History DarthWiki / LadyFreedom

* HeroesWantRedheads: Sarah's romance with red-headed Chris Colbert in an interesting gender-flipped version.

* '''{{Determinator}}''': Sarah is probably one of the more definitive depictions of this trope in the Marvel Universe, outside of both Franchise/SpiderMan and Captain America. This narration in one issue is telling proof of why:

* {{Cloning Blues}}: Pops up when Mr. X returns with Agent Orange, a clone based on the identity that Sarah took on while infiltrating HYDRA.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: This exactly how everyone's favorite Colonel-turned-Commander won the respect of her peers to be given command of the O*N*E.

* WeaponOfChoice: Once she gets promoted to Commander of the New Invaders, she gets an energy shield that's pretty much a copy of the Mighty Shield.

* '''{{Determinator}}''': Sarah is probably one of the more definitive depictions of this trope in the Marvel Universe, outside of both {{Spider-Man}} and Captain America. This narration in one issue is telling proof of why:

In the UltimateMarvel universe, Sarah's still the badass soldier we all know and love, but with a drastically different origin. Here, she's Jennifer Stroud, a SHIELD agent who formerly served as a Russian Super-Soldier by the name of "Sarah Kovac". When she broke free of her brainwashing, she turned against her masters, and was aided by a SHIELD taskforce led by a female agent named Jennifer Stroud, who would later sacrifice her life to ensure Sarah escaped the captivty of her Russian bosses. To honor the agent who saved her life, Sarah took on the Jennifer Stroud identity and defected to America,

* WomanInBlack: During her infiltration of HYDRA, Sarah switches out her regular Team Alpha [=BDUs=] for an all-black ensemble, and replaces her blonde hair with a black/orange hybrid.

* {{Hot Chick in a Badass Suit}}: With her new role as Director of the O*N*E and New Invaders Commander, she wears her dress uniform as often as her "Super-Soldier" combat outfit.

* [[HesBack She's Back]]: After a prolongued stay in Earth-6325, Sarah returns to her own world in style, being a key player in preventing the Empire's attempted take over of Earth-616, as well as beating ten shades out of her evil twin. Plus, she saves Colbert from being nearly killed by the Overlord.
* [[HeWhoFightsMonsters She Who Fights Monsters]]: In her mission to find Cap's killer, Stroud nearly kills Sharon Carter for being the second shooter in the assassination, but soon comes to her senses after realizing that's not what Steve Rogers would've wanted at all. Sharon also explaining that she was brainwashed by Dr. Faustus when she shot Cap also helped bring Stroud around.

* HeelRealization: She isn't really a villain, but Stroud realizes that in trying to avenge Captain America's death, she'd turn herself into the exact same person that she vowed to never become if she killed [[{{Agent13}} Sharon Carter]] for her role in Cap's assassination. As such, she decides not to kill Sharon and hears her out.

** ''Secret Invasion'': This storyline featured Stroud and her SPECWAR teammates figuring in heavily on the Skrulls' ultimate defeat, with Lady Freedom even fighting a Skrull impersonator of Cap.

* ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'' (2012): Joins the playable character roster along with other new characters. She even also has Phil Coulson as an Assist Character for one of her Hyper Combo moves (albeit mostly just through a namedrop).

* ''Avengers Assemble'' (2013): Appears with the rest of her SPECWAR teammates in the episode "Homeland Security".

* {{Die Hard on an X}}: Issue 18 (Part 2 of ''The Doomsday Clock'') is Die Hard in the White House, as Lady Freedom and the President attempt to fend off the demonic HYDRA forces.

* DistaffCounterpart: In 'New Invaders', it becomes quite clear that Sarah is pretty much a female Captain America, right down to the Commander wielding a facsimile of his iconic shield, and adopting an equally-patriotic codename in "Lady Freedom".

* WolverinePublicity: She's practically become the face of the ''SPECWAR'' franchise, appearing as a character in ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', and starring in both 'The New Invaders' and her own solo title.

