Rocket (Raquel Ervin) is a fictional

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses Superpower (ability), ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, t ...

appearing in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, who was introduced by

Milestone Media Milestone Media Company LLC is the media company which created the Milestone Comics line, which were published and distributed by DC Comics. Milestone Media created the source material that was adapted as the '' Static Shock'' animated series. T ...

. She was the

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

of the superhero

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

. Rocket's powers come from her inertia belt, based on tech from Icon's ship. Rocket has made limited appearances in media outside comics. Kali Troy voices the character in ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen T ...

'', with

Denise Boutte Denise Boutte (born January 19, 1982) is an American actress. She made her film debut starring in the 2004 horror feature '' Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill'' and in 2007 appeared in the comedy-drama '' Why Did I Get Married?''. On telev ...

replacing her in later seasons.

Publication history

An original character from DC's

Milestone Comics Milestone Media Company LLC is the media company which created the Milestone Comics line, which were published and distributed by DC Comics. Milestone Media created the source material that was adapted as the ''Static Shock'' animated series. Th ...

imprint, she first appeared in ''

'' #1 (May 1993) where she was created by

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television. He co-founded the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented minori ...

(writer),

Denys Cowan Denys Cowan (; born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s T ...

, and

Mark Bright Mark Abraham Bright (born 6 June 1962) is an English sports correspondent and former Association football, footballer. Born to a The Gambia, Gambian father and English mother, he was adopted into a foster family in Stoke-on-Trent at an early a ...

. Rocket, along with Milestone Universe and characters, was revived and merged into the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

proper in the late 2000s. The merger treats the characters as new to the universe, ignoring the " Worlds Collide" Milestone/DC crossover of 1994. Rocket reappeared in ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'' (vol. 2) #27, written by creator Dwayne McDuffie.

Character biography

Raquel Ervin was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most crime-ridden neighborhood in Dakota.Dwayne McDuffie (writer), ''Icon'' #1 (May 1993) Although she is only the sidekick of the title character,

, she is the actual

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series. She yearned to become a writer like

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

, but lacked inspiration until she met Augustus Freeman IV, a corporate lawyer who was secretly a stranded alien with superhuman powers. This occurred while she and her friends were robbing Freeman's home. Raquel convinced Augustus to become the superhero Icon, and to take her on as his sidekick, Rocket. While in costume, she wore a belt that Icon fashioned out of his escape pod's inertia winder, which allowed her to manipulate

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the form of energy that it possesses due to its motion. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2.Resnick, Rober ...

.''Icon'' #8 Shortly after she began adventuring with Icon, Raquel discovered that she was pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, Noble (one of the other robbers from the day she met Freeman).''Icon'' #3 She gave birth to a son, Amistad, who is named after a

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

that transported slaves from France to the United States.''Icon'' #24''Icon'' #26 Rocket also assists the

Blood Syndicate The Blood Syndicate is a multicultural vigilante gang of superhumans created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''Blood Syndicate'' #1 (April 1993), and was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr. and ...

member Flashback in fighting her addiction to crack cocaine. Rocket is more liberal than Icon, which caused them to clash on a number of occasions. She befriends Static, another teenage superhero from Dakota City.

DC Universe

After Orion kills

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

in ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'', the space-time continuum destabilizes, threatening the multiverse. In response,

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

transports the Dakota characters to the DC universe, rewriting history so that they were always present there.''Justice League of America'' (vol. 2) #34 (June 2009)''Justice League of America'' (vol. 2) #30 (February 2009) Subsequently, Rocket becomes an ally of the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

and Shadow Cabinet.

Powers and abilities

Rocket has no innate superhuman abilities, but is a skilled gymnast and hand-to-hand combatant. She can manipulate energy using her inertia belt, which enables her to increase her own strength, fly via energy propulsion, and briefly paralyze others by negating their energy.

In other media

* Rocket appears in ''

'', voiced initially by Kali Troy and later by

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version initially works with Icon before joining the

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

. Later in the series, Rocket joins the Justice League and becomes engaged to Noble Davis, with whom she has a son, Amistad. * Rocket appears as a playable character in '' Young Justice: Legacy'', voiced by

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her extensive work in animation, voicing characters such as Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and related media, Susie Carmichael ...

Analysis

Rocket held liberal views on economic and social issues, which resulted in her often clashing with her

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

partner,

. Under her influence, Icon eventually began re-evaluating his views.

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

's ''

The Souls of Black Folk ''The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches'' is a 1903 work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology and a cornerstone of African-American literature. The book contains several essays on ...

'' was a major influence in shaping Rocket's liberal views.

References

External links

World of Black Heroes: Rocket Biography

* Rocket at the DC Database Project {{Milestone Media African-American superheroes Black people in comics Characters created by Dwayne McDuffie Comics characters introduced in 1993 DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics sidekicks Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities