Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign

[Squall]

Actually, I believe the most recent Batman arc has his son in it. Some kid that was raised (IIRC) by the League of Assassins or something (so maybe a Talia link?). I haven't followed it myself, but a buddy mentioned it to me.

[SSgt Baloo]

I am truly impressed. Kudos to those who have managed to combine such disparate elements as Archie Comics, Superheroes, Dai Kaiju, Scooby Doo and more. It makes me feel smart just to hang around this crew. This thread has so many excellent timelines that I (almost) hesitate to share my own. Both of them need work -- perhaps when I acquire another computer?

I wrote this document starting in 1990. I kept updating it until I uploaded it to AQIT in 1998. I need to update it again. The purpose was to provide players with some information about the (Golden Age) campaign setting.

This other document was for my own use, to help me keep the facts straight regarding things the players did not necessarily know, but might discover during the course of the campaign. The metavirus I referred to in this timeline was an early attempt to describe a nanomachine that not only rewrites DNA but actually changes the physiology of the victim as well.

[Teflon Billy]

On further research, the "pistol" involved is a 4.5mm air pistol at a range of 10 meters.

A BB gun.

Interesting twist, I had assumed that like the equestrian events, the contestant provided their own horse. Turns out the horses are assigned by drawing 20 minutes before the jumping course.

Think I'm probably going to go with boxing. Like Oddhat says, lost an early match on a split decision. Should have continued in that bracket for the Bronze*, but didn't show for his next match. Forfeit, and elimination. He also didn't show for the closing ceremonies, or the boat ride home (flew commercial at his own expense). The USOC sent him a rather brusk note thanking him for his past support, but saying no matter how large a donation he might make in the future, don't bother trying to qualify for a future US Olympic team.

*I am assuming a single-elimination tournament with a losers bracket for Bronze, can anyone confirm or deny?

I think it was .22 Long Rifle pistol shooting back then.

It was what probably caused Patton to not medal (if not get the gold), he chose to shoot with his .38 service revolver (just not a target shooting pistol), he was well ahead of the competition in all of the other events.

I think he dropped to an overall 5th place because of it.

TB

[Shaft]

