Rocket
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Real Identity: Raquel Ervin
Affiliation(s): The Team and Justice League
Appearance (Episodes): Revelation, Failsafe, Misplaced, Usual Suspects, Auld Acquaintance, Happy New Year, Alienated, Depths, Satisfaction, War, Complications, Intervention, Endgame, Princes All, Triptych, Home Fires, Overwhelmed, Nevermore, Og Htrof Dna Reuqnoc!, Beyond the Grip of the Gods!, Encounter Upon the Razor's Edge!, Forbidden Secrets of Civilizations Past!, Odyssey of Death!, Rescue and Search, Ego and Superego, Zenith and Abyss, Over and Out, and Death and Rebirth
Appearances (Comics): Players Chapter One, Last Rights, and Yesterday's Children: Memory Six
Appearances (Games): Legacy
Appearances (Audioplays): The Prize
Powers/Skills: Store and Manipulate Kinetic Energy, Above Average Agility, Force Field Generation, Flight, and Unarmed Combat
Voiced By: Kittie, Denise Boutte (Invasion, Outsiders, and Phantoms), and Cree Summer (Legacy)
Raquel Ervin was born in 1995 in Dakota City. In May Team Year Zero, Raquel Ervin met Augustus Freeman. The chance encounter convinced both to take a stand for something more. Ervin convinced Freeman to become the superhero Icon. Inspired to be a hero by Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy, Ervin became Rocket and Icon's protege. Rocket uses a belt made from Cooperative technology that allows her to fly and generates a force field capable of storing and manipulating kinetic energy, increasing the force of her physical attacks.
On October 1st, 15 year old Rocket saved a helicopter crew while Icon took control of the vehicle just as a Plant Creature destroyed Batman's Batwing. On November 5th, 21:08 CDT, Rocket went on patrol in Dakota City and moved a school bus to safety with her shield. On November 25th, Wonder Woman nominated Rocket for the Justice League. On December 30th, Rocket, now a member of the Team, watched as Icon was inducted into the Justice League. She was assigned the designation B-09. She quickly earned her place on the Team after two ambushes in the Smokey Mountains and Santa Prisca.
Between Team Year One and Five, Ervin dated Dick Grayson. In Team Year Five, she had a son named Amistad with Noble Davis. As of December 1st, Team Year Five, she and Zatanna were the newest members of the Justice League. Rocket was its 26th member. They stopped by at the Cave to wish Nightwing a happy birthday before taking a Zeta-Tube to the Watchtower for their first League briefing. At some point, Erving became engaged and planned to marry in Team Year Six. On January 3rd, Team Year Six, she attended a briefing on the Watchtower about Lobo and the Kroloteans. She and Zatanna reminded Nightwing, Miss Martian, and Superboy their invitations to join the Justice League were still valid. On January 26th, Rocket bid Icon goodbye before he left with some of the Justice League to Rimbor. On March 21st, Raquel Ervin held her bridal shower in Dakota City but it was interrupted by Captain Cold, who tried to rob an armored vehicle across the street.
On May 26th, Rocket joined the League's defense against the Warworld. She encased Dr. Fate in her force bubble so he could continue to focus on casting spells to protect Earth from Warworld without concern for being targeted himself. With the Crystal Key missing, Captain Atom passed an order for the key chamber to be guarded by two Justice Leaguers per shift. Captain Marvel and Rocket took the first shift.
On June 13th, Rocket trapped Blue Beetle in a force bubble which was soon reinforced with magic by Zatanna. Rocket managed to keep the bubble up despite the interference of Bialyan soldiers, Devastation, Mammoth, Shimmer, and Green Beetle. Once Zatanna, with Isis, started the mystic ritual, Rocket released Blue Beetle into the circle. On June 20th, Rocket was assigned to Zeta Squad with Adam Strange for the coordinated strikes on the Magnetic Field Disrupters. She attended Wally West's funeral.
