# Jakeem Thunder
**Jakeem Thunder** (Jakeem Johnny Williams, also known as J.J. Thunder) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), a teenage legacy hero who commands the Fifth-Dimensional djinn Yz, the [Thunderbolt](https://www.edgepedia.org/thunderbolt), through a pink fountain pen. He is the successor to the [Golden Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age) comedy hero Johnny Thunder and is a member of the Justice Society of America.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Jakeem Johnny Williams, alias J.J. Thunder [1](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29) |
| First appearance | Flash Vol. 2 #134 (February 1998), "Still Life in the Fast Lane" [2](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29_Chronology) |
| Created by | Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Paul Ryan [1](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29) |
| Home | Keystone City, Kansas [1](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29) |
| Power source | The djinn Yz (the Thunderbolt), housed in a pink pen; summoned with the phrase "so cool" [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html) |
| Team affiliation | JSA (part-time, because of his age and schooling) [4](https://moviecomicswhoswho.wordpress.com/2021/08/28/jakeem-thunder-jakeem-johnny-j-j-williams/) |
| Appearances | Listed in 210 comic issues on Comic Vine [5](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/lists/) |
## Origin
The character debuted in Flash Vol. 2 #134, cover-dated February 1998, in a story titled "Still Life in the Fast Lane" [2](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29_Chronology). The mid-1990s had seen DC Comics revitalize the [Justice Society of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-society-of-america) with new versions of its older roster, alongside reimagined characters such as James Robinson's Starman, Geoff Johns's Stargirl, and [Grant Morrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/grant-morrison)'s Hourman; Jakeem was the heir to Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt [6](https://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/2020/03/teen-titans-39.html).
By the time of Jakeem's introduction, Johnny Thunder was suffering from age-related dementia and losing control of the Thunderbolt, the djinn Yz [6](https://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/2020/03/teen-titans-39.html). Johnny placed the genie in a pink fountain pen and gave the pen to Jay Garrick, not knowing it contained Yz [7](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/). When the two met, the [Flash](https://www.edgepedia.org/flash-jay-garrick) unknowingly passed the pen on to Jakeem, a Keystone City boy [8](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Universe.pdf). Jakeem is unusual among DC legacy heroes in that he is not connected to his predecessor by family or sidekick ties; he is simply a kid who received the Thunderbolt Pen from Jay Garrick by pure accident [9](https://extremelyuncanny.com/2025/04/johnny-and-jakeem-thunder-jsa-legacies-project-day-8-jsapril/).
## Powers
Jakeem's power comes entirely from his partner, the Thunderbolt, a djinn from the Fifth Dimension, the same dimension that is home to Superman's nemesis Mr. Mxyzptlk [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html). The Thunderbolt commands power over three-dimensional space and time that seems like magic to human beings: he is capable of flight, of emitting energy, of reshaping reality on a grand scale or a minor one, and of altering history itself [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html).
**Limits.** The genie operates under strict rules. Speaking the appropriate magic word summons the Thunderbolt, who does his master's bidding for one hour before returning to his home dimension [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html). Jakeem can only command him with the phrase "so cool," and he is unable to access the Thunderbolt's power at all if he cannot speak the phrase [8](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Universe.pdf). Yz must execute exactly worded orders, interpreting slang literally, and he refuses to kill [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html) • [10](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Yz_%28New_Earth%29). The Thunderbolt's biggest weakness is that he can only do what he is told and must obey even when the command is obviously foolish or short-sighted [3](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html).
## Publication history
**JLA and the Fifth Dimension.** Jakeem was first shown in possession of the Thunderbolt in JLA #26 (February 1999), having acquired the pen off-panel in Flash #134 [11](https://www.comics.org/character/5300/). The "Crisis Times Five" storyline in JLA #28-31 (April to July 1999) revealed that the Thunderbolts were actually Fifth Dimensional beings [8](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Universe.pdf). When an evil Thunderbolt threatened the world, Jakeem learned that the genie's name pronounced backwards, "say you," allowed him to take control of it; he merged the two Thunderbolts and commanded the combined entity with the phrase "so cool" [8](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Universe.pdf). Yz was named as the genie's real name in JLA #29 (May 1999), and Yz merged with Lkz to form Ylzkz in JLA #31 (July 1999) [11](https://www.comics.org/character/5300/).
**The JSA and Stealing Thunder.** Jakeem joined the Justice Society of America as its youngest member, a part-timer because of his young age and school obligations [4](https://moviecomicswhoswho.wordpress.com/2021/08/28/jakeem-thunder-jakeem-johnny-j-j-williams/). In the Stealing Thunder arc (JSA #32-38, collected in the trade of that name), Jakeem's dreams of being a full-on superhero were derailed when Johnny Thunder himself appeared wanting his Thunderbolt back; the Johnny was actually the villain [Ultra-Humanite](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultra-humanite), who gained nearly unlimited power through the Fifth Dimension [12](https://needcoffee.com/html/comics/jsasthunder.htm). The arc ended with Johnny's final fate handled in the story: Johnny Thunder died and merged with his Thunderbolt to form Johnny Thunderbolt in JSA #37 (August 2002) [11](https://www.comics.org/character/5300/), living on as a genie in the service of Jakeem [13](https://dcuguide.com/Johnny_Thunder).
