The MASKED ROSE
The MASKED ROSE
Real Name: Josie Tyler
Identity/Class: Human mutate (via mutant blood exposure); see comments
Occupation: See comments
Group Membership: Anti-Registration
Underground
(All-Out/Unarmed
Training
Automaton Attacker/Richard
Taine,
Awe-Striker/Cecily
Johnson,
Basic
Black/Norman
Gentry,
Battlestar/Lemar Hoskins, Brain
Spasm/Dennis Hoxie, Canasta/Henry
Cavanaugh,
Captain
Kinship/Edward Randlebuck, Dahntu/Charles
Luc Phan, Freeware
(Kurt Duryea),
Gladiatrix/Robin
Braxton,
Green
Guardswoman/Natalie Bell, Harbormaster/Sean
Beckett,
Haunter/Mark
Runnemyer,
Iguanid/Tom Boldstep, Johnny
Justice/Jonadab Megyscol,
Kruzado/Dorothy Cardoza, Lawman/Leon
Frankfurt, Leather
Angel/Andrew Mussawyr, Natural/Beru Addison, Network/Valerie
Martin,
Orange Crusher/Andy Gardner, Panthrax/Alex
Mitchell,
Peace-Lover/Barry Kanczeski, Qiblah/Jared Nelson, Saint
Hildegard/Sonya van Jagt, Scorecard/Bill Merrick,
Skybolt/Zack Zimmerman, Solo/James Bourne, Spaceheat/Charles
Yaméogo,
Staten
Island Star/Russell Feldman, Stone-Tough/Ted
Pendleton, Tosser/Ferris
Hartke, Typeface/Gordon
Thomas,
U.S.
Annie/Harriet Best, Warbug/Bernard
Van Buren, Winter
Woman/Angela Stover, Xantippe/Mandy
Atkinson, Zapster/Langley
Saint-Margaret,
others);
leader of super-team TJAW (Truth, Justice,
and the American Way); see comments
Affiliations:
Sally Floyd;
see comments
Enemies:
(At least formerly)
S.H.I.E.L.D.
and
its "Cape-Killers"
see comments
Known Relatives: See comments
Aliases: See comments
Base of Operations:
Unrevealed;
previously an unidentified Anti-Registration
Underground safehouse in Manhattan, New York
see comments
First Appearance:
(Unidentified) Civil War: Front Line#3 (September, 2006);
(identified) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A
to Z hardcover#14 (2010)
Powers/Abilities: See comments
Height:
Unrevealed (approximately 5'7"
; see
comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
(approximately 127 lbs.; see comments)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: Brown (see comments)
History: See comments.
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14: Anti-Registration Underground (fb) - BTS) - Empowered by accidental exposure to mutant blood, the Masked Rose became the leader of the super-team TJAW (Truth, Justice, and the American Way).
(Civil War: Front Line#4 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14: Anti-Registration Underground (fb) - BTS) - Following the Stamford disaster, where hundreds had perished during a battle between New Warriors and four Raft escapees, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) and others worked with US officials to develop the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), outlawing any crimefighting activities by unregistered super heroes.
Vigilante Typeface, although his identity was already known, resolved to fight a perceived assault on freedom, and he organized an Anti-Registration Underground, beginning with ex-government operative Battlestar and anti-terrorist Solo, to support super heroes who continued fighting crime without SHRA approval. Their ranks were soon supplemented by the Masked Rose; mystic-armored Freeware; bodysuit-enhanced Green Guardswoman; exoskeleton-empowered Network; and cyborg Skybolt. Via a covert interview with Alternative reporter Sally Floyd, ARU members publicized their perspective, and several other anti-registration heroes joined.
(Civil War: Front Line#4) - The Masked Rose was present with the ARU when S.H.I.E.L.D. raided the ARU's safehouse and arrested most of its members.
As the ARU members debated whether to seek and join Captain America (Steve Rogers)'s Secret Avengers, a better organized and equipped anti-SHRA unit, or to remain independent, armored S.H.I.E.L.D. Cape-Killers, accompanied by Iron Man, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Wonder Man (Simon Williams) and at least ten unidentified flying heroes, raided the base. Caught by surprise, few ARU members managed to effectively fight back against their more powerful and organized opponents. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. captured over 40 members, the Harbormaster, the Awe-Striker, Canasta, Dahntu, the Green Guardswoman, and the Tosser evaded capture, as did the Masked Rose, who had been absent seeking new recruits.
(Civil War: Front Line#5/2 - BTS) - ARU prisoners, such as Typeface, were seen being sent to the Prison 42.
(Civil War#6 - BTS) - The Secret Avengers and the Superhuman Registration Act resistance arrived at Prison 42 to free the prisoners.
(Civil War#7 - BTS / Amazing Spider-Man I#538 / Civil War: Front Line#10-11 - BTS) - The Secret Avengers penetrated Prison 42, freeing many prisoners. When the combined anti-registration forces were confronted by Iron Man's pro-registration forces, Secret Avenger Cloak (Tyrone Johnson) teleported both groups to Manhattan. Freed ARU prisoners took part in the battle between the pro and anti-registration heroes, spanning from the Negative Zone prison to the streets of New York. In the ensuing battle, which caused severe damage, the Thunderbolts' Venom (Mac Gargan) apparently killed Typeface. Other fatalities may also have occurred. Following Captain America's surrender to forestall further civilian risk, Battlestar and possibly others avoided recapture.
