Cassandra Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 What if all superheroes from the comics existed on the same world, with a shared history? The first superheroes began in the 1930s. Superman landed on Earth some twenty years earlier, and he inspired others to join the costumed fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. The U.S. government responded to the rise of the superhero by attempting to create a supersoldier program, leading to Captain America. The Justice Society of America is formed to combine forces against criminals and Axis Spies, and Wonder Woman gets them to work for the War Department. Captain America recruits heroes for the Invaders for the Office of Strategic Services when the war breaks out. Nazi supervillains invade America from time to time, tying down most of our costumed crime fighters on the home front. It is the Golden Age of Superheroes. The war ends, and a number of the surviving heroes retire. What really happened to Captain America is a secret, and another man takes his place. Costumed crime fighters and superheroes age more slowly, as do many of their friends and relatives, about one year ever six after starting their careers, but no one seems to notice. In the 1960s the New Frontier brings forth new superheroes, a Silver Age of Heroes begins. Joined by the older more established crime fighters of the past, new superheroes begin their careers. The Justice League of America is formed to replace the Justice Society of America. SHIELD is formed to deal with the new supercriminals. In the wake of the Kennedy Assassination and Watergate, a darker, Bronze Age of Heroes begins. The older heroes begin to suffer from introspection, wondering if they serve any real purpose in a more cynical world. New vigilantes who don't play by the old rules find themselves in conflict with more vicious criminals. It is the age of the Joker, who warps from Clown Prince of Crime to a twisted sadistic monster. To be continued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyDrug Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 Re: Multiverse It is an intriguing idea. I have been working on a combined Marvel-DC Universe taking it all into account. As a note: Captain America's being MIA was a secret in the official Marvel Universe. He was replaced, quietly, by William Naslund (the Spirit of '76) and then Jeffery Mace (Patriot) during the 1950's before Mace retired the identity. It was then vacant until the return of the original Captain America. Note: the general public was never aware of the fourth Captain America (aka the Grand Director). In my universe, the All-Star Squadron also included the Invaders, Liberty Legion, and Kid Commandoes (who were merged with the Young All-Stars as one team of young heroes). I kicked off my modern age of heroes in 1980 with the debuts of Superman, Batman and the Fantastic Four. I created one elite hero team by combining the JLA and Avengers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse Speaking of which, check this out: ALTERNATE WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE SUPERHERO TIMELINE. Comprehensive and very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse Speaking of which' date=' check this out: ALTERNATE WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE SUPERHERO TIMELINE. Comprehensive and very cool. Nice! I can use this to fill out my own time line. To the OT my campaign is heavily influenced by the DCU with some Marvel but I've re-named/imaged all the characters for my own taste(i.e Superman landed in the Andes near the secret base of the Knights Templar and became the hero Templar and things like that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse DC gets a little problematic because of dealing with the Golden Age versions of certain characters like Superman and the Silver Age versions. You could have the newer versions be the children of the Golden Age versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLBlake Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse Hey, with a combined DC & Marvel Universe we could have a "Infinite Secret Crisis War". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse Hey' date=' with a combined DC & Marvel Universe we could have a "Infinite Secret Crisis War". [/quote'] They did something like that with the Amalgam Comics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLBlake Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse They did something like that with the Amalgam Comics. Wow, that seems like forever ago. Actually some of the concepts were pretty good. I especially like Dr. Strangefate, Dark Claw & Spider-Boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Re: Multiverse I was most fond of Super-Soldier. I thought his visuals and blended origin were well done, and when you think about it synthesizing Superman with Captain America made a lot of sense on several levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse DC gets a little problematic because of dealing with the Golden Age versions of certain characters like Superman and the Silver Age versions. You could have the newer versions be the children of the Golden Age versions. That's crazy. You'd also want grandchildren, nephews, nieces, clones, reverse clones, time-travelled alternate universe versions of their own parents, super-gorilla apprentices... It's comics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse Link to two relevant PDFs based, in part, on the above document: SSgt Baloo's Timeline Golden Age (WWII) RPG handbook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse What if all superheroes from the comics existed on the same world, with a shared history? The first superheroes began in the 1930s. Superman landed on Earth some twenty years earlier, and he inspired others to join the costumed fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. The U.S. government responded to the rise of the superhero by attempting to create a supersoldier program, leading to