The Liberty Belle is the name of three

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

ines. Two are from

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

: Libby Lawrence and Jesse Chambers, and the other is from

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

: Caroline Dean.

DC Comics

Libby Lawrence

The first Liberty Belle was Libby Lawrence. Her powers of enhanced speed, strength, and stamina were linked to the ringing of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Early in her mystery-woman career, she had an arrangement with Tom Revere, a guard at the Liberty Bell. When she signaled him, he would ring the bell for her and trigger her powers. In her later years, after decades of super-strength many began to theorize about the nature of her powers. Some believed the sonic vibrations of the bell triggered a metahuman gene, some believed that it was mystical because Libby is connected to the power of the ''Spirit of America'', like the heroes

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

and

General Glory General Glory is the name of two DC Comics characters. The persona is mostly used by writers as a parody of Marvel's Captain America with exaggerated "patriotic values" and a sidekick called Ernie (aka Ernie The Battling Boy), who was similar to ...

. Most of the Liberty Belle's heroic exploits took place during the Second World War, and she was one of the founding members (and later chairwoman) of the

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its se ...

. In her public identity, she was the famous radio columnist Libby Lawrence, and therefore well-known both in and out of costume. During the war, she married speedster

Johnny Quick Johnny Quick are two fictional DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. The first was a superhero who first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #71 (September 1941) during the Golden Age. The other was a supervillain, an evil ve ...

. After the war, they had a daughter, Jesse, who shared both their powers and took the codename

Jesse Quick Jesse Chambers is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. She inh ...

. Libby Lawrence is a descendant of Bess Lynn, alias Miss Liberty.

Publication history

This character appeared in several publications. The Liberty Belle debuted in ''

Boy Commandos Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #64 (June 1942) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — ...

'' #1 (winter 1942/1943). After her second appearance in ''Boy Commandos'' #2 (Spring 1943), the character thereafter appeared in ''

Star Spangled Comics ''Star Spangled Comics'' was a comics anthology published by DC Comics which ran for 130 issues from October 1941 to July 1952. It was then retitled ''Star Spangled War Stories'' and lasted until issue #204 (February–March 1977). Publication his ...

'' #20 (May 1943) through to ''Star Spangled Comics'' #68 (May 1947). In 1981, DC published issue #1 of ''All-Star Squadron'', a book whose first story appeared as an insert in ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'' #193. The self-described "conceptualizer" of the book was its writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

. He chose to include the Liberty Belle in this World War II comic to, in his own words, "play down the Earth-Two heroes who have counterparts on Earth-One in favor of other, quite promising characters who have been ignored or underplayed". Thomas also said that the Liberty Belle was chosen to stand in for

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

. ''All-Star Squadron'' lasted 67 issues, with the last being published in 1987. As he did with several other characters, Roy Thomas took some liberties with the Liberty Belle's Golden Age continuity by having her retroactively marry

in 1942, while all her Golden Age appearances throughout the 1940s depict her as a single woman with a semi-romantic relationship with Captain Rick Cannon of G2 Army Intelligence. Thomas also wrote a story depicting the death of Tom Revere in 1942, despite the fact that he was a supporting character from the Golden Age Liberty Belle stories, most of which take place in 1943 and later. Finally, Thomas had the Liberty Belle retroactively wear a mask from her first appearance, rather than her original unmasked look, in which she disguised herself only by allowing her loosed hair to partly drape over her face in a look inspired by

Veronica Lake Constance Frances Marie Ockelman (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973), known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd ...

. ''

Young All-Stars The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in ''Young All-Stars'' #1, dated June 1987. The team members Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, and Dan the Dy ...

'' #1 came out in 1987 as a replacement book for ''All-Star Squadron'' in the wake of the ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...

'' and the loss of Earth-Two as a fictional setting. The Liberty Belle was used as a supporting character in this book which came to an end in 1989 with issue #31. In 1992 DC began publishing ''

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic ...

'' with writer

Len Strazewski Len Strazewski (born February 16, 1955) is a comic book author who wrote ''Starman'' after Roger Stern. He has also worked on ''The Flash'', ''Justice Society of America'', ''Phantom Lady'', '' The Fly'', and many other titles for DC comics. He als ...

