Costumed Crimefighting and Masked Mayhem : The Highlights Reel

An American Original

Unlike the real world, AltEarth has a well-established historical-cultural tradition of costumed superheroes and supervillians. Most historians agree that the first appearance of the "costumed crimefighter" was in colonial Massachusetts. The Black Mask, who possessed no actual superhuman abilities, engaged in acts of sabotage against the British and eventually became a special agent of General Washington during the Revolutionary War. Acting as a spy, saboteur, and occasionally even a solider, the Black Mask was instrumental in the eventual defeat of the British Army and the establishment of American independence. The identity of the Black Mask was passed on through a family line and in 1853, the Mask joined the Union Army, often clashing the Gray Ghost, the South's mysterious costumed combatant.

World War I

Costumed supers associated with national powers played prominent roles in the Great War. Allied pilots, for example, lived in fear of Germany's flying, energy-projecting super, the Red Baron. Most of these costumed supers were killed in combat, sometimes by one another. (The Baron was blown from the sky by artillery fire while making a daring raid on an allied air base, though his body was never recovered).

1920s and 30s

In the 1920s and 30s, there was a dearth of truly superpowered heroes and villains. Still, some exceptional, if not truly super, adventurers adapted the concept of costumed heroism to peacetime. The number of "mystery men" and adventurers (and their adversaries) increased dramatically, and the concept of costumed crime-fighting became firmly entrenched in the public consciousness.

World War II

By the outbreak of WWII, most of the first generation of costumed supers were dead or had retired. The arcane rituals of the Nazi RSvKg had the unexpected effect of transforming one of their members into Der Totenkopf, or Death's Head. Both a powerful mystic and a brilliant scientist, Der Totenkopf headed Germany's Ubermenschen project, creating at least one super-soldier known as Donner, or "Thunder." Britain, Russia, and the U.S. also developed programs dedicated to studying the nature of superpowers with the goal of artificially inducing them. For the most part, these projects yielded unsatisfying results. The exception was the creation by the U.S. in 1941 of the super-soldier John Maxwell, AKA "Captain Freedom" (now serving as a U.S. Senator). Nevertheless, a new generation of supers emerged during this period, sometimes taking on the identities of fallen or retired parents.

In the end, the superhuman theater of war proved to be the decisive one. The Manhattan Project succeeded in producing a pair of anti-matter bombs, and President Truman was prepared to use these to disintegrate Japanese cities along with their civilian populations. An impassioned plea by Captain Freedom ultimately convinced Truman to commit to a conventional invasion of Japan spearheaded by America's war-time superheroes (especially Freedom Battallion and the Defenders of Justice). A few of these heroes lost their lives in the invasion, but the force and speed of their attack, and the tactical brilliance of Captain Freedom (who survived), ensured the conquest of Japan with relatively few American military casualties.

In 1949, Communist Forces led by Mao Zedong took over mainland China. Before either the PRC or the Kuomintang was able to establish a foothold in Taiwan, a group of ambitious supervillians seized power on the island and established an oligarchy. Since its conquest, Taiwan has been a haven for villains, criminals, and terrorists. Today, Taiwan remains a rogue nation ruled by the hand-picked successors of the villains who first conquered it.

The 1950s and 60s

Many supers involved in the war effort chose to hang up their costumes in 1950s, seeking to enjoy the peace they had fought so hard to win. Many of the remaining supers in this so-called "Silver Age" chose to lower their profile, acting behind the scenes and shunning the spotlight.

In 1959, however, all of that changed. Captain Freedom convinced several surviving members of the Defenders of Justice and Freedom Battallion, along with newly recruited heroes, to form the Justice Squadron. This, in turn, seemed to signal a revival of superheroes across America, and the world. As if in response, the costumed villains began to return as well. By the early 1960s, the supercrime problem had reached such proportions that the United Nations established a new agency, UNTIL, to address it.

The superhuman community did not escape the turbulence of the Sixties. Several supers manifested during the conflict in Vietnam and some volunteered to serve oversees. Other heroes, like the Black Fist and Dreamweaver, actively opposed the war and became symbols of the anti-war movement. At least one superteam, the Justice Squadron, disbanded when its members could not reconcile their differences over the war.

The 1970s

Following the breakdown of diplomatic talks with the Nomos at the end of 1974, superheroes began working closely with AltEarth governments to prepare to defend Earth from possible extraterrestrial invasion. One of the most prominent organizations was established, the League of Heroes, was established by American heroes.

