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Citizen V

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Citizen V
Helmut Zemo as Citizen V.
Art by Mark Bagley.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance
  • John Watkins:
    Daring Mystery Comics #8 (January 1942)
  • Helmut Zemo:
    The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997)
  • Dallas Riordan:
    Thunderbolts #16 (July 1998)
  • Paulette Brazee:
    Captain America & Citizen V Annual (January 1999); (Citizen V) Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1 (March 2002)
  • John Watkins III:
    Thunderbolts #45 (December 2000)
  • John Watkins Jr.:
    Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #2 (May 2002)
  • Roberto da Costa:
    U.S.Avengers #1 (January 2017)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoJohn Watkins
Team affiliations
Notable aliases
  • Paulette Brazee:
    She-Wolf
  • John Watkins III:
    Nenad Petrovic
  • John Watkins Jr.:
    J.J.

Citizen V is the codename of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Timely Comics. The original incarnation was an obscure hero from the Golden Age of Comic Books, but the identity was revived in the modern Marvel Comics storylines, usually affiliated with the V-Battalion organization. The "V" in the character's and group's name is the letter "V" - as opposed to the Roman numeral 5 - and is derived from the World War II-era slogan "V for Victory".

Fictional character biography

John Watkins

John Watkins was an Englishman who assisted the resistance in Nazi-occupied France.[1] The original version of Citizen V, he led the V-Battalion, a group of freedom fighters. He was killed in action by Baron Zemo,[2] and various others took up the Citizen V identity.[3]

Helmut Zemo

Main article: Helmut Zemo

The supervillain Helmut Zemo took the Citizen V name for his imposture as a superhero during different occasions involving the Thunderbolts.[4]

Dallas Riordan

Main article: Dallas Riordan

Dallas Riordan takes the Citizen V mantle due to her paternal grandfather, a member of the V-Battalion that stayed in Europe after WWII until his death on a mission for the group.[5]

Paulette Brazee

Paulette Brazee was the French lover of John Watkins, mother of JJ Watkins and grandmother of John Watkin III. During the war, she was She-Wolf, a spy sent to romance Baron Zemo. Paulette betrayed Zemo and eventually discovered she was pregnant. When John and the majority of the V-Battalion were slaughtered by Zemo, the remaining survivors had Paulette smuggled to England where Paulette met a red-headed soldier who she married. After the V-Battalion's reconstitution in 1951, Paulette was the second chronological version behind the Citizen V role as the V-Battalion began hunting down Nazi war criminals and was allowed to place their secret headquarters Castle Masada in Symkaria. In 1953, Paulette was sent on a mission to Argentina to find Nazi scientist Johann Weimer and bring the scientist to the V-Battalion so the group could use the Nazi's skills. Despite Paulette's efforts, Weimer was murdered by one of the Everlasting, a group of gods who had frequent run-ins with the V-Battalion.[6]

John Watkins Jr.

John "JJ" Watkins Jr. was the alleged son of John Watkins Sr and Paulette Brazee;[7] an affair between the latter and Baron Zemo had been implied. His father died before he was born and his mother was often away on V-Battalion missions during his childhood, JJ was presumably born in 1944 as he was nine years old in 1953, and was primarily raised by the group's employed nannies. The third known version behind the Citizen V persona, JJ asked the Shadow King for help in researching the Everlasting in 1971. JJ died when his own son was two years old.[6]

John Watkins III

John Watkins III had presumably served as a field agent for the V-Battalion before he actually took the Citizen V title and was left comatose for five years. When Helmut Zemo's mind was placed in his body, John was remarkably healthy for someone who had been in a bed for five years. When Helmut was no longer in his body, John decided to change costumes and stayed on as the fourth known version behind the Citizen V alias (yet is the seventh iteration in-universe[8]). He soon found himself fighting the Everlasting. He installed ULTIMATUM as the leader of the country Rumekistan, a decision which later came back to haunt him. Under the holographic guise of Nenad Petrovic, Watkins orchestrated events to make Cable leader of Rumekistan.

Roberto da Costa

Main article: Sunspot (comics)

Roberto da Costa began to lead the U.S.Avengers under the Citizen V alias when Avengers Idea Mechanics merged with the U.S. government to be the American Intelligence Mechanics.[9]

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

An Ultimate Marvel iteration of Citizen V is depicted in Ultimate Origins. A normal GI dressed in a special uniform, an American super-soldier rallies his men in the face of a Japanese onslaught in 1942. However, the soldier is shot and killed; his blood staining the American flag. A photograph of this image is released around the world to which President Franklin Roosevelt demands a true super-soldier from advisors rather than a normal soldier wearing a special uniform. The character's real name is never mentioned but he's confirmed to be John Watkins.[10]

References

  1. ^ Daring Mystery Comics #8
  2. ^ Thunderbolts -1 (July 1997)
  3. ^ Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1 (March 2002)
  4. ^ Thunderbolts #1 (April 1997)
  5. ^ Thunderbolts #42 (September 2000)
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Citizen V and the V-Battalion Everlasting #1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Captain America/Citizen V Annual (January 1999)
  8. ^ Citizen V vol. 2
  9. ^ U.S.Avengers #1 (January 2017)
  10. ^ Ultimate Origins #1 (June 2008)
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