• 1912 Brainiac realises that Galactus will destroy Krypton- he begins collecting the planet's accumulted knowledge to ensure its (his) survival. 2 years later, as Krypton is consumed, Kal-El is sent to Earth in a rocket ship. Brainiac escapes the exploding planet with the collected data.
• 1920 Kal-El found by Martha and Johnathan Kent
• 1922 Bruce Wayne's parents are killed in front of him as they are cutting through Crime Alley.
• 1929 Every once in a while, Superboy is spotted in Smallville, KS.
• 1929 Fraternal twin Brothers Namor and Arthur are born out of wedlock to an Atlantean princess several months after her rescue by a lighthouse keeper, but their human heritage adds to scandal as the children are determined to be a source of shame.
• 1931 Rumors about an invisible crimefighter calling himself The Shadow begin to circulate.
• 1938 Superman makes his first appearance in Metropolis.
• 1939 In Gotham City, rumors of a shadowy vigilante calling himself the Batman begin to float around.
• 1939 Billy Batson meets a Kree Wizard named Shazam who imbues him with great power.
• 1940 Jay Garrick, the first Flash, appears in Keystone city.
• 1940 The Red Hood falls into a vat of chemicals, becoming the Joker.
• 1940 Batman begins training the 11 yr old Dick Grayson as his sidekick, Robin.
• 1941 Steve Rogers is injected with the serum that makes him Captain America.
• 1941 Princess Diana of the Amazons tries to help teach mankind about peace as the World is ravaged by war. Sixty years later, the Amazons will determine that she has failed and exile her.
• 1942 The Invaders and the All-Star Squadrons are formed by the numerous superheroes that join the war effort.
• 1945 The All-Star Squadron sticks together after the war, renaming themselves the Justice Society of America. The Invaders fare less well, after Captain America, who held them together, goes MIA, the Sub-Mariner returns to Atlantis. The Human Torch moves to the Pacific theatre. After the war, he is put into (no pun intended) cold storage until he is found by Ultron in 1968 and turned into the Vision. Union Jack returns to England where he fights crime for King & Country.
• 1946 Superman reveals his identidy to Lois Lane. They marry, but are unable to have children.
• 1949 Dick Grayson passes the mantle of Robin off to Jason Todd, and becomes the first NightWing. Later that year, a temporal accident transports him fifteen years into the future.
• 1950 Green Arrow spends a summer teaching a young Clint Barton some archery tricks. Years later, the archers face off when Hawkeye is about to embark on a life of crime. Green Arrow beats his pupil, sets him straight and puts in a good word for him to be considered as an Avenger.
• 1953 Charles Xavier is crippled by Magneto as they have a falling out over the direction of their plans for mutant kind.
• 1953 The JSA's actions in the Korean War help bring about an armistice.
• 1954 Matthew Murdock is hit by a truck carrying radioactive isotopes and blinded, though his other senses are augmented.
• 1956 The Joker kills Jason Todd. Batman decides to work alone.
• 1956 Barry Allen takes up the Mantle of the Flash from Jay Garrick, who retires as his body and powers begin giving out on him.
• 1959 Alan Scott is killed but with his dying breath, he makes Hal Jordan, the test pilot who answers his last call for help, swear to protect sector 2814 in his place.
• 1960 The Silver Age heroes shy away from joining the JSA, which is perceived as an war veterans superclub. As the JSA members start retiring, Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl II and Aquaman team up to fend off an alien invasion and decide to stick together as the Justice League. Aquaman declines the invitation, and Batman opts to only work part time (though he provdies funding) but the rest of the team stick together. Some of the JSA'ers who are still fit for battle come aboard too.
• 1961 NASA astronauts Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm are exposed to radiation that forces them to abort the first trip to the moon. It is another 8 years before another team of astronauts (Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin) is sent to the moon.
• 1961 The world is shocked as Doomsday beats Superman to death on llive television after a battle that rages halfway across the US. Despite Superman's return a few months later, decades later people still remember where they were when they heard that Superman was dead.
• 1962 Peter Parker is bit by a radioactive spider. Shortly after, a new hero, Spiderman appears in New York.
• 1962 After "returning from a year long trip to Central Asia", Clark Kent becomes editor of the Daily Planet.
• 1962 Dr Robert Bruce Banner, the lead scientist on a gov't funded project to reproduce the super-soldier project, is injected with the serum he produced. It turns him into the Hulk, but initially, his transformations seem to be controllable.
• 1962 Donald Blake has been plagued by visions that he is the son of Odin since he was 12. He finally accepts his destiny and finds Mjonlir, and unleashing the power of Thor through him.
• 1963 Age is catching up to the 48 year old Batman. His reflexes aren't fast enough to save him in a battle against Rha'as'Ghul. Fortunately for the Caped Crusader, he is knocked into a Lazarus Pit and emerges with the body of a 20 year old.
• 1963 Concerned about the threat that Soviet metahumans pose, and the lack of control over the Justice League during the Cuban missle crisis, the US government funds its own superteam, the Avengers, consisting of Wasp, Giant Man, Iron Man, Thor, and the recently defected Black Widow. A few criminals (Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch) are offered parole if they give up their ways and join the team. Captain America's frozen body is found in the North Atlantic. The Avenger's existance makes the headlines when the Hulk goes on a rampage and the Avengers stop him before the Justice League can react. The government favoritism towards superheroes that are Avengers versus the heroes that are associated with the Justice Legue creates a rivalry that stil lexists to this day. The Avengers are perceived as government bootlickers while the Justice League are portrayed, at their worst, as seeing themselves above any government. Over time, the JLA drop the "of America" from their name and are known as the Justice League.
• 1963 Kennedy's assassination is foiled by superhuman intervention. He is re-elcted in 1964, and remains President until 1969, when he is succeeded by Nixon who defeats Johnson. Tecumseh's curse appears to be broken.
• 1963 Magneto unleashes his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants upon the world, turning the tide of public opinion against mutants. Charles Xavier recruits Jean Grey to be his fifth X-Man. She joins Angel, Beast, Cyclops and Iceman in countering Magneto as well as other evil mutants.
• 1963 Stephen Strange takes over the role of Sorcer Supreme from Kent Nelson.
