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The Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Golden Age Soldiers
As a Whole
- Badass Normal: Nobody on the team had inherent superpowers, but they regularly pitted their skills and devices against supervillains and sorcerous foes.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: The Seven were eventually brought back from the eras where the Nebula Man's defeat had banished them, but decades had passed in the interim. Thirty-odd years back in the 1970's, and *ahem-hem* years in the current age. This forced the Soldiers to adapt to modern times.
- Older Than They Look: After being spread through spacetime, the majority of the Soldiers only spent a short time where they ended up, before being summoned back decades later. Thus most of them are much younger than their birthdays would indicate. The Vigilante, however, spent about twenty years of his life back in the Old West, so he's a bit closer to what he should be.
- Retcon: Originally the SSoV were on Earth-2, and so had the Earth-2 versions of Green Arrow and Speedy as members. With the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-2 was no more, so Wing (the Crimson Avenger's sidekick) and Stuff the Chinatown Kid (The Vigilante's sidekick) gained the status of full-fledged members of the team to make seven. Stargirl Spring Break Special would restore Ollie and Roy's ties to the group, albeit with the explaination that they were sent back in time to the Golden Age for a while thanks to a fight with the Clock King.
- Trapped in the Past:
- The defeat of Nebula Man scattered them across time and space, and we know that most of them ended up in the in past with no way back.
- As mentioned above, this was used to restore Green Arrow and Speedy, who were made into "present day only" characters, to the group's history: the Clock King sent Ollie and Roy back to the Golden Age during a fight with him.
Original Members
The Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis)
The Crimson Avenger/Lee Travis
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: A Crimson Avenger showed up in 2000 who happened to be a black female with a broad suite of powers because it turns out Lee was cursed to fight crime all these years and now so is she. Also, she's a lawyer, but nobody's perfect.
- Always Need What You Gave Up: On the night of the Halloween Ball, Wing lends him a gun to make his highwayman costume complete, but advises he take the bullets out for safety. And then of course a group of thugs rob the ball.
- Blood Knight: This is how he's depicted in Sandman Mystery Theatre, as someone obsessed with violent vengeance and exclusively using real guns. His mainstream version can be depicted this way sometimes as well.
- Bottomless Magazines: Averted at least initially, in his miniseries as his newly-acquired gas gun can only fire once before it needs reloading with a new cartridge. (He apparently picks up a few spares when he finds the gun.)
- Catchphrase: More of a credo: Qui vindicet ibit. ("The Avenger Will Come!")
- Characterization Marches On: First he was a two-fisted Green Hornet rip-off, then he was yet another costumed adventurer. Post-Crisis he got a couple of Secret Origins stories and a limited series which added more dimension to his character. And then it turned out he was cursed.
- Chest Insignia: It's meant to be a sun. What do suns have to do with crimson avengers? Who knows? Later it's ret-conned to be a constantly-bleeding hole in his chest, because the Dark Age of Comics wasn't quite over yet.
- Coat, Hat, Mask: Originally wore a red mantle with a domino mask and a red hat. Eventually he began wearing a more mainstream bodysuit.
- Color Character: The Crimson Avenger.
- Derivative Differentiation: Getting a superhero costume and exclusively using his gas gun made him a lot less like The Green Hornet...and more like every other costumed superhero out there. So more of a lateral move.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Claudia Barker died in his arms, spurring him to take revenge for her sake, and eventually start a crimefighting career.
- Due to the Dead: One part of the JLA initiation is to swear an oath on the Crimson Avenger's first costume, as he was the first known superhero in the DCU.
- Easy Amnesia: It came about from being flung across the time-space continuum by the nebula rod, which his friend Wing sacrificed his life to use. "Easy" may not be the word.
- Empowered Badass Normal: After the Seven Soldiers scattered in time by the Nebula Man, he developed energy powers and ended up an amnesiac in the Aztec Empire, where he became king.
- Evil Uncle: Or evil honorary uncle anyway. Lee's godfather, whom he referred to as "uncle" both paid for his journalism education and left him the New York Globe-Leader newspaper after he died... in the hopes that Lee would lose his youthful idealism and principles and become more receptive to joining his group of war profiteers. In fact, Lee was growing more cynical and disaffected... until the night of the Halloween Ball.
- Expy:
- As a publisher who has a Color Character alter ego, uses a gas gun, is believed to be a criminal at first, and has an Asian sidekick, he's basically The Green Hornet.