**Later runs.** In Geoff Johns's long JSA run of the 2000s, Jakeem was one of the youthful members, along with Stargirl and others; a JSA: Classified #28 stand-alone story (2007) by Fabian Nicieza and Steve Uy had Jakeem learn a life lesson about being a superhero, asking whether a hero can be spread too thin even with the powers of a magical genie [14](https://www.dc.com/comics/jsa-classified-2005/jsa-classified-28). Jakeem has remained a recurring JSA member, appearing in the [Geoff Johns](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoff-johns) and Alex Ross Justice Society of America volume of 2007-2008 [15](https://www.comicbookrevolution.com/comic-book-review-justice-society-of-14/) and in Jeff Lemire's JSA series launched in 2024, where his mysterious coma and his consciousness trapped in a Fifth Dimension maze with Obsidian and the original Johnny Thunder form a central thread of the "Ragnarok" and "Götterdämmerung" storylines [16](https://aiptcomics.com/2025/07/02/jsa-9-review/). A [Doomsday Clock](https://www.edgepedia.org/doomsday-clock) note confirmed that, in the current continuity, John Thunder and Yz remain merged as Johnny Thunderbolt [17](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/JSA_Vol_2_4).
## Characterization
Jakeem is written as a Keystone City teenager with a difficult upbringing: an absent father and a mother who died, with an aunt as his caretaker [18](https://www.echoesofthemultiverse.com/viewtopic.php?start=29190&t=8). His early wishes tended toward the mundane, such as food, and his adventures have often turned on misunderstandings between him and the literal-minded genie [7](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/).
## In other media
Jakeem appears as a major character in [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw) and [DC Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-universe) television series *Stargirl*, played by Alkoya Brunson [19](https://stargirl.fandom.com/wiki/Jakeem_Williams). In this version he is a Blue Valley resident, Mike Dugan's best friend, and the wielder of the Thunderbolt pen, joining the Young All-Stars and later the new Justice Society against [Eclipso](https://www.edgepedia.org/eclipso) in season 2 [7](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/). Mike briefly gained possession of the Thunderbolt before erroneously wishing it away, after which Jakeem took it up [20](https://www.dc.com/blog/2021/11/02/eclipsing-expectations-the-stargirl-cast-discusses-season-two).
## References
1. [Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Williams), DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29)
2. [Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Williams) Chronology, DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Jakeem_Thunder_%28Jakeem_Williams%29_Chronology)
3. [Johnny Thunder and the Thunderbolt, Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/johnny-thunder.html)
4. [Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Johnny "J.J." Williams), Who's Who](https://moviecomicswhoswho.wordpress.com/2021/08/28/jakeem-thunder-jakeem-johnny-j-j-williams/)
5. [Jakeem Thunder lists, Comic Vine](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/lists/)
6. [Teen Titans #39 review, Comic Book and Movie Reviews](https://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/2020/03/teen-titans-39.html)
7. [Jakeem Thunder, Comic Vine](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jakeem-thunder/4005-4893/)
8. [The Thunderbolt, DC Adventures Universe rulebook](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Universe.pdf)
9. [Johnny and Jakeem Thunder, Extremely Uncanny](https://extremelyuncanny.com/2025/04/johnny-and-jakeem-thunder-jsa-legacies-project-day-8-jsapril/)
10. [Yz (New Earth), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Yz_%28New_Earth%29)
11. [Thunderbolt, Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/5300/)
12. [JSA, Vol. 5: Stealing Thunder review, Needcoffee.com](https://needcoffee.com/html/comics/jsasthunder.htm)
13. [Johnny Thunder, DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Johnny_Thunder)
14. [JSA Classified #28, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/comics/jsa-classified-2005/jsa-classified-28)
15. [Justice Society of America #12 review, Comic Book Revolution](https://www.comicbookrevolution.com/comic-book-review-justice-society-of-14/)
16. [JSA #9 review, AIPT Comics](https://aiptcomics.com/2025/07/02/jsa-9-review/)
17. [JSA Vol 2 #4, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/JSA_Vol_2_4)
18. [Jab's Builds thread, Echoes of the Multiverse](https://www.echoesofthemultiverse.com/viewtopic.php?start=29190&t=8)
19. [Jakeem Williams, Stargirl Wiki](https://stargirl.fandom.com/wiki/Jakeem_Williams)
20. [Eclipsing Expectations: The Stargirl Cast Discusses Season Two, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2021/11/02/eclipsing-expectations-the-stargirl-cast-discusses-season-two)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › DC Comics characters › Justice League and other DC heroes › Titles J to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license