Phantom Lady
Encyclopedia
Phantom Lady is a fictional
superheroine, one of the first female superhero characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books
. Originally published by Quality Comics
, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book
companies, and a new version of the character currently appears in books published by DC Comics
.
As published by Fox Feature Syndicate
in the late 1940s, the busty and scantily-clad Phantom Lady is a notable and controversial example of "good girl art
," a style of comic art depicting voluptuous female characters in provocative situations and pin-up
poses that contributed to widespread criticism of the medium's effect on children. Phantom Lady was created by the Eisner & Iger
studio, one of the first to produce comics on demand for publishers. The character's early adventures were drawn by Arthur Peddy.
#1 (Aug, 1941), an anthology title the first issue of which also included the debut of characters such as Plastic Man
and the Human Bomb
. That issue established her alter ego
as Sandra Knight, the beautiful Washington, D.C.
debutante daughter of U.S. Senator
Henry Knight. The issue established that it was not her first appearance as the Phantom Lady, but it did not go into her origin. Stories published decades later by DC Comics
would give her a proper origin, which was altered several times to give Sandra a more active role. Her skimpy costume was eventually explained as a deliberate tactic to distract her usually male foes.
Sandra Knight assumed the identity of Phantom Lady in a costume consisting of a green cape and the equivalent of a one-piece yellow swimsuit
. She used a "black light projector," a device which allowed her to blind her enemies and make herself invisible. She drove a car whose headlights also projected black light when necessary. She was sometimes assisted by her fiance, Donald Borden, an agent of the U.S. State Department.
Phantom Lady ran as one of the features in Police Comics through #23. Arthur Peddy continued as the artist through #13, with Joe Kubert
drawing her feature in Police Comics #14-17; Frank Borth
on #18-21; Arthur Peddy returned for #22,; and Rudy Palais on #23. Phantom Lady also appeared in Feature Comics
#69-71 as part of a crossover
with Spider Widow
and the Raven.
it to Fox Feature Syndicate
, a move that would later cause confusion as to who actually owned the character's copyright
. The Fox version which premiered in Phantom Lady #13 (taking over the numbering of Wotalife Comics) is better known to contemporary comic fans than the Quality version because of the "good girl art
" of Matt Baker. Baker altered her costume by changing the colors to red and blue, substantially revealing her cleavage, and adding a very short skirt. Fox published Phantom Lady only through issue 26 (Apr, 1949), though the character guest starred in All-Top Comics #8-17, also with art by Baker. Her rogue's gallery in these two Fox titles included the Avenging Skulls; the Fire Fiend; the Killer Clown; Kurtz, the Robbing Robot; the Subway Slayer; and Vulture.
Baker's cover for Phantom Lady #17 (Apr, 1949) was reproduced in Seduction of the Innocent
, the 1954 book by Dr. Fredric Wertham
denouncing what he saw as the morally corrupting effect of comics on children. The cover, which illustrated Phantom Lady attempting to escape from ropes, was presented by Wertham with a caption that read, "Sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights
' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman
." In the meantime, Fox went under and its assets were acquired by other publishers, and a Phantom Lady story from All-Top was then reprinted as a backup feature in Jungle Thrills by Star Publications
, which then itself went out of business.
.
By then, Wertham's efforts had led to a Congressional investigation into the comics industry, and publishers formed the self-censoring Comics Code Authority
in the fall of 1954. Some changes were consequently made to the Phantom Lady's costume, so that her cleavage was covered and shorts replaced her skirt.
, and, until DC relaunched the character in the 1970s, Phantom Lady's only appearances were in reprinted Matt Baker stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Israel Waldman's I. W. Publications (later Super Comics), a company that published unauthorized reprints from 1958–1964, included Phantom Lady reprints in issues of Great Action Comics and Daring Adventures. These comics featured new cover images of Phantom Lady that bore little visual consistency either to the Fox version of the character or each other (e.g., the character was blonde on one cover, brunette with a brown costume on another).
In 1956, DC Comics obtained the rights to the Quality Comics characters, which they believed included Phantom Lady, and reintroduced her 17 years later with a group of other former Quality heroes as the Freedom Fighters
in Justice League of America
#107 (Oct. 1973).