On July 27th, 19:57 EDT, Rocket attended the emergency Justice League meeting on the Watchtower to go over the meta-human trafficking crisis. On September 12th, after 12:01 PDT, the second Aquaman, Kaldur'ahm, and Rocket backed up Shazam and Flash in Star City. Rocket knocked Abra Kadabra on his back then trapped Brick in a force bubble. Brick tried punching the bubble. She implored him to keep trying. However, Sportsmaster got away with the Shade. On September 29th, Raquel and Amistad Ervin went to Barry and Iris West-Allen's home in Central City for a play date of all the parents and children who were spouses or children of Justice Leaguers. The Ervins arrived after 10:00 CDT. Later in the day, Raquel Ervin answered the door for West-Allen and was elated to see a pregnant Karen Beecher. On February 14th Team Year Nine, Raquel Ervin and M'gann M'orzz accompanied Zee Zatara to Grant Park in Star City for meeting with Artemis Crock. In the aftermath, Ervin comforted Zatara. Ervin still could not believe she summoned Wally West's ghost for Crock. Zatara stated she did no such thing. Ervin realized M'orzz used her telepathy. Zatara explained M'orzz secretly created a playground, an open space, in Crock's mind where she created or imagined everything she saw and experienced to work things out for herself over West's death.
On February 15th, after 18:35 EST, Shazam, Rocket, and Zatanna joined Black Canary and Red Tornado at the Watchtower to observe news coverage of the Markovian coup. On February 24th, 19:00 EST, Rocket attended the meeting on the Watchtower between the League, Team, Outsiders, and Batman and Nightwing's covert teams. She voted for Black Lightning to be the next leader of the League. On February 28th, 16:16 EST, Raquel and Amistad Ervin attended the private party at Bibbo's Diner in Metropolis for the original members of the Team and their spouses and children. On February 23rd, after 14:16 EST, Team Year Ten, Raquel and Amistad Ervin zetaed to Happy Harbor for Conner Kent and M'gann M'orrz's farewell party at Lucas Carr's home. Carr realized he forgot to grill some veggie burgers and ran into the house. She was mortified when Amistad told Will Harper he had a baby in his belly. Harper told him he just put on a little weight. She apologized to him. He wasn't angry about it and made light of being a miracle of modern science that still ended up with a dad bod.
The party was interrupted with news from Roy Harper that a Task Force X squad consisting of Monsieur Mallah, Captain Boomerang, Tuppence Terror, Brick, and Black Manta kidnapped Bowhunter Security's latest employee, Harlan Matthews who was formerly known as Clayface. Ervin thought that was an eclectic group. Artemis Crock and Kaldur'ahm summarized what Task Force X was. Ervin was shocked Amanda Waller was releasing unrepentant meta-criminals into the world but wondered how she was controlling them. Kaldur'ahm admitted that was unclear then revealed the League had a pact of mutual non-aggression with Waller and could not out her without being outed themselves. Ervin hated the U.S. prison system. Harper got idea to have everyone pose as Bowhunter Security temps. Ervin asked Forager to watch the children for them. They dressed in Bowhunter uniforms and took off in Bio-Ship. At 16:16 CST, the Manta Flyer was forced down into the Bayou Bartholomew. During the battle, Ervin trapped Tuppence Terror in a force bubble. She vowed it would not hold her. Ervin was amused and implored her to keep on punching and she would be out in no time. Back at the party, Ervin called for a toast to the happy couple as they wished them bon voyage on their trip to M'arzz.
On August 24th, 06:47 CDT, Raquel Ervin explained the plan to her son and asked if he got it. He tapped her right hand twice. He stopped her from putting his toys right side up and put them back in upside down positions. She apologized and told him it was time to go but he wanted a black and white cookie. She told him he just had breakfast and it was time to see his Daddy. He resisted and yelled for his wool hat. She could not find it. He refused to leave. She picked him up and he blew up. She offered the cookie but he was still upset about the hat. They eventually found the hat and took the subway. Amistad Ervin did not like the smell of Elaine Jackson's perfume. Raquel Ervin apologized and explained he was very sensitive to perfumes and didn't mean it. He stated he did and repeated she smelt bad. Jackson told her he needed to learn some manners. Ervin took offense about being lectured. Jackson got up and went to another seat. He stated 16th Avenue was next. She told him they had to take 17th because of construction. He repeated they always got off at 16th. After they passed by 16th, he screamed.
