Miss America (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
Miss America is a fictional comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

ine from the . She was first created by Quality Comics
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company that operated from 1939 to 1956 and was an influential creative force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books....

 in Military Comics #1 (August 1941), and was carried over to DC Comics when they purchased Quality in the 1950s. While the original Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...

 character is in public domain, the subsequent versions created by DC Comics are not.

Pre-Crisis history

Miss America is originally Joan Dale, a courageous reporter who had a dream in which the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

 appeared to her and, giving her the power to transmute elements, instructed her to battle evil. Joan awakes to find that she now has these powers; adopting a patriotically-themed costume, she begins fighting evil as Miss America.

She had a brief run in Military Comics #1-7, then faded into obscurity to a degree that Timely Comics
Timely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....

 (later Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

) soon felt free to create an unrelated character with the same name
Miss America (Marvel Comics)
Miss America is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49 Miss America (Madeline Joyce Frank) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery...

.

Initially, Miss America did not have a superhero costume, largely using her powers surreptitiously. In later stories she wears a costume comprising a sleeveless red blouse, a red-and-white striped skirt, and a blue cape fastened with a silver star. This costume continually changes in appearance, possibly because she uses her powers to create it. Following her initial run, later appearances of the character add a red domino mask.

In the 1980s, writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

 revived the character. She is briefly referenced in the first appearance of the Freedom Fighters
Freedom Fighters (comics)
Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...

 in the pages of All-Star Squadron
All-Star Squadron
The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in a special insert in Justice League of America #193 . Created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway.-The concept:...

, when she is said to have been a member of that group who was thought to have had been killed when Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam (comics)
Uncle Sam is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero based on national personification of the United States, Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam first appeared in National Comics #1 and was created by Will Eisner.-Quality Comics:...

 attempted to prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 from occurring on Earth-X.

Post-Crisis history

In the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...

continuity, in the late spring of 1941 on Liberty Island, reporter Joan Dale has a dream that the Statue of Liberty comes to life and grants her the power to alter the nature of matter. Inspired by the dream, she creates a colorful costume and becomes Miss America, one of America's first heroines. In truth, she had been abducted by the top secret government agency, Project M, and her powers were actually the result of a secret experiment. They believed the experiment to be a failure and had returned her to whence she had been taken, leaving her none the wiser.

Later that year, the Japanese plot their attack on Pearl Harbor. Uncle Sam learns of the attack and assembles a group of heroes called the Freedom Fighters (with Hourman
Hourman
Hourman is the name of three different fictional DC Comics superheroes, the first of whom was created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily in Adventure Comics #48 , during the Golden Age of Comic Books.-Rex Tyler:Scientist Rex Tyler, raised in upstate...

, the Invisible Hood
Invisible Hood
The Invisible Hood is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was originally owned by Quality Comics, but was later acquired by DC Comics, along with other Quality characters...

, Magno, Neon the Unknown
Neon the Unknown
Neon the Unknown is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comic Books created by Jerry Iger for Quality Comics. Neon first appeared in a story penciled and inked by Lou Fine in Hit Comics #1 and was featured on the cover of that same issue...

, and the Red Torpedo) to prevent it. The mission is doomed and all but Uncle Sam seemingly perish in the fight. Sam later discovers that three of his allies had survived, Miss America among them. After the mission, she is reclaimed by Project M.

When Robotman
Robotman (Robert Crane)
Robotman is a Golden Age DC Comics superhero. He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #7 and was created by Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman. Despite his name, Robotman is actually not a robot; he is a cyborg.-History:...

 and the Young All-Stars
Young All-Stars
The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in Young All-Stars #1, dated June 1987.-Publication history:...

 visit Project M, they discover that Miss America is indeed alive, albeit comatose. A battle with the Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...

 breaks out, which awakens Joan from her coma. She promptly returns to the defense of her country and in late May 1942, she joins the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....

 as the group's secretary.

In post-Crisis continuity, the original Golden Age Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....

's adventures had been erased from existence and Miss America replaces her in many of the JSA's adventures. However, following a retcon in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #128, several months after Miss America joins the JSA, a different Wonder Woman debuts on the scene and also joins the JSA. It is still unclear how this Wonder Woman's membership affected Miss America's status with the JSA, if at all.

Miss America is last seen as an active heroine in a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 in JSA, where she is once more working with the Freedom Fighters.

