Lee Travis
Lee Travis is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Lee Travis
Lee Travis told Wing that world history was at a turning point with WWII raging, and that it was important to protect America as one of the last unthreatened democracies. Lee knew fifth columnists had their eye on the governor, and if anything happened to him it would be a blow to American morale. Lee had Wing drive him to the governors to make him see that he needed guarding. The governor refused to show weakness, and Lee left the interview disappointed. He stuck around long enough to see a fifth columnist disguised as the ambassador of Bolivinia try to kidnap the governor. Lee leapt into action as the Crimson Avenger, and apprehended the saboteur and his allies. (World's Best Comics v1 #1)
When criminal mastermind the Hand learned he was dying he broke out a number of criminals, and planned a once in a lifetime crime for each of them, but warned them they'd be opposed by their arch0-enemies, who he'd taunted to top them in the morning's paper. Green Arrow and Speedy, Crimson Avenger, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy all responded, taking the Hand's threat seriously. The heroes met in the Gotham City auditorium, where the Han broadcast a video informed them where their arch-enemies would be committing crimes. The mysterymen decided to take care of their own, and report to each other in a week on their progress. Crimson Avenger and Wing found that Big Caeser and his men were posing as city workers digging up a NYC street. They tried to interfere, but the police took them for hooligans assaulting construction workers, and arrested them. Cesar used the street construction as a front to shut down Times Square's power and start a crime spree. The police realized their mistake, and allowed Avenger and Wing to defeat the thugs. The rest of the villains failed, and the Hand decided to destroy the heroes himself to preserve his legacy. He contacted them via video, and gave them the address of his hideout, daring them to defeat him. Just then he got a call from his doctor that a new surgery coulkd cure him. He realized he'd acted rashly, but his pride demanded he destroy his foes. The mysterymen made their way through all his booby-traps until they penetrated his sanctum. He aimed an electric beam at them, but Vigilante shot it down, electrifying him. The heroes realized the good they did teaming up, and decided to form the Seven Soldiers of Victory. (Leading Comics v1 #1)
Sylvester Pemberton's father brought him to a bank to leartn about finance, even though he protested that it was interrupting his anthropology studies. Criminals Captain Bigg, Brain, Falseface, Hopper and Rattler posed as city workers, and broke a water main. The hydraulic pressure wrecked the bank's wall, and they robbed it, affording their escape by changing clothes and impersonating police officers. Sylvester told Pat that there had to be some mastermind behind such a crime, and team-up of notorious criminals, so they resolved to call a meeting of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The Soldiers followed a trail of gunpowder the criminals' truck left behind, and it led to a train station. They discovered film reels from the crooks mastermind, the Black Star, who directed them to split up for his planned crime wave. In the Twin City Crimson Avenger and Wing pursued the Brain to a twin convention. They found a group of men pumping gas into the convention center, and went into action. They beat back the men, but their quarry escaped, leaving behind only a specialty scalpel. The gas temporarily made the twins look different from each other, and the heroes couldn't understand the motive. They followed up their one lead, the scalpel, and tracked it to Dr. Carse, a famous surgeon. He admitted that he was behind the gas, not the Brain. His client, Mr. Bandler, suffered from helium poisoning, and needed a twin with a rare pituitary condition for a blood transfusion. Twin Bobby Leeds was that man, as the gas revealed by not affecting him, but the Brain had kidnapped him. The heroes agreed to bring Leeds back to Bandler on the agreement that he'd give Bobby the free choice of whether or not to donate his blood. Avenger and Wing found Brain's hideout, and rescued Leeds, but Bandler went against his word and had his henchmen apprehend them. The Brain had followed the mysterymen, and revealed that he still had custody of Bobby, the man the heroes rescued was his twin Billy. He demanded a ransom, but the heroes overpowered the mastermind and his men. Bandler apologized for his behavior, revealing that the Brain was his twin, and had spent his life tormenting him. Given the choice of his own will Leeds agreed to help. The other criminals failed, but Black Star had that planned all along. One Mr. Wilkins knew his secret, and told the assembled Soldiers that he once worked at a chemical firm that discovered a ray that could enlarge any organic life. They decided it was too dangerous to exist, so they hid each of the radium-elements needed to make the beam, and hid them in a useless object. Their clerk Mowse had observed them, and took the identity of the Black Star to reassemble the elements, using his henchmen's crimes as a distraction. Black Star used the ray on himself, and challenged the Soldiers to meet him at his castle. The heroes fought their way past giant birds, rabbits and insects before confronting the villain. Stripesy knocked him cold, and he fell in front of the black light ray, being enlarged until his body crashed through the earth and he was crushed by his own weight. The Seven Soldiers were thrilled by another victory for justice. (Leading Comics v1 #2)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Lee Travis
It was known that he enlisted in the army during World War I and lied about his age. During that time, he came to be traumatised by the events within the war. After its end, he decided to wander the world aimlessly and sought to die. Thus, he travelled into the Himalayas where he collapsed from exhaustion on the snow covered peaks. However, he was recovered by monks from the nearby Nanda Parbat who helped nurse him back to health. Once there, he began to stay among the monks and began to meditate where he not only healed physically but spiritually as well. Despite this being the case, he found that the life of virtue within the monastery did not reflect the terrors he had experienced out in the world. On this, Travis was questioned on perhaps making a difference in the world and was asked to meditate on the matter. On that night, he was visited by the goddess Rama Kushna who decided to gift him a vision of the future. She showed that in the years ahead that a great hero would emerge that would be a symbol of truth and justice to the world with this person even inspiring Travis. However, he came to witness that this same hero would fall before a great and terrible monster with the people mourning him. Travis was horrified at the loss of such an inspirational figure and came to be convinced to make a difference in the world. He sought to avenge this hero long before he emerged and became a hero himself with Lee adopting the name of the Crimson Avenger. (Golden Age Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
It was shown that he was among the first mystery men who operated as a vigilante called the Crimson Avenger who was armed with cursed guns that caused him to seek out criminals and bring them to justice. One day, he nearly killed an innocent man but was stopped by a young boy called Wing who made him see the dark path he had fallen into leading to him changing into a costumed vigilante. The two began to work together to fight crime and became members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory until Wing was killed during one of their adventures. Sometime later, the Crimson Avenger himself was involved in stopping a boat carrying a time travel machine from detonating on a beach that would have killed innocent bystanders. Thus, he was believed that he died but a time travelling Seven Soldiers came to arrive at that point to save him where they were assisted by the new Crimson Avenger Jill Carlyle. Despite their efforts, they failed though Travis told Courtney Whitmore to find and save Wing with him being fated to die. Stargirl then destroyed the time machine causing Lee Travis to finally die where his body was recovered and a funeral was held by the entire superhero community in the present. (Stargirl Spring Break Special v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
Notes
- The Lee Travis Crimson Avenger was created by Jim Chambers where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #20 (October, 1938).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Justice League Unlimited, the Lee Travis Crimson Avenger made several appearances in the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe though only spoke in one episode named "This Little Piggy" where he was voiced by an uncredited Kevin Conroy.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1938)
- Golden Age Secret Files and Origins v1:
- Stargirl Spring Break Special v1: (2021)
External Links
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