As was done with many characters DC acquired from other publishers, or that were holdovers from Golden Age titles, the Freedom Fighters were relocated to a parallel world
. Their particular earth was referred to as "Earth-X". On Earth-X, Nazi Germany
had won World War II
. The team was later featured in its own series for 15 issues (1976–1978), in which they temporarily left Earth-X for "Earth-1" (where most DC titles are set) and Phantom Lady was given real phantom-like powers.
During the final issue of the original Freedom Fighters series, the writers gave the character an origin story. One night, Sandra happened across two would-be assassins targeting her father, and stealthily thwarted them with nothing more than a rolled-up newspaper. Knight consequently developed a taste for adventure and crime-fighting, and after finding a "black light ray projector" that a family friend named Professor Davis sent to her father, she adopted the device as a weapon.
In 1981, Phantom Lady became a recurring guest star of All-Star Squadron
, a superhero-team title set on "Earth-2", the locale for DC's World War II-era superheroes, and at a time prior to when she and the other Freedom Fighters were supposed to have left for Earth-X. Phantom Lady then appeared with the rest of DC's superheroes in Crisis on Infinite Earths
, a story that was intended to eliminate the confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. This left Phantom Lady's Earth-X days written out of her history, and the Freedom Fighters became a mere splinter group of the All-Star Squadron.
DC also retconned the origin of Phantom Lady established in Quality's Police Comics, so that she now belonged to the prestigious Knight family of Opal City
, a locale central to DC's Starman
line of heroes. Her formative story was changed so that she overtook her father's would-be assassins with her fists instead of a newspaper. Lastly, she was given a more active role in the acquisition of her black light ray, which she no longer received from a mere family friend but instead from a scientist named Dr. Abraham Davis, who had escaped from Nazi
-controlled Europe
. In the retelling, Sandra Knight gave asylum to Davis, setting him up in a laboratory and helping him to complete his invention. Ted Knight, now established as her cousin, also aided Davis, as a result acquiring the technology that allowed him to become the first Starman
.
The 1994 title Damage
established the post-World War II history for Phantom Lady. She was made an agent of a Cold War
-era government intelligence agency
called Argent, in which she met and married fellow former-All Star Squadron member Iron Munro
(a character introduced in the 1986 series Young All-Stars
). The two were paired on several missions and fought a Soviet-backed agent named The Baron, actually the German Baron Blitzkrieg
, a foe both had met during World War II. Shortly after becoming pregnant, Sandra was kidnapped by The Baron who stole the fetus
from her womb and left her for dead. After escaping from Communist Poland, Sandra wanted out of the spy game and turned to an old friend, Roy Lincoln. He helped her, and soon thereafter she started the Universite Notre Dame Des Ombres (the University of Our Lady of the Shadows) in the hopes of making further intelligence contacts and finding her baby; unfortunately, she was not successful. Phantom Lady's presence in the U.S. and her work with American Intelligence was kept a secret to most; she never reunited with her husband, and in her old age became headmistress of the school she began, now a training center for female spies in Washington, D.C.
In Manhunter
#23 (June, 2006), Phantom Lady met the current Manhunter, Kate Spencer, and it was revealed that she was Spencer's grandmother. Phantom Lady and Iron Munro were revealed to have had a child before their marriage whom they gave up for adoption—Walter Pratt, Spencer's father. The Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, had allowed Phantom Lady to use his contact information so that she could get into a home for unwed mothers, causing the belief that the child was Pratt's son. Knight and Munro still keep in contact, as she brought him to meet Kate and her son, Ramsey.
A second Phantom Lady, Delilah "Dee" Tyler, was introduced in Action Comics Weekly
#636 (January, 1989) and was given a back-up feature in that title through #641 with art by Chuck Austen
. The daughter of the U.S. Attorney General, Tyler was trained by the original Phantom Lady, the now-elderly Sandra Knight, at the exclusive Université Notre Dame des Ombres
(Our Lady of the Shadows) in France. She inherited Knight's equipment and costume.
It was heavily implied in that series that she was not alone in being thus trained and equipped, as her "college roommate" Marie Saloppe also appeared in the guise of Phantom Lady in Action Comics Weekly #639. Tyler's primary ability was an extensive knowledge of the martial art called Savate
, also known as French kickboxing. She also possessed a wrist-mounted blaster, and a holographic projector developed by her childhood friend and roommate Sarah that could be used to cast powerful illusions.
