Else Earth: Operation Prometheus

[Enforcer84]

The Super Soldier Program: Adventures in Failure, Propaganda, and Ethics

 

As the march towards the Second World War seemed inexorable, preparations were being made all over the world. In the United States, this was the catalyst for the Super Soldier Program. The original Program, dubbed Operation Prometheus, was a scattershot of chemical, engineering, medical, and metaphysical attempts to give the United States an army of invincible soldiers to break the Axis when they inevitably turned on America.

 

Headed by an ambitious General Paul Lakeland, Operation Prometheus had been given tremendous resources and autonomy with their mission to churn out superhuman soldiers by the time the US entered the Conflict. The Program was given a location in what would eventually become the Iowa Ordnance Plant, sharing the grounds and security but being run separately. Conflicts between General Lakeland and the officer in charge of the IOP caused Prometheus to be moved east to Nebraska. The location in Nebraska was dubbed Fort Carver.

 

The initial results bore a bit of fruit in what is now being called the Legendary Effect. A series of expensive chemical and radiation treatments transformed one of the one hundred volunteers into a physical marvel, a man possessing physical attributes beyond what was considered at the time peak human potential. That one success, was given a patriotic costume and the name the All-American. He was a propaganda tool in the late 30’s, becoming an agent after we entered the war.

 

The ‘failure’ of the All-American was in his commonality. By the time 1943 rolled around through either independent means or espionage, eight countries involved in the conflict had similar legendary heroes: Japan’s Samurai Ichi, who used the same formula as the Americans, stolen from a disgruntled scientist by a lovely espionage agent; Legionario, the product of generations of eugenic breeding and fascist idealism; Hauptmann Deutschland, the almost ridiculously overcompensating Aryan Ideal; Achilles, said to be given his physique and indestructible shield by the Gods themselves; Osvoboditel' (the Liberator), the Russian man of iron; John Bull, the British Bull Dog; Red Ensign from Canada; and Tri-Colore the head of the French Resistance.

 

Achilles’s shield was copied by his American, Canadian, and British contemporaries, as having an indestructible shield helped against bullets. All-American’s shield was created from leftover meteoric alloy after another of Operation: Prometheus’s early successes, the American Steel battle suit. The Shields, often badge shaped or disc shaped for throwing, somehow caught the imaginations of the world and remain popular to this day as weapons for heroes and (less often) villains. 

 

Additionally, the initial Legendary class heroes all went on to develop exceptional intelligence, reasoning, sensory acuteness, will power and longevity. They made such a name for themselves as heroes to their various people that a Legendary Class agent is often the first costumed representative of any country or entity seeking an iconic manifestation. It should be noted that the methods of creating Legendary Class metas has been streamlined and far less expensive but for reasons unknown generally result in only physical improvements. The reasons for this have been mostly speculative.

 

After All-American and American Steel saw early action, mostly at home against 5^th Column Saboteurs and Japanese advanced metahuman agents, Prometheus fired off a string of costly failures. The failures were economic, manpower, and ethical blunders and were by and large kept from the public for almost 50 years after the war ended.

 

An attempt to reverse engineer another “Captain Atlas” resulted in the painful deaths of almost fifty servicemen. A purely radioactive approach killed many more and created the monster known as Anguish, who rampaged across the Midwest until he was stopped by Maiden America and subsequently died due to the toxins in his blood. The men and women in charge of these projects were often kept in the dark as to how their treatments were working, General Lakeland using physicians, technicians, and nurses loyal to him to conduct the experiments on more volunteers than the scientists had believed they were working with. 

 

The Metaphysical approach netted two novice magicians known as Dr Americanna and Lady Nightingale and a madman who stole a number of artifacts and called himself the Ameriking. The two novice heroes spent much of the war trying to protect Bureau 13 from the Ameriking and his often bloody attempts at gathering more artifacts of power. Lady Nightengale was killed in 1943 and Dr. Americanna was moved (for his protection) to the Minute Men team.

 

Though it was billed as a team of super soldiers created by American Ingenuity, the Minute Men was 4 parts Super Solider (All-American, Dr Americanna, and American Steel) and 5 parts serendipity as Captain Atlas, Maiden America, the Bombshell, Brave, Stars & Stripes and Patriette were metahumans whose origins had nothing to do with the program.

 

As the war neared its end, the top minds in charge of Operation Prometheus, who could no longer turn a blind eye to the slapdash safety standards and volunteer bodycount turned on General Lakeland and (rather bravely) went to the Pentagon in 1946 with their accusations and proof. They would later form the core of Crucible Industries. 

 

 

 

Chad's Notes: 

- I wanted a reason to have Shield slinging super patriots in an Earth were there was no Captain America. 

- the horrifyingly simplistic naming schemes for the Super Soldiers is by design. General Lakeland was not a creative man. 

 

[Enforcer84]

The original Legends changed the world, the former Soviet Liberator broke off from the USSR and founded his own country, he was slain defending Earth from alien invaders. 

The Legionnaire graduated to Artifex and was one of the leading geneticists of human history, killed by one of his proteges.

