Jaeris

Jaeris, formerly known as The Gunslinger, is a recent ally, formerly adversary, of Linkara. He first appeared in Batman: A Word to the Wise, where he teleported into Linkara's apartment, and attempted to take his magic gun.

Biography[]

Origins[]

At one point, Jaeris was a music critic, presumably from a parallel universe version of Channel Awesome. Like Linkara, he had access to all sorts of technology, including the possession of an artificial intelligence known as Sierra. When the SUCKA Act passed, he and his fellow reviewers were prosecuted for copyright infringement, and the country slowly became an oppressive regime. The critics became outlaws and freedom fighters, Jaeris apparently a leader of the group, along with his unnamed wife. Using his magic, he created his own magic gun, powered by the connection between the couple. While the local resistance could make small strikes against the government, they were not powerful enough to stage a full-on coup.

Wanted by the government after he escaped arrest, Jaeris left his home dimension and eventually recruited the help of eight other magic gun owners. They were confident that, with the power of the weapons, the 'magnificent nine' would overthrow the government of Jaeris' world without difficulty. However, it turned out that Jaeris' dimension was toxic to inhabitants of other worlds and the eight died horrible deaths in front of a helpless Jaeris. On the run again, he discovered that some of the guns he'd recovered from his dead friends were useable by others.

He learned that it was possible to make a magic gun usable by someone other than their owner; all he had to do was make that person mad enough that their rage would break the bonding between the gun and the user, bringing the gun up to full power in the process. He traveled to different universes and locales, obtaining these guns to arm the native resistance of his homeworld rather than risk the lives of any more outsiders. He never killed anyone deliberately, but he always got their guns. Eventually, he became aware of the one owned by Linkara.

Confronting Linkara[]

He openly confronted Linkara in his apartment and, after forcing Linkara to duck behind his sofa for cover, began a speech about how his victory was assured only for him to get attacked by a newer model Cybermat, summoned by Linkara. The resulting distraction proved enough for Linkara to break out of cover and repeatedly shoot Jaeris, wounding him, but he nevertheless teleported out of the apartment before Linkara could finish him off.

Returning to his Ship[]

Three months later in our time, Jaeris returns to his ship. His computer AI, Sierra, says the time dilation is a factor of twenty, and that Jaeris needs to steady himself. He sits down, while Sierra administers medicine. Jaeris says the Channel Awesome Universe is poisonous to him, having lost focus after only being there for a few minutes. Sierra asks if he was able to make Linkara angry, to which he replies he seemed more annoyed than anything. Sierra mentions that Linkara defeated Lord Vyce, to which Jaeris responds that it means getting his gun up to full power is even more important than normal. He says that it is the last one he needs, as we pan over to a collection of Magic Guns, presumably from other universes.

The night after Linkara's confrontation with Holokara, Jaeris enters the apartment and takes the damaged mobile emitter.

Stealing Linkara's Gun[]

After several failed attempts, Jaeris is eventually able to break into Linkara's home, shooting him in the back and stealing the magic gun as he lies stunned. On waking, an enraged Linkara travels to Jaeris' ship to retrieve the gun, accompanied by Pollo who downloads as much information as he can from the Gunslinger's computer. Jaeris walks in on them and, in the resulting scuffle, Linkara steals the pocket watch that Jaeris apparently uses as a teleportation device. Nimue teleports Linkara back to his apartment, where Pollo quickly reviews the information he has retrieved. He is about to tell Linkara what he has learned, when Jaeris teleports in, visibly weakened, and pleads for Linkara to return the watch.

Linkara is angry past reason, and he points the magic gun at the watch. The Gunslinger tells him he doesn't understand, and even Pollo begs him to stop, to no avail - Linkara fires the gun at the watch, destroying it completely. Jaeris doubles over in pain and falls to his knees before teleporting out, while Pollo quickly breaks Linkara's triumphant mood by declaring that Jaeris is not their enemy.

Back on Comicron-1, Linkara learns Jaeris' origins from the videos Pollo has downloaded. Worse still, the watch was not simply a teleportation device - it was the Gunslinger's 'anchor' to his homeworld. Without it, Jaeris will either die instantly or acclimate to Linkara's world so completely that his homeworld would become as toxic to him as is was to the eight freedom fighters who died there. Linkara realizes with horror that, thanks to him, Jaeris can never go home.

When Dr. Insano later attacks, he offers Jaeris to join him. Linkara, however, apologizes about what happened and even offers to give Jaeris his own gun to show how sorry he is. Jaeris then helps Linkara defeat Insano and gives the Gun back, stating whilst he still isn't Linkara's friend, he knows who to come to for help.

Adjusting To Linkara's Universe[]

Jaeris is seen again in "Teen Titans: The Culling" in which he is shown to have become an Alcoholic after his previous encounter. Pollo, who is at his house to analyze his computer's memory banks to find a way back to his Universe, expresses how he needs to start trusting Linkara. When Jaeris points out he's trapped because of Linkara, Pollo counters by saying Jaeris did provoke him. Jaeris tries to defend his actions, saying he did what he did for the greater good, but Pollo states that almost every nemesis that Linkara has believe that too. When Pollo beams out, Sierra tells his Master that he still believes Jaeris did the right thing.

