# Crimson Avenger
The Crimson Avenger is a masked crime fighter appearing in American comic books published by [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), created by Jim Chambers and first appearing in [Detective Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/detective-comics) #20 (October 1938) as one of DC's earliest costumed heroes[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29). The original and best-known bearer of the name is Lee Walter Travis, a New York newspaper publisher who fought crime with his chauffeur Wing, and the name has since passed to two successors, Albert Elwood and Jill Carlyle[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) • [2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Detective Comics #20 (October 1938), created by Jim Chambers[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) |
| Original identity | Lee Walter Travis, publisher of the New York Globe-Leader, based in New York City[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) |
| Signature equipment | A gas gun emitting red sleeping gas, used alongside his partner Wing[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html) |
| Team affiliations | Seven Soldiers of Victory (from Leading Comics #1, Winter 1941/1942) and the All-Star Squadron[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) • [2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html) |
| Golden Age run | Detective Comics feature from 1938 until cancellation with issues cover dated August 1944[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html) |
| Death | Sacrificed his life to save New York in DC Comics Presents #38 (October 1981)[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) |
| Successor | Jill Carlyle, created by Geoff Johns, fully introduced in JSA #33 (April 2002)[3](https://dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Jill_Carlyle%29) |
## Golden Age career
The character debuted in the "Block Buster" feature in Detective Comics #20 as "the Crimson," a vigilante in a heavy overcoat, fedora, and domino mask who carried a gas gun[4](https://pbagalleries.com/lot-details/index/catalog/680/lot/222765?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F680%3Fpage%3D2%26view%3Dgrid). His secret identity was Lee Travis, a newspaperman who used his position to get the latest scoops and follow up on those requiring vigilante justice[4](https://pbagalleries.com/lot-details/index/catalog/680/lot/222765?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F680%3Fpage%3D2%26view%3Dgrid). He later adopted the name Crimson Avenger[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29).
**Timing of the debut.** The Crimson Avenger appeared between Superman and Batman, in the period before the conventions of the superhero genre had been fully established[5](https://www.newacademia.com/uploads/catalogerfiles/super-heroes-from-hercules-to-superman/Excerpt_3_.pdf). One account places him four months after Superman and four months before Batman[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html), while another places his debut five months after Superman and seven issues before Batman's first appearance in the same title[6](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/06/18/justice-league-of-america-100-august-1972/). He is described as National's (DC's) first masked hero[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html), and a DC Comics Year By Year account quoted by Heritage Auctions calls him the first masked crime fighter in comics[4](https://pbagalleries.com/lot-details/index/catalog/680/lot/222765?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F680%3Fpage%3D2%26view%3Dgrid).
**Model and influences.** The Crimson was styled after the popular radio hero the [Green Hornet](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-hornet), whose adventures began in January 1936. Both characters were wealthy newspaper publishers and employed Asian chauffeurs adept at martial arts, Wing in the Crimson's case mirroring the Green Hornet's Kato; the early tales wrote Wing with ethnic stereotypes now considered offensive[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html). The character earned modest popularity, taking over the cover of Detective Comics #22 in December 1938, one of only two covers he received in the title[4](https://pbagalleries.com/lot-details/index/catalog/680/lot/222765?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F680%3Fpage%3D2%26view%3Dgrid) • [2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html).
**Evolution and cancellation.** As superheroes rose in popularity, the Crimson exchanged his suit, cape, and hat for a colorful skin-tight uniform in Detective Comics #44 (October 1940), and he and Wing joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory in Leading Comics #1 (Winter 1941/1942)[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html). His Detective Comics feature ended even before the Soldiers' run in Leading Comics finished: with issues cover dated August 1944, National Periodical Publications cut page counts from 60 to 52 and canceled one superhero feature from every anthology comic, and the Crimson Avenger became a footnote in [Golden Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age) history[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html).
## Revival, origin, and death
The character lay dormant until the Seven Soldiers of Victory were revived in Justice League of America #100 (August 1972), a story that retroactively explained that the team had been lost in history[6](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/06/18/justice-league-of-america-100-august-1972/) • [7](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/crimson-avenger.html).
**A late origin story.** Like most Golden Age heroes, the Crimson Avenger originally had little or no back-story. [Roy Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-thomas), the comics writer and editor known for his work on Golden Age revivals, wrote an origin for Secret Origins vol. 2 #5 (August 1986) and continued it in a four-issue Crimson Avenger limited series in 1988; a second account in Golden Age Secret Files #1 (February 2001) added details while partly contradicting the first[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html) • [8](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/crimson-avenger/4005-11175/). In this telling, Travis's desire for justice was awakened by a mystical vision of the future in the Himalayan city of [Nanda Parbat](https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-parbat), and he turned to crimefighting after witnessing a murder at a costumed ball[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29).