This successor Phantom Lady never received a series of her own, but was a periodic guest star in other titles, including the 1988 Starman, Flash
, and most frequently in the 1994 Starman title. She joined a new version of the Freedom Fighters in the 1999 JSA
series.
The character was graphically killed (along with at least two other Freedom Fighters) in Infinite Crisis
#1 (Dec, 2005), in a battle against the Society
. The group was ambushed while investigating the meeting place of other supervillains. Tyler was wounded by the Cheetah
and then fatally impaled by Deathstroke
. Her body was hung on the Washington Monument along with the Human Bomb and Black Condor.
In Blackest Night crossover, Tyler was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps
.
A new Phantom Lady was introduced in Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven (2006), as one of the metahumans guarding Blüdhaven
. She appears in the limited series Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. Her name is Stormy Knight and, like the original character, her father is a U.S. Senator, though no connection to the other Knight characters has been established.
She seems to know Father Time
and has hinted that they've met before with him in a different guise, referring to his look as "this year's look is Colonel Sanders, Time?" She acts like a spoiled movie star and treats her other teammates like the popular girl in high school would treat the geeks (especially the Human Bomb and Major Force
), but shows some hint of respect for the new Doll Man, hinting that they worked together for some time. Her wristbands not only project light but can bend reality.
She does not maintain a secret identity. In Brave New World, a radio program names her as Stormy Knight. Like other members of the Blüdhaven team, this incarnation of Phantom Lady is a cold-blooded killer, although there are indications in issue #1 of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, as she finds herself defending her actions, that she may be disturbed by what she is ordered to do. Also in issue #1, her father is depicted in a more sympathetic light as a man who might disband the Blüdhaven team if elected. He is murdered on orders of Father Time and replaced by a doppelganger
. It was believed that Senator Knight wanted to run America as a dictatorship enforced by a metahuman
army shown through visions created by Uncle Sam, but it appears that the real person who wants America this way is the individual running S.H.A.D.E. This figure, a cyborg
named Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard
, is impersonating Senator Knight.
In the second issue of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, Stormy becomes a Freedom Fighter. She reveals that she has a degree in quantum physics and pretends to be a spoiled idiot so she won't end up like other socialites. Her wrists bands appear to be able to transport Stormy and others from the third dimension to the fourth dimension.
In the second Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters series (Sep. 2007), Stormy, still in shock over her father's death, begins to take drugs and drink heavily. After she drunkenly cuts a super-powered troublemaker in half on live television, Black Condor
takes her to the extra-dimensional Heartland, where Uncle Sam tells her she won't leave until her habit has been kicked. Stormy later slits her wrists, but is found in time by Doll Man. Miss America
removes all the toxins from her systems, allowing her to recuperate better.
By the end of the miniseries, Stormy decides to forego her superhero career to pursue an acting vocation.
She was invited by Oracle
to join the Birds of Prey, but ended up casually setting fire to her invitation immediately after reading it, stating that she was already on someone else's payroll.
by Alan Moore
is based loosely upon the Phantom Lady. Alan Moore had originally intended to use Charlton Comics characters in his mini-series (until DC told him otherwise), which would imply that Silk Spectre was based on Charlton's Nightshade. However, Moore found the Nightshade character boring, and based Silk Spectre on the Phantom Lady and DC's Black Canary instead.
comic Kingdom Come
, who is described in the series' endnotes as a literal phantom (ghost) of the original version. Series co-creator Alex Ross
used famed pin-up model Bettie Page
as his model for this version of Phantom Lady.
, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10". As a result of Mister Mind
"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-X, including the Quality characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but a character visually similar to the Sandra Knight Phantom Lady appears.
Based on comments by Grant Morrison
, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X.
In the 1970s, Bill Black's Paragon Publications began publishing its own revival of Phantom Lady in titles such as Fem Fantastique, on the belief that the character had lapsed into the public domain. Black's Phantom Lady was an even more undressed version of the Matt Baker character, and a mask and ordinary handgun were also added. When DC Comics threatened legal action, AC changed their version to "Nightveil
", a supernaturally-themed character who was later made a member of Femforce
, the first all-female superhero team; the Bill Black version of the Phantom Lady was retained as Nightveil's original superhero identity, under the name "Blue Bulleteer."