- He also recruited a bunch of scrappy newsboys to help him with one case—much like Jack Kirby's Newsboy Legion.
- Forgotten Phlebotinum:
- In one adventure he uses a special chemical to change the sun symbol on his chest into a sword symbol which terrified all criminals who looked upon it. Peculiarly, he never used this trick again.
- He also developed energy projection powers after being tossed through time and space, but they only show up in that particular story.
- Frame-Up: In one of his earliest cases, Crimson was set up to look like a murderer.
- Good Is Not Soft: Particularly in modern continuities, he's shown to be very vengeance-driven to the point of using real guns and not being above torturing or killing criminals, at least until he mellows out a bit.
- Go Out with a Smile: He went out wearing his old costume, doing a heroic deed and feeling better than he had in years.
- The Greatest Story Never Told: Since the smoke obscured him, nobody knew that the Crimson Avenger sacrificed his life to stop a ship full of volatile chemicals from exploding in a city harbor. At least not for a long time.
- Guns Akimbo: He uses paired .45 pistols in some continuities.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After decades of superhero work, Lee eventually retired and traveled the world. However, he contracted a fatal illness which would kill him in a week. Witnessing the hijacking of a boat full of volatile chemicals, Lee leapt onto the boat in his old costume, defeated the criminals and evacuated the burning boat, piloting it a safe distance away before it exploded.
- Idle Rich: In his origin story Lee realizes he's on his way to becoming one of these, believing that things like masquerade balls would help with the war in Asia and so forth. Events conspire to put him in a position where he can take a more direct hand in solving the ills of the world.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Skilled at making trick shots like shooting out tires or blasting guns out of peoples' hands.
- Instant Sedation: Played straight with his gas gun, at least when directly sprayed in someone's face.
- The Last Dance: He dons his costume for the first time in years, saves a kid's life with some fancy acrobatics, beats up multiple criminals and pilots a flaming ship full of volatile chemicals out of a harbor before it can explode, saving countless lives. Not bad for a guy who was told he'd be dead in a week.
- Military Superhero: He lied about his age to join the First World War, and joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, but got shot in the leg early on. Later on, he'd be glad he'd gotten some target practice before he shipped out for the latter.
- Mistaken for Murderer: The cops start off believing the Crimson is the ringleader of the "Martians" that attacked the party and killed Claudia Barker thanks to the fact that eye witnesses saw him waving around an (empty) .45 before running away with the crooks (chasing them down). The next day, he had the misfortune of being caught holding a dead body with burned-out eyes by the police.
- The Not-Love Interest: One plays a formative role in his origin story. During an interview, Claudia Black, a female reporter, took him to task over having lost his youthful idealism. Meeting later that night at a Halloween Ball, they were dancing together and exchanging snappy dialogue when a group of thugs disguised as Martians attacked the venue. Claudia stood up to them when one stole her lighter and got shot. Her last words to Lee were: "Qui vindicet ibit", words he would take to heart.
- On-Site Procurement: In his 1988 limited series, he happens upon a gas gun as one of the advanced prototype weapons designed by his foes and takes it for himself, adding it to his loadout.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Even after his superhero revamp, Crimson could be pretty blasé about killing villains.
- Primary-Color Champion: At first a red mask and cloak, later a red bodysuit with yellow accents.
- Proto-Superhero: In the DC universe, he's considered to be the first known costumed adventurer.
- Retcon:
- His military service as mentioned above comes from two different Secret Origins tales. The Lincoln Brigade one came first in 1985. The latter Secret Origins tale (2001) has him spending time in Nanda Parbat during WWII and receiving a vision of Superman's death, but doesn't fit neatly into his pre-established timeline, which had him being born in 1913, so if he was in World War I, the lie about his age was a heck of a whopper. The 2001 story tries to justify this by having him jump forward in time ten years, but that makes even less sense.
- Originally, Lee Travis chose to adopt the identity of The Crimson Avenger to avenge his unjustly-slain friend. He chose to keep that identity because he realized that there were dangerous people out there, some posing as law-abiding citizens, that he couldn't stop within the bounds of the law. That is, becoming a Crimson Avenger was an entirely moral decision and the deaths (even of criminals) that resulted from that decision troubled him and made him a complex, interesting character. But as of 2000, he was actually cursed all along. Somehow Wing got his hands on two cursed pistols that he happened to lend his boss, and when Lee took a life in vengeance with them (never mind that he lost one and isn't shown getting it back) he was cursed to keep doing it until he somehow broke free of the curse and started just using a gas gun. That sun symbol on his chest in his superhero garb was actually a blood spatter.
