| Stiletta Jones | |
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First Appearance: |
July 21, 2012 |
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Known Relatives: |
Flattop Jones Sr., Husband (Deceased) |
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Known Associates: |
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Created By: |
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Appearance of Death: |
March 1st, 2015 |
Stiletta Jones (aka Mrs. Flattop) was the wife of Flattop Jones Sr. and mother of Flattop Jr and Angeltop.
Early Life and Marriage
By all accounts, Stiletta left her family shortly before her husband's encounter with Dick Tracy. The circumstances of her split from Flattop is unknown, but she apparently retained a certain amount of affection for her husband. For years she performed as a knife-throwing artist in a circus in Europe (specifically Berlin, according to a poster), during which time her children were placed in the care of relatives and foster families.
Seeking Revenge
Shortly after the raid and shootout at the new Mr. Crime's hideout, Tracy suffered a bullet wound to the shoulder and was whisked away by fake EMTs in an ambulance driven by Stiletta Jones. Tracy was brought to Jones' hideout which had been set-up to look like a real hospital room.
Stiletta the Amazing
Stiletta's henchmen removed Tracy's 2-way Wrist Wizard and she commanded them to throw it into the river. As she was preparing to reveal her identity to Tracy, Frizzletop and her husband Dennis O'Copper arrived at police headquarters to warn Tracy to Stiletta's presence. They spoke to Chief Pat Patton in his place, prompting Sam Catchem to begin a dedicated search for Tracy. Sam found the hospital room mock-up and was soon discovered by Stiletta and her associates.
Stiletta prepared to transport Tracy and Sam to a different location where they would killed and disposed of. During the trip (again in the ambulance), Sam overpowered his captors and forced his way out of the moving vehicle, using Tracy's gurney as a battering ram. Tracy was treated, and Stiletta went into hiding.
Mrs. Flattop Returns
Stiletta was later seen at a bar frequented by criminals, where she met with Mumbles, Doubleup, B-B Eyes, and Blackjack. When Mumbles made a disparaging comment about Flattop, Stiletta threw a knife through his beer glass. Stiletta departed the gathering, claiming that she was not a career criminal like the others.
Stiletta later approached Abner Kadaver and hired him to murder Tracy. Kadaver failed, but his association with Stiletta was not made public. Kadaver later confirmed that he intended to try again to kill Tracy.
In early 2015, Stiletta was shown to be in contact with Blowtop Jones, the brother of her late husband. The full nature of their relationship was not revealed. Blowtop attempted to dissuade Stiletta from engaging in any further revenge attempts against Dick Tracy. She responded by seriously injuring him.
Stiletta expressed irritation at a report that her dead son's car was in the possession of Silver Nitrate. She approached Nitrate, and showed an interest in purchasing the car from him.
The death of Mrs. Flattop
Nitrate agreed to sell the car, after completing some additional repairs to it. Stiletta returned some time later to collect the vehicle, and she attempted to recruit Silver Nitrate's sister Sprocket into her scheme to kidnap Dick Tracy's infant grandson. Sprocket was appalled by the idea and refused. Stiletta attempted to kill Sprocket with a thrown knife, and Sprocket responded by hurling a heavy film canister at Stiletta, killing her (March 1st, 2015).
Stiletta's body was later found by Dick Tracy and Sam Catchem. Her funeral arrangements were made by Blowtop, with Blackjack sending flowers.
Notes
- The name "Stiletta" is derived from the word "stiletto", which is a type of long, narrow-bladed knife with a sharply pointed tip. It is an offensive weapon and is commonly associated with assassins.
- Writer Mike Curtis has stated that he drew inspiration for Stiletta's demeanor and persona from the music of Lady Gaga.
- Like almost all the characters in the strip, Stiletta doesn't look as old as she should be for being a grandmother to an adult grandchild. She was married to Flattop when she was a teenager, which makes her age difficult to establish. This is an example of the strip's sliding time-line.
- Stiletta's ethnicity has been considered ambiguous, mostly due to inconsistent coloring of her complexion. Mike Curtis has identified her as African-American. Her inter-racial relationship with Flattop is therefore parallel to Angeltop's relationship with Hi-Top's father.
Young Flattop and Stiletta
- In her first appearance, Stiletta did not state any specific plan for revenge on Lizz, the policewoman who was responsible for the death of Flattop Jr., and who had been instrumental in the apprehending of Angeltop.
- In the 2013 gathering of criminals at EJ's Bar, Stiletta states that she will send a "gift" to any person who kills Dick Tracy, or to their beneficiaries. Due to the ambiguous wording, some readers at the time interpreted this as her offering a reward to anyone who successfully kills Tracy, while others saw it as Stiletta "staking her claim" and warning the others not to make any attempt on Tracy's life, thus robbing her of the opportunity for revenge. Her later hiring of Abner Kadaver to kill Tracy lends credence to the former theory.
- There was a certain degree of ambiguity in the art and dialogue following Stiletta's deadly encounter with Sprocket Nitrate, which resulted in some readers being unsure for several days whether Stiletta had survived or not. Her death was confirmed on March 6th, 2015, when Tracy and Sam discovered her body and called for the coroner.
- The exact circumstances of Stiletta's split fom Flattop and her estrangement from her children have not been established. It was implied that she was traveling in Europe at the time of Flattop's death, and was therefore unavailable to take custody of her children. It is also possible that she and Flattop parted under such circumstances that she did not want to be responsible for her children (as she had been depicted as an adventure-seeker), or he may have tried to prevent her from taking custody, possibly considering her unfit.
