The Phantom.
If there was ever a tale that caught the attention of children after World War II, it was the tale of the Phantom. A tale, mind you. Not a piece of history.
Captain America... Now, he was a superhero story. Captain Steven Rogers was remembered in movies, comic strips, museums, and much, much more. He was a legend. A fallen hero.
Samantha Clarence was a myth.
Too few believed that a woman dared infiltrate the army ranks. No one could wrap their minds around a superhuman who could bend dimensions to her will. People dismissed the idea that once upon a time, a ghost had helped turn the tides of the war against Hydra.
No, Samantha Clarence ceased to exist the day she vanished into the night. Her team, the Howling Commandos, had been without answers. They'd mourned for her with Captain America.
During the nineteenth century, she was never seen again.
Even if rumor claimed differently.
Because a faceless ghost who traveled from nation to nation, uprooting Hydra, fighting corrupt organizations, and saving innocents from times of pain and strife, was just that. A ghost.
And ghosts didn't exist.
But when the twentieth century began its mark and the SSR became known as SHIELD, its people started to wonder. What happened to the Phantom? Where did she go? And why did the records just... end?
Samantha Clarence... she died.
She'd been dead since 1945.
But between name changes, new locations, and running from her own shadow, The Phantom's survived. Not only survived, but thrived. For quite a few years, at least.
Slowly, though, she faded off the job of 'superhero'. Especially when the last Commando fell in combat. She went quiet. A sort of sorrowful retirement, if you will.
Until 2012, when a new threat looms on the horizon. SHIELD Director Nick Fury goes searching for the legendary Phantom. Because he can use all the help he can get. And at this point... the world could use another superhero.
Even if it comes in the form of a ghost story.
BOOK TWO WILL BE RELEASED AT SOME POINT BECAUSE YOUR AUTHOR HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S DOING. OR... SORT OF AN IDEA. SHE'S TRYING, SHE SWEARS.
Oh... also: