Jack Nimball

## Jack-in-the-Box

Jack-in-the-Box

Jack Nimball

## Biography

### Early Life

The human named Jack Nimball was born on February 9th, 1980. He lived in near poverty in Metropolis, but became known throughout the neighborhood for his ability to create seemingly something out of nothing, engineering small motorized toys out of scraps from around the neighborhood.

The 100 Gang took notice and recruited him at age eight to help them make weapons - to which he was incredibly successful. Upon entry to the gang, there appeared to be no way out, until an Intergang weapons designer calling himself Toyman spoke to Nimball and offered him a partnership.

Toyman helped Nimball sabotage a weapons shipment to the 100, faking his death and escaping to work with the Toyman. The Toyman turned out to be Winslow Schott, a disgraced Intergang engineer. Nimball helped improve Schott’s designs, however, when they discovered that Intergang had sold the weapons to Ibac the Second in Kahndaq, which had been used in a slaughter on a refugee camp, Schott and Nimball staged an attack on Intergang, wrecking several storehouses, and forcing them into years of hiding.

Jack took up the alias of Walter Dunhill, and started his own technology company, set about designing old-school toys for children using Schott's designs. This did not go unnoticed, and before Jack could stop it, Intergang and the 100 were closing in on him and Winslow, who had set himself up with a brand new life, wife, and child. Nimball held Schott at gunpoint and forced him to run away with him, but Schott backtracked, turning himself in to Intergang after they kidnapped his wife and child.

Schott was held captive by Intergang, and Nimball felt an indebted graititude to the man he now saw as a father figure. So, he raided the Intergang workshop where Winslow was kept. In doing so, he caused the death of Anton and Maddie Schott. When they returned to their hideout, Winslow had a psychotic break. He drugged Jack. When Jack awoke, he was a new man. Missing his arms, legs, and control of most of his motor function, Winslow had made him a human puppet. Jack was trapped watching his life from behind his own eyes.

### Jack-in-the-Box

Jack was made to be the fall guy for Winslow's glee-filled violent attacks on Metropolis. Then, one day, in the middle of a supply run on STAR Labs, Jack suddenly went limp, as Winslow had been murdered. STAR Labs found Jack and attempted to rehabilitate him, but Schott’s technology had practically destroyed Jack’s brain, and he was declared braindead. However, this is not the end of the story of Jack Nimball.

Anton Schott would be the one to give Jack a second life. After becoming an apprentice to Dollmaker, he believed he could make Jack perfect once more, unaware that he was at fault for his own scarring. He launched an attack on STAR Labs using the robot Titano  and secretly snuck into their morgue where he stole Jack’s body.

After replacing several parts of Jack with robotic material, Anton figured out how to hardwire his brain to get going again, with a little help from Doctor Magnus’ responsometers. However, this had the unintended side effect of giving Jack sentience again, and he tried to kill Anton, only to discover that he was himself a robot being controlled, and then found himself faced with an army of little Antons.

This led Jack to discover that while Winslow was dead, his brain was still alive (with the help of the Brain) and operating from a hidden safehouse in Metropolis. Jack has since made it his mission to find and destroy Winslow once and for all. To assist on his quest for vengeance, he has joined the newest version of the Legion of Doom, giving him the necessary resources and uniting him with other super-criminals to help him.

## Trivia

* Due to his upbringing within the 100 Gang, Jack was pretty socially stunted, unable to make direct eye contact and bad at public speaking. He wasn't very good at running their business - but the product spoke for itself.
* His moniker of "Jack-in-the-Box" is more of a nickname. Members of the Legion of Doom have caught him "sleeping", where he contorts himself into a little cube in small spaces. When he appears to be fully energized, he leaps out of the space, like a jack in the box. He would like to be called the second Toyman, but nobody does that.
* It is still unclear if Jack is under Winslow's control still or not - it is entirely possible that the idea of going after Winslow was programmed by Anton and Jack is unknowingly under Winslow's command.
* As Jack-in-the-Box, Jack stands nearly a foot taller than he did before Winslow and Anton's modifications.
* Jack's mask is bolted to his skull and unable to be removed.
* It is suspected that Jack no longer has non-mechanical arms or legs, but he has evaded capture so it has yet to be determined.