Jack Noir

Jack Noir is an Archagent - a high-ranking member of the Dark Kingdom - introduced in Act 3. He oversees various affairs in the kingdom and may have some power over the Shale Imps and Crude Ogres, though he seems to consider the creatures to be 'graveyard stuffers.' He recently slew the Black Queen and took her seat of power.

A "Jack" is a face card in a normal deck of cards that ranks below the king and queen, and "Noir" is a pun on the detective film genre Film noir, an allusion to Problem Sleuth. "Noir" also means "black" in french, making his full name a pun on the card game Blackjack.





Biography
For a while, Jack looked similar to other Dark Kingdom creatures, and appeared to be wearing a multi-colored jacket with a spade on the lower right. He particularly despised wearing his Jester's hat. He has a gray colored tongue and a row of sharp teeth, which are obscured by his lips, unlike imps. Jack Noir was also seen without his outfit on after it appeared to be affected by Rose's Prototyping involving the Eldritch Princess, giving it a pink frilly skirt, and a hat similar to that of the princess's.

Jack finally became so fed up with the ridiculous costumes, that he utilized the object in Jade's box to sever the finger of the Black Queen, taking the ring for himself and ascending to the throne of the Black King.

He has an uncanny resemblance to Spades Slick of the Midnight Crew, to the point that the player tries to name him Spades Slick. (Notably, Jack Noir is the only character, other than the four protagonists, who is initially named by the player.) The fact that he gives orders to someone who looks like Hearts Boxcars and that an agent who resembles Diamonds Droog is briefly seen only exacerbates this problem. The link is further cemented by the fact that all of these characters have the suit of their doppelgangers' name on their uniforms. (Jack has a spade, the burlier agent has a heart, and the other agent has a diamond). In the Midnight crew's fake band there are songs titled "The Ballad of Jack Noir" and "Blue Noir," which could be a reference to Jack Noir's name (or vice-versa). He has a barcode on his left wrist, like the Wayward Vagabond, Aimless Renegade and Spades Slick.

Personality
Jack's personality has no tolerance for anything, and he does not like doing things he doesn't want to do. His dank demeanor, sarcastic nature and nasty attitude are clearly shown as Jack notably makes hatred filled comments and a complete disregard for the care of anything other than himself. He hates the Harlequin motif in which he is forced to dress, doing so only under the direct order of his Exalted Ruler.

In addition, Jack seems to have little loyalty to his duties, frequently neglecting them, and even sending the Parcel Mistress on an assassination mission. Jack refers to his monarch as a wise and just ruler, but it is obviously sarcasm. Jack often protests at the stupid things he has to do, and tries to draw the line at that stupid hat, but the Monarch forces him to wear it. The disgust he feels for his hat is so strong that, when John's Dad goes out of his way to destroy it, Jack released him out of thanks. Jack carries this disdain of frivilous costumes even further when asked to wear a silly pink princess' hat, cutting off the Monarch's ring and taking it for himself.

Dark Kingdom
Jack's role in the Dark Kingdom is to make use of several window-shaped monitors - or fenestrated walls. He has three such walls; the fourth wall was stolen. All four walls together would form a 'Cubicle of Vigilance.' The fourth wall happens to look like the "odd device" in Jade's bedroom. Jack can watch events in both the Dark Kingdom and in The Medium, namely John and his father's victories over his minions. His other priorities involve keeping prisoners in the Dark Kingdom to stay in, but they are largely unable to stop Dad and his massive amount of Mangrit. Even Jack himself is unable to put up any kind of fight against Dad, and combined with Dad's destruction of that ridiculous hat, he lets Dad go.

He later finds the Parcel Mistress attempting to retrieve the green package. After realising the Post Mistress doesn't have the correct clearance to take the parcel, he decides to make a bargain, in form of a Hit List, in particular he wants the Light King and Queen dead, and demands their crowns as proof. He also hands over a sword previously seen with the Peregrine Mendicant.

Not long after this Jack sat doodling offensive doodles, until the subject of said pictures, the Dark Queen, set upon him, demanding once again he wore his outfit. After a clothing montage, Jack snaps and rips off his jester garb.

Regicide
The Queen threatens him with a blade until Jack grabs the Green Package. He reaches inside of it, and uses whatever it contains to kill the Queen. Of particular note is that she seems to recognize this form of unseen weaponry and seems to fear it. He then picks up her ring and dons it himself, taking the prototyped form. Several aspects of this scene throw back to the end of the Midnight Crew Intermission.

Speculation
Jack has stated that his skin, like the Wayward Vagabond, is a 'Carapace', further hinting at a connection between the Vagabond and the Dark Kingdom. There is also the fact that Jack's barcode on his arm is in the same spot as the Vagabond's. Unlike the Vagabond, Jack sports a dazzling array of very, very sharp teeth, an oval head and slit like eyes, as compared to the Vagabond's round eyes and head and dull teeth. His distaste for the Monarch would be not unlike that of another character and his distaste of rulers in general. That, combined with the appearance of another Wanderer make it very safe to say that they are most definitely not the same person. This has not stopped the speculation, however.

Worth noting, during the scene in which Jack kills the Glorious Monarch, the scene opens with the song "Member of the Midnight Crew" from their album, you can also hear "Im a Member of the Midnight Crew" in the background of the song if you listen hard enough when ever Jack is on screen. (Meaning when Mom, Dad, Bro, etc. are on screen they stop saying it)