- Step into the Blinding Fight: One use for his gas gun (in less concentrated form) is to disorient and conceal himself from his foes.
- Stock Superhero Day Jobs: The publisher of his own newspaper, so journalist.
- Superhero Packing Heat: Originally, he used his gas gun and a pistol interchangeably, although he usually did things like shoot tires out with the latter. In modern continuities, he does the same until adopting a more superheroic look and attitude, whereupon he uses his gas gun exclusively.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Lee tries to quit being the Crimson at the start of his 1988 limited series a day after the Halloween Ball after Wing is shot while they're intervening to save the life of a controversial anti-Nazi professor. He figured that his life is hectic and influential enough as a newspaper editor, and he doesn't need to get any more blood on his hands (Wing's or anyone else's) doing a risky thing like vigilantism. Of course, events conspire to put him back in costume and give him the urge to keep his career going.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Averted early on, where he has no issues with throwing criminals off roofs or leaving them to their death, but when he became more of a superhero, he started hewing to this.
- Tragic Keepsake: He keeps Claudia Barker's lighter, inscribed with Qui vindicet ibit ("The Avenger Will Come!"). The lighter itself is implied to have been a Tragic Keepsake from Claudia's own time reporting on the Spanish Civil War.
- Trapped in the Past: When the Soldiers were scattered across spacetime he ended up in Mesoamerica during the time of the Aztecs.
- Your Days Are Numbered: He eventually contracted a fatal disease, but chose to go out as a hero.
Wing
Wing/Wing How
- Asian Speekee Engrish:
- In his initial appearances, Wing spoke in clear if pidgin English, but was depicted as clearly quite intelligent and capable. After the superhero makeover his English got even worse and he started speaking in Japanese Ranguage as well.
- After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, this is averted as Wing speaks perfect English in Secret Origins #5 and the subsequent miniseries.
- Characterization Marches On: An unfortunate example. In his original appearances, Wing was presented as a competent, intelligent sidekick without any stereotypical Asian features. Come the superheroic revamp and the era when he and the Crimson Avenger started wearing superhero costumes and he got a "comic relief" makeover. Suddenly, he had a goblin-like appearance, buck teeth, and lost several IQ points. Fortunately, when they reappeared in 1972, he was returned to competence and a better appearance (as seen in the picture). Post-Crisis, he avoided this embarrassing phase altogether.
- Color Character: Averted, fortunately, given the color of his costume.
- Expy: As the Crimson Avenger can be seen as an Expy of the Green Hornet, so can Wing be seen as one of Kato, albeit Chinese to Kato's Japanese.
- Chest Insignia:
- Like his boss, Wing has a sun in the middle of his chest. His is red.
- He also had what looks like a Chinese-looking symbol on his chest sometimes. It's unclear what it means—if anything it's probably not whatever the creators thought it did.
- In a recent (2021) appearance, his symbol was shown to be a question mark.
- Derivative Differentiation:
- If nothing else, his disgustingly stereotypical revamp into an negative Asian caricature in a superhero costume did indeed make him way different from Kato. Just, y'know, not in a good way.
- The Secret Origins and miniseries Retcon pin Wing down as a native of Hankow, which was invaded by the Japanese in 1938, and make him considerably more forthright and less laconic when speaking with Travis than the usual depiction of Kato and Britt Reid.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Wing died defeating the Hand and the Nebula Man when he detonated the Nebula Rod.
- Japanese Ranguage: After the superhero revamp in the 1940's he went from speaking like Charlie Chan to talking and looking like a character from Tokio Jokio, albeit on the heroes' side.
- No Hero to His Valet: Post-Crisis Wing was openly critical of some of Lee's opinions and decisions, and Lee encouraged him to speak freely and took him seriously.
- Non-Action Guy: Initially, he mostly just drove the Crimson Avenger to where he needed to go, and moved unconscious bodies and such when necessary, although he was shown to have knocked out one thug off-panel to stop him from fleeing. It took the revamp to show Wing taking a more active fight against crime.
- Not Wearing Tights: In his initial appearances, Wing wore a normal chauffeur's uniform.
- Primary-Color Champion: The inverse of his boss, a yellow bodysuit with red accents, after the superhero revamp.