AC Comics, as well as other minor publishers such as Verotik
, have nonetheless published reprints of the original Quality and Fox stories without any legal action from DC Comics. In fact, when Verotik published its reprints, it was AC Comics that sued for trademark infringement, not DC Comics. Many believe these early stories to have lapsed into the public domain
because the original owners failed to renew the copyright before it expired (as was required under pre-1976 U.S. copyright law).
, all of whose characters are parodies of DC Comics. Like Sandra Knight, Veronica Prescott is a wealthy debutante, whose father invented the "Shadow Ray Projector". Shadow Lady is not Veronica, however, but is actually a duplicate created by the projector. She has the power to become solid or intangible at will, and has her own Shadow Ray Projector she can use to blind villains. The character's costume, and the art style, are strongly based on Phantom Lady.
While some Golden Age heroes that appeared in that issue went on to appear in later issues of Savage Dragon, Phantom Lady wasn't one of them.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
superheroine, one of the first female superhero characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books
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...
. Originally published 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....
, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct 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...
companies, and a new version of the character currently appears in books published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
As published by Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...
in the late 1940s, the busty and scantily-clad Phantom Lady is a notable and controversial example of "good girl art
Good girl art
Good girl art is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction...
," a style of comic art depicting voluptuous female characters in provocative situations and pin-up
Pin-up girl
A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall...
poses that contributed to widespread criticism of the medium's effect on children. Phantom Lady was created by the Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
studio, one of the first to produce comics on demand for publishers. The character's early adventures were drawn by Arthur Peddy.
Character origin and early publication history
Quality Comics
Phantom Lady first appeared in Quality's Police ComicsPolice Comics
Police Comics was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics from 1941 until 1953. It featured short stories in the superhero, crime and humor genres....
#1 (Aug, 1941), an anthology title the first issue of which also included the debut of characters such as Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
and the 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:...
. That issue established her alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
as Sandra Knight, the beautiful 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....
debutante daughter of U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Henry Knight. The issue established that it was not her first appearance as the Phantom Lady, but it did not go into her origin. Stories published decades later by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
would give her a proper origin, which was altered several times to give Sandra a more active role. Her skimpy costume was eventually explained as a deliberate tactic to distract her usually male foes.
Sandra Knight assumed the identity of Phantom Lady in a costume consisting of a green cape and the equivalent of a one-piece yellow swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
. She used a "black light projector," a device which allowed her to blind her enemies and make herself invisible. She drove a car whose headlights also projected black light when necessary. She was sometimes assisted by her fiance, Donald Borden, an agent of the U.S. State Department.
Phantom Lady ran as one of the features in Police Comics through #23. Arthur Peddy continued as the artist through #13, with Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
drawing her feature in Police Comics #14-17; Frank Borth
Frank Borth
Frank M. Borth III was an American comic book artist.-Biography:Borth rose to prominence during the so-called Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1930s and 40s, where he was responsible for characters such as Spider Widow for Quality Comics...
on #18-21; Arthur Peddy returned for #22,; and Rudy Palais on #23. Phantom Lady also appeared in Feature Comics
Feature Comics
Feature Comics was a comic book anthology title published in the United States by Quality Comics from 1939 until 1950, that featured short stories in the superhero and humor genres. The series was a continuation of Feature Funnies, a reprint collection of newspaper comic strips that was published...
#69-71 as part of a crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
with Spider Widow
Spider Widow
Spider Widow is a fictional superhero character that was published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The character was created by Frank Borth and debuted in Feature Comics #57, which bore a cover date of June, 1942...
and the Raven.
Fox Feature Syndicate & Star Publications
After Quality stopped publishing the adventures of Phantom Lady, what was now simply Iger Studios believed it owned the character and assignedAssignment (law)
An assignment is a term used with similar meanings in the law of contracts and in the law of real estate. In both instances, it encompasses the transfer of rights held by one party—the assignor—to another party—the assignee...
it to Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...