Later at the end of the "Brute Force 4" review, Jaeris apologizes to Linkara for his actions, saying it's what ended in him getting stranded but Linkara tells him of his own mistake in destroying the watch. Jaeris later tells Linkara that Sierra went insane with all the knowledge he was given and tried to kill him, but Jaeris reprogrammed Sierra to completely obey him; which is the reason Sierra calls Jaeris master before telling Linkara to do the same to Nimue. Linkara tells Jaeris he'll consider it before the two part ways.

Sometime during the start of "Spider-Man: Crossfire" review, Jaeris is enjoying some leisure time in his home by playing the guitar with his hair down when Sierra chimes in that he's received a message. Though Jaeris initially denies listening to it after Sierra's insistence and the reveal of it being a distress call from Linkara, Jaeris relents and asks Sierra to set in a course from Comicron-1. By the end of the review, Jaeris teleports aboard Omicron-1 with his magic gun in hand and walking carefully through the corridors.

As he approaches the bridge, He overhears Lord Vyce talking with Linkara about how he took control of the ship's computer and slowly drove Nimue mad. As Linkara sees Jaeris out of the corner of his eye, He loudly explains that there are safety systems on the ship that are completely automatic, like the fire-suppression systems. Jaeris takes the hint and fires his gun at the ceiling, triggering the fire suppression systems and distracting Vyce.

Jaeris tells Linkara they need to get off the ship but Linkara is determined not to leave the ship to Vyce. He leads Jaeris towards Cargo Bay 1 and Jaeris asks why they’re not going to Engineering. Linkara explains that Vyce is in every system Nimue was in, which includes Engineering. He goes on to explain that before Nimue took over, there was a basic computer that followed voice commands, but they can’t trust that interface either - they need to go somewhere where Vyce can’t follow them. Linkara and Jaeris enter the Auxiliary Control Room…which looks exactly like the bridge from the original Star Trek.

Linkara tells Jaeris to take the helm. As he does, Linkara explains that he plans to reactivate Nimue to combat Vyce. Though Jaeris questions what she can do when she's crazy, only for Linkara to explain he has a plan and tells Jaeris to set a course for the sun. Linkara explains that it's a last resort if they can't combat Vyce and plans to destroy the ship and send Jaeris to the Vigilant to escape if it guess dicey. Despite his objections, Jaeris continues to pilot the ship while Linkara does rerouting and plans to entertain himself by...reviewing a comic book, much to Jaeris' disbelief.

After the "2001: A Space Odyssey #1" review concludes, Comicron-1 nears the sun and Vyce finally discovers them. While Vyce seems to run into difficulties, he manages to start to change the course which Jaeris notes before asking why he feels so upset about it. Later after Nimue's digital confrontation with Vyce, Jaeris stands aboard the Bridge with Linkara and Pollo getting a diagnostic report from Nimue that all systems are accounted for and that Vyce can't be found in Nimue or Comicron-1's systems. However, an alarm blares and Nimue explains that she noticed that a shade teleported from the ship when they were within orbit and they assume that Vyce took control of the Shade to escape. Figuring that Vyce will be seeking revenge, Jaeris asks Linkara what they should do but Linkara remains silent before asking to be teleported to the apartment. Jaeris follows after him asking what he's doing as Linkara rants about the last 5 years of his encounters and goes into his closet. Jaeris then waits with Pollo until Linkara steps out in his new ensemble.

Becoming a Pawn for the King[]

In "Cosmic Slam #1", Jaeris is seen aboard his ship with Pollo trying to locate his home universe. After discovering it's not his home, Jaeris becomes frustrated and suggests the idea of Sierra coordinating with Nimue to better locate his home. Pollo says that since the incident with Vyce, Linkara has been hesitant about letting other computer systems connect with her and would probably shoot down the idea. Jaeris vouches for Sierra before he and Pollo get into an Argument. As Pollo & Sierra get into a short argument, Sierra notes some strange other dimensional directed towards Linkara's apartment and several other signals which are concern before going silent. After Jaeris calls out to him, Sierra says 'I hear and obey' before starting to release some kind of knockout gas into the air. Jaeris commands Sierra stop but he doesn't respond. After Pollo tries and fails to hack Sierra's systems, Sierra overloads Pollo's power systems and says that they cannot stop his king. Jaeris attempts to fight back but falls unconscious.

After the "Spiderman: The Trial of Peter Parker" review concludes and Linkara coordinates with Pollo, Jaeris arrives at Linkara's cell under the King of Worms influence and says that the King has ordered his presence. He takes Linkara to the King so he may perform the extraction of the information the King seeks. However before it can get underway, Linkara strikes at the King and the possessed Jaeris is stunned by Pollo & his duplicate bodies. Sometime after the defeat of the King, Jaeris is in Linkara's Living Room standing with Linkara, Harvey Finevoice, Eliza the Foam Lizard, and Allen discussing the whole incident and is present when Linksano explains that the King of Worms died from a heart attack and not their weapons.