They went to 116 at an apartment and were greated by Noble Davis, Amistad's father. Ervin double checked with him if he had the Justice League codes to reach her if there was a problem. He wanted to talk about Amistad's school conference next week to go over his IEP. She did not see the need for it and insisted the school didn't get him or understand how intelligent he was. Davis elaborated the fact was that the specialists diagnosed him with autism and they have to deal with it and get him the help he needed. She put it off and kissed Amistad goodbye. On August 26th, 20:16 UTC, the Javelin approached New Genesis. Flash noticed Rocket was lost in thought but admitted he was ready to stretch his legs after being cooped up for two days. Forager noted it was Flash's first mission as a Justice Leaguer. Flash found it nice being the new kid for a change. Rocket reminded them they were representing Earth at the summit and to get a treaty signed if possible. She asked Forager if he had any last minute advice on navigating New Genesis.
Forager admitted he had never been to Supertown before and was unsure how useful he would be. Orion hailed them, sighed, and waited for Mother Box to translate then repeated his greeting. They followed Lightray to the landing pad. They docked at 20:20 UTC, then met Lightray, Orion, Highfather, and Highmother in person. Orion informed them the representatives from the Green Lantern Corps would be arriving the next day then escorted them to their quarters. He noticed Rocket's equipment was unknown technology and suggested it should be confiscated for study. Flash warned him to rethink that policy. Highmother reminded Orion she was an honored guest. He withdrew the request. Orion was puzzled by a sudden break-in at their storage warehouse. Rocket offered to help but he told her it wasn't protocol. She teased it would be a chance for him to see her unknown technology in action. Highmother cleared her throat. Orion changed his mind. Mother Box opened a Boom Tube.
They watched as a female Forager executed an impressive descent back down to the planet. Radion particles in the environment made it difficult for Mother Box to track her. Rocket made a force bubble around them and headed underwater after her but Orion became irate about being let out. He held Mother Box to his head and calmed down. Forager managed to identify the female as one from the Mountain Hive. At 21:58 UTC, the Mountain Hive feined ignorance about the stolen Ruction Cell. Rocket tried to convince them their safety was at risk. Forager vouched for her and explained if the Ruction Cell exploded, there would be no hive to roll with. They eventually found the two Larvae charged with guarding the cell in a forest. An inadvertent blast hit Orion. Rocket put up a force bubble around the cell but Orion went into a berseker mode and attacked the Larvae. Rocket put a bubble around him and tasked Flash with taking the Larvae to safety. Lightray told Rocket to release Orion before she did irreparable damage because he was claustrophobic. The cell exploded and she was knocked to the ground. Lightray stepped between them and offered up Mother Box. He calmed down and apologized.
Rocket commended both Forager and Flash but kicked herself for freezing up in the clutch. Flash pointed out everyone was safe. She was focused on negotiations but was now wary of dealing with Orion. On August 27th, after 11:53 UTC, Orion officially welcomed the Justice League to the summit. Rocket was happy to see Vykin then shared her dread negotiating with the Dog of War himself. Vykin was confused. She thought Orion was Darkseid's son but Vykin stated he was the son of Highfather and Highmother then advised her to take a closer look. They all met Green Lantern Tomar-Re and later Kilowog. During the summit, Rocket stated the evidence of Darkseid's agents infiltrating and exploiting Earth was undeniable and asked what the New Gods planned to do about it. Orion simply replied "nothing." Vykin informed her the truce between New Genesis and Apokolips came at a heavy cost. Rocket asked if they were afraid of a fight. Orion warned they should all be.
Vykin suggested a neutral mediator like the Green Lantern Corps. Orion begged to differ, noting they released Darkseid's Furies and Mantis only six months after the Anti-Life event at the Orphanage. Kilowog downplayed them and noted the Earthlings allowed Granny Goodness to escape. Rocket countered three Green Lanterns were among those "Earthlings." They got off on a brief tangent about why there were so many Lanterns from Earth but Rocket focused on Earth's meta-human crisis and asked for both the New Gods and Corps help to shut down off-world trafficking. Tomar-Re took note of her petition then pointed out the Corps had an entire galaxy to police. Before Rocket could offer a rebuttal, her phone rang. She excused herself and spoke to Noble Davis. He wanted to talk about the school conference. She told him she didn't have time for it. Davis pointed out it was about their son. She apologized and asked him to continue.