, a move that would later cause confusion as to who actually owned the character's copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
. The Fox version which premiered in Phantom Lady #13 (taking over the numbering of Wotalife Comics) is better known to contemporary comic fans than the Quality version because of the "good girl art
Good girl art
Good girl art is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction...
" of Matt Baker. Baker altered her costume by changing the colors to red and blue, substantially revealing her cleavage, and adding a very short skirt. Fox published Phantom Lady only through issue 26 (Apr, 1949), though the character guest starred in All-Top Comics #8-17, also with art by Baker. Her rogue's gallery in these two Fox titles included the Avenging Skulls; the Fire Fiend; the Killer Clown; Kurtz, the Robbing Robot; the Subway Slayer; and Vulture.
Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent is a book by German-American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was a minor bestseller that created alarm in parents and galvanized...
, the 1954 book by Dr. Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham was a Jewish German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of violent imagery in mass media and comic books on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent , which purported that comic books are...
denouncing what he saw as the morally corrupting effect of comics on children. The cover, which illustrated Phantom Lady attempting to escape from ropes, was presented by Wertham with a caption that read, "Sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights
Headlights (comics)
Headlights is a slang comic book term used in the comics trade for "protruding breasts". According to Fredric Wertham, whose book Seduction of the Innocent led to a U.S. Congressional inquiry into the comic book industry and the creation of the Comics Code, his report on a group of boys said they...
' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
." In the meantime, Fox went under and its assets were acquired by other publishers, and a Phantom Lady story from All-Top was then reprinted as a backup feature in Jungle Thrills by Star Publications
Star Publications
Star Publications, Inc. was a Golden Age American comic book publisher, operating during the years 1949–1954. Founded by artist/editor L.B. Cole and lawyer Gerhard Kramer, Star specialized in horror comics, crime, and romance comics — but also published funny animal stories...
, which then itself went out of business.
Ajax-Farrell Publications
Ajax-Farrell Publications then published four issues of the second Phantom Lady title, cover dated Dec. 1954/Jan. 1955 through June 1955. The company also published her as a backup feature in two issues of Wonder BoyWonder Boy (comics)
Wonder Boy is the name of two fictional characters who have appeared as superheroes in comics published by Quality Comics and DC Comics. The original was an alien who appeared in National Comics...
.
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
in the fall of 1954. Some changes were consequently made to the Phantom Lady's costume, so that her cleavage was covered and shorts replaced her skirt.
Charlton Comics & I.W. Publications
Farrell's assets were later acquired by Charlton ComicsCharlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, and, until DC relaunched the character in the 1970s, Phantom Lady's only appearances were in reprinted Matt Baker stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Israel Waldman's I. W. Publications (later Super Comics), a company that published unauthorized reprints from 1958–1964, included Phantom Lady reprints in issues of Great Action Comics and Daring Adventures. These comics featured new cover images of Phantom Lady that bore little visual consistency either to the Fox version of the character or each other (e.g., the character was blonde on one cover, brunette with a brown costume on another).
Sandra Knight
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 Justice League of America
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
#107 (Oct. 1973).
As was done with many characters DC acquired from other publishers, or that were holdovers from Golden Age titles, the Freedom Fighters were relocated to a parallel world
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
. Their particular earth was referred to as "Earth-X". On Earth-X, Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
had won World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The team was later featured in its own series for 15 issues (1976–1978), in which they temporarily left Earth-X for "Earth-1" (where most DC titles are set) and Phantom Lady was given real phantom-like powers.
During the final issue of the original Freedom Fighters series, the writers gave the character an origin story. One night, Sandra happened across two would-be assassins targeting her father, and stealthily thwarted them with nothing more than a rolled-up newspaper. Knight consequently developed a taste for adventure and crime-fighting, and after finding a "black light ray projector" that a family friend named Professor Davis sent to her father, she adopted the device as a weapon.
In 1981, Phantom Lady became a recurring guest star 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:...
, a superhero-team title set on "Earth-2", the locale for DC's World War II-era superheroes, and at a time prior to when she and the other Freedom Fighters were supposed to have left for Earth-X. Phantom Lady then appeared with the rest of DC's superheroes in 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...
, a story that was intended to eliminate the confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. This left Phantom Lady's Earth-X days written out of her history, and the Freedom Fighters became a mere splinter group of the All-Star Squadron.
