First Appearance: Thunderbolts #40 (July 2000).
Appearances: Thunderbolts #40, Citizen V & the V-Battalion v1 #1-3, v2 #1-4.
Years Active: 1941-present.

The V-Battalion was originally a group of guerrillas, led by Citizen V, who fought in occupied Europe, in France and later in Poland. After the death of the original Citizen V the V-Battalion disbanded or was killed (it's not yet clear which).

After World War Two ended Roger Aubrey, the Destroyer, met with the All-Winners Squad and "decided to create a superhuman fighting force on an international scale." In 1951 he formed the second V-Battalion, and since then the group has been covertly fighting villains and criminals across the globe. They are based in the Eastern European nation of Symkaria, operating from Castle Masada, and are led by the Penance Council.

Besides the various troops who make up the V-Battalion's grunts, the membership of the V-Battalion's Penance Council consists of:

• Bucky (II), aka Fred Davis.
• Citizen V (II), aka John Watkins III, the grandson of the original.
• The Destroyer, aka Roger Aubrey.
• Goldfire, aka Ameiko Sabuki, the solar-powered granddaughter of Golden Girl (II). She is the daughter of Kenji Sabuki, the Golden Sun.
• Iron Cross, aka Helmut Gruler.
• Isadora Martinez, who is described in issue #2 as a "Spanish Businesswoman. Saved by the Sub-Mariner during WW2 when she was a baby, Isadora's mother, Irene Martinez, decided to devote her family's huge fortune to the V-Battalion's cause. Isadora was raised apart from the V-Battalion and is rarely present in the Vanguard, attending to the group's business and financial requirements 'in the outside world.'"
• Nuklo, aka Robert Frank, Jr., the nuclear-powered son of the Whizzer and Miss America. According to issue #2 Nuklo was only recently given a place on the Penance Council "out of respect to both his parents."
• Silver Scorpion, aka Elizabeth Barstow.
• Topspin, aka Darren Mitchell, the whirlwind-like grandson of Human Top (II). Issue #2 describes him this way: "Grandson of the original Human Top, Darren's powers skipped a generation, by-passing his father, who had tried using mechanical means to simulate the powers of the Human Top (and presumably was "Twister" for a short time), but eventually decided to serve the V-Battalion in a scientific capacity."

In the past the Golden Sun was a member of the Penance Council; her death in battle presumably occurred while serving the V-Battalion. The original membership of the Penance Council included: Roger Aubrey, Brian Falsworth (aka Union Jack (II)), Thomas Holloway (the Angel), Robert Frank (Whizzer), Madeleine Joyce (Miss America), Elizabeth Barstow, Helmut Gruler, Irene Martinez, Hijiri "Sam" Sabuki (the great-grandfather to Goldfire), and Reb Ralston (former member of Sgt. Fury's Howling Commandos).

Most tantalizingly, issue #2 of the first Citizen V miniseries showed a montage of "secret tales of the V-Battalion." These stories, which I hope will one day be revealed, are:

• "They Walk Among Us," involving a crashed Skrull spaceship, which involved the V-Battalion keeping "deadly alien technology out of the wrong hands." The V-Battalion members involved in that story were the Destroyer, Reb Ralston, the Silver Scorpion, Sam Sabuki, and the Whizzer.
• "Assault of the Freons," involving an extra-dimensional attack by the Freons. The V-Battalion members involved in that story were the Human Top, "Golden Woman" (presumably Golden Sun), Iron Cross, and the Destroyer.
• "To Dare Eternity," which involved the V-Battalion petitioning "cosmic forces" (including the Watcher) to "spare mankind for the scientific excesses of a few." That story involved the Watcher, Iron Cross, the Destroyer, Nathaniel Richards (the father of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four), and Howard Stark (the father of Iron Man).
• "Call them MUTANTS, Call them DEATH!" which presumably involved the V-Battalion first learning about mutants. That story involved the Twister (presumably the father of Topspin, using artificial means to achieve superspeed), Iron Cross, Golden Sun, the Destroyer, Charles Xavier and Magneto.
• "Mr. Ralston Goes to Washington," involving Reb Ralston's election to Senator. That story involved Reb Ralston and the other Howling Commandos.