- Retcon: A mild one. Wing is implied to have been much younger than Lee, probably in his late teens or so when he becomes his chauffeur/sidekick. The two seem much closer in age as of Secret Origins and The Crimson's limited series, with Lee becoming somewhat younger and Wing becoming a little older.
- In at least one modern take on the SSoV, he appears to be a teenager again.
- Unwanted Assistance: Lee frequently attempted to dissuade Wing from continuing his costumed career, as he felt the younger man had the potential to be something greater than a two-fisted vigilante.
- You No Take Candle: How he originally spoke in the Golden Age. Believe it or not, it got worse.
Vigilante
Vigilante/Greg Saunders
Stuff, The Chinatown Kid
Stuff/Jimmy and Victor Leong
After helping the Vigilante crack the case, Jimmy became his sidekick and the two of them fought crime together until Jimmy was killed by one of the Vigilante's enemies.
Victor then became the next "Stuff" and worked alongside Greg Saunders until the two of them retired together and opened a chain of successful restaurants.
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Both siblings are experts in Judo and Hapkido along with knowing other martial arts. This may justified by the fact that as the grandkids of a tong leader they were likely taught martial arts in case they were put in danger by their grandpa's rivals.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Completely and totally averted from the start. Jimmy uses a lot of slang, but otherwise speaks normally. Unlike Wing, they were raised in America.
- But Not Too Foreign: Following a modern Retcon both siblings became half-white.
- Clear My Name: Jimmy helps the Vigilante defeat the Japanese spy known as The Head, who had framed his grandfather for starting a Tong war, and became Saunders's official sidekick.
- In Name Only: In the 1947 serial The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the Old West, "Stuff" is a thirty-something Caucasian. They're not meant to be the same character at all, however—they just share the nickname.
- Multiple-Choice Past: Depending on the source, Jimmy was killed either by The Dummy or Bugsy Siegel.
- Retired Badass: Victor lives long enough to retire alongside the Vigilante, and the two of them open a chain of restaurants together.
- Take Up My Sword: Victor takes over his brother's sidekick position after Jimmy is killed.
The Star Spangled Kid
The Star Spangled Kid/Skyman/Sylvester Pemberton
- Badass Bookworm: A child prodigy who learned athletics and fighting from Stripesy.
- Badass Normal: He had previously been a non-powered hero, using fisticuffs, gadgets, and a keen strategical mind to fight crime, upon joining the JSA.
- Clothes Make the Superman: In the JSA, Sylvester gained possession of the Cosmic Converter Belt designed by Ted Knight aka Starman. This belt gave him the ability to fly, create forcefields, and fire energy blasts. After forming Infinity, Inc. he changed his superhero name to Skyman, and changed his costume as well.
- Cool Car: The Sky Rocket Racer, which can switch from an ordinary limousine to a flying car.
- Crazy-Prepared: The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy have their fighting maneuvers worked out ahead of time, and codes assigned for each one, which they'll call out in the middle of a fight.
- Declining Promotion: Ted Knight (Starman I) offered him the mantle, but Sylvester both felt unworthy of the title of "Starman" and wanted to have his own legacy.
- Famous Ancestor: Many of his ancestors took part in important moments of American history.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Both Pemberton and Dugan got the same idea for costumed adventuring at the same time after they heard someone talking about how the fifth columnists who'd rioted were a disgrace and that he wished the American Flag could come to life and set things right.
- After Ted Knight gives Sylvester the Cosmic Belt, Jack Knight tells him: "Have fun in the sky, man." It had a nice ring.
- Evil Nephew: After unmasking the leader of the terrorist group Strike Force, Sly was shocked both to learn that it was his nephew, and that said nephew had somehow gotten control over the Pemberton fortune! He left the JSA in order to sort his affairs out, with ultimate success.
- Flying Firepower: After he grows up, he uses Starman's Cosmic Rod for awhile, but then switches to the Cosmic Converter Belt mentioned above. Both have roughly the same powers.
- Kid Hero: Started his career at an age which varies depending on the writer but definitely under 17.
- Killed Off for Real: in his Skyman identity, he shared in many adventures with Infinity Inc. until the fateful day when Solomon Grundy used the insensate form of the poisonous Mister Bones to burn Sylvester's face, killing him.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Sylvester pretended to be a reclusive, wimpy bookworm to obscure his identity.