* CostumedNonSuperHero: Despite operating under a flamboyantly patriotic codename and wearing an equally flamboyant star-spangled outfit, Sarah doesn't have superpowers. Though, years of training and serving as a soldier has helped her gain enough experience to get by.

* SPECWAR: Sarah Stroud's Strike Back (2013): A prequel to the ''SPECWAR'' movie, focusing on Stroud's backstory in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

-->"Go ahead. Y'might turn me into nothingness, but you are definitely not touching that shield."

At the end of the series, Sarah is promoted to Director of O*N*E to replace the deceased Gen. John Casey, who was amongst the many who died during the Dimensional War against the oppressive Empire of Earth-6325. In ''The New Invaders'', she's given command of the new Invader Initiative's Team Delta, and continues to kick ass for the good of humanity. She also stars in her own solo title, ''The Legend of Lady Freedom'', which debuted in November 2012. The "Lady Freedom" series features the newly-minted "Maiden of Liberty" in solo action, as she fights to protect the nation against evil as a member of the Anti-Terrorism Command.

** ''Captain America: Reborn'': Cap finally returns to life, as Stroud and the SPECWAR team help stop the Red Skull from corrupting the newly*resurrected Captain for good.

* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Will MacArthur Die]]: Cpl. William MacArthur served in the same unit as Sarah in a mission prior to the start of the series, and was killed by a group of mutated soldiers.

* My Greatest Failure: The aforementioned failure to save Will MacArthur, especially since it was revealed that Mr. X had a hand in the poor Corporal's death.
** She also saw Captain America's alleged death as a failure on her part to protect her mentor.

* BerserkButton: Both Cpt. Colbert & Steve Rogers are very important to Sarah. One's her lover, and the other's her mentor and confidante. Go after any one of them, and be prepared for an entire universe of hurt.

** Note that this extends to the Captain America legacy itself, with attempts to tarnish said legacy a definite no*no on Sarah's list.

* BigGood: Especially in her new role as Commander of the New Invaders. This gets elevated in the ''Dimensions at War'\ storyarc during the final volume of SPECWAR, where Sarah's return and subsequent leadership in the Dimensional War is pivotal in turning the tide against the Empire of the Light.

* {{Cliffhanger}}: "Case Incomplete", as opposed to the "Case Complete" that ends non*cliffhanger issues.

* {{Clothing Damage}}: Not generally the case for Sarah, but the first we see of her in a prison on Earth*6325, her BDUs have suffered some slight damaging.

* CompositeCharacter: Her Ultimate Universe counterpart, Jennifer Stroud, shares her traits and surname with Earth-616's Sarah Stroud, uses "[[ComicBook/MsMarvel Warbird]]" as her codename (taken from Earth-616's Carol Danvers),and the Super-Soldier elements are an original concept created for 'Ultimate Comics SPECWAR'. The program she's brought into is also codenamed "Project:[[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes Winter Soldier]]".

* DarkActionGirl: She takes on the appearance of "Agent Orange" in order to infiltrate a HYDRA sect during SPECWAR 1.0.

* '''{{Determinator}}''': Sarah is probably one of the more definitive depictions of this trope in the Marvel Universe, outside of both Spider*Man and Captain America. This narration in one issue is telling proof of why:

* EnemyMine: She had to team up with Mr. X during "Dimensions at War" to fight the Empire's forces on Liberty Island.

-->'''Lady Freedom:''' Hey, 'Big Green', how's your throwing arm?

* Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every issue of ''Lady Freedom'' utilizes "Case *number*: ________" naming.

* MirrorUniverse: In issue 6, Stroud is shunted into an alternate world where Spider*Man is a villain who rules New York City with an iron fist (and we're not talking about the hero).

* Fastball Special: Sarah gets the flippin' Hulk to toss her onto a giant Empire mecha in the climax of ''Dimensions At War''. Yes, you read that correctly.

