He also benefits from the guidance of Johnny Thunder himself. He and Hourman (Rick Tyler) also build a brotherly friendship. Like Johnny before him, he often causes trouble by wishing for things without meaning to, due to poorly worded commands. During the "Last Laugh" story arc where certain villains in the DC universe have been affected by the Joker's laughing gas, a Jokerized Solomon Grundy attacks the JSA headquarters. His initial attack involves dropping the head of the Statue of Liberty outside the doors of the JSA and knocking out the then-caretaker of the museum Alexander Montez. Jakeem and Courtney are the only two at the headquarters at the time. Their fight against Grundy goes badly, as he steals Jakeem's pen and retreats to the sewers. Jakeem tells Courtney he wants to get the pen back not because he sees the Thunderbolt as his power, but because the Thunderbolt is his friend. During the fight with Grundy, Jakeem is nearly knocked out by the behemoth. He realizes Courtney is in grave peril and in desperation, stretches to reach his pen, just out of reach. A purplish-pink wave of energy appears in his eyes and around the pen, which levitates into his grasp. Jakeem briefly wonders how this has happened, but decides to figure it out later. The fight serves as a bonding experience between the two young heroes. Jakeem has the Thunderbolt fix the statue. Johnny Thunderbolt Also in the course of the battle with Grundy, Jakeem unwittingly cures his predecessor Johnny Thunder of his Alzheimer's disease. Johnny immediately falls prey to the Ultra-Humanite, who takes over Johnny's body in order to command the Thunderbolt's powers. In the "Stealing Thunder" storyline, Jakeem is one of several heroes left free from Ultra's control. Eventually Jakeem wrests control of the Thunderbolt back from Ultra, but Johnny Thunder loses his life. Jakeem then wishes that the Thunderbolt could save Johnny somehow, so the genie chooses to merge with Johnny, creating a new being with the memories of both. He later assumes the name Johnny Thunderbolt. Johnny Thunderbolt bears Johnny's likeness, though it is not clear how the personalities of Johnny and the two genies interact, and whether any one personality is dominant. Johnny's family is informed of his death and a funeral is held at Valhalla, a cemetery for superheroes. The family does not know that he lives on as the Thunderbolt. The