministers were using Eson as a puppet, and confessed that he didn't like the upcoming alliance due to the harm it was causing to the frontier world natives and Kree refugees, bringing benefits only to the Spartoi and Shi'ar. He stated that he loved his people, but he would not see their prosperity be built on the blood of the less fortunate. Deciding to help the trio the best he could before they left, Jason gave them gold datachips, saying it would ensure them a place of honor in the ceremony and allow them to secure work in the newly-distributed territories, explaining that it was all he could do.
After the Inhumans left, Jason remained alone in his residence, with only Soulship's humanoid avatar projection to talk to him. Soulship commented that Jason had confessed quite a lot for such a short meeting, noting Medusa's beauty. Jason agreed, but said that he couldn't aspire to anything more from a woman of her kind. Soulship reminded him that Medusa was married, but Jason asked if that ever stopped him before, to which Soulship responded that it wouldn't have to, as Soulship thought of herself as the only being who would listen to all of Jason's "idealistic tripes". Jason could only respond with a sarcastic remark about being a saint, and waited for the day of the wedding.
Several days later, the time of the wedding had come, and Jason donned a more regal flight suit as he heard cheering outside, signifying the arrival of Lilandra. Not realizing what the Inhumans and Kree were plotting, Jason stood by during the ceremony as Eson, still suspended in his crystal chamber, exchanged vows with Lilandra. After the symbolic wedding ceremony, Lilandra personally began to distribute the property titles for the frontier worlds to the Spartoi, Jason staying nearby. Also present at the ceremony were representatives of the Kree who were to be enslaved, and there, Jason noticed Medusa, Black Bolt, and Gorgon pass by. He tried to say something to them, but was ignored. Just then, as Black Bolt approached, Lilandra suddenly encased him in a force field, immediately ordering her guards to seize Medusa and Gorgon, as well as two other Inhumans, Triton and Karnak, who were disguised as Shi'ar soldiers, recognizing them as Inhumans. A fight broke out between the Shi'ar and Inhumans, and Jason ran to protect Eson, rallying his soldiers around him and ordering them not to shoot. He then saw Black Bolt about to attack, as he still had the power to kill in spite of the shield, but Jason called out to him, making Black Bolt stay his hand. However, Ronan, remotely monitoring the events, activated an obedience device on Black Bolt, forcing him to speak, his vocal powers shooting out a bolt of force that seemingly killed Lilandra, the Inhumans promptly fleeing. Jason attempted to stop them, calling out to Medusa that there had to be another way, but she bid him farewell as the Inhumans teleported away.
Then, to the shock of the Spartoi, the body of Lilandra then transformed into the body of Hobgoblin, a shapeshifting member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. As Jason realized that this must mean the Shi'ar expected this to happen, the real Lilandra then appeared via hologram, explaining that a psychic member of her guard had foretold the Kree-Inhumans assassination attempt, and announced that the events had showed her that the alliance would only bring more harm to their states. As such, the Shi'ar-Spartoi alliance was broken off at the spot, canceling all the frontier world territory distributions to the protest of the Spartoi delegates and delight of Shakati, as the merchant guilds would greatly benefit from the status quo. However, Lord Boeder of the Spartoi ministers, who had long opposed Jason's ideas, then brought forth one of Jason's gold datachips, dropped by the Inhumans during the fight, and produced recordings from the android servant, revealing Jason's distrust in the alliance to the other delegates and accusing him of being in on the conspiracy. Jason, outraged, protested that he was tricked just like the rest of them, but Eson ordered him to be silent. While not believing that his own son could have conspired against their empire, Eson still recognized that Jason had failed to protect the city and cost them the alliance, deeming him unworthy of the throne due to his improper zeal, and banished him to wander among the stars. In response, Jason merely put on his helmet, noted that "they" have won, and left. As he walked out of the city, Soulship flew low to pick him up, where Jason asked if she would stay with him, to which Soulship responded that she still saw herself as his mate, his conscious, and inner will, and would be so for as long as she lived. Boarding her, Jason and Soulship took off for the stars beyond the Spartoi Empire.
As Jason took off, Delphos, the psychic Shi'ar guard, watched him. There, she glimpsed a possible future, where Jason wandered across galaxies for many years, seeking Medusa in order to prove his innocence, until eventually crashing on Earth, where Soulship would effectively die. Now alone, Jason would find help and comfort with a human woman, who he would fall in love with, and have a child with, a son who would become a "lord among the stars." However, this future was only one of infinitely many possibilities, and it is ultimately unknown what became of Jason.
Category:Marvel Heroes
Category:Aliens
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Category:Falsely Accused
Category:Betrayed
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Category:Karma Houdini
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Category:Aristocrats
Category:Unwanted
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Friend of a Villain