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Richard M. Jones was orphaned at a young age, and after being expelled from several orphanages for disciplinary reasons he was placed into a state institution called Tempest Town. A troubled and rebellious youth, Jones soon came to the attention of the institution's chief administrator who smashed his guitar, a gift from his late father, and then had him severely trashed. Soon afterwards, Jones ran away from the institution. He spent the first half of his teens drifting from town to town throughout the Southwest, trying to avoid the juvenile authorities, and doing menial work when he could get it.
At age 16, he got his driver's license and managed to save enough money to buy a used car. Overhearing a teenager dare a friend to ride out with him on the desert where it was rumoured an atomic bomb was going to be tested, Jones offered to take him upon the challenge. He drove his car out to the test site to discover his challenger was too timid to show up. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, designer of the Gamma Bomb to be tested, learned that someone had ventured onto the test site, and believing the countdown had been delayed, ran out into the desert to warn him back. Banner managed to throw Jones into a protective trench before the bomb detonated, but he himself was bombarded with gamma radiation. This radiation triggered a mutagenic change in Banner, causing him to turn into the raging superhuman Hulk. Feeling responsible for Banner's condition and being the only person to know that the rampaging brute was actually Banner, Jones became the Hulk's sometimes unwanted companion and ally. Jones soon organized the Teen Brigade, a group of young amateur ham radio enthusiasts to help him monitor the Hulk's activities. Jones was present during the Hulk's first encounters with the army, as well as superhuman menaces as the Gargoyle[1], the alien Toadmen,[2] the Ringmaster,[3] Tyrannus,[4], and the Metal Master[5], and even a run-in with the Fantastic Four.[6]
The Avengers formed due to Rick's radio broadcast warning about the Hulk.[7], He temporarily became a sidekick for Captain America. His resemblance to Bucky was noted, Rick even wore Bucky's costume for a time. However, Captain America felt he did not want to lose another partner and that while Rick was a good athlete, he was not quite up to the level Bucky was.
The Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell was bonded to Rick due to only being able to function out of the Negative Zone for a few hours. Using the Negative Zone portal in the Baxter Building seemed to remove that limitation. Shortly after Rick and Mar-Vell had to be re-merged. Eventually, they were separated.
During the Kree-Skrull War, an 'omniwave' machine from the Supreme Intelligence caused the Destiny Force to trigger within Rick.
An attempt to cure the Hulk instead gave Rick radiation poisoning. In the hospital, the Dire Wraiths began to replace the staff, but were stopped by Rom. Rick assisted Rom against the Wraiths, and temporarily lived with Brandy Clark. Jones was cured by the Beyonder at the same time Rom and Brandy left for Galador.
Rick began dating Marlo Chandler, a former girlfriend of the Hulk's. The two later married with a great number of heroes in attendance. The Impossible Man did his best to usurp the proceedings by inviting the Kree, Skrulls, even Mephisto to the ceremony. After a period of estrangement that also involved Moondragon and Death becoming involved with Marlo, the two reunited.
Jones was temporarily paralyzed while Hulk was the Horseman War. In an attempt to stop this 'War Hulk' he was thrown against a pyramid. Rick was cured during the Destiny War, summoning Avengers from various realities to battle for their very existence against the Time Keepers. The strain was incredible, and a future version of Genis-Vell bonded to him, much like Rick had with Mar-Vell. Rick and Genis later discovered this bond still applied to the current Genis.
Rick authored a best-selling novel on his days as a sidekick.
When the Hulk returned to Earth, Jones attempted to calm him down by telling him about Captain America's death, but when the Hulk almost calmed down, Dr. Strange invaded the Hulk's mind. Rick later went to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, but was attacked by the Hulk's allies.
Later, Rick was transported to the gamma bomb site that gave birth to the original Hulk. After being dropped off, he encountered the Red Hulk. After seeing that he had murdered Emil Blonsky, the Abomination, Rick transformed into a new blue creature who resembled the Abomination; calling himself A-Bomb. In his new form, he was much like the original Hulk incarnation whereas he could not remember being anybody else once the transformation was complete, had an easily flared temper, and simplified speech patterns. He held his own against the Red Hulk for an extended period of time, withstanding all of his blows and injuring him multiple times which so far nobody had been able to accomplish. The battle was interrupted by several giant android harpies that were specifically designed by United States Military in case Bruce Banner escaped the facility as the Hulk. A-Bomb has proven to hold onto fragments of his memories as Rick Jones because he recognized the harpies all had the face of Betty Ross; Bruce Banner's first love. A-Bomb managed to disable one mid-flight, and they both crashed to earth.The robot exploded.[8]
A-Bomb joined with several heroes including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk and the Hulk to help stop an impending earthquake in San Francisco which was caused by Red Hulk.[9] After the Red Hulk was defeated, A-Bomb reverted back to Rick. He attempted to reveal who Red Hulk really was, but was shot and dragged away by Doc Samson.[10]
Destiny Force: On rare occassions, and through unusual circumstances, Jones has been able to tap into a mysterious, near-limitless energy sources known as the Destiny Force. The Destiny force is believed to be inherant in all humanity. Jones has used this power to alter reality in the past by bringing figures from his own imagination to life or even figures from different times of existence. He has proven able to render thousands of Kree and Skrull warriors immobile with a thought, single handedly overcome the Atlantean army, augment all of his own physical attributes, heal himself after sustaining life threatening energies and levitate. The full limits of the Destiny Force, its overall nature, why only Jones has been able to harness it at only certain times is unknown.
Physical Transformation: After being exposed to a weapon powered by gamma radiation designed for use against the Hulk, Jones was mutated by the radiation. As a result, Jones can transform into a superhuman form that resembles the Abomination. Jones has demonstrated the ability to transform at will and, when doing so, gains an additional 11 inches in height and 815 pounds of muscle, bone and connective tissue to his frame. Jones' skin takes on a scaly sort of appearance, his eyes change color and his hair disappears.
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Jones is an accomplished gymnast and hand to hand combatant. Jones has a thorough knowledge of Judo and Karate and has even had some training from Captain America himself. He also has exceptional musical talent and has proven himself to be a skilled songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player.
Skilled Combatant: A highly trained and experienced hand-to-hand combatant. Received training by Captain America in various martial arts including combat gymnastics. As A-Bomb, he does not seem to remember any of it but is a natural fighter.As A-Bomb, Jones' intelligence is impaired and below that of an average human. As A-Bomb, he has little recall of his memories or his past. He loses all of his musical abilities and all but the most rudimentary form of combat skills. Recently Jones' has gotten control of his mind as A-Bomb, and now retains all of his intelligence and possesses complete control as A-Bomb.
The full limits, and even the exact number, of Jones' superhuman powers as A-Bomb remain unclear since his ability to transform into this superhuman form is very recent.
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