Miss Victory is an American

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses Superpower (ability), ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, t ...

who

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in ''Captain Fearless'' #1 (Aug. 1941), published by Frank Z. Temerson's Helnit Publishing Co. Ceasing to be published after 1946, she was revived and updated in 1984 as a central character in the '' Femforce'' comic-book series published by A.C. Comics. Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enter

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; during this period, comic book publishers also launched

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

, the Star-Spangled Kid, U.S. Jones, the Fighting Yank, the Flag, Captain Flag and Yank and Doodle, among others.

Publication history

Introduced during the period fans and historians term the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

, the original Miss Victory was created in ''Captain Fearless'' #1 (Aug. 1941) in an untitled, five-page story generally indexed with its opening words, "Introducing Miss Victory", probably written by Alberta Tews and drawn by Charles Quinlan. She went on to appear in the second and final issue of ''Captain Fearless''. Contrary to some sources, she did not appear in Helnit's first issue of ''Captain Aero'', but after Holyoke Publishing took over the series from HelnitHolyoke (1942 - 1948)
at the Grand Comics Database her second story was reprinted in vol. 1 #12 (#6 on cover) and in new stories beginning with the following issue, vol 2 #1 (#7 on cover). Given no formal origin story, it was left unexplained as to how Miss Victory was able to survive explosions, break free of ropes, or knock down walls, but is clear that in her introduction she had superhuman strength and durability. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "her opponents range from ordinary criminals to Germans to pretend talking apes to Japanese

Yellow Peril The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror, the Yellow Menace, and the Yellow Specter) is a Racism, racist color terminology for race, color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the ...

femmes fatale". She remained as star of a backup feature in the sporadically published ''Captain Aero Comics'' as the title returned to Temerson's control in 1943. In 1944, the strip was drawn by Nina Albright, who redesigned her costume in issue #17 (Oct 1944) to increase the character's sex appeal, trading in the blouse for a halter top. The character last appeared in ''Captain Aero Comics final issue, #26 (Aug. 1946). In 1984, the character was revived by writer

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

and

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

Mark Heike in

AC Comics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.

' ''Femforce Special'' #1 (Fall 1984).

Fictional character biography

Miss Victory was secretly stenographer Joan Wayne, whose work in a Government department, coupled with her desire to help the war effort, led her to don the patriotic guise of Miss Victory: a tight-fitting, red-white-and-blue costume with a plunging neckline and a V emblem across her chest. The 1984-revival version also possesses superhuman strength, as well as the ability to fly over short distances. Her true identity is Dr. Joan Wayne, a research scientist in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

, who in the 1940s developed the "V-47 formula" to increase the strength/stamina of allied troops. The formula, however, only worked on Joan herself, and she became a superheroine. The formula also prevented her from aging, so that the Miss Victory of today is still a young, attractive woman. Miss Victory received an overdose of the related but faulty V-45 formula from the Black Commando which affected her personality, transforming her into the villainous Rad. Eventually, the V-45 formula was removed from her system and she returned to Femforce. In the mid 1990s, Wayne temporarily resigned her leadership of Femforce, and was replaced by her grown daughter Jennifer, the only other person on whom the V-47 formula would work. Jennifer was referred to as the second Miss Victory. After Joan returned to the Miss Victory role, Jennifer eventually took V-45 and became the second Rad. Jennifer (as Rad) is not really a villain, but more of an anti-hero. In addition to her daughter, Miss Victory's family consists of husband, fellow hero Captain Paragon and a cloned son of the couple created by an enemy.

Notes

{{GoldenAge AC Comics characters Comics characters introduced in 1941 Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Comics characters with superhuman strength Female superheroes Fictional female scientists Golden Age superheroes United States-themed superheroes Public domain comics