Retirement

Eventually, Joan Dale's powers fade and she retires as Miss America. She marries Admiral Derek Trevor, and eventually they become the adoptive parents of Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor Hall, who becomes the modern-day Fury
Fury (DC Comics)
Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...

 in Infinity, Inc.

Lyta becomes pregnant with the child of her teammate and lover, Hector Hall
Hector Hall
Hector Hall was a superhero who appeared in DC Comics's Infinity, Inc., Sandman and JSA. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman and, before his death, Dr. Fate.-Childhood:...

; however, Hector soon dies. She moves back home with her adoptive parents, Joan and Derek Trevor, and is soon reunited with Hector, who has become the new Sandman
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...

. Learning that Hector can only exist for one hour outside the Dream Dimension, Lyta and Hector marry and Lyta joins Hector in the Dream Dimension. Joan and Derek Trevor attend the wedding.

While Joan Dale does not make a present-day appearance in The Sandman comic-book series, she does appear in a photograph as Miss America in The Sandman #57.

One Year Later

A much older Joan Dale returns in the fifth issue of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters
Freedom Fighters (comics)
Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...

(January 2007) to confront a youthful imposter bearing the mantle who has, under the orders of Father Time
Father Time (DC Comics)
Father Time is a fictional character, a supervillain in publications from DC Comics. The character first appeared in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #3 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke.-Fictional character biography:...

, managed to neutralize and capture the new team of Freedom Fighters.

In issue #6, Joan reveals that she never lost her powers, but used them to create the illusion that she had aged in order to retire and live a normal life with her husband. Now that Derek Trevor has died, she lets the illusion slip and resumes her youthful, heroic guise to aid Uncle Sam and his new team. While fighting the impostor Miss America, Joan discovers that the impostor is a gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....

 and destroys her.

Miss Cosmos

In the new 2007 Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters series, Red Bee
Red Bee (comics)
The Red Bee is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who first appeared in Hit Comics #1, published in July 1940 by Quality Comics. The character was obtained by DC Comics in 1956...

 mutated into an alien-insect creature and mind-controls Joan into absorbing Human Bomb
Human Bomb
The Human Bomb is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Police Comics #1 , and was created by writer and artist Paul Gustavson.-Publication history:...

's explosive energy and taking it into space. Joan then explodes, presumed to be dead. Unbeknownst to her allies, Joan manages to keep her consciousness alive, rebuilding a new, young body from extant space materials. Evolved into a new form of life, she discards her Miss America identity to claim her new moniker: Miss Cosmos.

Powers and abilities

Miss America has the powers of transmutation on a molecular level. Her own inexperience with the physical sciences initially curtailed her use of the powers early in her career, usually using it for simple changes that were not permanent. There appeared to be an upper limit to the size of matter, and the duration of its transmutation, but this was never made specific.

Following her recent return, Miss America appears to have become much more proficient with her powers, claiming that she would be able to transform an enemy's organs to glass or shrink them to microscopic size.

The imposter version who appears in Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #5-6 could fire energy blasts and possessed the ability to psionically neutralize the Freedom Fighters
Freedom Fighters (comics)
Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...

' powers.

Princess Diana

As depicted in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #184-185, Princess Diana briefly assumes the identity of Miss America.

In this storyline, Diana and her then love interest, Trevor Barnes, recently complete an adventure in Skartaris
Skartaris
Skartaris is a fictional Hollow Earth fantasy setting created by Mike Grell for the sword and sorcery comic book Warlord, published by DC Comics. Skartaris debuted in 1st Issue Special #8 , where the character Travis Morgan, a US Air Force pilot, discovers a passage into this world through the...

 and attempt to return to their proper dimension. Instead of arriving in the present, they arrive in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 in early October 1943. Leaving Trevor to watch the dinosaurs and Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder Woman. They originally appeared in the Golden Age, and have reappeared as a modern-age team with a revamped line-up.-Pre-Crisis:Villainy Inc. debuted in Wonder Woman #28 Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder...

 (whom they battled in Skartaris), Diana goes scouting and witnesses a battle between Queen Clea
Queen Clea
see also Clea Queen Clea is a fictional character featured in various DC Comics titles, in which she is a nemesis of Wonder Woman and leads Villainy Inc.-Fictional character biography:...

