Joxer

Joxer
Biographical information
Other name(s):	Eric (formerly)
Homeworld:	Earth
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Vanguard
Rank:	Guardian
Class:	Titan

"I came here because I'm trying to change. Making amends. After what happened at Gambit Prime… I had to get right."

— Joxer

Joxer was a Titan veteran of the Great Ahamkara Hunt and a former frequent competitor in Gambit. Following a test run for Gambit Prime that resulted in the final deaths of three Guardians, Joxer turned his back on The Drifter and dedicated himself to the Vanguard.

Biography

Pre-Revival

According to a vision Joxer receives when flying into the portal on the Traveler made by The Witness, Joxer was born Eric to a pre-Golden Age family, having children around the time of the Ares One launch. The specific memory given to him shows Eric's significant other coaxing him to bed, while he is unable to sleep during the lead up to First Contact with the Traveler.

Serving the Vanguard

"It's a problem I can't punch. Do you have guns that will help, or not?"

— Joxer to Illyn during the Great Ahamkara Hunt

During the Great Ahamkara Hunt, Joxer was dispatched by the Vanguard to retrieve weapons being offered by the Reef to combat the reality-altering Ahamkara. As he waited for the Reef representative to arrive, Joxer repeatedly checked the safety on his rifle. The ninth time he did so, Illyn appeared with a floating container and reassured him he would not need his weapon. Joxer did not lower his auto rifle and the Techeun mocked him and the Guardians for being so afraid despite the power of their Light and their desperate turn to Queen Mara Sov for aid. He retorted that the Ahamkara were destroying entire regions of Venus and declared it was a problem he was unable to just punch and demanded the weapons. Illyn opened the container to show him the weapons within and stated they must all be returned once the hunt was done. Joxer questioned why, and Illyn stated those were the conditions she had set with her bargain. Joxer tried to get more information from Illyn about the deal, but the Techeun remained quiet so Joxer hefted the container onto his back and departed.

Decades later, Joxer and his fellow Titan Redrix-3 were guarding a train with a Crucible weapons shipment that included Tex Mechanica weaponry. After two Redjacks were eliminated by an intruder, the two Titans found and confronted The Drifter, whom Joxer had gotten to know through his participation in Gambit. Joxer questioned what the mysterious Lightbearer was doing there, and the Drifter explained he needed weapons parts to craft the rewards he handed out in Gambit matches before asking for them to let him take what he needed. Joxer responded that Commander Zavala would not approve, but the Drifter scornfully asked if the Vanguard actually had power over the two Titans before offering to double the value of their Motes of Darkness in their next Gambit matches. The two Titans looked at each other and accepted the Drifter's offer. As the Drifter plundered the Tex Mechanica crates, Joxer and Redrix repaired the Redjacks to cover his tracks. As the Drifter was departing, they stared wearily at the armament he was carrying. The Drifter stopped and began reassuring them he had a reason for everything he was doing and asked how many Motes of Light they had collected over the years, causing Joxer to remark that he missed his Vex Mythoclast. This caused the Drifter to point out how the Light had failed them all in the Red War, but that utilizing Motes of Darkness could change everything before promising that if they stuck with him, he could show them what the Darkness could really do.

A Bad Gambit

"You said this was a test run."
"Where do you think you are? The Crucible? Gambit Prime is for keeps, test or no."
"You son of a—"

— Joxer and the Drifter after the test run of Gambit Prime ended with three Guardian deaths

Several months later, Joxer was contacted by the Drifter and asked to meet him aboard his ship, the Derelict. The Drifter informed him that he had a new operation getting ready to begin and that he considered Joxer one of the best candidates for the job. Joxer questioned why him and not the Hero of the Red War, but the Drifter denied having any special connection to that Guardian. Joxer pointed out they had forged a gun together, causing the Drifter to protest that lots of Guardians had the Malfeasance now. Joxer cursed the Ascendant Primeval Servitor that he needed to kill to get his own copy of Malfeasance, noting it was a slippery Taken, and grew angry when the Drifter mocked him for missing the shot. The Drifter placated Joxer and claimed that he needed a specialist like him who understood how it felt to embrace the Darkness when invading during a Gambit match, and that he needed an invader for testing out "Gambit Prime". Joxer mocked the name, noting that it sounded like a Sparrow dealership promotion, but the Drifter questioned if he was interested in being paid or not prompting the Titan to question what he needed to kill.