* GoodIsNotSoft: Once 'New Invaders' begins, Sarah is well aware that new approaches have to be taken in order to defeat new and dangerous threats to humanity.

* HeelRealization: She isn't really a villain, but Stroud realizes that in trying to avenge Captain America's death, she'd turn herself into the exact same person that she vowed to never become if she killed [[Agent13 Sharon Carter]] for her role in Cap's assassination. As such, she decides not to kill Sharon and hears her out.

As such, she was remanded onto the care of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, particularly Assistant Director Roy Feinberg, who "adopted" Sarah as his own. However, an attack on the SSR by HYDRA soldiers left Feinberg dead, and Sarah would've suffered the same fate had it not been for ComicBook/CaptainAmerica saving her. Subsequent to this, Cap took Sarah under his wing and personally trained her to be the best soldier that she can be. Over the years, that training has paid off, as Sarah is one of a select few to have successfuly surpassed the Tartarus training course, the final rite of passage for anyone hoping to join the Office of National Emergency's SPECWAR program. Plus, she's also able to pull off the same tricks Cap does with his shield, and is said to be able to actually best the Star-Spangled Avenger in one-on-one combat.

!Comics

* ''The New Invaders'' (2012): The continuation of "SPECWAR", where we now see Stroud leading the new team of Invaders.

* ''SPECWAR: The Stroud Identity'' (2008): A tie*in miniseries to the "Death of Captain America" storyline that reveals a great deal about Lady Freedom's as-of-then unexplored backstory, as well as her relations with Cap. Said past bits are framed by a story in the present day about Stroud hunting down Cap's killers to avenge his honor.

!!Storylines

* The Death of Captain America: The aforementioned "Stroud Identity" miniseries was released during the storyline. She also goes on a manhunt to find the people that killed Captain America and make them pay for killing her mentor.
** ''Captain America Reborn'': Cap finally returns to life, as Stroud and the SPECWAR team help stop the Red Skull from corrupting the newly*resurrected Captain for good.

!!Films

!!Video Games

!!Western Animation

* AllAmericanFace: Sarah's turn as "Lady Freedom" in 'The New Invaders' probably counts, seeing as she's pretty much become a female Captain America.(Wearing Cap's old outfit when he was Director of SHIELD, as well as using an energy shield that resembles the Mighty Shield prolly helps with that, too.)

* ThrowingYourShieldAlwaysWorks: Comes with the territory of being trained under the tutelage of the Star*Spangled Man with a Plan.

* WeakButSkilled: Stroud doesn't have superpowers and she certainly doesn't have the benefits her mentor has from the Super*Soldier Serum. That doesn't stop her from kicking ass, however.

Commander Sarah Stroud, codename '''Lady Freedom''', is a Marvel Comics character from {{Tropers/DasNordlicht91}}'s "SPECWAR" series of imaginary comics. She first made her appearance in ''{{DarthWiki/SPECWAR}}'' #1 as one of the members of Team Alpha. The story goes that her mother, Marian Kovac, was a Russian spy who defected to the U.S. shortly after meeting FBI Agent Lucas Stroud. Soon after, Marian gave birth to "Yvonne Kovac", (or in other words, the once and future Sarah Stroud). They returned to America and worked to help the US during the Cold War until they were killed by the Winter Soldier in the late 80s.