John Bull eventually became the de facto lead of the UK's metahuman department as did his Canadian counterpart, Red Ensign and French Ally, Tri-Colore.

Achilles studied magic and military history eventually disappearing in the 80's. 

All-American adventured into his late 50's, retired to politics in 1970.

Samurai Icho took the loss badly, denounced the government and helped found the Iron Dragon Society. 

[Major Tom 2009]

I read this post last night and it got me thinking about what these folks might look like, so I went

ahead and whipped up some pics for your perusal -- All-American, Hauptmann Deutschland,

Legionario, and Samurai Ichi. I'm also adding the pic of John Bull that I'd posted over on the

D.C. thread; he doesn't have a shield in this pic, though:

 

 

 

 

What do you think of them?

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Major Tom 2009]

Just had an interesting thought -- what if Tri-Colore was a heroine with the power to split into three identical duplicates

of herself, with each one wearing an outfit of one of the three colors that make up the French flag -- one in blue, one

in white, and one in red? This power would be in addition to any Captain America-type super-soldier abilities.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Enforcer84]

It would make the Legends more diverse. But I didn't want powers beyond the Cap-Stats. Oh and I don't see Achilles.

[TheQuestionMan]

Wow! Nice Work! 

 

I suck

 

QM

[Major Tom 2009]

And here are some more of them -- Achilles, Maiden America, Osvoboditel', Red Ensign and Tri-Colore:

 

 

 

 

In my defense regarding Osvoboditel', I'd done his pic based on your description of him as 'the Russian man of iron',

which suggested a battlesuit trooper-type character. As for Tri-Colore, I decided to do the character as a male since,

at least in the WWII comics, no female would have been accepted as a test subject for a super-soldier program (the

Axis, on the other hand, weren't quite as fussy in that regard) sponsored by any of the Allied powers (most of which

were run -- for the most part -- by male-chauvinist [and sometimes racist] Establishment types); those superheroines

that appeared in the ranks of Allied supers tended to be the result one one sort of accident or another).

 

 

EDIT: OK, after reading the post about MA's appearance, I put together a new pic for her, and replaced the old one

for the new one.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Enforcer84]

no problem Major Tom. He started out more in the Red guardian Mode (though he didn't wear a shield) but after the war when he became a revolutionary and founded his own country he went to powered armor

As did the Nazi - later becoming Eisen Kreuz or Doktor Kreuz or White Cross...I can't remember at the moment. 

 

Maiden America has a cape. She's an All-American Super girl

[Major Tom 2009]

Look above your post.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Major Tom 2009]

Dr. Americanna and Lady Nightingale:

 

 

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Enforcer84]

I like your flair for design

[Major Tom 2009]

I like your flair for design

 

Thanks; I've got five more for this batch yet to do, as I've already done one for Captain Atlas.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Enforcer84]

Captain Atlas, an Astronomer who followed a meteor only to find a perfectly spheroid ball of metallic goo was transformed by the Sovereign Stone into the first real Superhero of the WWII era. The pulp mystery men were a little more behind the scenes. 

 

He chose the name Atlas because he felt he had the weight of the world on his shoulders - he was tremendously powerful (65 STR in a day with most bricks had 55) and the stone gave him your usual Superman-style powerset and occasional migraines and flashes of brilliance and understanding. The "Captain" bit was added by General Lakeland and the brains behind the Minute Men, his costume was a flagsuit - I'd kind of based it on the guy from Silver Age Sentinals....or Sovereign from Captial Comics - though I had named the stone independently of his character.

 

 

Atlas has dark hair, no white. Near the end of the war, Atlas has achieved STR 75 and was acting somewhat erratic. No mindless attacks or tearing people in two. But distracted, as if being called. The Nazis studied his abilities and noted by accident that a particular form of concentrated radioactive energy seemed to harm him more than most anything else. 

 

So they built a cannon that they surmised would end him. There had been a Nazi Superman who'd fought him throughout the war, Aryan Ubermench though strong he wasn't really in Captain Atlas's class (60 STR) but he was smart, tenacious and a noble man who was carefully blinded to the horrors of his fellow Nazis. As the war was winding down, cracks were showing in Aryan Ubermench's loyalty. Deciding to ignore one of their most potent weapon's pride, they used a battle between the two rivals as a chance to use their cannon. 

 

The effects were amazing. The cannon didn't really harm Captain Atlas in the way that they had assumed, the radiation tended to exacerbate his migraines not really harm him more than anything else. This time the migraine was fast and furious, the radiation had recharged the Sovereign Stone's powers allowing it to finish his transformation - when he rose out of the crater he was even more powerful and in command of a vastly increased intellect. Fighting back the stone's desires to conquer, he swatted his one-time rival aside, destroyed the cannon and flew off into the night.

 

His next appearance he had dropped the flag suit altogether, going with a white and powder blue costume with a globe motif on his chest. Calling himself Atlas he finished out the rest of the war as an increasingly aloof force of nature.

