Origin 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 appeared in
Secret Origins #5 (August 1986), and was written by
Roy Thomas, with art by
Gene Colan. Lee Walter Travis, the young publisher of the
Globe-Leader newspaper, attends a costume ball on Halloween in 1938. This is the night of
Orson Welles' broadcast of
The War of the Worlds and — having gotten advance notice of the radio show — a group of criminals dressed in alien-like costumes take advantage of the ensuing panic to rob the party guests. The villains murder a young journalist and Travis is enraged, going after the costumed thieves and exchanging gunfire. Travis drives the thieves into a ditch and disappears before the police arrive, now inspired to become the Crimson Avenger. The use of Orson Welles'
War of the Worlds in the story was inspired by the fact that the Crimson Avenger's first comic book appearance was dated October 1938, the same month as the radio broadcast. The second, extended origin appeared in
Golden Age Secret Files & Origins #1 (2001). In this version, Lee Travis was a war-weary man of the world trying to forget the horrors of the Wars and seek some inner peace of mind. To this end he briefly settled in the mystical city of
Nanda Parbat. There, he was shown the future career of
Superman by the goddess
Rama Kushna. Superman's deeds and selflessness inspired Lee to rededicate his own talents, and Superman's death at the hands of
Doomsday galvanized Lee to spend his life honoring Superman's memory, years before he was even born. When Lee returned to civilization, he found that nearly ten years had gone by for the rest of the world, at which point he took to the streets as the Crimson, and later the Crimson Avenger. Superman's appearance as the first costumed hero in
Action Comics #1 is credited as the beginning of the Golden Age of Comics, but this was removed from continuity during the
Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Crimson Avengers's second origin re-establishes Superman as the inspiration for all costumed crime-fighters.
1988 mini series In 1988, the Crimson Avenger appeared in a four-issue miniseries by
Roy and
Dann Thomas, Greg Brooks, and
Mike Gustovich. Set shortly after the Crimson Avenger's debut in the latter days of 1938, the story revolves around the growing global hostilities preceding
World War II. The Crimson Avenger finds himself in the middle of a plot he does not grasp, with enigmatic foreign women, strange objects, and shadowy conspirators weaving around him. This series was a 50th anniversary celebration of the character's debut and of all mystery-men in general.
Final days In a one shot story named "Whatever Happened to the Crimson Avenger?" featured in
DC Comics Presents #38 (October 1981), Lee Travis finds out that he is suffering from an incurable terminal disease. In his hospital room brooding on his situation, Travis spots a ship blinking
SOS with its lights. Travis dons his suit one last time and heads out to investigate. He discovers the ship was taken over by criminals seeking to steal its cargo of unstable chemical waste and the captain was trying to summon help. Travis engages the criminals but is unable to prevent a grenade from starting a fire that threatens to cause a massive explosion. Knowing he is dying anyway, the Avenger makes the crew abandon ship while he pilots the ship to a safe distance and is killed, with the satisfaction he is going out in a heroic fashion. ==Powers and abilities==