Quarrel (Jessica Darlene Taggart)

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Quarrel (Jessica Darlene Taggart)
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© Juke Box Productions


AstroFacts


Status: Active
Real Name: Jessica Darlene Taggart
Earliest Appearance: 1982
Affiliation: Honor Guard, formerly with the Omega Rangers
Base of Operations: Astro City


Personal Data


Relationships: daughter of the original Quarrel
Hair: short black


InfoDump


Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #1, 3, 5, 6

Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 19, 22
Astro City: Local Heroes #1
Astro City: Beautie #1
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #1, 4
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #3, 4
Astro City #2, 3, 12


Event Timeline

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Quarrel (Jessica Darlene Taggart)

A career that now spans over three decades, most of it spent with Honor Guard, Jessica Darlene Taggart is the second person to wear the now iconic costume of Quarrel. Her fighting style is finely honed, athletic, and firmly disciplined. In her early years, she was spunky, determined and reliable. Now, seasoned and refined, she seems more reflective, perhaps a bit guarded. But she is well respected among her peers, her enemies, and most especially her friends.

History

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Amazingly enough, despite the significant position that the character plays within the overall framework of the many Astro City storylines, her appearances are brief, and information about her is sparse. How she became Quarrel and later a member of Honor Guard have not yet been revealed. It is assumed that the desire to make amends for her father's villainous lifestyle is a significant influence in her decision to become a crime-fighter.

Early Years: Gaining Rep

If there is a theme to apply to the young Jessica, it would be of a proud maturing woman, inheriting a weak image and changing it into something stronger, composed of more distinguished qualities, like fortitude, a positive morality, and a higher sense of duty to humanity.

The first Quarrel was her father. A mediocre villain without much to show for himself except some gimmickry weapons and a skill at archery. At some point in time, Jessica became aware of exactly who he was, what he did and why he did it. She is very protective of him, but it would appear she is also embarrassed and uncomfortable thinking or discussing their relationship with others.

Her Time With The Omega Rangers

This period of her life is mainly a question mark at this time. She is part of the team at the time of Cleopatra's powers being bestowed to a new human vessel,[1] and again when the Omega Rangers join forces with Honor Guard and The First Family to deal with a major event known as the Reality Rift. [2]

An Angel of the Streets

We next find her partnered with Street Angel, a streetwise hero with a bit of a shady reputation himself. He was her mentor during those early years, helping her develop her skills and giving her a different direction to forge her identity. Their encounter with The Pale Horseman at the climax of the Dark Age story arc, resulted in the death of Street Angel, which left Jessica alone once more.


Earning Honor

At some point in the late 1980s or early 1990s, she become a distinguished member of Honor Guard, all the while maintaining her resourcefulness as a solo-adventurer. Over the years, she has also spent a great deal of time, working with and it would seem guiding the career of another colorful Astro City hero, Crackerjack. Their relationship is long, complicated and not what it would appear to be on the surface.

Jessica is now in her middle years, hovering somewhere in her mid-to-late forties (estimate). Her brief appearances in the current Astro City series hints that her body mass and costume have adjusted a bit to accommodate her changed body frame. She is still quite attractive and quite active, but there are signs and Kurt has hinted that there might be a story pending that deals with both Quarrel and Crackerjack coming to terms with their age.

Equipment

She wears a costume similar in design and uses much of the same weaponry as her villainous father, the original Quarrel.

There is a Bolt-Blaster on her right wrist for firing projectiles. Two indentations on top for holding quarrels to fire, or as balance points for firing a single, larger projectile from the center of the apparatus.

She wears a suit of chain mail with a heavy chest-overlay.

Stirrup on her boots, the purpose might be decoration or something more?

A grappling device for aerial movement is attached to the right hip of her costume. It can also be fired from a projectile launcher for longer distances.[3]

Standard sized quarrels are stored in a compact case on her left hip. She also has a backpack used for larger and/or special mechanisms. The backpack holds a parachute.

Her basic set of quarrels and grappling devices were probably the extend of her father's original arsenal. Her association with the technical members of Honor Guard, especially N-Forcer, have no doubt resulted in a wider, more versatile and far more advanced set of projectile weapons and tools.

Projectile List

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Mr. Smartie Notes: Let's lay this out similar to Jack-in-Box's Weapons list

  • Acid quarrels
  • Anesthetic injection/knockout quarrels
  • Blunt tipped quarrels for attacks. It is similar to rubber bullet with the intent to incapacitate or damage targets on impact.
  • Net quarrel
  • Rocket propelled explosive quarrels

Observations

Casual peer commentary suggests that she is from a small town, somewhere in Kentucky.

Speculations, Theories

  • Hints dropped many years ago in Local Heroes' letters pages by creator Kurt Busiek, indicate that there might be more to consider in their relationship than what the obvious surface aspects suggest. The four issue Quarrel-Crackerjack story arc published in 2015, expanded on that comment, revealing a very complex, passionate, sexual, highly emotional, almost toxic at times interplay between the two.
  • Quarrel's past reflects an attraction to male relationships that will disappoint at best, but mostly hurt.



Footnotes

  1. Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #1.
  2. Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #4.
  3. Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #3. Page 23. Panel 2.
  4. Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #5.




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