The government offered amnesty in return for registration. Although Gladiatrix rejected the offer, Network registered under the 50 States Initiative, while Solo also registered but pursued independent interests. Presumably additional ARU members followed Gladiatrix's example, others followed Network's or Solo's, and still more remained at large.
Comments: Created by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs.
Codename, real name, and nature provided by Ronald
Byrd
During the production of the Civil War: Battle Damage Report
(2007) writer Paul Jenkins provided Ronald with authorization to
provide identities, real names for the various background
Anti-Registration Underground characters, and to flesh them out as
much as he wanted. Ronald provided identities and real names for the
Anti-Registration Underground entry in Official Handbook of the
Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (2010). There wasn't room to
provide much more than that in that entry. However, Ronald had
backgrounds and histories in mind for these characters when he
provided their names.
Sadly, Ronald recently passed
away. I (Snood) completed this profile with aid from "Spider-Mike"
Fichera as a tribute to our friend Ronald to help complete his Marvel
legacy, the Anti-Registration Underground. Not having been able to
interact with Ronald on this one, I've only included links where I was
certain of which person, group, etc. he was referencing.
While
the information is unofficial until it sees print, here is
the full story behind
the Masked Rose. Accompanying it is art by our
own David Gallaher, providing a clear view of the character
derived and inspired by what was shown in the comics. Obviously
it's not 100% official, but it is beautiful art. David noted:
I've retained her short
brown hair, distinctive mask, shoulder details, and
orange-and-white costume with brown gloves and boots.
For the areas obscured by her
pose, I've kept the design simple and carried the existing
costume shapes through. I interpreted the pointed trim at the
tops of her boots as a subtle petal motif, echoing her name.
REAL NAME:
Josephine Sophia "Josie" Tyler
ALIASES: The Action-Powered Activist, Jolt; Fiend, Jo, Jo-So,
Seff, others
IDENTITY: Publicly known
OCCUPATION: Adventurer,
philanthropist, social activist; former jewelry store owner, music
store employee
CITIZENSHIP: USA
PLACE OF
BIRTH:
New York City, New York
KNOWN
RELATIVES:
Donovan Tyler (father), Willa Tyler (nee Short, mother); Nathan Tyler,
Nestor Tyler (brothers); Anna Tyler, Eridanna Tyler Cadbury, Susanna
Tyler (sisters); Rhett Cadbury (m. Eridanna, brother-in-law), Eve
Damocles Tyler (m. Nestor, sister-in-law); Daniel Cadbury (son of
Rhett and Eridana) (nephew); Tori Tyler, Vessna Tyler (daughters of
Nestor and Eve) (nieces)
GROUP
AFFILIATION:
T,J,A.W. (Truth, Justice, and the American Way); Aid to Zuma
City,
Annie and the Pop Tarts Fan Club, Anti-Pornography Awareness Campaign
(APAC), Arc Light Fan Club, Blue House, Bring Back "Strange Secrets"
Campaign, Central City Start-Over, Duncan
Vess Fan Club, Friends of Miss
America, Green Cross, Humans Off Planet, Jessie Wilcox Jones Fan
Club, Kick-the-Kick Campaign, Lila Cheney Fan Club, Lindsay
McCabe Fan Club, Lonesome
Pincus Fan Club, Maria Stark Foundation, M.O.N.S.T.E.R.,
Morgana
Blessing Fan Club, Mutant Rights Coalition, Mutantes sans
Frontieres, Podunk
Slam Fan Club, Project:
Earth, Save the Planet, Stars and Stripes (aka Captain America's
Hotline), Steel
Tuna Fan Club, Steeltown Rockers Fan Club, Taylor Foundation, Ted
Silverberg Fan Club, Vaultreach, Willie
Silver and Silver Charity Fan Club, Wings Over the World, Yancy
Street Gentrification League, Young
Warriors (sponsor), Young Watchers (sponsor), others; formerly
Anti-Registration Underground
EDUCATION: College degree
SHRA CLASSIFICATION: Science-Based Mutate
FIRST
APPEARANCE:
Civil War: Front Line #3 (2006)
HISTORY: Josephine Tyler
was inspecting a jewelry store she had inherited when a gigantic,
unidentified creature, having escaped from a nearby Roxxon
Oil facility, rampaged through the streets, pursued by the Sunturion
(Arthur Dearborn), one of Roxxon's super-operatives. The pair's battle
destroyed many of the surrounding buildings, including Tyler's store
and most of its contents. After defeating the creature, the Sunturion
publicly assured Tyler that Roxxon would accept full responsibility
for the incident and reimburse her and others accordingly and, rather
than risk alienating an employee as loyal and powerful as the
Sunturion, Roxxon executives made good on his promise and offered
Tyler a settlement of several millions, which she gratefully accepted.
