History
Geoffrey Vandergill lived in the New York City during World War II and joined Captain America's Sentinels of Liberty youth group. He met Captain America's sidekick Bucky and become part of the Young Allies a group of wartime youths who would work to fight Nazi spies and other menaces to America during World War II.
Pre-Face: Truth and Fiction[]
It has been revealed that a lot of the Young Allies wartime adventures were made into a comic book as propaganda for the United States to earn support in the war effort, especially among young impressionable people. The comic book, while based on true events, were often times embellished and sensationalized.
Further, to "protect" the identities of the Young Allies (however, in later years, Bucky would suspect it was to avoid having to pay out royalties for the use of their likenesses), they were all portrayed as caricatures of themselves, and young adolescents around the age of 12, while in real life they were in their late teens to early adulthood and eventually became old enough to enlist in the military and see action in the battle field.[1] In these comics Geoffrey was portrayed as "Jeff", the brains of the group. Geoff appeared to have no problem with his depiction in these stories.
The fictional accounts of the Young Allies are the most complete record of their activities during World War II, however how much of these tales are fiction and how much are truth have yet to be completely chronicled. For the purposes of clarity between what is known to be fully factual and what is regarded as sensationalized fiction, both will be addressed separately in this profile.
Real Life History[]
Shortly after the formation of the Young Allies, Geoff joined his comrades in smashing a Nazi spy ring in New York leading to a clash with the Red Skull. The youths would be assisted by the timely arrival of Captain America and the Human Torch.[1]
In 1943, Jeff and the Young Allies were sent to Hollywood California for a war bond drive. The rally was soon marred by an panic caused by Bucky and Toro's foe Lady Lotus, and they soon broke up the panic.[3] Jeff and his friends were then ordered by the military to report to Democracy Pictures to participate in a film that was in support of the war. They were once more targeted by Lady Lotus who hypnotized actors to attack them, and then took Toro under her control.[4] Capturing the team, Lady Lotus hypnotized the rest of the group and as part of her plan to take over the American west coast sent the group in a B-17 and P-40 to attack Muroc Army Airfield. However, Washington Jones snapped out of Lady Lotus' control and managed to help the others break free from her mind control.[5] They got the air field's participation in a ruse that made it appear their attack was a success. Pretending to still be under the control of Lady Lotus, the Young Allies got close enough to attack her. During the battle, Toro managed to knock a crystal that Lotus was using to boost her powers and it was subsequently swallowed up by the Earth. Lady Lotus then fled, vowing to get revenge against the Young Allies someday.[6]
Coming of age, Geoff and his fellow Young Ally Henry Tinkelbaum became members of the Office of Strategic Services (the wartime precursor to the CIA). In 1944, Geoff reunited with his fellow Young Allies when they all had some downtime. Meeting in France, the Young Allies had their festivities cut short when Geoff spotted German operative Hauptman Kleinschmidt. With himself and Henry using their spy skills to pose as the operatives that Kleinschmidt and his minions were waiting to report to, they provided ample distraction for the rest of the Young Allies to ambush the spies, leading to Kleinschmidt's ultimate death.[1]
This was the last time the Young Allies would fight together, but they all stayed in touch over the years.
Fictional History[]
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"Jeff" circa 1941
For a detailed account of the fictional history of Jeff Vandergill see the Fictional History of the Young Allies.
After the War[]
After the war, Geoffrey remained with the OSS and was active after it became the CIA. He continued to serve his country until he was reported as killed in action fighting in Indochina (modern day Vietnam). His body was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.[1]See Also
- 42 appearance(s) of Geoffrey Vandergill (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Geoffrey Vandergill (Earth-616)
- 30 image(s) of Geoffrey Vandergill (Earth-616)