Crackerjack

Crackerjack © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Active Real Name: unknown Earliest Appearance: 1991 Base of Operations: Astro City His main HQ is suspected to be somewhere in the Northside Communities Personal Data Aliases: Eugene Wallace Date of Birth: Mid to late 1960s. InfoDump Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #5, 6 Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #1, 4, 5, 6, 21 Astro City: Local Heroes #1 Astro City #1, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21 Event Timeline 1995/12/12     Current Crackerjack Captures Possible Criminals. 1995/12/12     Current Techsperts Hitting Museums Again. 1995/12/12     Current Crackerjack rescues Mr. Bridwell from a boarding house fire. 1995/12/12     Current Mr. Bridwell Watches an Encounter Between One of the Scavenger People and the Irregulars. 1995/12/12     Current Mr. Bridwell chooses Crackerjack to be the final arbiter in his decision to invade earth. 1995/12/12     Current Crackerjack Catches Steel Devil Robbing an ATM Kiosk. 1995/12/12     Current Crackerjack Passes Jack-In-The-Box On Patrol. 1996/01     Current An Avalance In Montana. 1996/09     Current During Thunderhead's 'Tantrum' in Astro City, Jack-in-the-Box stops a pair of looters.. 1997     Dialog Clash between Dr. Saturday and Crackerjack. 2003     Current Sweet Adelines Rob Sprang Museum. 2004/10     Current Omnius Rex/Danielle Battles Honor Guard. 2013/06     Current Broken Man Confides Why He Can't Use Certain People to Unlock the Mystery behind the Doors. 2015/03     Current Quarrel Inspects New Costume Upgrades at N.R.Gistics, Inc.. Crackerjack "A daring and agile crimefighter, Crackerjack is noted for his theatrical sense of showmanship and for his deep appreciation of his own sense of humor." -- Astro City Visitor's Guide History In general, his early years are a mystery with details not yet recounted in the pages of Astro City comics. According to Mr. Bridwell's reconnaissance data, Crackerjack first "debuted" in 1991. A few years later, at the time of Mr. Bridwell's reconnaissance work for the alien race known as the Enelsians, Crackerjack had already established himself as a popular if not brash public defender. But Mr. Bridwell's overall assessment of him was not flattering. "He depends on luck, he is jealous of others, he does sloppy work, he steals credit for the achievements of others" -- the Enelsian, Mr. Bridwell For a time, his private identity was that of a struggling actor named Eugene Wallace. In his boarding room residence, he kept a number of accouterments, wigs and fake IDs, indicating that he has concocted several private identities, some possibly in use concurrently. The Eugene Wallace identity was abandoned when the housing complex was destroyed in a fire. Powers His physical skills are impressive and quite acrobatic in nature. He keeps himself in top physical condition, but there is no apparent references to suggest he possesses extraordinary powers bestowed through freaks of nature, radioactive exposure, DNA manipulation, or mutation. At least not to date. Equipment He carries a baton whose round tip can be fired off at the end of a line. It mechanisms behave in a manner similar to a grappling hook. Crackerjack often uses this feature of his baton to line-swing across Astro City. Observations Though the super-heroic community has a low opinion of him, he nonetheless has a somewhat impressive track record and is certainly popular with the public at large. Speculations, Theories Partners and Motivations Over the years he has had an on-again off-again romantic relationship with Quarrel. Even fellow Honor Guard member M.P.H. had a hard time figuring out why women would be attracted to men like Crackerjack. Men that are rather parasitic in a relationship. The comments that Quarrel uses to explain why they are still a couple despite the on and off, hot/cold history is insightful. For her it was more than just feeling she could fix the guy, she actually preferred the freedom and the drama. During the Enelsian story arc, Crackerjack seemed very much an amateur, just getting started as a super-hero. Still in his early years, and needing someone like Quarrel to smooth out the rough spots. Yet again, things are not was they seem. Crackerjack had been around for several years, and Quarrel was never his mentor. On general observation, it is easy to assume that he is younger than Quarrel, and that Quarrel, having been trained and mentored by Street Angel, was now being the guidance and mentor for Crackerjack. However, according to creator Kurt Busiek, "[while] Quarrel’s had the longer career as a costumed hero, she started younger. And even if she could mentor him, he wouldn’t listen." He has a hard-driven, opportunistic way of handling situations, along with a surprising amount of discipline riding in the undercurrents of his otherwise boisterous, carefree and borderline careless demeanor. He’s been in top physical shape all his adult life. The cover to issue #18 suggests traces of extra poundage on his frame, which again leads one to conclude a touch of carelessness physically that also translates into careless mental motivations as well. As a person, its a strain of sorts to like Crackerjack. Even though he has acting experience and exhibits a certain amount of the discipline inherit in that occupation, his personality type is that of a prima donna. Too much ego, too much “just getting by” instead of applying himself to his craft. But even with the insights provided in the recent four issue Quarrel story arc(Astro City #18-21), it is still difficult to explain Crackerjack’s career motivations. Maybe it’s like his relationship with Quarrel. It provides an excitement, a rush and a lot of extra drama. It comes easy enough, even with all the time spent exercising and training. Maybe it’s a cavalier enjoyment of life, similar to Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon compared to the Patriots’ Tom Brady. An attitude of being good enough to feel fine about what you do and can accomplish, but don’t grind on it in a manner that makes it hard, boring work, when it should be light, fun, and exciting. That almost seems to fit. But it still feels like there should be something more to it somehow. It is hard to put one's finger on it, exactly. But it sure seems like there is more to understand about this character. When asked directly about this, Kurt mentioned that he asked Crackerjack why he does what he does, and he said "when you grew up as one of King Louis’ Musketeers, learning ideals and comportment from the best, it sticks with you even when you’re time-displaced into the modern day." But Kurt also concluded, "I’m not sure he can be trusted on that."