DC also retconned the origin of Phantom Lady established in Quality's Police Comics, so that she now belonged to the prestigious Knight family of Opal City
Opal City
Opal City is a fictional city set in the DC Universe. Created by James Robinson and Tony Harris, Opal City first appeared in Starman vol. 2 #0 . "The Opal" has been established as the home of several DC Comics characters, most notably several super-heroes who have operated under the name of Starman...
, a locale central to DC's Starman
Starman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
line of heroes. Her formative story was changed so that she overtook her father's would-be assassins with her fists instead of a newspaper. Lastly, she was given a more active role in the acquisition of her black light ray, which she no longer received from a mere family friend but instead from a scientist named Dr. Abraham Davis, who had escaped from Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
-controlled Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In the retelling, Sandra Knight gave asylum to Davis, setting him up in a laboratory and helping him to complete his invention. Ted Knight, now established as her cousin, also aided Davis, as a result acquiring the technology that allowed him to become the first Starman
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
.
The 1994 title Damage
Damage (comics)
Damage is a DC Comics superhero who first appeared in a comic book of the same name during the Zero Hour crisis. He is the son of the original Atom Al Pratt. He has been a member of the Titans, the Freedom Fighters, and Justice Society of America....
established the post-World War II history for Phantom Lady. She was made an agent of a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era government intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
called Argent, in which she met and married fellow former-All Star Squadron member Iron Munro
Iron Munro
Iron Munro is a fictional superhero, who first appeared in Shadow Comics #1 , published by Street & Smith. He is loosely based on Aarn Munro, the hero of a series of short stories written by John W. Campbell in the 1930s...
(a character introduced in the 1986 series 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:...
). The two were paired on several missions and fought a Soviet-backed agent named The Baron, actually the German Baron Blitzkrieg
Baron Blitzkrieg
Baron Blitzkrieg is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe, originally residing on Earth-Two. He first appeared in World's Finest Comics #246...
, a foe both had met during World War II. Shortly after becoming pregnant, Sandra was kidnapped by The Baron who stole the fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
from her womb and left her for dead. After escaping from Communist Poland, Sandra wanted out of the spy game and turned to an old friend, Roy Lincoln. He helped her, and soon thereafter she started the Universite Notre Dame Des Ombres (the University of Our Lady of the Shadows) in the hopes of making further intelligence contacts and finding her baby; unfortunately, she was not successful. Phantom Lady's presence in the U.S. and her work with American Intelligence was kept a secret to most; she never reunited with her husband, and in her old age became headmistress of the school she began, now a training center for female spies in Washington, D.C.
In Manhunter
Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in publications from DC Comics. Kate Spencer is the eighth DC Comics character depicted using the name Manhunter, and the first female to do so. The character first appears in Manhunter Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in...
#23 (June, 2006), Phantom Lady met the current Manhunter, Kate Spencer, and it was revealed that she was Spencer's grandmother. Phantom Lady and Iron Munro were revealed to have had a child before their marriage whom they gave up for adoption—Walter Pratt, Spencer's father. The Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, had allowed Phantom Lady to use his contact information so that she could get into a home for unwed mothers, causing the belief that the child was Pratt's son. Knight and Munro still keep in contact, as she brought him to meet Kate and her son, Ramsey.
Dee Tyler
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#636 (January, 1989) and was given a back-up feature in that title through #641 with art by Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen is an American comic book writer/artist, TV writer and animator. In the comics industry, he is known for his work on War Machine, Elektra, Action Comics, and the X-Men franchise, and in television, he is known for co-creating the aniamted TV series Tripping the Rift.-Early life:Austen...
. The daughter of the U.S. Attorney General, Tyler was trained by the original Phantom Lady, the now-elderly Sandra Knight, at the exclusive Université Notre Dame des Ombres
Université Notre Dame des Ombres
In DC Comics Université Notre Dame des Ombres is a special university in France which was attended by the Crimson Fox twins and Dee Tyler .Sandra Knight, the original Phantom Lady, became the dean of this School in her later years...
(Our Lady of the Shadows) in France. She inherited Knight's equipment and costume.