• 1964 New York becomes overun by crime. After Kitty Genovese is killed in an alley in front of dozens of witnesses that don't do anything to save her, Matthew Murdock realises the limitations of the legal system, and decides to become Daredevil, drawing inspiration from the Batman's efforts in Gotham city.
• 1964 Nightwing, trying to cope with 15 lost years and a Batman that refuses to work with him, recruits Kid Flash, Speedy, Wonder Girl and Aqualad to form the Teen Titans. Dick Grayson & Steve Rogers find that they have much in common, having both skipped over one and a half decades of their lives, and form a strong friendship.
• 1965 Atlantis and The USSR nearly go to war when Soviet subs start passing through Atlantean borders. Namor views all surface worlders with the same contempt, since the Russians were allies during WWII, and now they are enemies. His younger brother Arthur, who has a cooler head, acts as an ambassador to the surface world and regularly works with the Justice League. Eventually Namor's contempt for the surface world spreads to Arthur, who becomes more crotchety with age.
• 1965 Thor leaves the Avengers over the issue of the Vietnam war.
• 1966 Galactus defeats the Justice League, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans and Avengers before Reed Richards and the Flash devise a plan to defeat him. Flash dies in the battle, passing the mantle to Wally West.
• 1967 Despite his wishes to keep working alone, Batman is frequently aided by the mysterious new heroine, Batgirl. He eventually takes her under his wing.
• 1968 An aging Billy Batson (who'da thought?) passes on his power to Carol Danvers.
• 1968 Bill Foster aka Black Goliath saves Martin Luther King from an assasination attempt in Memphis. King continues his work over thenext decade to inspire a new generation of black superheroes: Falcon, Black Lightning, and a new Green Lantern.
• 1968 The Titans *finally* drop the "Teen" from their name.
• 1968 Franklin Richards is born.
• 1969 Havok and Polaris join the X-Men.
• 1971 Speedy goes into rehab. Green Arrow retires from the field shortly after, opting to move his crusade to social work. Besides, after 30 years of this, he's getting to too old for stunts now. A year later, he and Black Canary have a daughter.
• 1972 Lois Lane dies. With his parents dead many years earlier, Superman retires his Clark Kent identidy and works as Superman full time- beginning the disconnect he will start to feel with mere mortals.
• 1974 Professor X, reacting to Nixon's support for the Sentinels, telepathically discover evidence of the Watergate scandal and leaks it to the press.
• 1974 Shortly after his return from Vietnam, the Punisher begins his war on crime after his family is killed by the mob.
• 1975 The X-Men recruit Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, Banshee, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird and Sunfire into their ranks.
• 1975 Batman realises that physically, Captain America is still in his 20's and deduces a link between the Lazarus Pit and the super soldier serum.
• 1976 Jean Grey becomes imbued with the Phoenix Force.
• 1978 Hank McCoy mutates further, becoming the Blue-furred Beast. Shortly after, he joins the Avengers.
• 1979 Tony Stark has a heart attack severe enough that Jim Rhodes takes over the role over Iron Man.
• 1979 The Avengers storm the American Embassy in Iran, triggering a metahuman arms race.
• 1980 The Hellfire Club triggers Jean Grey's transformation into Dark Phoenix. She kills herself to save the galaxy.
• 1980 Slade Wilson is injected with a variant of the Super Soldier formula that turns him into Deathstroke the Terminator.
• 1980 Cyborg, Changeling/Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire and Franklin Richards join the Titans.
• 1980 Alison Blair's album, Dazzler, makes the Top 40
• 1983 Avengers participate in Grenada Invasion. Resolutions against military uses for metahumans are introduced at the UN, but they are vetoed by the Security Council.
• 1984 The Avengers start a West Coast branch, followed by a Great Lakes Branch in 1989.
• 1984 Alex, Julie, Jack and Kate Power join the Titans.
• 1986 Steve Rogers gives up the Captain America identidy when the US government wants him to start running black ops. John Walker takes over the identidy.
• 1987 Just before his 40th birthday, Peter Parker settles down and marries Mary Jane Watson.
• 1988 Batgirl is shot in the spine by the Joker. She redefines herself as Oracle.
• 1988 Captain America, Superman and Ronald Reagan ask Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
• 1989 Steve Rogers role as Captain America is revealed. Public uproar makes the US government reinstate him as Captain America on his terms.
• 1989 Tim Drake (Iceman's nephew) deduces BatMan's identidy. Batman decides to bring him in as a new Robin.
• 1989 Dick Grayson turns 45 and fathers a child with Starfire. He goes partially into retirement, occasionally returning to the field as the Red Robin.
• 1991 Oracle mentors Black Canary II, Huntress and Mockingbird (the daughter of Hawkeye and the original Huntress, SHIELD agent Bobbie Morse) and forms the Birds of Prey.
• 1991 Gulf War- The Avengers and Justice League work side by side to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi army and protect Israel from Iraqi rockets.
• 1994 Kyle Rayner takes over the role of Green Lantern from Hal Jordan. John Stewart begins looking for a successor.
• 1996 Magog kills the Joker after he wipes out the staff of the Daily Planet. Superman brings in Magog for murder, but Magog is acquited. Superman goes into seclusion.
• 1999 Terry McGuiness becomes NightWing II
• 2000 As Martian Manhunter tries to understand humanity, he opens his mind too much and suffers severe mental feedback.
• 2001 15 jets are hijacked for use as weapons by suicide bombers. 12 of them are stopped, but 3 get through- 2 on the WTC, 1 on the Pentagon. The terrorists were based out of Afghanistan, and with the Avengers' help, the Taliban is quickly overthrown.
• 2003 Questionable links are made between the WTC hijackings and Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. The Avengers have a crisis when they are ordered to assist in Iraq. Captain America is able to use his influence to keep the Avengers out of Iraq.
• 2004 Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Changeling are the mentors to the third generation of Titans: SuperBoy II, Wondergirl II, Impulse, and NightStar (Dick Grayson & Starfire's daughter).
• 2005: Unimpressed with the way Bush 42 (remember Johnson was never president) has been running the country, and feeling age start to catch up to his body, Steve Rogers considers politics.
• 2005: Age is also catching up to Batman, who hasn't taken a dip in a Lazarus Pit for 40+ years.
• 2006: Wally West disappears, leaving Impulse with the mantle of Flash IV
• 2007: who knows? Time for your players to start making the history if they haven't already started to do so...

