Commander Columbia

Commander Columbia is a popular superhero (or as her creator has called her, an 'American Jupiter') originating from the United Republics. Created by artist and writer Samantha Waver, she first premiered in the eponymous animated film Commander Columbia in 1939, as part of a double-bill with the film Mission To China the same year. The film (and it's numerous sequels) were produced by the animation collective Ruby Orchestra under Waver's direction. The character and her world, named the 'Rubyverse' or 'Waver-verse' by fans, have since spawned numerous pieces of media including comic books, toys, spin-off films and television series, and popular video games.

Character Biograpy
Commander Columbia's true identity is Amanda Aaron, a young American girl left orphaned by the White Army during the Second American Civil War. Filled with both sorrow and a sense of duty, she travels to join up with the Red Army, in the process encountering what would be her lifelong friends and companions: Vladimir Volkov, a Soviet volunteer, Xian Jia, a Chinese girl, and Hector Morales, a Mexican youth. While in New York, Amanda finds a curious object among some rubble: an ornate box. Aaron, headstrong and curious by nature, opens the box to see what is inside only to discover that she has in fact opened the famous Pandora's Box of greco-roman myth. The box itself is imbued with great power, in particular the power of the Gods of Olympus. Seeking to create a new pantheon for the modern age, the box judges Amanda and her friends to be the embodiment of their countrys' revolutionary spirit, granting them great power to fight the enemies of socialism, liberty, and peace for all mankind.

Amanda does not take to her powers immediately, struggling at first to learn her abilities and her limits, compounded with Amanda's hot-hotheadedness.

In the years afterwards, Amanda would grow into adulthood, gain new allies and adversaries, fall in and out of love, and continue her battle to safeguard the revolution.

Character Description
Although Columbia has gone through numerous versions and re-designs over the years, her essential backstory and physical characteristics remain constant.

Amanda is portrayed as a red-headed, green-eyed young woman born out of the chaos of the Second American Civil War. As such, she reflects the idealized vision of the new Proletarian American youth: Strong, smart, independent, socially conscious, and committed to justice and the socialist cause. She is also reflective of the Comintern's (particularly the United Republics') view of sexuality: Amanda is described as having a sexual appetite that is 'Jovian' in nature, being very generous with her affection. This is tempered with a strong belief in consent, differentiating her from her male mythological counterpart (Jupiter). This aspect of her character is now quite common, but in the beginning this was only hinted at due to early twentieth century cultural constraints. Whereas in the early films her sexual openness was mostly shown through innuendo (famously expressed through her flirty dialogue and loving gaze with her female friend Hua in Peril in Chonquing (1943), by the 1950s she was openly kissing and seen in bed with several different comrades of either sex (and even alien friends she would make in space).

When going into battle as Commander Columbia, she dons a suit of scarlet and gold armor that is reminiscent of the armor worn by ancient Greek and Roman soldiers: Red and gold torso armor that simulates abdominal muscles, red pteruges in the style of the Romans, shoulder pads, a pair of red-winged gold boots, armored leggings, gloves and sleeves, and a red and gold helmet in the style of the Spartan and Roman legions. She is armed with her primary weapons: a crimson spear, and a shield bearing the crest of the United Republics, with a gladius sword as a secondary weapon.. Her breastplate will often be emblazoned with the image of a raven (the official bird of the United Republics).

As she is the contemporary incarnation of a god, she is gifted with numerous preternatural abilities. In her Commander Columbia persona, she is imbued with super strength, the ability to fly, the power to control lightening, and the power of sorcery.