It was heavily implied in that series that she was not alone in being thus trained and equipped, as her "college roommate" Marie Saloppe also appeared in the guise of Phantom Lady in Action Comics Weekly #639. Tyler's primary ability was an extensive knowledge of the martial art called Savate
Savate
Savate , also known as boxe française, French boxing, French kickboxing or French footfighting, is a French martial art which uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike some systems such as Muay...
, also known as French kickboxing. She also possessed a wrist-mounted blaster, and a holographic projector developed by her childhood friend and roommate Sarah that could be used to cast powerful illusions.
This successor Phantom Lady never received a series of her own, but was a periodic guest star in other titles, including the 1988 Starman, Flash
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
, and most frequently in the 1994 Starman title. She joined a new version of the Freedom Fighters in the 1999 JSA
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 ....
series.
The character was graphically killed (along with at least two other Freedom Fighters) in Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
#1 (Dec, 2005), in a battle against the Society
Secret Society of Super Villains
The Secret Society of Super Villains is a group of comic book supervillains that exist in the DC Universe...
. The group was ambushed while investigating the meeting place of other supervillains. Tyler was wounded by the Cheetah
Cheetah (comics)
The Cheetah is a fictional character, a super-villainess appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Popularly regarded as the archenemy of Wonder Woman, the Cheetah first appeared in 1943 in Wonder Woman #6 , written by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston...
and then fatally impaled by Deathstroke
Deathstroke
Deathstroke the Terminator , originally simply the Terminator, and known by the Teen Titans as Slade, is a fictional character, a supervillain and sometimes antihero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2...
. Her body was hung on the Washington Monument along with the Human Bomb and Black Condor.
In Blackest Night crossover, Tyler was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
.
Stormy Knight
Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven is a fictional city in the . Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel in 1996, it was originally intended to serve as a backdrop for the Nightwing comics series.-Fictional geography:...
. She appears in the limited series Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. Her name is Stormy Knight and, like the original character, her father is a U.S. Senator, though no connection to the other Knight characters has been established.
She seems to know 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:...
and has hinted that they've met before with him in a different guise, referring to his look as "this year's look is Colonel Sanders, Time?" She acts like a spoiled movie star and treats her other teammates like the popular girl in high school would treat the geeks (especially the Human Bomb and Major Force
Major Force
Major Force is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He is a supervillain that first appeared in Captain Atom vol. 3, #12 .-Early life:...
), but shows some hint of respect for the new Doll Man, hinting that they worked together for some time. Her wristbands not only project light but can bend reality.
She does not maintain a secret identity. In Brave New World, a radio program names her as Stormy Knight. Like other members of the Blüdhaven team, this incarnation of Phantom Lady is a cold-blooded killer, although there are indications in issue #1 of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, as she finds herself defending her actions, that she may be disturbed by what she is ordered to do. Also in issue #1, her father is depicted in a more sympathetic light as a man who might disband the Blüdhaven team if elected. He is murdered on orders of Father Time and replaced by a doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
. It was believed that Senator Knight wanted to run America as a dictatorship enforced by a metahuman
Metahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
army shown through visions created by Uncle Sam, but it appears that the real person who wants America this way is the individual running S.H.A.D.E. This figure, a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
named Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard
Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard
Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard is a fictional character, a robot supervillain in the DC Universe. The character first appears in The Battle For Blüdhaven #1 , and becomes the main villain of the Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters limited series . It was created by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and...
, is impersonating Senator Knight.
In the second issue of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, Stormy becomes a Freedom Fighter. She reveals that she has a degree in quantum physics and pretends to be a spoiled idiot so she won't end up like other socialites. Her wrists bands appear to be able to transport Stormy and others from the third dimension to the fourth dimension.
In the second Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters series (Sep. 2007), Stormy, still in shock over her father's death, begins to take drugs and drink heavily. After she drunkenly cuts a super-powered troublemaker in half on live television, Black Condor
Black Condor
Black Condor is the name of three fictional characters, DC Comics superheroes who have all been members of the Freedom Fighters. The first Black Condor, Richard Grey Jr., was originally a Quality Comics character.-Quality Comics:...
takes her to the extra-dimensional Heartland, where Uncle Sam tells her she won't leave until her habit has been kicked. Stormy later slits her wrists, but is found in time by Doll Man. Miss America
Miss America (DC Comics)
Miss America is a fictional comic book superheroine from the . She was first created by Quality Comics in Military Comics #1 , and was carried over to DC Comics when they purchased Quality in the 1950s...
removes all the toxins from her systems, allowing her to recuperate better.