At the end of the "SPECWAR" series, Sarah is promoted to Director of O*N*E to replace the deceased Gen. John Casey, who was amongst the many who died during the Dimensional War against the oppressive Empire of Earth-6325. In "New Invaders", she's given command of the new Invader Initiative's Team Delta, and continues to kick ass for the good of humanity. She also stars in her own solo title, "Lady Freedom", which debuted in November 2012. The "Lady Freedom" series features the newly-minted "Maiden of Liberty" in solo action, as she fights to protect the nation against evil as a member of the Anti-Terrorism Command.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Sarah's still the badass soldier we all know and love, but with a drastically different origin. Here, she's Jennifer Stroud, a SHIELD agent who formerly served as a Russian Super-Soldier by the name of "Sarah Kovac". When she broke free of her brainwashing, she turned against her masters, and was aided by a SHIELD taskforce led by a female agent named Jennifer Stroud, who would later sacrifice her life to ensure Sarah escaped the captivty of her Russian bosses. To honor the agent who saved her life, Sarah took on the Jennifer Stroud identity and defected to America,

* [[spoiler:The Bad Guy Wins: The first issue of ''The Doomsday Clock'' story ends with Patrick Maxon's HYDRA forces successfully capturing Cap and turning him to their side. Of course, it's just the first part of the arc.]]

* CombatPragmatist: Sure, Sarah can beat down enemies with relative ease thanks to years of training with Cap, but she's definitely not above kicking enemies in the [[GroinAttack groin]] or playing dirty when the situation calls for
it.

* CostumedNonSuperHero: Despite operating under a flamboyantly patriotic codename and wearing an equally flamboyant star-spangled outfit, Sarah doesn't have superpowers. Though, years of training and serving
as a soldier has helped her gain enough experience to get by.

** Being trained by the latter definitely helped forged her own reputation as a never*surrender soldier.

* EvilCounterpart: Mr. X, a recurring villain in SPECWAR, is explicitly portrayed to be Sarah's Evil Counterpart. Like Stroud, X was considered one of the best up-and-coming soldiers for the SPECWAR program, but a
combination of factors led X to go rogue.
** In 'Lady Freedom', we're introduced to new villains Colonel Capitalist and Red Widow. The former is essentially a corporate version of Cap, and the latter is an evil version of ComicBook/BlackWidow.

* ExpansionPackPast: Many elements of her backstory (her association to Captain America, the Lacher family, etc.) weren't introduced in her initial appearances, only coming later on as the series progressed. The four*issue
miniseries, "SPECWAR: The Stroud Identity", especially sheds even more light on her origins.
* Word of God has made it clear that future issues of 'Lady Freedom' will also expand upon some of her backstory.

* FaceHeelTurn: Sarah is accused of pulling one in the latest storyline in SPECWAR 4.0 (supposedly giving some secret O*N*E files to some bad guys). [[spoiler:Though it's an evil alternate version committing the acts, as she's been replaced and imprisoned on Earth-6325.]]

* {{Foil}}: In a way, the Commander acts as a heroic foil to Captain America. Both are tied to a strong sense of patriotism to the United States and have strong leadership qualities. However, whereas Cap is calm &
collected when leading in battle, Sarah can be abrasive and headstrong at times, even letting her emotions get the better of her in some instances.
* {{Follow the Leader}}: An in-universe example with U.S. military branches all setting out to create their own super*soldiers for their respective divisions in an attempt to create symbols not unlike Cap.

* HatePlague: A part of Maxon's plan to tear apart the United States involves carpet*bombing American populaces with a biochemical that incites violent behavior in people. He naturally attempts to bomb Washington D.C. with this hate-inducing biochemical, which ends up affecting nearly everyone in the nation's capital, save for Lady Freedom and the President of the United States.

* HeelRealization: She isn't really a villain, but Stroud realizes that in trying to avenge Captain America's [supposed] death, she'd turn herself into the exact same person that she vowed to never become if she killed Sharon Carter
for her role in Cap's assassination. As such, she decides not to kill Sharon and hears her out.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Sarah's romance with red-headed Chris Colbert in an interesting gender*flipped version.

* {{"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight}}: Captain Marvel skips the convincing and just uses her photon energy to snap Stroud out of Purple Man's mind control.

* Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every issue of 'Lady Freedom' utilizes "Case *number*: ________" naming.