. The Liberty Belle appeared in flashbacks and only in her public persona of Libby Lawrence. She was used to flesh out the characters of Johnny Chambers (her ex-husband) and Jesse Chambers (their daughter). The Liberty Belle was ranked 63rd in ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Fictional character history

= Early history

= ''All-Star Squadron'' #61 (September 1986) is the first true Post-''Crisis'' issue of that comic which chronicled the origin of the Liberty Belle. Libby Lawrence wins the American Intercollegiate Girls Athletic Tournament and receives a bell-shaped medal made from a piece of the original

. Years later, she becomes a member of the American team at the

1936 Olympics 1936 Olympics may refer to: *The 1936 Winter Olympics, which were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany *The 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where she wins gold medals for competitive

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

=World War II

= When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

begins in 1939, the young Libby Lawrence is in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

acting as personal secretary to her father, Major James Lawrence. Her father is killed in a Nazi air raid and with the help of Rick Cannon, Libby begins a journey across Nazi occupied Europe gathering important intelligence along the way. At Dunkirk, she swims the English Channel to bring the information to the Allies. Libby is received with a ticker-tape parade on New York's Fifth Avenue and is shortly thereafter given work at a daily news syndicate, and then as a radio reporter, and she even has a television program (suspended only after the events at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

).''All-Star Squadron'' #61 (September 1986) In the autumn of 1941, Libby is living in her hometown of

. She rescues Rick Cannon, whom she thought to be a spy himself, from

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

saboteurs. Now a mystery-woman, the Liberty Belle becomes involved in the founding of the All-Star Squadron. On December 8, 1941 she is present, with a handful of other mystery-men, in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

when President Roosevelt announces his order that the

mobilize all American costumed heroes into a single unit, an

, responsible directly to the President. Their first mission is to fly to the West Coast, search out any saboteurs and prevent a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese attack on the U.S. mainland. They find the JSA have been captured by the time travelling villain

Per Degaton Per Degaton is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A young version of the character was portrayed by Cory Grüter-Andrew on the first season of ''Legends of Tomorrow'', while an unknown actor portrayed his ol ...

, who is planning to change the events in an attempt at world domination. They stopped this, though when Per Degaton went back to 1947, they forgot his involvement. Soon after, the core members of the All-Star Squadron, including Libby, begin the process of electing other mystery-men for membership. During the meeting, the matter of electing a permanent chairman is decided by secret ballot, and the Liberty Belle receives the majority vote. Days later, Libby returns to Philadelphia to visit with her friend Tom Revere.

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...

is attacked by

Baron Blitzkrieg Baron Blitzkrieg is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, originally residing on Earth-Two. He first appeared in ''World's Finest Comics'' #246 (August–September 1977). His first several appearances marked a ...

Zyklon Zyklon was a Norwegian blackened death metal band formed in 1998 by Samoth and Trym of Emperor, along with members of Myrkskog. Their style has been described as modern death metal with black and industrial undertones. After more than a two-y ...

and Major Zwerg. In the battle, Tom Revere is killed while Major Zwerg is badly injured, the two other Nazi agents escape with the Liberty Bell. After learning that Blitzkrieg wanted the Liberty Bell to restore his sight, Libby gets to her base in a church with the help of

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

. Lightning strikes the Bell, the Baron regains his sight and escapes and Libby gains the ability to manipulate sound waves. On April 1, 1942, Libby marries Johnny Chambers in Boston. Libby continues to lead the All-Star Squadron in DC's series published in the 1980s but set during World War II: ''

'' and ''

''.

=Later history

= At some point after the war, Libby retires as a mystery-woman. Later still, she and Johnny have a child whom they name Jesse and begin raising a family. Libby finally breaks up with Johnny as he founds his company called ''Quick-Start''; the divorce soon follows. It is during this painful divorce that daughter Jesse uses her father's speed formula for the first time. Libby later becomes extremely bitter about the costumed-adventurer business. Libby puts on her costume again during the ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...