By the end of the miniseries, Stormy decides to forego her superhero career to pursue an acting vocation.
She was invited by Oracle
Barbara Gordon
Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...
to join the Birds of Prey, but ended up casually setting fire to her invitation immediately after reading it, stating that she was already on someone else's payroll.
Silk Spectre
The second Silk Spectre in WatchmenWatchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
is based loosely upon the Phantom Lady. Alan Moore had originally intended to use Charlton Comics characters in his mini-series (until DC told him otherwise), which would imply that Silk Spectre was based on Charlton's Nightshade. However, Moore found the Nightshade character boring, and based Silk Spectre on the Phantom Lady and DC's Black Canary instead.
Kingdom Come
A new Phantom Lady is shown in the ElseworldsElseworlds
Elseworlds is the publication imprint for a group of comic books produced by DC Comics that take place outside the company's canon. According to its tagline: "In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places — some that have existed, and others...
comic Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come (comic book)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
, who is described in the series' endnotes as a literal phantom (ghost) of the original version. Series co-creator Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
used famed pin-up model Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
as his model for this version of Phantom Lady.
52
In the final issue of 5252 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10". As a result of Mister Mind
Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil
Mister Mind is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain created for Fawcett Comics, and now owned and published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and C. C...
"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-X, including the Quality characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but a character visually similar to the Sandra Knight Phantom Lady appears.
Based on comments by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X.
The Blue Bulleteer
Nightveil
Nightveil is a fictional character, a superheroine who appears in the Femforce comic book, published by AC Comics. An adaption of the Golden Age superhero Phantom Lady, she has also been known as Blue Bulleteer and Nightfall...
", a supernaturally-themed character who was later made a member of Femforce
Femforce
Femforce is a comic book published by AC Comics that began publication in 1985, detailing the adventures of the titular team: the "Federal Emergency Missions Force" or "Femforce", some of them original creations, while others originated in the 1940s and 50s, lapsing into public domain by the time...
, the first all-female superhero team; the Bill Black version of the Phantom Lady was retained as Nightveil's original superhero identity, under the name "Blue Bulleteer."
AC Comics, as well as other minor publishers such as Verotik
Verotik
Verotik is a mature-themed comic book company founded in the early 90's by heavy metal/punk musician Glenn Danzig . The comics are aimed toward adult readers as they often contain imagery of a sexual and/or violent nature...
, have nonetheless published reprints of the original Quality and Fox stories without any legal action from DC Comics. In fact, when Verotik published its reprints, it was AC Comics that sued for trademark infringement, not DC Comics. Many believe these early stories to have lapsed into the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
because the original owners failed to renew the copyright before it expired (as was required under pre-1976 U.S. copyright law).
Shadow Lady
Shadow Lady is a character seen in Big Bang ComicsBig Bang Comics
Big Bang Comics first appeared in 1994, with five issue mini-series , published by Caliber Comics. Their second series was published by Image Comics. Currently their titles are self-published.-Publication history:...
, all of whose characters are parodies of DC Comics. Like Sandra Knight, Veronica Prescott is a wealthy debutante, whose father invented the "Shadow Ray Projector". Shadow Lady is not Veronica, however, but is actually a duplicate created by the projector. She has the power to become solid or intangible at will, and has her own Shadow Ray Projector she can use to blind villains. The character's costume, and the art style, are strongly based on Phantom Lady.
Savage Dragon
The Fox Features Syndicate version of the character made a minor appearance in Savage Dragon #141 as one of the many Golden Age characters who were released from Solar Man's prison. In the subsequent clash between Image Comics superheroes and Golden Age superheroes, Phantom Lady wound up fighting Witchblade until the misunderstanding between the two groups.While some Golden Age heroes that appeared in that issue went on to appear in later issues of Savage Dragon, Phantom Lady wasn't one of them.
Television
- The Stormy Knight version of Phantom Lady appears in the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "Cry Freedom Fighters" voiced by Hope Levy. Plastic ManPlastic ManPlastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
had a crush on her at first glance.