Victory Girl



Several months prior to America's entry into World War 2, 15 year-old Victoria Hamilton is adopted by her uncle, Captain Ross Hamilton, after her parents die in suspicious circumstances. Captain Hamilton is the commanding officer of a USO company stationed in Washington; using his military connections he arranges for Victoria to join the company as a tap dancer. There she makes friends with fellow performers Pixie and Trixie Bell, a pair of 'vaudeville brats' billed as "The Liberty Belles". All three girls are placed under the supervision of W.A.C. Lieutenant Betsy Ross, a former school teacher responsible for educating the Company's children.

On the eve of Pearl Harbor, Victoria has a dream where she meets Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty, who warn her that the United States will soon be at war. Due to her great courage and purity, Victoria will be granted vast powers to battle the enemy, along with the indomitable spirit which has made America the greatest nation on Earth. Upon awakening, Victoria imagines it was all a dream, but soon discovers that she becomes superhumanly powerful whenever she sings the "The Star Spangled Banner".

Donning a costume based on the American flag, Vicki sets out to solve the mystery of her parent's murder, which she traces back to a Nazi sabotage ring operating out of Washington. Aided by her friends Pixie and Trixie, she succeeds in bringing the spies to justice, foiling an attempt to blow up the White House in the process. The three girls also meet up with the great American superhero Major Triumph, who was working on the same case. Victory and Triunph immediately deduce each others' secret identities, and agree to become partners in their crusade against evil.

Soon afterwards, the USO Company is transferred to the European Theatre, where they encounter the Nazi war machine head on. Although Victory starts out as Triumph's side-kick, she quickly proves her worth battling supervillians such as Tiwas and Wotan, the Germanic gods of war. In time, her powers and abilities come to match those of Major Triumph, and she branches out on adventures of her own. At the same time, she still retain close ties with her uncle, and the two share many adventures until the end of the war.

In 1945, she is reported missing in action and presumed dead by everybody, including her uncle, Captain Ross Hamilton. Allied Intelligence indicates that she made the supreme sacrifice raiding a German nuclear facility, and was vaporized in the detonation of a prototype atomic bomb. However, this was not the end of Victory Girl. It later turns out that she became one with the national spirit, and took her place beside Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty as the living incarnation of America Triumphant.

Powers
Initially, Victory Girl is granted the strength and speed of "twenty good Americans", making her far more powerful than the average human being. As her abilities are fueled by faith in the national spirit, her stregth redoubles with each American victory until she is virtually indestructible by the end of the war. In later adventures she acquires several additional powers, including super-sonic flight and invulnerability to most forms of physical attack. She is shown to survive incineration, machine gun fire and grenade explosions with little or no damage.

Perhaps her most significant power is the ability to inspire courage and heroism in others - her simple presence can lift the spirits of war-weary soldiers, raising hope in the face of overwhelming odds. American GIs often remark that "You'll never lose a battle when Victory's around." This is eventually proven true when Victory Girl is revealed to be the living incarnation of America Triumphant.