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The Rox
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Class
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Island
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Located In
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New York City, USA
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First Appearance
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One-Eyed Jacks
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Last Appearance
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Dealer's Choice
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Associated Characters
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The Rox is the name given to Ellis Island after its takeover by Bloat and the jumpers. Originally built upon old ship ballast and landfill, Ellis Island wasn't a real island at all. Sometime in the 1980s jokers began squatting there, using it as a refuge from persecution by the nats on the mainland. When the massive joker called Bloat was transported to the island (presumably by towing him, thus the graffiti slogan "Bloat Floats") his powerful, but passive psionic wall kept out anyone who didn't have a strong desire to reach the island.
Developing into a powerful joker-ace by stages, Bloat was ultimately responsible for the final transformation of Ellis Island into the Rox. Over time, Bloat expanded the island with his reality altering abilities until it absorbed nearby Liberty Island as well. Initially the process was unconscious. While in a dream state or under some form of stress Bloat would spontaneously create a massive generator to provide power for the island or a twisting labyrinth of tunnels would appear beneath the island to resolve housing shortages. Eventually, Bloat was strong enough to consciously will into being massive walls and battlements about the entire island. In the process of creating his personal joker paradise, Bloat also indulged his adolescent fantasies and reshaped the Statue of Liberty into a provocative nude figure.
The inhabitants of the Rox successfully fought off two separate combined attacks by the National Guard and the New York Police Department. It wasn't until the events of Dealer’s Choice that a large enough force of aces was assembled to pose a serious threat the newly declared "joker homeland".
Inhabitants[]
The Rox was home to a bizarre variety of individuals, jokers, aces, jumpers, criminals, refugees, and about every other kind of misfit imaginable. Much like America itself, some came to the Rox willingly, some unwillingly, some were on the run from the law, and some came in the hope of a better life.
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Andiron - joker revolutionary with huge metallic anvils instead of fists.
- Blaise Andrieux - Dr. Tachyon's grandson, leader of the jumpers, and a destabilizing factor on the island.
- Bloat - huge immobile joker-ace and Governor of the Rox.
- Bodysnatcher - the jumper who stole Pulse's form and powers.
- Charon - bizarre semi-aquatic joker that served as a transport between the Rox and the mainland.
- Chickenhawk - birdlike joker with the power to fly.
- Croyd Crenson - fought in the second battle with the National Guard and then took a nice long nap.
- Dr. Tachyon - jumped into the body of Kelly Jenkins, imprisoned, and impregnated by Blaise.
- Durg - genetically engineered Takisian soldier and Blaise's pet killer.
- Dylan "Huntsman" Hardesty - joker-ace terrorist, member of the Twisted Fists, and a latecomer to the island.
- Elmo - former bouncer from the Crystal Palace.
- Kafka - former member of the Egyptian Freemasons, now Bloat's advisor/major-domo.
- Mark Meadows - sought refuge on the Rox while fleeing the DEA, making a deal with Bloat in exchange for the chemicals he needed to summon back his "friends".
- Maxim Travnicek - former ace inventor turned faceless joker with enhanced senses.
- Modular Man - powerful self-aware android sworn to obey his creator Maxim Travinicek.
- Mustelina - female joker similar to a giant bipedal ferret, if ferret's carried machine guns.
- Patchwork - joker-ace with the ability to disassemble and remote operate her various body parts at will.
- Peanut - long suffering joker that formerly served Puppetman, Bloat's messenger.
- Shroud - joker-ace terrorist who formerly worked with the JJS and the Red Army Fraction.
Minor Inhabitants[]
- Four Eyes
- Giggles
- Slimeball