Here are some alternate ideas that work in some of the ideas from Civil War (which I've merged with Kingdom Come as best as I can:

• 1996 Magog kills the Joker after he wipes out the staff of the Daily Planet. Superman brings in Magog for murder, but Magog is acquited. Superman goes into seclusion.
• 1999 Terry McGuiness becomes NightWing II
• 2000 As Martian Manhunter tries to understand humanity, he opens his mind too much and suffers severe mental feedback.
• 2001 Magog leads a team of super powered vigilantes to bring in the Absorbing Man, who absorbs the power of a nuclear reactor, but loses control of his power during the battle. He explodes, destroying a large part of Kansas.
• 2001 Outrage results in the passing of a superhuman registration act. Steve Rogers is arrested when he refuses to bring in heroes that choose not to register. His imprisonment is viewed as unlawful and inspires a large number of heroes to stay underground. These underground heroes are led by the Batman- who immerses himself into the role full time after his identidy becomes exposed & Luke Cage.
• 2001 Batman leads a team of "Outsiders" in to break Steve Rogers out of prison, but Rogers chooses to stay in prison and fight the system from within.
• 2001 The Justice League is torn as many of their members side with Batman. The Avengers are less torn since they've always been government agents since day one. Wonder Woman pulls Superman out of retirement to rally the pro-registration side, which Superman leads, with a heavy heart.
• 2001 A Superhuman prison is built in Kansas to contain the villains and unregistered vigilantes.
• 2001 As the nation is distracted by the Superhuman Civil War, 15 jets are hijacked for use as weapons by suicide bombers working with supervillains, including three military planes carrying nuclear weapons. 12 of them are stopped (the nukes are stopped by Superman who ends up comatose after the ordeal), but 3 get through- 2 on the WTC, 1 on the Pentagon. The terrorists were based out of Afghanistan, and with the Avengers' help, the Taliban is quickly overthrown.
• 2001 In the aftermath, the heroes realise that they still have to band together. Registration remains, but the heroes who choose not to register are ignored as long as they don't do anything dangerous- new unregistered heroes still have a hard time. Steve Rogers is released from prison, but quickly realises that he can be more effective on the political stage than as a costumed crimefighter.
• 2002 Wonder Woman gives birth to Superman's child.
• 2003 Questionable links are made between the WTC hijackings and Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. Steve Rogers uses his influence to keep the Avengers out of Iraq, though some members choose to go on their own, attached to other military units.
• 2004 Red Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling and NightWing II are the mentors to the third generation of Titans: SuperBoy II, Wondergirl II, Impulse, and NightStar (Dick Grayson & Starfire's daughter).
• 2004: Unimpressed with the way Bush 42 (remember Johnson was never president) has been running the country, and feeling age start to catch up to his body, Steve Rogers runs for president as an independent and wins. Tony Stark is appointed Secretary of Defense.
• 2005: Age is also catching up to Batman, who hasn't taken a dip in a Lazarus Pit for 40+ years. But he's the Batman...
• 2006: Wally West disappears, leaving Impulse with the mantle of Flash IV
• 2007: who knows? Time for your players to start making the history if they haven't already started to do so...

