Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis)

Crimson Avenger
The Golden Age Crimson Avenger, from Detective Comics #22, December 1938. Art by Jim Chambers.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #20 (October, 1938)
Created by	Jim Chambers
In-story information
Alter ego	Lee Walter Travis
Team affiliations	Seven Soldiers of Victory All-Star Squadron
Abilities	Olympic-level athlete Highly skilled hand to hand combatant Use of gas gun

The Crimson Avenger (Lee Walter Travis) is a masked crime fighter in the DC Comics Universe and the first to use the name "Crimson Avenger." He first appears in Detective Comics #20 (October 1938) - thus being DC's first masked hero - and was created by Jim Chambers.

The Crimson Avenger had many similarities to The Green Hornet, including a sidekick named Wing who was an Asian valet, and a gas gun that he used to subdue opponents. In his early appearances he dressed in a red trenchcoat, a fedora, with a red mask covering his face; except for the red, he was visually similar to The Shadow. Later, when superheroes became more popular than costumed vigilantes, his costume was changed to a more standard superhero outfit, consisting of red tights, yellow boots, trunks and crest, and a "sun" symbol which was recently revealed to be a stylized bullet hole. The Crimson Avenger made his first appearance as a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory in Leading Comics #1 (December 1941).

Two separate accounts of the Crimson Avenger's origins have been printed which complement each other in some areas, but contradict in others. The first origin story appeared in Secret Origins #5, and was written by Roy Thomas, with art by Gene Colan. Taking place in late October 1938, it relates the history of Lee Walter Travis, a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, and the young publisher of the Globe-Leader, a paper devoted to progressive causes, such as the support of war victims in Asia. A hard working and forward thinking publisher, Travis nevertheless seemed devoted to selling newspapers and his place in the social set, qualities which did not go unnoticed by fellow journalist Claudia Barker, who was interviewing Travis for Downtowner magazine, and Wing How, Travis' valet and chauffeur. Wing in particular was gently vocal in his distaste for wealthy Americans' predilection for solving problems like the war in Asia with parties and charity events.