Jacqueline Falsworth was the daughter of Lord Montgomery Falsworth, the original Union Jack. Lord and Lady Falsworth had two children, Jacqueline and her older brother Brian. In 1938, when the British government voted for appeasement to Adolph Hitler's Nazi party, Lord Falsworth and Brian had bitter arguments; Lord Falsworth opposed appeasement and Brian supported it. Brian eventually left home, leaving Lord Falsworth devastated. Lord Falsworth was further crushed in 1941. During the Nazi blitz of Britain Lady Falsworth was killed when the hospital she volunteered at was bombed. Lord Falsworth became a bit of a recluse, and Jacqueline vollowed her mother by volunteering. During a blackout, Jacqueline was helping a British soldier when she was attacked by her father's World War I enemy Baron Blood. Fortunately, the original Human Torch was nearby and was able to save her from the Nazi vampire. In gratitude, Jacqueline invited the Invaders to dinner at Falsworth manor. When the other members of the team learned her father was Union Jack, they quickly invited him to join the team. Fearing the loss of another parent, Jacqueline became outraged and passed out. It was then discovered that she had two small puncture marks on her neck--Baron Blood had bitten her before. At this time, the Invaders didn't know that Baron Blood was actually Lord Falsworth's own brother John. When John made his next move on his niece, the Invaders were able to destroy him. But the victory was costly: Lord Falsworth's legs were crushed and Jacqueline lost tremendous amounts of blood. An emergency transfusion was in order, and the Human Torch (who was secretly in love with Jacqueline) donated his blood. The unique combination of vampire and android blood inexplicably gave Jacqueline the ability to run at superhuman speeds. Now understanding her father's love for costumed adventuring, Jacqueline adopted the identity Spitfire!

After aiding the Invaders in their battle with The Face, Spitfire was officially voted into the team. Spitfire remained with the group for most of the war, eventually serving alongside her brother Brian as the second Union Jack [Brian had reversed his decision on appeasement when the war broke out--eric]. Near the end of the war, after Captain America and Bucky were lost and presumed dead, the US and British governments decided to split the Invaders into separate groups. While the other members were sent to various parts of the globe, Spitfire and Union Jack were stationed in London. After the war, Spitfire's powers gradually faded away. Brian was killed in a car crash in 1953, and Jacqueline married Lord Crichton. They had a son together, Kenneth, and moved into Falsworth manor to take care of the aged Lord Falsworth. Jacqueline's husband died in the late 1970s, and Lord Falsworth passed away in the early 80s after a battle with the restored Baron Blood. When Lord Falsworth died, Jacqueline's son Kenny proved too weak to carry on the Union Jack tradition. He instead passed the role on to his school friend Joey Chapman.

A few years later, the Invaders' old foes Master Man and Warrior Woman were awoken from suspended animation. They took the Sub-Mariner prisoner, and Namor's cousin Namorita, the third Union Jack, and Lady Crichton went to save him. During the course of the ensuing battle, Lady Crichton was shot. She would likely have died, if not for the original Human Torch. Also taken captive by Master Man and Warrior Woman, he was able to perform another transfusion. This time, not only did the transfusion restore her powers, it restored her youth. The aged Jacqueline Falsworth-Crichton now had the strength and appearance of a sixteen year old.

Instead of resuming her role as Spitfire, Jacqueline spent her time throwing parties for wealthy British socialites and taking care of her sickly son Kenneth. Although the doctors treated him for anemia, Kenneth was actually being drained by the Baroness--a follower of the deceased Baron Blood. Since Kenny was the only living male descendant of Baron Blood, the Baroness transformed him into a vampire and made him the second Baron Blood. Although Jacqueline and Union Jack III tried to stop the Baroness, they couldn't prevent her treachery that cost Kenny his life. The still-youthful Jacqueline Falsworth-Crichton buried her son next to her father and brother, leaving her with no family members. It remains to be seen if she will ever resume her identity as Spitfire.

INSIDE STORY: After Union Jack, Spitfire was probably Roy's greatest contribution to Marvel's wartime characters. It was originally planned, after Lord Falsworth's legs were crushed, for Jaqueline to become the new Union Jack (spelled Union Jaq, or Union Jackie--isn't that cute?). BUT, Roy and artist Frank Springer found that the Union Jack costume just didn't look right on a female torso (it kinda pinches the middle). So they quickly conjured up Spitfire, named after the British war plane. The rest, of course, is comics history...

First Appearance (as Jacqueline Falsworth): INVADERS #7 (1976)

First Appearance (as Spitfire): INVADERS #12

Other Appearances: INVADERS #8-23, #25-34; WHAT IF #4 (1977); CAPTAIN AMERICA #253-254 (1980); SUB-MARINER (vol. 2) #11-12 (1991); UNION JACK (limited series) #1-3 (1998)

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