**Death.** In DC Comics Presents #38 (October 1981), the story "Whatever Happened to the Crimson Avenger?" revealed that when the Seven Soldiers were rescued by the [Justice League](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-league) and Justice Society, Travis discovered he was dying of an incurable disease, and he became the Crimson Avenger one last time, sacrificing his life to save New York[1](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29) • [9](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29_Chronology). Within DC continuity he came to be regarded as the figure who inspired all subsequent masked heroes[10](https://toonopedia.com/crimson.htm).
## Successors
**Albert Elwood.** In World's Finest Comics #131 (February 1963), eccentric inventor Albert Elwood adopted the Crimson Avenger's guise to help Superman, Batman, and [Robin](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-character) against the Octopus Gang, mentioning he had "taken the name of a former lawman." This Earth-One version was erased from continuity by [Crisis on Infinite Earths](https://www.edgepedia.org/crisis-on-infinite-earths) (1985–1986)[11](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Albert_Elwood_%28Earth-One%29).
**Jill Carlyle.** The third Crimson Avenger, Jill Carlyle, was created by [Geoff Johns](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoff-johns) and hinted at in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (April 2000) before her full appearance in JSA #33 (April 2002)[3](https://dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Jill_Carlyle%29). She was briefly a member of the [Justice Society of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-society-of-america) before returning to her life as an avenger, and was last seen during [Infinite Crisis](https://www.edgepedia.org/infinite-crisis)[12](https://worldofblackheroes.com/2012/04/25/crimson-avenger/). In one story she stalked the Justice Society's Wildcat before condemning the hero for the death of Charles Durham[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html).
## Other versions and adaptations
A Prime Earth version of Lee Travis first appeared in [Dark Nights: Death Metal](https://www.edgepedia.org/dark-nights-death-metal) #5 (January 2021) and died in Stargirl Spring Break Special #1 (July 2021)[13](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lee_Travis_%28Prime_Earth%29). [The New 52](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-52) continuity featured a rebooted Lee Travis as a female African American reporter borrowing features from Jill Carlyle[8](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/crimson-avenger/4005-11175/).
In animation, the Crimson Avenger appeared in the [DC Animated Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-animated-universe)'s Justice League Unlimited as a reserve Justice League member, first appearing in the episode "This Little Piggy"[14](https://dcanimated.com/jlu/jlu-bios/jlu-bios-crimsonavenger/). He also featured in the 1990s series Sandman Mystery Theatre, where a chance encounter with the Sandman and Hourman was depicted[2](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html).
## References
1. [Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis), DCU Guide](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29)
2. [The Crimson Avenger and Wing, Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/crimson-avenger.html)
3. [Crimson Avenger (Jill Carlyle), DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Jill_Carlyle%29)
4. [Detective Comics #20 lot description, Heritage Auctions](https://pbagalleries.com/lot-details/index/catalog/680/lot/222765?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F680%3Fpage%3D2%26view%3Dgrid)
5. [Super Heroes from Hercules to Superman, excerpt, New Academia Publishing](https://www.newacademia.com/uploads/catalogerfiles/super-heroes-from-hercules-to-superman/Excerpt_3_.pdf)
6. [Justice League of America #100 (August 1972), Attack of the 50 Year Old Comic Books](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/06/18/justice-league-of-america-100-august-1972/)
7. [The Crimson Avenger's Comic History, DC Continuity Project](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/crimson-avenger.html)
8. [Crimson Avenger (Travis), Comic Vine](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/crimson-avenger/4005-11175/)
9. [Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis) Chronology, DCU Guide](https://www.dcuguide.com/Crimson_Avenger_%28Lee_Travis%29_Chronology)
10. [The Crimson Avenger, Don Markstein's Toonopedia](https://toonopedia.com/crimson.htm)
11. [Albert Elwood (Earth-One), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Albert_Elwood_%28Earth-One%29)
12. [Crimson Avenger (Character), WorldofBlackHeroes](https://worldofblackheroes.com/2012/04/25/crimson-avenger/)
13. [Lee Travis (Prime Earth), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lee_Travis_%28Prime_Earth%29)
14. [Crimson Avenger, The World's Finest DCAU bios](https://dcanimated.com/jlu/jlu-bios/jlu-bios-crimsonavenger/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › DC Comics characters › Justice League and other DC heroes › Titles A to I*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license