Tag Archives: Miss America

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will conclude my look at Marvel’s 1943-1948 heroine from when the company was known as Timely Comics. For Part One and her origin click HERE.

NOTE: In the 1970s it became Marvel canon that Miss America was the mother of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver HERE, but that has since been retconned. 

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #64 (Jun 1945)

Title: The Story of Miss Bluebeard

Villain: Miss Bluebeard

Synopsis: Our high-flying heroine Miss America (Madeline Joyce) comes across an insurance investigator who was just murdered by a supervillainess who is called Miss Bluebeard by insurance agencies around the U.S. Miss America investigates and uncovers an entire network of accomplices run by the evil woman, real name Lorelei Ricciardi.

Our main character shuts down Miss Bluebeard’s operations, which involve her marrying older men and then getting their insurance proceeds after they seem to die from natural causes. Miss America also saves the woman’s latest husband and another insurance investigator from being killed, then turns Miss Bluebeard and her underlings over to the police. Continue reading →

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the early stories of Marvel’s superheroine Miss America from back when the company was called Timely Comics.

MISS AMERICA

Created By: Otto Binder and Al Gabriele

Secret Identity: Madeline Joyce 

First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics #49 (November 1943) Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1948.

Origin: Sixteen-year-old Madeline Joyce was the ward of railroad magnate James Bennett, or “Uncle Jim” as she called him. He showed her one of the outside projects that he financed, an electrical research center set up in what had formerly been a lighthouse.

That night, during a violent thunderstorm, the fascinated Madeline snuck back to the laboratory to more closely examine the equipment. At one point a lightning bolt struck the lab and Madeline, destroying the equipment but granting her superpowers. Adopting the nom de guerre Miss America, she donned a costume and went into action.

Powers: Miss America possessed Superman/ Wonder Woman levels of strength. She could also fly and had x-ray vision. In addition, she had a large degree of invulnerability.

Comment: For a time in the 1970s Miss America was, according to Marvel Comics canon, the mother of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The Whizzer was their father. That has since been retconned, but she and the Whizzer are still the parents of the Avengers’ foe Nuklo. Continue reading →