 (from the 1943 time period) and Diana's mother, Queen Hippolyta. Noticing that Clea is getting the upper hand in the battle, Diana decides to intervene. To avoid damaging the timestream, she disguises herself as "an obscure heroine during the war" (Miss America), whom she remembers that Hippolyta mentioned meeting once. Together, Miss America (Diana) and Hippolyta defeat the Nazis and Clea; however, one of the Nazis escapes, finds Trevor, and takes Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

's Trident
Trident
A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...

 from him.

Later that same day, Hippolyta and Diana return to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where Diana sees for herself the impact her mother had on the women of the city (including Hippolyta's roommate, Diana Prince). As night falls, Hippolyta and Diana (as Miss America) go hunting for Armageddon, the leader of the saboteurs. While Hippolyta defeats Armageddon, Diana recovers Poseidon's Trident and disappears. By this time, however, Hippolyta realizes that the woman she fought alongside was not the real Miss America. Either that night or the next night, Hippolyta makes a phone call to the real Miss America (Joan Dale) and confirms her suspicions. After Diana returns to the present, she realizes that her mother must have discovered that she was impersonating the real Miss America.

Elseworlds

Outside of regular DC Comics continuity, James Robinson and Paul Smith feature Miss America in 1993's The Golden Age
The Golden Age (comics)
The Golden Age is a 1993 four-issue Elseworlds comic book mini-series by writer James Robinson and artist Paul Smith. It concerns the Golden Age DC Comics superheroes entering the 1950s and facing the advent of McCarthyism.-Plot:...

. Joan Dale is the girlfriend of Tex Thompson
Tex Thompson
Tex Thompson is a superhero owned by DC Comics who has used the costumed identities Mr. America and The Americommando. Created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily, his first appearance was in Action Comics #1 , the same comic that introduced Superman.-Fictional character biography:Thomson is originally...

, also known as Mr. America.

Later in the story, disturbed by the increasingly moody and abusive actions of her lover, Joan steals Thompson's locked journal and heads to her friend Paula Brooks
Paula Brooks
Paula Brooks is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. She is one of many characters to use the names Tigress and Huntress. Brooks first appeared in Sensation Comics #68 as the Huntress, seeking to add the superhero Wildcat to her collection of big game hunting trophies...

, the reformed costumed thief once known as the Huntress/Tigress. Paula picks the lock and soon Joan, Paula, and Paula's lover, Lance Gallant
Captain Triumph
Captain Triumph is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who first appeared in Crack Comics #27, published in January 1943 by Quality Comics. The character was later obtained by DC Comics, though by that time he had already lapsed into public domain. Some of his Golden Age adventures were...

, are made aware of the same ugly fact that Paul Kirk
Manhunter (comics)
-Golden Age:The first of DC's Manhunters was a non-costumed independent investigator, Paul Kirk, who helped police solve crimes during the early 1940s. Though the series was titled "Paul Kirk, Manhunter", Kirk didn't use the Manhunter name as an alias...

 has finally remembered: Tex Thompson is really the Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...

. The journal, however, holds even worse revelations, prompting Paula to call Johnny Chambers
Johnny Quick
Johnny Quick is the name of two DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. The first was a superhero who appeared mostly in More Fun Comics during the Golden Age...

, whom the story has characterized as the one superhero that everyone else came to with their problems.

In the story's final chapter, a hasty war council is convened of the few mystery-men who know Thompson's secret, and a plan is made: during the upcoming ceremony in Washington at which all of America's superheroes are supposed to swear their loyalty, another new recruit will be named to Thompson's camp, who will then expose the truth about Thompson before the superhero community and the eyes of the world.

However, to withstand the strength Thompson has at his disposal, the whistle-blower has to be one of the big guns, and Rex Tyler
Hourman
Hourman is the name of three different fictional DC Comics superheroes, the first of whom was created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily in Adventure Comics #48 , during the Golden Age of Comic Books.-Rex Tyler:Scientist Rex Tyler, raised in upstate...

 is elected. Nearly every mystery-man and superhero turns out at the nation's capital for the ceremony, but before things can begin, Joan takes to the podium and exposes Thompson herself. However, before she can tell the entire truth, Robotman
Robotman (Robert Crane)
Robotman is a Golden Age DC Comics superhero. He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #7 and was created by Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman. Despite his name, Robotman is actually not a robot; he is a cyborg.-History:...

brutally murders her.

External links

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