Davis revealed the school wanted to set up Amistad with a one-to-one aide to shadow and work with him in the classroom who would be provided free of charge by the district. Rocket was concerned he would be stigmatized. He felt she was worried about the wrong things. She told him she would consider it to his surprise. She admitted she was trying to bring peace to an entire galaxy and was failing. Davis reminded her he knew her since they were Amistad's age and she never failed. She dealed. The call was interrupted by Razer and Metron's conflict erupting out of a nearby tower. The battle caused a pair of statues to fall towards the Foragers. The female one pushed Forager to safety. They watched as Razer realized the error of his ways and demanded his Blue Power Ring but was blasted then it returned to him and he wielded both Red and Blue rings at the same time. Rocket had no idea what was going on. Kilowog explained Razer went to talk to someone named Metron. Vykin and Orion immediately got what happened. They watched as Razer healed Forager then rebuilt the statues, adding one of a Bug. Rocket was part of a suprise party for Flash's 102nd birthday.
On August 28th, 11:43 UTC, Rocket went to Orion to offer an olive branch. She admitted they got off to a bad start and she reacted badly to the Ruction Cell incident but Vykin thought highly of him so she wanted to start over. Orion agreed to that. It turned out she was talking to Ma'alefa'ak posing as Orion. Negotiations at the summit went nowhere. Naturally, Orion had no idea about the prior conversation. He brought up the New Gods' request to turn over Cyborg and Halo for their own protection. Rocket repeated that was a non-starter. Vykin changed the request to just Halo since she embodied a portion of the Anti-Life Equation. Rocket stated Halo would be safeguarded by a family who loved her. Orion withdrew the request, to Vykin and Rocket's surprise. Bear interrupted and gave Rocket and Forager a bear hug then offered his condolences for Superboy. Orion wished to be back to the summit but Bear continued on about rumors of Forager's romancing of a Mountain Hive Forager. Forager admitted he was undecided about returning to Earth or staying on New Genesis. Rocket was surprised at how fast he was moving.
Rocket was offended when Orion called the discussion of love affairs and birthdays trivial. They were interrupted again when Metron boomed into the room telling them to come with him if they wanted the entire galaxy to survive. AT 17:07 UTC, Metron boomed back to the Mobius Dimension with Tomar-Re, Orion, and Rocket. Metron realized they were too late and found an empty chest. Rocket was surprised he neglected to put a tracer on a weapon of mass destruction. Metron clarified what they were after was not New God technology. He did not want to delay the search and tracked the intruders's crude rip in space-time to triangulate the destination of the next jump. They were too late but Metron noticed the intruders's Time Sphere was non-functional, meaning they were trapped on New Genesis in their time period. Rocket asked why they didn't activate the stolen Phantom Zone Projector. Metron revealed it required a significant source of power. Rocket pointed out it would help if he explained what the projector was for. Metron cryptically replied it would decid the fate of the galaxy.
At 17:19 UTC, they returned to Supertown amid the Foragers. Metron wanted them to split up and make preparations to prevent an invasion from the Phantom Zone. Rocket was lost as to what that was. On August 29th, 00:02 UTC, Metron finished briefing everyone on the growing crisis. Rocket could not believe Metron knew there were existing Kryptonians around but criminals with the powers of Superman. They all formed several teams to cover all the possible places the projector could be charged. The team Rocket was on was deployed to Boiling Lava Crater at 00:14 UTC. The team was made by Lor-Zod and Ma'alefa'ak. Rocket ordered everyone to deploy but watch themselves. She asked Orion how he was holding up but he brusquely told her he was fine. Ma'alefa'ak brain blasted them. Rocket thought Orion was berserking again and Ma'alefa'ak posed as Lightray. Rocket was confused when "Lightray" goaded her into keeping Orion contained. She refused to acknowledge him as a monster and dropped the bubble. She told him she saw him in a whole new light and thought he was a hero for fighting against the darkness that threatened to consume him.
