Miss America

As patriotic heroines go, Miss America appeared just before Wonder Woman, but both were preceded by Quality’s own USA by several months. Joan Dale’s costume changed frequently and the flag-themed look didn’t actually show up until her fourth appearance. In Military Comics, Miss America was hot-tempered and her powers were near limitless. A revolving door of creators might have been its downfall. Elmer Wexler only drew her first two adventures (his only signed Quality Comics contributions).

At DC, Miss America’s history has been greatly embellished, but because the original feature was so short-lived, the changes do not necessarily affect the “continuity” of her Quality appearances. Writer Roy Thomas pulled in Miss America after DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, to fill a void in continuity left by the erasure of the Golden Age Wonder Woman. Thomas’ revised origin for Miss America was roughly the same as that from Military Comics #1…

In the late spring of 1941, while visiting Bedloe’s (Liberty) Island, young reporter for the Daily Star Joan Dale was overcome by sleep and dreamt of the spirit of Lady Liberty. When she awoke, she found she’d been granted “magical” powers. Pointing to a tree, she wished it were gone—and it disappeared! When she saved a man from some thugs, the man thanked her and called her “Miss America.” Joan liked the nickname and decided to create a persona around it. Back at the newspaper, her boss sent her to a bomb site, where she was able to divine clues from objects in the rubble. There she overheard murmurs of an attack, but when she told the Chief Inspector of the FBI, he didn’t believe her. So she set out to bust up the spies herself. She used her new powers to deflect the bomb and crush the getaway car. (Military Comics #1)

In that story she wore no real “costume,” just a simple red tailored outfit. Her origin story was retold at DC in Secret Origins #26 (1988). In that, things were changed so that she only believed that she’d dreamt of Lady Liberty. In truth she had been gassed and kidnapped by a top secret government agency called Project M. There Professor Mazursky was expecting a male subject on which to experiment, but he went with Joan anyway. The professor thought he’d botched her transformation and returned her to Liberty Island. But she was far from damaged; in fact, she was now probably one of the most powerful beings on Earth. 

Joan went obliviously about her business as Miss America. As a reporter, she was very brash and adventurous (perhaps bolstered by her powers). On her second outing, after foiling a spy plot, she was kidnapped and recognized. Her captors were no match for her magic. (Military #2)

She worked one more case as a reporter (#3) before an unsigned artist took over the feature in Military #4. Then Miss America’s more familiar patriotic costume appeared in a flash (but no mask), and Joan quit her job at the paper in favor of a position in the FBI. She now worked for Tim Healy, but seemed to like her new boss no better than she’d liked her editor. (#4) 

Healy was an inconsequential figure in her adventures. On a boat ride, she stumbled across a submarine and then investigated a nearby house—naturally it was a Fifth Column nest where she was ambushed by a brute. (#5)

Joan kept tinkering with the design of her costume; the stripes moved from her skirt to her shirt, and stars appeared on the skirt (à la Wonder Woman?). (#6)

Her only marginally exotic foe was the non-costumed silk thief called the Moth. The Moth used cards that burst into flames when thrown, but they were no match for Miss America’s power. (#7)

DC

And then she died. Before Miss America was looped into the DC role of Wonder Woman, she appeared in All-Star Squadron #32 as a charter member of the Freedom Fighters. This tale picked up her story late in her first year, on the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Her fellow patriotic hero, Uncle Sam, got wind of the attack and assembled a group of heroes to prevent it. Their mission was a near-success but a sneak attack apparently killed them all, save for Uncle Sam.

Miss America probably would have stayed dead if not for the Crisis. Returning to her retooled origin story in Secret Origins #26, we learned that Joan had survived the Japanese attack and her comatose body was reclaimed by agents of Project M. She was discovered by Robotman and the Young All-Stars, who visited the facility. (Young All-Stars #12) There a battle with the Ultra-Humanite broke out, which awakened Joan from her coma. (#14) She promptly returned to the defense of her country and in late May 1942, even joined the Justice Society as the group’s secretary! (Annual #1) “Secretary” had also been the title awarded to Wonder Woman when she joined the JSA, in All-Star Comics #12 (Aug. 1942). The first reference to this switch was in Infinity, Inc. #49, April 1988.

After Crisis, several Golden Age JSA cases were re-depicted showing Miss America in place of Wonder Woman, including the battle with the Lorelei. (All-Star Comics #39, Infinity Inc. #50) After the Justice Society was forced to disband in 1951, Joan found that her powers were waning. (Infinity #49) She settled down and married Admiral Derek Trevor (the stand-in for Wonder Woman’s Steve Trevor). During her time with the All-Stars Joan had struck up a friendship with the young heroine called Fury (Helena Kosmatos). (Young All-Stars #27) Later when Fury gave birth to a baby girl named Lyta, Helena entrusted the newborn to Joan and Derek, who raised the girl as their own. They never revealed Lyta’s true parentage to her, and the identity of Lyta’s biological father was never revealed. (Infinity #48) When she was grown, Lyta took the name Fury II and joined the group called Infinity, Inc. 

In 1998, the status of the Golden Age Wonder Woman was altered again. Writer John Byrne found a way to restore Wonder Woman by using her mother, Hippolyta. (Wonder Woman vol. 2 #130-133) Hippolyta then joined the Justice Society, but it was never made clear whether Miss America’s membership was “retconned” out. While Hippolyta was in the 1940s, her daughter Diana was also briefly sent back in time. Diana disguised herself as Miss America to fool her mother, but Hippolyta deduced the truth after Diana had gone. (#184-185)

Like New Again

More recently, Joan lost both of those closest to her. Lyta and her husband, Hector Hall, perished under mysterious circumstances. (JSA #80) Next, her husband Derek succumbed to old age. Upon his passing, Joan revealed a great secret: she had used her powers for decades only to effect the appearance of aging—for Derek’s sake. Her “loss of powers” had also been a ruse. (Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #6) 

Joan chose to return to adventuring just as Uncle Sam’s new Freedom Fighters were battling an android Miss America. The fake was in the service of the spy organization, S.H.A.D.E. Like Joan, it was massively powerful and possessed personal information on all the Freedom Fighters. Joan brought the android down herself. (#5) 

She then accompanied the Freedom Fighters back to their headquarters, an other-dimensional land called the Heartland. (#6) Joan enthusiastically threw herself back into crime fighting, joining Sam’s band as they took on Gonzo, an alien who posed as President of the United States. (#7) 

In their next case, the F.F.’s Red Bee went mad and caused the Human Bomb to explode. Joan acted fast, absorbing the blast and heading into space where she seemingly died in an explosion. (US&FF vol. 2 #5) Her atoms were strewn, but her powers were so great that she was able to reassemble herself into a new heroine called Miss Cosmos. (#7) She returned to Earth at a key time, and destroyed an invading alien ship (#8)

Since then, her “cosmic” powers have trickled away. When the Freedom Fighters were decommissioned, Joan remained a special liaison to the President. (Freedom Fighters vol. 2 #7, 9)

New 52

When the DC universe was rebooted in 2010, the Freedom Fighters family of characters were completely reimagined. Miss America was recast as a non-costumed but super-powered operative of S.H.A.D.E. see below).

Notes

Timely (Marvel) also had a “Miss America” character that was considerably more successful. She debuted two years after Quality's, in Marvel Mystery #49 (Nov. 1943).

The Miss America beauty pageant began in 1921.

Powers

Miss America possesses formidable telekinetic abilities. She is an expert in their use; not only can she use them to affect objects, but can transform matter on a molecular level.

There may be a mystic element to Joan’s powers, which could be the explanation for her extended longevity.