[OddHat]

For what it's worth, in my own combined timeline there is a sane registration act. You do not need to register if you're born with powers, and registering does not mean you can be conscripted into the military; both were tried post WWII, and both fell to supreme court challenges in the early 1970s. You do however have to register in the USA as a metahuman if you want government benefits (healthcare, legal advice, indemnity insurance, limited training and scholarships), and many parents of metas will register their children for those reasons. Xavier's Academy and similar schools are partially publicly funded, and recruiters from the OSI do try to convince students to sign up on graduation. Adult Supers who fight crime without having registered and received OSI training are legally in a gray area, risking lawsuits and prosecution as vigilantes depending on circumstances. Almost no one is prosecuted for stopping a crime in progress unless excessive force is used; Rorschach breaking fingers to get information will be pursued by the police but is only human and not covered by the Mask Laws; Mr. Incredible accidentally injuring those he rescues or causing massive property damage would be offered a chance at joining the OSI, and would be protected from lawsuits or prosecution if he accepted. If he refused to register and join the OSI, he'd be subject to the same laws as everyone else, including vulnerability to lawsuits and possible criminal proceedings.

Most younger costumed metahumans start out unregistered, and eventually either retire from costumed adventuring or change identities if they don't want to join the OSI. Older costumed metahumans who want to fight crime professionally generally register with the OSI, entering the New Statesmen program and joining a publicly funded Super Team. Teams may also be partially funded by a municipality, state, or private corporation. Some teams rely on private donations, and fund raising marathons, commercial endorsements or the sale of Hero Cookies (try the Super Mints) are common sources of income.

If a metahuman wants to make a living without fighting crime, private industry and the government both have endless job opportunities for people with superpowers.

[clsage]

Ehn. If DC can kill Superman, so can you. I was actually thinking that, given all the Silver Age Superboy and Superman Junior stories, it might be a nice touch for the Golden Age Superman to die as Lois Lane is pregnant with their child. Naturally the boy is also named "Clark" after his father, is mostly raised by his grandparents in Smallville since Lois is a globe-trotting workaholic and eventually he makes his debut as Superman II in 1986 saving a space shuttle from disaster. (Giving a nod to the Byrne reboot).

You might even go so far as to let history repeat itself by involving him with a reporter named Chloe Sullivan.