Orion blasted Ma'alefa'ak and they were both released. They later ambushed Lor-Zod. Rocket encapsulated Lor-Zod and Orion in a force bubble. Orion went into a berserker rage and viciously attacked him. Rocket saw two energy blasts appear out of nowhere in the sky and blew up the Phantom Zone Projector. Lor-Zod was enraged, decked Orion, and broke out of the bubble with heat vision then took off into the sky. The team reunited but discovered Tomar-Re died during the conflict and was succeeded by the Mountain Hive Forager. On August 30th, 21:00 UTC, the League prepared to leave New Genesis. Rocket and Orion admitted they were glad to have met each other. He thanked her for "seeing him." On the flight back to Earth, Rocket reflected on Orion, Noble Davis, and Vykin's words in the past couple days. On September 2nd, 16:16 CDT, Raquel Ervin returned to Davis's apartment. She sat down and hugged Amistad, telling him she saw him. He tapped her hand.
On September 5th, 20:24 CDT, Raquel Ervin was paid a visit from Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock, and Zee Zatara. They wanted to discuss the New Genesis mission. Grayson inquired about who or what destroyed the Phanton Zone Projector as mentioned in her mission report. Ervin admitted she was not sure. Grayson asked her to guess. She thought the beam fired could have been from a camouflaged Bio-Ship but that would be impossible. Crock flagged that as a connection to M'arzz. Zatara agreed and added it was also a connection to Superboy. Ervin asked what he had to do with their investigation. Grayson did not want to get ahead of themselves and asked Zatara to show them Ervin's memory of the beam that destroyed the projector. Crock added the glimpse of the Phantom Zone. Zatara asked for Ervin's permission and got it without hesitation. She cast the spell. Ervin was shocked they thought Superboy was in the Phantom Zone. Grayson shared he believed he was trapped there for months. Zatara realized Grayson now believed her claim that Superboy was still alive.
Crock also revealed Bart Allen was missing. Grayson speculated he could on a path parallel to theirs and chose to be with the people Superman found trustworthy. Grayson believed Allen and these people were on the Bio-Ship when the projector was destroyed. Crock thought that was a bit of a leap in logic. Grayson then started to think Superman would not reveal who these people were because it would threaten the time stream itself and these people were time travelers like Lor-Zod. Ervin thought he was reaching. Grayson wanted to trust Allen's decision and help Superboy. Ervin pointed out Grayson spent a lot of time hanging upside down from trapezes. Crock jokingly pointed out she and Zatara dated him so they should know for sure. Zatara thought he was right. Ervin asked what was next since the projector was destroyed. On September 6th, 01:36 UTC-2, Nightwing and Rocket zetaed to Poseidonis in a force bubble. They were greeted by Kaldur'ahm. Rocket complimented his beard. Nightwing asked him if he was back from his sabbatical. Kaldur'ahm confirmed he was back on active duty and shared he had come to terms with Superboy's death.
They returned to the Warehouse in Bludhaven to look at Grayson's notes. Kaldur'ahm agreed to be the fifth anchor in Zee Zatara's summoning spell. At 00:16 EDT, they gathered inside the Tower of Fate. Zatanna planned to summon Klarion into a mystic circle, and call in her debt for restoring him to the mortal plane earlier in the year, then have him grant them access to the Phantom Zone. Rocket asked where Dr. Fate was but he was otherwise occupied. Klarion refused and decided to punish them. He split up into duplicates and attacked them with warped versions of their own powers and abilities. Rocket tried to trap a Klarion in a force bubble but he easily escaped then trapped her in one and made it contract. Zatanna invoked the Holy Balance and charged Klarion with honoring his debt. Klarion became crestfallen. Teekl confirmed he had to. He got bummed out but decided to honor his debt by sparing their lives then left the tower. Rocket asked if there was a Plan B. Zatanna got an idea to track down a 10 year old school bus.