''. Libby is fighting against

and other members of the

Society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

when her powers fail. She goes to Philadelphia and attempts to increase her power levels by repeatedly ringing the Liberty Bell; however, this does not work and the Liberty Belle is trapped on the Bell, which is producing damage via sonic waves. The JSA try to help her and in the end she is saved by Stargirl. A short time after the events of the ''

Brightest Day ''Brightest Day'' is a 2010–11 crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of a year-long comic book maxiseries that began in April 2010, and a number of tie-in books. The story is a direct follow-up to the ''Blackest Night'' storyli ...

'' crossover, Libby returns to superheroics after being recruited by the Manhunter to help the JSA battle a villain named Scythe. Writer

Marc Guggenheim Marc Guggenheim (born September 24, 1970) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer, and novelist. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), ''Arrow'' (2012– 2020), and ''Lege ...

explained that having Libby return to the Liberty Belle identity was suggested to him by James Robinson after Libby's daughter returned to the Jesse Quick identity and joined the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

. In the pages of " Dark Nights: Death Metal", Libby is revealed to be entombed in the Valhalla Cemetery. Batman later revived her with a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of deceased fiction ...

power ring.

Jesse Chambers

Jesse Chambers is the second woman in the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

to assume the identity of the Liberty Belle. As discussed earlier, she is the daughter of the Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick, having inherited her mother's powers. She combines those powers of enhanced strength, agility, reflexes and stamina with her father's speed, which is invoked by reciting a mathematical formula. Realizing her powers, she joins the JSA in its third incarnation. Although originally known as the speedster ''Jesse Quick'', in December 2006 she debuted as the second Liberty Belle. Jesse marries the second

Hourman Hourman or Hour-Man is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original Hourman was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in '' Adventure Comics'' #48 (March 1940), during ...

, Rick Tyler, and they work as a duo within the Justice Society, until the team splits into a smaller Justice Society and a new incarnation of the All-Stars. In 2010, she joins the

Charlton Comics

A backup feature in Charlton's ''

E-Man E-Man is a comic-book character, a superhero created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton for the American company Charlton Comics in 1973. Although the character's original series was short-lived, the lightly humorous hero has become a cu ...

'' #5 (November 1974), Caroline Dean, the second Liberty Belle, was a red-white-and-blue heroine who helps out on an American rocket launch.

Joe Gill Joseph P. Gill (July 13, 1919 – December 17, 2006)Social Security Death Inde ...

scripted, with industry legend

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

supplying the art.

Other versions

Earth-51

Libby Lawrence-Chambers is President of the United States on this Earth, and is referred to as the former Liberty Belle.

Amalgam Comics

In the

Amalgam Comics Amalgam Comics was a collaborative publishing imprint shared by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones (e.g., DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comics' Wolverine become the Amalgam C ...

universe, the American Belle is an amalgamation of DC's Liberty Belle and

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. The American Belle is a member of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era All-Star Winners Squadron (an amalgamation of DC's

and Marvel's

All-Winners Squad The All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company's first such team, it first appeared in ''All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Co ...

). She appears in ''Super-Soldier: Man of War'' #1 (June 1997).

In other media

* Libby Lawrence is one of the many names that

Eobard Thawne Eobard Thawne, otherwise known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in '' The ...

mentions when guessing

Nora West-Allen ''The Flash'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character the Flash. The series premiered on The CW television network in the United States on October 7, 2014, ...

's name in the 100th episode of the live action series ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

''. * The Liberty Belle is referred to in the '' Wonder Woman at Super Hero High'' e-book as one of the teachers in Super Hero High. * The Liberty Belle is mentioned in the video game ''

Injustice 2 ''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting game, fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice (franchise), Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed ...

'' in one of

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...

's fighting intro quotes.

References

External links

Liberty Belle
(1942) at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

. (1942) at

Archived
from the original on October 25, 2015.
Liberty Belle
at The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe. * {{GoldenAge Articles about multiple fictional characters Golden Age superheroes Charlton Comics superheroes DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics American superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1942 Earth-Two Fictional bodyguards Fictional characters from Philadelphia Fictional reporters Fictional secretaries Fictional presidents of the United States Fictional competitive swimmers Fictional women soldiers and warriors United States-themed superheroes Fictional Olympic competitors