Typical teenager Rick Jones was a mainstay of early Marvel comics in the 1960s. He was an important part of the Hulk's early life and he starred in the first issue of the Avengers in 1963, bringing the group together. Yeah, that's right, Rick was an Avenger before Captain America and Hawkeye! In fact, the Avengers wouldn't even exist without him! Later, Rick went on to stand in as Captain America's sidekick, Bucky, and he even wound up with superpowers. But in the early days, he represented the ordinary guy - showing that a man who was brave and loyal could help defeat evil even without superhuman abilities. Why he won't be in future Avengers movies: He wasn't in either of the modern Hulk movies or the origin tale for the Avengers and, sadly, it's too late to introduce him as the Hulk's friend now. At least he's in cartoons like Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., where he's voiced by Seth Green. Actually, other famous people have voiced him in cartoons too, proving the character's popularity - Luke Perry of Beverly Hills 90210 did his voice in the 1996 The Incredible Hulk cartoon, if you can believe it.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
