Your city is mine! Your reality is mine!
- ―Johnny Rancid[src]
Johnny Rancid is a villain and an enemy of the Teen Titans.
Character history
Johnny Rancid is essentially an evil vandal and punk motorcyclist who first appeared in Jump City causing chaos in the streets. Robin, out on patrol on his motorcycle, tried to apprehend him on his own, but was vexed by Rancid's taunts and cycling skills and was therefore caught in an accident which wrecked his bike and earned him a broken right arm. Reluctantly staying home in the Titans Tower, he received a surprise visit by his extradimensional counterpart Larry; in the course of this encounter, Larry's reality-bending finger was broken, causing major upheavals in the fabric of reality on Earth.
Johnny Rancid after his transformation.
Noting these phenomena, Rancid traced the source back to the Tower and jumped into the energy column that Larry's unleashed power had created, transforming into a hellish version of himself and giving him superpowers and warping the entire city according to his whim. Robin and Larry set after him and defeated him the same way he did with Robin: by decking him with repeated taunts until Rancid lost his composure and let himself be bested. With Larry's powers under control again, Rancid was stripped of his powers and jailed.
Some time later, Rancid returned to the city, with a self-built robot bulldog named Wrex in tow. In the subsequent altercation with the Titans Wrex was destroyed, but Rancid managed to escape and later returned with an upgraded robot monster called Wrexzilla. Before the latter could commence battle, however, it and Rancid were both eaten by a mutated Silkie, who had been changed into a giant moth monster by Killer Moth. When Silkie reverted to his former larval state, Rancid was found dazed, but alive amidst the debris left behind and, along with Killer Moth, taken into custody.
Johnny Rancid later escaped from prison and reappeared as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. With his demonic powers somehow restored, he participated in the race initiated by Ding Dong Daddy for Robin's most prized possession, but was thrown out when Red X pasted an explosive on his bike, forcing him to abandon it. When the Brotherhood executed its plans to eliminate young superheroes around the world, Rancid and Cinderblock were charged with capturing Más y Menos, a task which they completed by half with only Menos ending up captive. He participated in the mass fight against the assembled Titans in the Brotherhood's base, It is unknown if he was frozen or not.
Powers and abilities
Johnny Rancid was originally a normal human being, though he possessed considerable skills in motorcycling and sharpshooting, as well as enough mechanical and electronics-based training to construct his own (albeit crude) combat robots.
Rancid in his demonic incarnation
After gaining vast supernatural powers from the rift in reality created by physical damage to Larry's “magic finger”, Rancid gained several enhanced weapons and abilities. His bike was modified to run even through the air and across water on a fiery trail, at speeds which even surpassed the super speedsters Más y Menos. His energy blasters were likewise enhanced in potency. Any reality-warping powers he would have been able to utilize were shown in an extremely limited fashion, such as an energy grip with which he attacked Robin and energy restraints from the sky for Starfire.
He seems to be in peak physical condition, but it has not been proven that he is.
Appearances
- Fractured
- Can I Keep Him?
- Homecoming - Part 2 (cameo)
- Revved Up (cameo)
- Calling All Titans
- Titans Together
Trivia
- Wrexzilla, a invention of Johnny Rancid, strongly resembles the Dinobot Grimlock.
- Every part of this character alludes to a punk band: The name Johnny Rancid is either a reference to the band Rancid or, more likely, to Johnny Rotten, the lead singer of the legendary punk band The Sex Pistols. Additionally, he is voiced by Henry Rollins, frontman for 80s punk group Black Flag.
- Johnny Rancid looks a bit like Lobo, an anti-hero and villain in the DC Universe.
- Johnny Rancid while transformed looks like Akuma from the Street Fighter series