Together with a team of three other Guardians, Joxer donned a new suit of armor designed for Gambit Prime. Keeping their identities secret from each other at the Drifter's request, Joxer and his team competed against another team of Guardians testing the event. He was impressed by his team, which included a Warlock who guarded their bank of Motes, a Hunter who cut through the cabal they were fighting with ease, and another Titan who Joxer thought was useless until they collected enough motes to send the meanest Taken Joxer had ever seen to the opposing team's side. Joxer himself invaded and cut through the enemy team and used his new armor to drain motes from their bank. However, when they summoned the Primeval their team was overwhelmed, leading to the final deaths of the other three Guardians on his team when their Ghosts were destroyed.

Barely surviving the event himself, Joxer returned to the Derelict to meet with the Drifter. Horrified at the permanent death of three fellow Guardians, Joxer stated that he thought this was just a test run, causing the Drifter to note that this was not the Crucible and that Gambit was for keeps. Angered by the rogue Lightbearer's amusement at the death of his fellow Guardians, Joxer protested that the Drifter could have saved the other three Guardians and stopped the Taken, but the Drifter simply asked how the armor had worked. After a brief moment, Joxer informed the Drifter that everything had worked as he had said it would, with the armor draining the motes from the other team's bank easily. He recounted the success the rest of his team had until the Primeval arrived, and repeated his horror about the rest of the team perishing at its hands. The Drifter told him that he could have all their cuts plus a little extra to keep quiet about the incident to the Vanguard and kicked a case with the payment over to him. Joxer took the case without even checking the contents and when the Drifter mentioned that he might have more work for him, the Titan informed the Drifter he was on his own and began walking to the hanger to depart. As he left, the Drifter called out after Joxer that he could keep the armor as well.

A Friendly Warning

"Some people say those Pyramids damn near wiped us out once. Nobody knows for sure. But if they do end up hostile, it's going to get heavy in a hurry. And you don't want to be the guy standing in the middle holding a bag of Dark Motes."

— Joxer to the Drifter

Rededicating himself to the Vanguard's mission of serving the Last City, Joxer cut all his ties with the Drifter and worked to atone for his past actions. When the Black Fleet arrived in the Sol System, Joxer decided to visit the Drifter aboard the Derelict, and was greeted with suspicion by the shady Lightbearer. Joxer claimed he was not there for any trouble and instead wished to issue a friendly warning, which only further angered the paranoid Drifter. Exasperated by the Drifter's hostility, Joxer noted the arrival of the Pyramids and the rumors that they had been responsible for the Collapse. If they were hostile and agents of the Darkness, then Joxer believed the Drifter's association with the Darkness and use of Dark Motes might draw others to attack him. The Drifter dismissed his warning and wondered if he might be the one intending to take him out, but Joxer noted he was simply trying to make amends after what he had done, which included giving the Drifter a suggestion to lay low. With one last glance at the Dark Motes and a wish that that the Drifter would see reason, Joxer departed as the Drifter taunted him about still wearing the Gambit Prime armor despite his changed ways.

Chasing the Witness

"This isn't any different from the Ahamkara hunts. Reckless, hasty, and dangerous."

— Joxer's Ghost to Joxer.

Joxer was one of the Guardians selected to attempt to follow the Witness through the portal on the Traveler prior to the return of Titan. Despite his reluctance and the Cabal's warnings, Joxer's Ghost dismissed the mission as like the Great Ahamkara Hunt, which they had participated in and survived before. As Joxer flew his jumpship into the portal, he began to experience a vivid hallucination of what is strongly implied to be his pre-Guardian life, and his sense of time began to distort rapidly as the portal began pulling his Ghost and ship across time. Nonetheless, Joxer continued to force his ship deeper into the portal, chasing the vision the Darkness had given him. It is suggested that at this point, the portal ejected Joxer, his Ghost, and his ship, causing them to be partially liquified from the shock of returning to normal reality.

After Joxer's death, the Drifter made an amulet and inscribed Joxer's name on it to place in memorial at the Ironwood tree at the Tower's courtyard. As he placed the amulet before the tree he lamented that dumb heroics would get someone killed everytime and that Joxer would have had a cleaner death in Gambit.

Gallery

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  What remained of Joxer and his Ghost after entering the portal.

List of appearances

• Destiny 2: Forsaken (First mentioned)
  • Season of the Drifter (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Arrivals (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Deep (First appearance)
  • Into the Light (Mentioned only)