Nothing is known about Veronica Dultry’s early life prior to her appearance as Dragonfly. She was first seen among the original group of Ani-Men, individuals subjected to genetic engineering by Maggia scientists on behalf of Count Nefaria. As his private army superhumans, the Ani-Men accompanied Nefaria in taking over NORAD’s base at Valhalla Mountain in Colorado. He attempted to use the nuclear missiles housed there to extort a ransom from America, but the X-Men arrived, determined to prove to the world that mutants should be recognized as heroes. Dragonfly and her army of hypnotized soldiers were held back by Storm, but it was when she hypnotized Cyclops that his powers became uncontrollable and fired on her, taking her out.
When the Ani-Men next appeared, Dragonfly was not among them. She had escaped custody on her own, although her subsequent activities unrevealed. At some point, she was captured by the enigmatic Stranger, abducted to his planet and kept under observation in a self-contained environment. She was freed when Quasar stormed the Stranger’s planet looking for a threat to the universe, but she fell victim to the Overmind, who used her and the other freed prisoners to battle Quasar and the Stranger. When he was defeated, the Overmind left Dragonfly and his pawns to their own devices. They banded together to return to Earth with the help of Jack of Hearts and the Presence.
During her capture, the Stranger had performed various experiments on her, and Veronica found herself mutating into a monstrous dragonfly-like creature. She sought refuge at her sister’s, but her sister, horrified and unsure how to help, sequestered her in the basement of a farmhouse. She was discovered by Ant-Man who was working in his civilian identity nearby. After a brief battle spurred by his misunderstanding, Ant-Man helped liberate Dragonfly.
Somehow recovering to her former appearance, Dragonfly was seen among the super-powered women organized by Superia. She helped Nightshade and others combat Captain America and Paladin, who had infiltrated Superia’s cruise ship when searching for Diamondback, but the heroes defeated them and managed to sneak aboard in disguise. They overheard Superia’s true plans, to sterilize the world’s population in order to gain control of the world, but presumably Dragonfly was among those who abandoned Superia after disagreeing with this plan. In a similar situation, Dragonfly was seen among the villains attending a weapons expo hosted by A.I.M., briefly battling Captain America who had infiltrated in disguise.
Dragonfly later joined a new version of the Masters of Evil, organized by the Crimson Cowl. She was among their number when they attempted to blackmail the world with the threat of a weather-manipulating machine but were confronted by the Thunderbolts. Dragonfly was chosen to help the Crimson Cowl make her escape, along with Sunstroke and Moonstone, but she was quickly downed by Moonstone who showed her true alligience by turning on the Crimson Cowl. Dragonfly, with the others, was remanded to custody.