- Old Hero, New Pals:
- The Star-Spangled Kid ends up a member of the JSA and wielding Starman's gravity rod after the Seven Soldiers are rescued by the JLA and JSA from being lost in time.
- After leaving the JSA, he helps form Infinity Inc. and becomes the leader.
- Old Money: Mayflower-old, at least.
- Primary-Color Champion: Red, White and Blue.
- Sidekick: Stripesy.
- Trapped in the Past: When the Soldiers were scattered across spacetime he ended up about 50,000 years in the past. (Some sources say only 14,000. Does it matter?)
- Why Are You Not My Son?: His friendship with Ted Knight had shades of this, as Sylvester was interested both in science and in becoming a superhero, while Jack Knight (Ted's actual son) had no interest in either at the time.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Thanks to Sylvester's Obfuscating Stupidity, his dad often tries to get him to "man up", occasionally doing things like sending him to camp.
Stripesy
Stripesy/Pat Dugan
- Badass Normal: Like everyone else on the team, but he's particularly noted for his strength and endurance.
- Crazy-Prepared: The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy have their fighting maneuvers worked out ahead of time, and codes assigned for each one, which they'll call out in the middle of a fight.
- Gadgeteer Genius: A mechanical master, he invented the Sky Rocket Racer and other devices, including a set of Powered Armor.
- Genius Bruiser: An ex-boxer and master mechanic.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Stripesy often seems smarter and more prepared than the Star-Spangled Kid.
- Insistent Terminology: He wasn't Sylvester's sidekick, he was his bodyguard.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Dugan acted like a dim-witted servant in public to obscure his identity.
- Older Sidekick: For The Star-Spangled Kid.
- Primary-Color Champion: Red, White and Blue.
- Retired Badass: After returning from Ancient Egypt, he gave up the hero game, got married, and had a young son by the time he got back in touch with Sylvester. He unretires roughly an in-universe decade later after his step-daughter became the new Star-Spangled Kid, taking up a suit of Powered Armor called S.T.R.I.P.E..
- Trapped in the Past: When the Soldiers were scattered across spacetime he ended up in Ancient Egypt where he was enslaved and forced to help build pyramids.
The Green Arrow
The Green Arrow/Oliver Queen
- Retcon:
- After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, history changed so that Green Arrow and Speedy were no longer alive during the 1940s. They were replaced by Wing (Crimson Avenger's sidekick) and Stuff (Vigilante's sidekick) having always been considered full-fledged members, bringing the number back to seven.
- Following Dark Nights: Death Metal, in the Stargirl Spring Break Special, Ollie and Roy's status as members were restored, albeit with it stated they'd gone back in time to the Golden Age for a while thanks to an encounter with the Clock King.
Speedy
Speedy/Roy Harper
- Retcon:
- After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, history changed so that Green Arrow and Speedy were no longer alive during the 1940s. They were replaced by Wing (Crimson Avenger's sidekick) and Stuff (Vigilante's sidekick) having always been considered full-fledged members, bringing the number back to seven.
- Following Dark Nights: Death Metal, in the Stargirl Spring Break Special, Ollie and Roy's status as members were restored, albeit with it stated they'd gone back in time to the Golden Age for a while thanks to an encounter with the Clock King.
Shining Knight
Shining Knight/Justin
- Clothes Make the Superman: Shining Knight's magical armor which protects him from all harm and magical sword which cuts through anything.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Sir Justin, the Shining Knight, who was originally a knight for King Arthur before being trapped in suspended animation for a few centuries.
- Official Couple: During World War II, he married Danette Riley (aka Firebrand II). Unfortunately, shortly after he was sent back in time by the Nebula Man, she was killed by the Dragon King.
- Older Than They Look: In addition to being displaced in time, Merlin also enchanted him to age much more slowly. At fifty or sixty years old, he's still in perfect shape and looks young.
- Really 700 Years Old: The Shining Knight has been alive since the time of King Arthur. With Arthur supposedly living in the 5th or 6th centuries, that would make Justin at least 1,400 years old, though he spent most of those years in suspended animation before being revived in the early 20th century.
- Trapped in the Past: When the Soldiers were scattered across spacetime it's unclear where he ended up, though his fellow Soldiers speculate that he wound up back in his own time.
Post-Crisis Substitutes
The many substitutes for Green Arrow and Speedy on the team after their membership was erased by Crisis on Infinite Earths. Squire