Repped.....And not too far from a concept I have as a backstory to one of
my still unplayed stable of characters (BowStar). Basically, Superman homage
by the name of Kandor and Wonder Woman homage by the name of
Hippolyte, who are members of the golden age group Guardians Of Liberty,
become romantically involved and, all tho' it's not very golden age, Hippolyte
becomes pregnant. She is in the early days of the pregnancy and has yet
to reveal it to Kandor when their arch nemesis Adamant (a cross between the
Red Skull and Juggernaut) attempts to start World War 3 by launching a missile at
a peace conference being held in NYC. While stopping the missile
Kandor dies and, 9 months later, his daughter is born. Since she shares the
longevity genes of her mother, her aging slows once she passes thru
puberty. Born in 1953, she looks to be in her late twenties. And after due
consideration and training, she has followed in the family tradition and
become a hero. She has (at least, in my head) teamed up with an Iron Man
homage named Sekkou.

-Carl-

[rjcurrie]

*I am assuming a single-elimination tournament with a losers bracket for Bronze, can anyone confirm or deny?

I'm not sure how the boxing tournament worked in 1948 but since at least 1976 (when I started watching the Olympics), the boxing tournament has featured a single elimination format for each weight class. The gold and silver medals for the weight class go, of course, to the winner and loser of the final match while two bronze medals for each weight class to the losers of the semi-final fights.

Hmmm, a little bit of web research seems to indicate that the single elimination tournament per weight class has always been the case; however, awarding two bronze medals did not begin until 1952. Up through 1948, the losers of the semi-final bouts fought each other for the bronze.

[Shaft]

I was discussing this idea with some friends and decided to add a few new items in this timeline. I thought I'd share them with the group despite the thread necromancy.

http://www.herogames.com/forums/show...89&postcount=1

The items I added were:

• Starting the timeline with an event in 1908 to make it an even 100 years;
• Tied Nick Fury to the Lazarus Pit (instead of that "Infinity Formula";
• Connected the Roswell crash to Martian Manhunter (who is really a misnamed Skrull in the combined continuity)
• Attached the signifigance of the Kennedy assassination to Superman's "Death"
• Made the Joker a member of the Hellfire Club responsbile for driving Phoenix into insanity
• Tied some of the Civil War elements to Kingdom Come
• Worked in Lex Luthor's Presidency (and let him get away with it!)

More thoughts and comments welcome on this.

[OddHat]

[*]Worked in Lex Luthor's Presidency (and let him get away with it!)

An Evil Genius president who's competent? We've done worse.

As to the Martian Manhunter being a skrull, good call; always good to keep the number of similar alien races down. The original Squadron Supreme used that, and also had the Skrull give Dr.Prism (Silver Age Green Lantern) his Power Prism (Power Ring); the Prism was, iirc, the ship's power source.

In one of my own combined timelines, the Martian Manhunter was a shape-changing Lovecraftian horror linked to the origin of Plastic Man / Mister Fantastic. Basically, the Thing crashed to Earth in the Arctic, where it was eventually overcome (frozen) by Doc Savage, who brought it back to New York for experimentation and study. Eel O'Brien (a petty thief) broke into Doc's warehouse and came into contact with the weakened Thing; O'Brien was consumed, and the Thing used the extra mass to spawn a duplicate; the duplicate, due to Savage's experiments, both retained and was overwhelmed by O'Brien's memories (that flaw in the duplication process was Savage's greatest success). Thinking it was O'Brien, the new creature eventually entered into government service as Plastic Man; it's "son" (really another flawed copy) was Reed Richards. The original Thing eventually escaped Savage's laboratory, but had been sufficiently damaged by his experiments that it's attempt to imitate a New York police officer forced it to permanently copy much of his personality; it became the Martian Manhunter.

Some of the men it hunts are never seen again.

[Shaft]

As to the Martian Manhunter being a skrull, good call; always good to keep the number of similar alien races down.

I'm quite pleased with that idea, and it was easy to integrate since there are NO OTHER MARTIANS!!!* but the idea that MM's human ID was John Jones, the ultimate "Man in Black" name, amused me to no end.

*At least their planet didn't blow up. Making him a Skrull makes him less of a Superman wannabe.