* MadeOdIron: Definitely in show during the extended arc of her escaping from the Empire's concentration camp, where she endures punishment that would've probably killed a normal person.

* [[OneManArmy One-Woman Army]]: Holy. Freaking. Shit.

** In the backup story of ''Lady Freedom'' #3, we learn that Missy's actual first name is [[spoiler"Emma".]]

* Parental Abandonment: Her parents were murdered by the Winter Soldier, leaving Sarah to be placed under the care of the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

** She's also fought the Oppressor from Earth*6325 various times.

-->'''Sarah:'' Consider this your "Get out of Jail Free" card, X, 'cause right now we've got a group of other*dimension terrorists that both want us dead.

* She's Back: After a prolongued stay in Earth-6325, Sarah returns to her own world in style, being a key player in preventing the Empire's attempted take over of Earth-616, as well as beating ten shades out of her evil twin. Plus, she saves Colbert from being nearly killed by the Overlord.
* She Who Fights Monsters: In her mission to find Cap's killer, Stroud nearly kills Sharon Carter for being the second shooter in the assassination, but soon comes to her senses after realizing that's not what Steve Rogers
would've wanted at all. Sharon also explaining that she was brainwashed by Dr. Faustus when she shot Cap also helped bring Stroud around.

* TheSpymaster: More or less her role as both O*N*E Director and the top operative of the Anti-Terrorism Command.

* The Strategist: One of the Marvel Universe's best tactical minds, alongside her star-spangled mentor.
as it was first brought up.

* SuperSoldier: Her portrayal in the 'SPECWAR' movie seems to imply that Sarah could be a super*soldier in the vein of Captain America. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, she truly is a super*soldier, thanks to
Russian superscience.

** A running subplot in her solo series seems to involve branches of the U.S. military creating their own super*soldiers for their respective services.

* WeaponOChoice: Once she gets promoted to Commander of the New Invaders, she gets an energy shield that's pretty much a copy of the Mighty Shield.

* WhatTheHellHero?: Colbert decidedly calls out Stroud for being no better than someone like Mr. X while she's on her quest to avenge Cap's assassination.
* WolverinePublicity: She's practically become the face of the 'SPECWAR' franchise, appearing as a character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and starring in both 'The New Invaders' and her own solo title.
* WomanInBlack: During her infiltration of HYDRA, Sarah switches out her regular Team Alpha BDUs for an all*black ensemble, and replaces her blonde hair with a black/orange hybrid.

* Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2012): Joins the playable character roster along with other new characters. She even also has Phil Coulson as an Assist Character for one of her Hyper Combo moves (albeit mostly just through a namedrop).
* Marvel Avengers Alliance (2012): Lady Freedom became a recruitable hero through completing Spec Ops 11: American Revolution, or by completing Cap's chapter in the Avengers Initiative iOS game 5 times without retreating.

* ArchEnemy: Mr. X, a former American hero-turned-terrorist.

* BackToBackBadasses: Sarah regularly does this with Cpt. Colbert, and to a lesser extent, Captain America. And hell, even Mr. X on one occassion!

* ''The Legend of Lady Freedom'' (2012): Her own solo series, part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch initiative, where she operates as a government*sanctioned intelligence agent fighting against supervillains and terrorists.
* ''SPECWAR: The Stroud Identity'' (2008): A tie*in miniseries to the "Death of Captain America" quasi*event that reveals a great deal about Lady Freedom's as-of-then unexplored backstory, as well as her relations with Cap. Said past bits are framed by a story in the present day about Stroud hunting down Cap's killers to avenge his honor.

* ''New Heights: Lady Freedom's first trial by fire mission as the Commander of the New Invaders, wherein she and her team work to stop the Sons of Freedom from killing Jonathan Lacher, a high*ranking
Homeland Security official.

* ''The Doomsday Clock'': Lady Freedom & The New Invaders must stop a new Hydra, led by a demonically*powered Mr. X and Patrick Maxon, from destroying the world.