On September 9th, 19:47 EDT, they drove into a scrapyard in Metropolis. They spread out into search pattern alpha and looked for the bus which Klarion had previously possessed and briefly passed through the Phantom Zone in. Nightwing and Rocket paired up. Tigress found the bus but it was already compacted into a cube. Zatanna summoned Trogowogs but they ran off. Rocket caught one by trapping it in a force bubble. Once they were all captured, Zatanna proposed a deal to them: rebuild their bus and they could have any vehicle they wanted. To Nightwing's chagrin, they chose his SUV and Tigress threw in his bag of Chicken Whizees to appease the hold out. Before the Trogowogs could drive off in the SUV, Rocket trapped them in a bubble and Zatanna returned them to their realm. They entered the bus, put on Space-Belts, and Zatanna and Kaldur'ahm opened a portal in the bus's doorway to the Phantom Zone. On September 13th, 21:34 UTC, they spotted Superboy outside Dru-Zod's fort and waited until he was alone then they apporached him. He thought they were just hallucinations from the Zone Sickness but Dru-Zod and his followers surrounded them.
They attempted to calm the situation but when Dru-Zod's demand they be released since they served their sentence was met with silence, he vowed they would not leave the Zone either. Rocket disagreed with that. Dru-Zod ordered Superboy to contain her. She tried to trap him in a force bubble but Superboy passed through it. Kaldur'ahm intervened. They were at a disadvantage fighting in the conditions of the Zone. Rocket took a punch then an elbow from Faora Hu-Ul. Ursa-Zod grabbed Rocket and held her while Hu-Ul continued punching her. Dru-Zod demanded to be shown their way of leaving the Zone. Nightwing soon gave the signal and Zatanna cast a glamour spell to conceal their retreat. To make matters worse, a Boom Tube opened up. They decided to shift gears and focus on plugging up the tube and preventing the Kryptonians from crossing over. They belayed the plan on September 14th, 00:01 UTC, when the tube suddenly closed. Zatanna was about to open her portal but the Boom Tube appeared again. Tigress was not pleased at the effort to rescue Superboy, him refusing to leave with them, and then he left with Dru-Zod. Rocket was really starting to hate the Phantom Zone.
They made their way to the Boom Tube but it warped Zatanna's glamour and gave away their positions. They took up positions just inside the tube an held their ground until they summoned a Devourer with their rage. After Nightwing left to check out the destination, Lor-Zod appeared. Rocket formed a force bubble around them but he started using heat vision on it. Rocket warned that was going to become a problem very soon. The Boom Tube reached its limit and began to lose cohesion. Zatanna opened a portal back to bus only Zatanna, Tigress, and Kaldur'ahm passed through. Protected by her force bubble, Rocket found herself at the Infinity Vault in the Mobius Dimension. Metron offered her Lor-Zod's repaired Time Sphere as a way home. She was surprised with how cooperative he was. Metron claimed it was in gratitude for past service and part of an experiment he was running. She simply went inside and Metron preset the coordinates. She was taken to Metropolis' Planet Circle in the late evening of September 14th amid a battle between Dru-Zod's forces and Superman and the other original members of the Team. She trapped Faora Hu-Ul in a force bubble just as she charged Tigress. She moved the bubble over a Boom Tube to the Phantom Zone and dropped her in.
Lor-Zod fled the battle in the Time Sphere and Ursa-Zod was taken by the Emerald Eye of Ekron into space. The rest were sent back into the Zone. On September 16th, Raquel Ervin attended Conner Kent and M'gann M'orzz's wedding in Happy Harbor as the latter's bridesmaid. Before the ceremony started, she joined a discussion about what do with the Kryptonians in the Phantom Zone. They settled on releasing them on Trombus, an uninhabited planet orbiting a red sun. Ervin added they would be monitored by the Justice League, Green Lantern Corps, and New Gods. She then went to talk to Orion and explained how she survived certain death with the Boom Tube collapse. The wedding went off without a hitch. On November 12th, 12:00 EST, Lex Luthor told Otis and Mercy about Miss Martian sparing Metallo's life and called it a class move but he suddenly vanished from their sight. They searched for him in the office, unaware he was still present but in Rocket's force-bubble which was concealed by Zatanna's glamour spell. Luthor noted Rocket, Zatanna, Cyborg, and the second and third Aquaman were present. Rocket asked how he would prove it. Zatanna asked who would believe him. Aquaman got to the point and clearly stated Queen Perdita Vladek was part of their family and was now off-limits to the machinations of the Light and its members.