In 1975, the most feared supervillian in AltEarth history--the awesomely powerful and utterly ruthless Doctor Destroyer--made his first appearance. Troubled by the threat the Nomos posed to his own plans for world domination and displeased with what he saw as the disorganized and excessively democratic approach to AltEarth defense, Destroyer decided to take matters into his own hands. Events were forcing him to move forward the timeline for his planned conquest of AltEarth. Only under his direction, he reasoned, could the world hope to survive an invasion by an advanced alien race.

Using powerful gunships equipped with gravitic flight technology and mounted blasters, Destroyer and his minions attempted to conquer California as a prelude to world conquest. With the U.S. military largely blinded and crippled by Destroyer’s initial attacks on their communications and command systems, the superheroes of America responded. After a day of fierce fighting in San Francisco, the master villain’s forces were routed, and Destroyer escaped via a teleportation device. Victory was not without a price, for Dart of the Fabulous Five and Ocelot of the Sentinels were both killed by Destroyer’s powerful energy bolts. Over a dozen other heroes suffered serious injuries. The heroes who battled destroyer formed a loose coalition to defend AltEarth from other global threats.

It would not be long before the coalition reunited. In 1977 the Nomos returned with an invasion force (see above), attacking coastal cities throughout AltEarth. The coalition (bolstered by a group of Atlantean supers and even working with some supervillians) successfully defended Earth from the Nomos. Destroyer also battled the Nomos personally and through his agents, but did not coordinate with others.

In 1980, Destroyer took advantage of the chaos following the invasion to hijack a nuclear device in an attempt to burn London to the ground in revenge for his disfigurement. He was prevented from launching the missile by the London Watch.

The 1980s and 1990s

Without a pressing global threat and plagued by internal personality clashes and disagreements, the League of Heroes that thwarted Destroyer and the Nomos effectively disbanded in 1983.

In 1985, the London Watch rescued a superintelligent Gorilla now known as Doctor Silverback from the clutches of his creator, Dr. Phillippe Moreau, and helped him to establish his legal rights in a landmark court case.

Also in 1985, the robotic villain Mechanon appeared for the first time, nearly taking control of America’s anti-matter arsenal and using it to destroy all life on Earth before the Sentinels managed to defeat him.

In 1986, superheroes aided in the evacuation of Detroit when its experimental anti-matter reactor began a runaway chain reaction. Despite the best efforts over several days of many of AltEarth’s most talented scientists, the reaction could not be stopped. In the final hours, the superheroine Guardian remained with the reactor, using her telekinetic powers, unparalleled by any super on AltEarth, to contain the core in a bubble of force. She bought valuable time for those fleeing the city. In the end, however, she could not contain the reaction and most of the city was disintegrated. Radiation from the “blast” spread throughout the United States and Canada, resulting in a rise in the number of mutants in these countries. In late 1993, the rebuilding of Detroit is substantially completed, and the new metropolis was christened Millennium City.

Also in 1986, Destroyer sought to launch a satelite capable of putting the entire world under his mental domination, but was foiled by the Invincibles.

In 1987, Takofanes the Undying Lord arose in Oklahoma and began marching toward the East Coast. After he killed several superheroes who tried to stop him at the Mississippi River, including Bowman III a larger group of heroes banded together and defeated him in Eastern Kentucky.

In 1988, Eurostar, perhaps the most dangerous villain team in the world, first appeared, releasing its Eurostar Manifesto.

In 1991, Doctor Destroyer launched his artificial island, Destruga, and demanded that he be recognized as the head of a new nation-state. Taiwan and several other states with unfriendly relationships with the West immediately recognized the sovereignty of Destruga. However, when it became apparent that this scheme would ultimately fail, Destroyer moved the island, which was essentially a floating battle platform, towards New York. His attack was repelled by the U.S. Military and American superheroes. Destroyer was believed to have been killed in the explosions that scuttled the island. He reemerged, however, in 2006.

In 1993, Eurostar launched its invasion of Poland.

2000's and Today

On September 11, 2001 . . .

Hurricane Katrina . .

In August 2006, members of the New League of Heroes and their allies tracked Doctor Destroyer to his base on an uninhabited Arctic island and stopped his plans to kill 9 out of every 10 human beings on AltEarth unless world leaders declared him Earth's undisputed monarch. Destroyer's doomsday device was destroyed, but the archvillain managed to escape with his minion Gamma. Many heroes were killed battling Destroyer and by villains during coordinated attacks on major cities.

In late 2006, Warlord gained control over much of the coastal region of Western Africa (Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire).

Also in 2006, a conventional military conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir escalated to a nuclear one. The Indian city of Jodhpur and the Pakistani city of Hyderabad are both destroyed by nuclear weapons before a cease-fire agreement is reached in December.