Now
independently wealthy, the idealistic Tyler contributed much of her
money to various humanitarian organizations and participated in the
work of as many such organizations as possible. When the Red Skull
(Johann Shmidt) used his orbiting Skull
Satellite to nearly destroy the town of Zuma City, Nevada, Tyler
was among the many people who traveled to the site to provide
humanitarian aid. After suffering a slight injury searching through
the rubble, she rescued an unidentified, wounded mutant. The mutant's
blood interacted with Tyler's wound, granting her adrenaline-based
superhuman powers. The mutant subsequently fled to an unrevealed
location.
Tyler
resolved to use her new abilities as a costumed adventurer, or
"super-hero." Deciding on a predominantly red color scheme for her
costume, she consulted a thesaurus for synonyms of "red" and, taking a
liking to the word "damask," altered the world slightly to declare
herself "the Masked Rose." She decided to form a team of super-heroes,
and, uncertain how much space such a team might require, she
deliberately overestimated her team's future needs. She purchased Minos
Towers, a fifteen-story apartment complex with hundreds of
rooms, in Manhattan's Lower East Side, formerly owned by the
sociopathic Cornelius
C. Webb, who had used it to conduct inhumane experiments on his
tenants before Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) had intervened and ended
Webb's work.
She
recruited several lesser-known New York City-based adventurers --
including Captain
Armenia, Johnny
Clymbe, Crimebuster
(Frank Moore), Harmony
Killdragon, Lectronn,
the Roach (see note below),
and Shadow-Hunter -- for her team, which she named after a
well-known phrase: "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"; however,
upon learning that the rights to use said phrase in its entirety were
owned by a major publishing company, she re-named her team after the
phrase's initials: "T,J,A.W.," or "the T-Jaws." Over the next several
years, T,J,A.W.'s membership included former members of Superia's
Femizons, as well as androids, robots, extradimensionals,
extraterrestrials, extratemporals, and super-powered mercenaries,
among others.
Following
the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), the Masked
Rose, considering the law unconstitutional, refused to comply and in
fact started organizing opposition to the SHRA less than an hour after
the passage's announcement. Disagreement about the issue among
T,J,A.W.'s then-current membership resulted in the team's disbandment.
Eventually
the Masked Rose was recruited into Typeface's Anti-Registration
Underground but, upon learning that both Typeface and another
prominent ARU member, Solo (James Bourne), were wanted terrorists, she
quickly parted ways with the group.
Following
the SHRA's repeal, she received a full pardon and, at last report, she
was organizing membership try-outs for a revived T,J,A.W.
HEIGHT:
5'7"
WEIGHT:
127 lbs.
EYES:
Brown
HAIR: Brown
ABILITIES/ACCESSORIES: Under ordinary circumstances, the Masked Rose possesses strength, speed, durability, reflexes, and agility roughly five times that of a non-powered human of her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. Any increase of her body's adrenaline production, whether through physical activity or emotional state, doubles the level of her abilities every five minutes for as long as her adrenaline-increased state lasts. She requires only one hour of sleep per week and can forego food and fluids for at least two. She is a natural-born leader, a "people-person" who makes friends easily, and she is self-educated in comparative religion, economics, robotics, and other fields.
Note: I am not sure who Ronald intended the Roach to be...I would think it most likely to be Roachman, as the most heroic and perhaps most obscure of the Roach-named characters, but he was named Roachman, rather than Roach. Maybe he changed his name over time. Other "Roach" characters are discussed in the clarifications for that profile...and then there's that whole Cockroach Conspiracy business...
Shadow-Hunter
is presumably Niki Jakosun from Bizarre Adventures#28, who needs his or
her own profile...
Profile by Ronald Byrd, Snood, and Multi-Tasking Mike Fichera; new art by David Gallaher..
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Masked Rose should not be confused with:
images:
(without ads)
Civil
War:Front Line #3, page 2, panel 3 (seated image)
Appearances:
Civil War: Front Line#3/1 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Cory Sedlmeier (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/1 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Ramon Bachs (penciler), John Lucas (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4/3 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Sean Chen (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Molly Lazer, Aubrey
Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#5/2 (October, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer),
Steve Lieber (artist), Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson (assistant
editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#6 -BTS (December, 2006) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve
McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War#7 - BTS (January, 2007) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve
McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines, John Dell & Tim Townsend
(inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#14 (June,
2010) - Jeff Christiansen & Mike Fichera (head
writers/coordinators), Markus Raymond & Mike O'Sullivan
(coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael
Hoskin, Ronald Byrd, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan, Madison
Carter, Kevin Garcia, Gabriel Shechter, Jacob Rougemont, Rob London,
Rich Green, Chris Biggs, David Wiltfong, Jeph York, Mark O'English,
& Mike Gagnon (writers), John Denning (associate editor), Alex
Starbuck (assistant editor), Theodore Kutt (copy editor), Mark D.
Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer
Grunwald (editor)
First posted:
10/29/2026
Last updated:
10/27/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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