A
villain published by
DC Comics. The
Trickster first appeared
in
The Flash #113 in 1960.
James Jesse was the youngest member of the Flying Jesses, a
family act that specialized in high-wire walking. James was to
be trained in the family business, but there was only one problem:
James was afraid of heights. James spent a good deal of time
ducking practices and spent the free time learning about the great
stage coach robber, Jesse James.
When James was finally cornered into learning to walk the high-wire,
he used his inventive ability to create a pair of air-walking shoes
that allowed him to walk on air by use of air jets. James
used the shoes to appear to walk the high-wire and soon was the
star of the show, performing unparalleled stunts and amazing audiences.
James found that he enjoyed the thrill of the performance, but soon
grew bored with the hire-wire act.
To get a greater thrill, James turned to crime taking after his
somewhat namesake Jesse James. James adopted a costume, calling
himself the Trickster and began a crime spree. Using his air shoes,
the Trickster began to hold up airplanes in mid-flight. How
the Trickster got around the whole "the plane is going a hell of a lot
faster than you can walk" issue, the "Hey, everytime I open the
door in midflight, all the air along with a couple of flight
attendents get sucked out" question, and the "Why am I turning blue?
Is it the lack of oxygen or the freezing cold?" problem were never
properly address.
Soon, the Trickster began a crime spree in Central City, home
of the Silver Age Flash. The two clashed with the
Scarlet Speedster defeating the the Trickster and sending him to
jail. The Trickster escaped and became one of the Flash's villains
who banded together as the Rogues Gallery.
After the disappearance of the Flash, the Trickster left Central
City and traveled to California, where he clashed with the hero
Blue Devil. Blue Devil convinced the Trickster that his
inventive abilities would allow him to get a job as a special effects
artist and used his connections to help him secure a job.
The Trickster went straight for a time, but became engaged in
the demon Neron's plot to defeat the present Flash
Wally West by using the old Rogues Gallery. The Trickster aided
West in defeating Neron and returning his old cronies to normal.
Of late, a new Trickster has appeared on the scene using equipment
stolen from James Jesse. He has banded together with some new
villains to form a new Rogues Gallery.