Liberty Belle (comics)

Liberty Belle
Libby Lawrence as Liberty Belle in Young All-Stars #9 drawn by Brian Murray and Malcolm Jones III
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Boy Commandos #1 (Winter 1942)
Created by	Don Cameron Chuck Winter
In-story information
Alter ego	Elizabeth "Libby" Belle Lawrence Chambers
Team affiliations	All-Star Squadron
Abilities	Enhanced speed, strength, stamina, and sonic vibrational pulses Exceptional hand to hand combatant

Liberty Belle is the name of three fictional superheroines. Two are from DC Comics: Libby Lawrence and Jesse Chambers, the other is from Charlton Comics: Caroline Dean.

The first Liberty Belle was Libby Lawrence. Her powers of enhanced speed, strength, and stamina were linked to the ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. 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 and retarded aging, 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 and General Glory. Most of 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. 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. After the war, they had a daughter, Jesse, who shared both their powers and took the codename Jesse Quick. Libby Lawrence is a descendant of Bess Lynn, alias Miss Liberty.

This character appeared in several publications. Liberty Belle debuted in Boy Commandos #1 (Winter, 1942/1943). After her second appearance in Boy Commandos #2 (Spring, 1943), the character thereafter appeared in Star Spangled Comics #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 #193. The self-described "conceptualizer" of the book was its writer Roy Thomas. He chose to include Liberty Belle in this World War Two 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 Liberty Belle was chosen to stand in for Wonder Woman. All-Star Squadron lasted sixty-seven issues with the last being published in 1987.