RECURSION
A hardened military operative with the weathered face of someone who has seen countless battles—because he literally has. Commander Jackson Reeves, now known as Recursion, carries the extraordinary burden of having experienced his own death multiple times. His tactical vest features a distinctive pocket watch-like device prominently labeled "deaths" that meticulously tracks the number of times he's been killed in action. Across his body, faint scars mark the locations of fatal wounds from previous lives—bullet holes, knife wounds, and more grievous injuries that would have permanently ended anyone else's existence. His eyes hold the weary knowledge of someone who has experienced the ultimate end repeatedly, giving him an uncanny tactical awareness in combat situations. When viewed from certain angles or in particular lighting conditions, ghostly afterimages can sometimes be seen trailing behind him—these are the quantum echoes of previous iterations that have been "uploaded" and replaced after falling in combat. Despite the psychological weight of his condition, Recursion approaches each mission with methodical precision, knowing that even death presents merely another opportunity to complete his objective.
CHARACTER FACTS
Backstory:
Commander Jackson Reeves was a decorated special forces operative with an impeccable record of mission success until a fateful raid on a rogue scientist's laboratory changed everything. Leading his elite squad to secure experimental quantum technology that intelligence indicated could be weaponized, Jackson was caught in a catastrophic explosion when the scientist triggered a failsafe device. Instead of experiencing the oblivion of death, Jackson awakened in an identical body with complete memories of his demise, discovering that the accident had somehow imprinted his consciousness into the quantum field itself. The pocket watch device he now carries isn't the source of his power but rather a counter that helps him track how many "lives" he has expended—a psychological anchor to maintain his sanity through multiple deaths and resurrections. Initial attempts by military scientists to understand his condition only confirmed that his consciousness creates backup copies that activate upon death, effectively making him the ultimate operative for high-risk missions. However, the profound psychological impact of experiencing his own death repeatedly has transformed his perspective on life, death, and the nature of identity itself. While still serving as a special operative, he now operates with greater autonomy, taking on temporal incursion missions that would be suicide for any ordinary agent but for him represent merely another iteration in an ongoing sequence of attempts.
Abilities:
- Quantum Upload - Creates backup copies of his consciousness and physical form that activate upon death
- Memory Continuity - Each new version retains all memories up to the moment of previous death
- Tactical Iteration - Can use knowledge from failed attempts to refine approach and strategy
- Temporal Anchoring - Backup bodies exist slightly out of phase with normal reality until needed
- Death Intuition - Heightened awareness of lethal threats based on previous death experiences
First Appearance:
Sage Comics #3 (2025)
Relationships:
Has hunted him across multiple timelines on classified missions, creating a personal vendetta that transcends death itself.
Has repeatedly eliminated him only to find him reappearing in different forms across the digital landscape.
Fascinated by Babel's linguistic patterns that seemingly transcend normal time, similar to his own quantum existence.