Samurai Jack

"Jack" (also known as Samurai Jack or simply the Samurai) is the alias taken by the Japanese warrior who acts as the protagonist of the 2001 Cartoon Network series of the same name, created by Genndy Tartakovsky. A samurai prince who wields a mystic katana capable of cutting through virtually anything, he sets out to free his kingdom after it is taken over by an evil, shapeshifting demon known as Aku. However, Aku's time travel spell sends Jack eons into the future, where he rules all of Earth unopposed. Jack makes it his mission to find a way back to his time and prevent Aku's dystopia.

Coming from one of the most beloved and iconic series in Cartoon Network's history, Jack has competed in the 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023 Mr. /co/lympus, ranking amongst the top seeds in the qualifying round a majority of the time. While this clearly makes him one of the most standout characters in the tournament, Jack’s own reputation as a title contender has made him a victim of "spite-voting", where being too good of a competitor can make people become tired of your constant presence. Still, many of his supporters believe Jack has the potential to become Mr. /co/lympus one of these days. Some have speculated that if it hadn’t been for the host of the inaugural 2018 tournament directly manipulating the votes, Jack would have won the final round against Johnny Bravo, thus making him the actual champion of the original tournament.

Tournament History
Jack’s best performance in Mr. /co/ remains in his 2018 debut, where he was only defeated by Captain America in the semi-finals and placed 3rd after beating JJJ in the consolation round. Jack only failed to attain a place in the Elite Eight in 2020, where he faced the runner-up of the tournament Daffy Duck in the third round, and lost in a surprising upset of one vote difference. He would make a much better performance the following year, bowing out to the eventual 2021 winner General Grievous in the quarter-finals round.

During the 2020 tournament, he formed the centerpiece of the main lore plotline along with Simon Laurent, as jokes about their uneven first round matchup spiraled into serious planning for an elaborate wedding between the two on the last day of the tournament. The wedding eventually went off without a hitch, only for Bill Cipher to crash it by sending the wedding participants to Hell immediately afterwards.

Other major plot lines included:


 * Jack briefly teaming up with Dipper and Simon to free some of Ramses’ slaves like Batman and Deadpool.


 * Simon and Jack’s honeymoon in Peru being interrupted by Chris McLean and then Ashi; the former was killed by the latter, who admitted he’d allowed it to happen so he could be born as he was actually Simon and Jack’s time-traveling descendant from the future.

He would pair up with Simon Laurent again in the Tag-Team Tourney 2020 under Patience and Humility and become the 10th seeded team. Patience and Humility would reached round 2 before being out voted by Team Reaper.

Jack ended up returning once again in Mr. /co/lympus 2023, ending up with the second-highest seed out of qualifiers. Despite remaining nearly silent throughout the first four rounds, Jack would end up providing a shockingly dominant run. Other than a close call against a campaign-backed Master Shake, Jack would plow his way through the first four rounds of the tournament to return to the Elite Eight. Even against the fan favorite Hank Hill, he pulled ahead by a surprisingly decent margin over his opponent. While late, some of Jack's supporters would start to come out in vocal support of him around quarter-finals, with some original art even being produced. Perhaps the most memorable moment, however, was when one anon began a series of roleplay painting Jack as being desperate to lose while Aku kept rigging votes in his favor. Eventually Jack would get his wish after losing to the eventual champion Skeletor.

Jack will be able to return for a fifth run in 2025.

Trivia

 * Interestingly, out of the mere four characters who have been able to best Jack in the tournament, two happen to have some connection with his source material, minimal as it might be: Daffy Duck, for starring the parody Samurai Quack, a segment of the Duck Dodgers series; and General Grievous, who debuted as the main villain of the animated Clone Wars microseries, also the work of Genndy Tartakovsky.