A True Christmas Gift[]

After "The Hobbit #3" review, Jaeris arrives at Linkara's apartment and is told by Linkara about a mysterious woman who came looking for him specifically. Jaeris says he figured something like this would happen eventually as he didn’t make a lot of friends when he started taking people’s Magic Guns, mentioning something called the “Contest of Champions” in passing. Linkara asks if Jaeris giving back the woman’s Magic Gun and apologizing will be enough and Jaeris says they’ll have to see when she attacks again, but Linkara has other plans. Linkara explains that he wants to take action, planning they teleport her to them where they will have guns ready for her to give them the advantage. Jaeris gets behind the idea until Linkara mentions that after the whole thing goes down, he wants Jaeris to join him and the others for Christmas Dinner. Jaeris says he planned to spend it alone and drink in his sorrows. Linkara encourages the fact that they're slowly making progress on finding his home universe and despite Jaeris having become acclimated to this universe, they should take some time to celebrate after so much stuff has gone down in the year. Jaeris agrees and accepts to join them for Christmas.

After the "Santa the Barbarian #1" review, Linkara, Jaeris, and Pollo stand by with their weapons ready and Linkara asks Nimue to teleport the women to them. After she appears and Linkara explains that she's surrounded, Jaeris recognizes her and calls her Joana. She turns, recognizes him and the two join in a passionate kiss much to Linkara and Pollo's amazement. After exchanging some confused words and explaining that the resistance won in their world, Jaeris introduces her as his wife. Sometime later, Jaeris explains how the Government fell apart and how the resistance managed to win. Linkara commenting how the disappointing fact that Jaeris didn't have to steal magic guns but Jaeris is too ecstatic to get angsty and glad to see his wife again. When Linkara asks what he plans to do with the other magic guns, Jaeris explains that even though he can't stay in his home universe he plans to visit it and plans to return the guns to their rightful owners. Linkara however gives Jaeris a new anchor that he had Linksano construct so Jaeris could become acclimated to his home universe. Surprised and overjoyed by the gift, Jaeris gives Linkara a hug as thanks. As Jaeris is about to leave back for his ship, He thanks Linkara though also cites a mild insult for stranding him. The two salute each other and Jaeris teleports away.

Personality[]

Jaeris usually has a calm demeanor when handling missions. However, he can react violently when provoked, as when Linkara entered his house and when he broke Jaeris's pocketwatch.

He was originally clouded by his pursuit to save his own universe. So much so, that he believed his cause justified invading into peoples homes, theft, and getting Linkara's crew to almost kill each other. Jaeris also didn't consider the consequences of his actions, as exemplified when he angered Linkara so much by stealing his magic gun that Linkara destroyed his pocketwatch. Since he became allies with Linkara, Jaeris has felt regret for what he has done, blaming himself for getting himself trapped in Linkara's demension. He appears to be very confident in his own abilities to the point where he starts monologuing about how he'll eventually defeat Linkara regardless of how much power he possesses (before they became allies.)

Trivia[]

According to Linkara himself in the ruminations of Barman Jazz 1, the element of the Gunslinger picking up the hill emitter was supposed to lead to a massive battle between himself, the Gunslinger, and Holokara.
- Apparently, the reason that this was dropped was because of the amount of work if would take as well as wanting to wrap it up before Halloween (the episode in question airing one week before he began looking at The Thing From Another World #1 by way of Starstream 1).
  - Additionally, the original plan after this was to tie it into the following storyline but his actor (Wolf Wolfgram) moved away so the ideas were scrapped the the hook emitter plot has never been resolved.
    - However, since Wolfgram has since moved back to Minnesota, the Gunslinger plot has returned to the show so this may be followed up on in the future.
With his expertise in magic, space-travel, interdimensional travel, AI technology, his prefered use of magic gun(s) and his former career as an internet critic, it could be possible that Jaeris may be an alternate universe incarnation of Linkara himself.
One of the Magic Guns in Jaeris' collection is a Jango Fett WESTAR-34 blaster pistol .
According to a Q&A, Jaeris' look is based around Yuber from Konami's Suikoden series (mainly his appearance in Suikoden III) and Christian Bale's character, John Preston, from Equilibrium. He also bears similarities to Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alcemist, such as sporting a long ponytail and split banes, as well as carrying around a pocket watch which ties into his abilities, in this case anchoring to different universes.

Jaeris' Ship is made from a House, similar to both Nostalgia Critic and Terrell from To Boldly Flee.

In addition, his backstory about being prosecuted by the SUCKA Act is a direct reference to the act chaired by Prick in To Boldly Flee. This implies that he possibly worked for an alternate version of Channel Awesome.