Judomaster is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. An unidentified incarnation of Judomaster appears in the DC Extended Universe television series Peacemaker, portrayed by Nhut Le. Le will reprise his portrayal in the second season, which takes place in the DC Universe.

Creation

Creator Frank McLaughlin explained the character's creation: "I had developed the character Judomaster and was anxious to leave… Charlton to work freelance exclusively, Charlie Santangelo was in charge of Charlton at the time. He and I played judo at the same dojo, so his interest in my character was more than a passing one… Reagreed to give me a shot and publish Judomaster, and that's when it hit the fan".

Fictional character biography

Hadley Jagger

Judomaster's secret identity was Hadley "Rip" Jagger, a sergeant in World War II in the United States Army. He rescued the daughter of a Pacific island chief and in return was taught the martial art of judo. He had a kid sidekick named Tiger who later became Nightshade's martial arts instructor as an adult. Judomaster's title lasted from #89 to #98, from June, 1966 to December 1967. It was a retitling of Gunmaster, which was itself a retitling of Six-Gun Heroes. Along with most Charlton Comics superhero characters, the rights to Judomaster were sold to DC Comics, with Judomaster becoming a member of the All-Star Squadron. Tiger was re-imagined as the villain Avatar in the L.A.W. miniseries published by DC Comics, which re-teamed the Charlton characters that had been acquired by DC. In the same series, it is shown Judomaster lived for some time in the fictional city of Nanda Parbat, and did not age there due to the altered passage of time. During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Judomaster is killed by Bane.

Unnamed

Andreas Havoc, an enemy of Thunderbolt, challenged Thunderbolt to battle, feeling that his rightful position as "Vajra" had been stolen by him. The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Nightshade assisted Thunderbolt in battling Havoc in a psychic battle while the new Judomaster helped rescue the heroes in the physical world. He later appeared as attending a memorial service for the citizens of Star City.

Thomas Jagger

Thomas "Tommy" Jagger is Hadley Jagger's son and an agent of Checkmate who also operated as a double agent within Kobra. When Checkmate becomes involved in Santa Prisca's elections, he confronts and defeats Bane in a fight.

Sonia Sato

A female Judomaster, Sonia Sato, was introduced in the Birds of Prey series as a member of the eponymous group who can project an "aversion field" that protects her from attacks specifically aimed at her. She is additionally in a relationship with Damage before he is killed by Jean Loring and later resurrected as a Black Lantern. In Doomsday Clock, Judomaster appears as a member of Big Monster Action.

Other versions

In other media

Television

Film

Rip Jagger appears in Batman: Soul of the Dragon, voiced by Chris Cox. This version is a student of O-Sensei and member of the Kobra cult. He kills Jade to unleash Nāga from his dimension before being killed by his demonic servants.

Video games

The Sonia Sato incarnation of Judomaster appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.