When the Hyrnn invaded, Atlas was instrumental in protecting Earth from their warships, working alongside his onetime rival in the process. After the invasion Atlas came to the conclusion he had to leave Earth to come to grips with what he'd become. The whispers of conquest in his ear was getting harder to deny and he wasn't about to become some metahuman dictator.  

 

So the first and greatest hero left Earth behind and sought to find himself in the stars. 

 

 

...He returned in early 2000 when another invasion threatened Earth, having only grown in power since he left. He's the Superman of my world (a world with MANY knockoffs I might add)

[BlueCloud2k2]

I like it!

[Enforcer84]

Thank you  

[Major Tom 2009]

This was what I'd come up with for Captain Atlas last night:

 

 

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[bubba smith]

very nice

[Major Tom 2009]

Bombshell and Brave:

 

 

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Major Tom 2009]

Here are the rest of the good guys -- American Steel, Patriette and Stars & Stripes:

 

 

 

 

Next up will be the baddies.

 

 

EDIT: I needed to replace Stars & Stripes' pic with a new one after Enforcer84 mentioned that the character

was a single individual, so here he is.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Major Tom 2009]

Here are the villains that were mentioned earlier in this thread -- two of whom were actually named and

the third for which I came up with a name for.

 

In alphabetical order, here are Ameriking, Anguish, and Lady Chrysanthenum (the Japanese espionage

agent that seduced the super-soldier compound out of the scientist mentioned in the early part of this thread,

and which made Samurai Ichi what he was):

 

 

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Lawnmower Boy]

That must have been quite the seduction.

 

-"Herro, I mean, hello, soldier!"

-"Are you talking to me? Has anyone ever told you that you have a thicker Japanese accent than actual Japanese people?"

-"I do  not know what you are talking about, Most Honourable Scientist Person. Am only humble American girl. This one means, patriotic American girl, as true blue as whalemeat sashimi! I mean, apple pie."

-"Do actual Japanese people actually say 'this one?' I thought that was more movie serials. Or BDSM fan fic."

-"I am as libertarian as Mom wrestlling with octopus in Herbert Rockwell painting! Or, patriotic as roast beef? No, wait, that's England. Anyway, am pleased to meet you Hon-- person who just happens to look like top secret project scientist, of which I am having no knowledge whatsoever. My name is, uhm, Veroni-- No, that's a little too posh, I mean, 'Betty.' Betty, uhm, Doe. Betty Yakaguchi Doe. I have lonely heart."

-"I can't help noticing that you're dressed as a geisha girl."

-"I buy old clothes at Savings Bond Drive! All out for victory! Banz--- No, wait, that's too much, even for me."

--"And you're wearing a mask."

--"I am humble and self-effacing. And looking for a boyfriend. Hint hint."

--"Well, why didn't you say so? I'm good at math and physics, and I like Asian girls. I mean, I really like Asian girls."

--"Okay, never mind, that's too much, even for me. If Tojo wants your secrets, he can seduce you himself."

--"You, uhm, have Tojo's number?"

"Right here, sailor!"

 

And so was America's greatest military secret fatally compromised. 

[Enforcer84]

Here are the rest of the good guys -- American Steel, Patriette and Stars & Stripes:

 

 

American Steel.jpgPatriette.jpgStars & Stripes.jpg

 

 

Next up will be the baddies.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

Stars and Stripes is one guy.  

 

I named him long ago. 

[Major Tom 2009]

OK, I've gotten rid of the Stars & Stripes pic and replaced it with a single-character one.

 

In the meantime, I'd like to contribute a couple of overseas-based freedom fighters for Else Earth's

WWII period.

 

First up is Golden Gryphon, a superheroine from the British Isles who fights the Nazis using a suit of

magical, winged armor. Not only does the armor protect her from harm, it also gives her superhuman

strength (which comes in quite handy when she uses the armor's talons to rip enemy tanks to shreds)

as well as the ability to fly faster than the swiftest fighters of the time (including the Me-262, the first

jet fighter to see actual combat) and to outmanuever them. She is also able to fly at altitudes where

normal flyers need oxygen in order to function, and possesses superhuman visual acuity while she

wears the armor.

 

Next is the Musketeer, a member of the French Resistance who, in some inexplicable fashion (he

has no memory of the prescise event) came into possession of advanced weaponry -- a sword made

from an unknown and seemingly indestructible alloy, and a pair of energy pistols that resemble 17th-

century musket pistols -- which he uses to fight the Nazis occupying France and their collaborators.

His uniform resembles the outfits worn by the King's Musketeers, with the addition of a domino mask.

 

 

 

 

I'd done these once before using FH2011, but now that the Beta version of FH2016 is out (with all of

the extra image options), I decided to make improved versions of them.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[bubba smith]

as for the musketeer, he could be armed by an extraterrestrial who is either helping or meddling the GMs choice

[Enforcer84]

The Aliens were helping the Axis. Their plan was to use the Nazis as their pawns and build on Earth's natural resources as a Nexus world. 

They misjudged Hitler and when the Axis lost they attempted a hastily planned invasion and found Earth's metahumans to be more serious a threat than the weapons wielded by the governments