Captain America. The Justice Society of America is formed to combine forces against criminals and Axis Spies, and Wonder Woman gets them to work for the War Department. Captain America recruits heroes for the Invaders for the Office of Strategic Services when the war breaks out. Nazi supervillains invade America from time to time, tying down most of our costumed crime fighters on the home front. It is the Golden Age of Superheroes. The war ends, and a number of the surviving heroes retire. What really happened to Captain America is a secret, and another man takes his place. Costumed crime fighters and superheroes age more slowly, as do many of their friends and relatives, about one year ever six after starting their careers, but no one seems to notice. That's an idea I dislike. Any time everyone in the world is required to be stupid or mind controlled all the time, to make the world work, I don't think the resulting world is worthwhile. Among the options I'd find more palatable are: 1. Go with something approximating the current time lines in both universe. While superhumans showed up in World War II and earlier, there was a surge in them 20 years ago, starting with Superman and the Fantastic Four. Superman actually made his debut _preventing the crash of the FF spaceplane_. Thus, there was no Superman in World War II. There were a bunch of superhumans in World War II and after, who are now really old when they aren't dead (everyone you don't want like the Blue Diamond, Firebrand, The Crimson Commando and so on). Others were immortal/slow aging/frozen in time/cloned by Cadmus. 2. Let people age. Superman made his debut in 1939, he had a kid with Lois Lane, who became Superboy and eventually took over as Superman and had a kid with Lana Lang.... Meanwhile Marvel is into M2 territory. 3. Create a patchwork universe as a result of one of those cosmic crises which were responsible for the Justice League and the Justice Society being in the same universe in the first place. Everyone knows multiple worlds merged and the new year is 1 A.M. (After Merge). The result is that a cold war Black Widow lives in the same world with a World War II Berlin, a 21st century Superman, a 19th century Tombstone, and a 1960s Fantastic Four. Their history doesn't make sense, and they know that perfectly well, but what can you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse John Byrne had Generations for DC if you can find it. That had the heroes aging from their debut and passing their mantles down the years. I dont know if it was a good read or not. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse I did something similar to this years ago. Here's the latest version of the history: [ATTACH]38351[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse 1. Go with something approximating the current time lines in both universe. While superhumans showed up in World War II and earlier' date=' there was a surge in them 20 years ago, starting with Superman and the Fantastic Four. Superman actually made his debut _preventing the crash of the FF spaceplane_. Thus, there was no Superman in World War II. There were a bunch of superhumans in World War II and after, who are now really old when they aren't dead (everyone you don't want like the Blue Diamond, Firebrand, The Crimson Commando and so on). Others were immortal/slow aging/frozen in time/cloned by Cadmus.[/quote'] YMMV, but I would find that unacceptable. They are called SUPER heroes because Superman was the prototype, the avitar, the example that all others tried to live up to. [to be continued] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse Part of the problem with a merged timeline is defining where the Big Guns go. For example, if we say that the Justice Society, Superman, Batman, etc. debuted in 1940, they should long since be gone from the scene, occasional time traveler and immortal excepted. If we bring the Silver Age characters in the early '60's, they're 50 years older now - should they still be active? Let's call that the DC silver age. So we move to the Marvel supers - they should be Silver Age, but let's have them start showing up in the late '70's/early '80s to take over from the DC Silver Agers. If Peter Parker was a 15 yo in 1976, and Ben Grimm was 25, they are now 50 and 60, respectively. Should they still be active? Well, if we assume that the mid-'70's Marvels really happened around 1980 - 1985, that makes the Punisher what? A young 30 when he started in 1985 makes him 55 now - how healthy is he? If the New X-Men started in their late teens about the same time, they should be past the Big 5-0 as well. Who took over in the mid-'90's? Image? Pretty much all the Big Names we recognize (unless maybe we include a Charlton Age and other companies to push the characters we want active further forward) should be retired by now. Which could provide a terrific backstory for a game based on the Next Generations, with most of the Old Guard cleared out and retired, making room for the next generation of heroes, I suppose. The question becomes whether you want these characters as active players, or background material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse Hugh raises excellent points. If you start your history with the assumption that heroes debuted in your timeline when they appeared in comics here, pretty much all of the big names from both companies are now retired or dead. The Superman who kicked off the Golden Age would be in his 90s, and the same for the other Golden Age heroes. Spider-man would be about 60. There's nothing wrong with having the PCs adventure in a world where the big names are mostly gone from the scene. They are part of the new generation, which could be like MU2 or Kingdom Come. The problem comes if you want them to still be around and active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Re: Multiverse YMMV' date=' but I would find that unacceptable. They are called SUPER heroes because Superman was the prototype, the avitar, the example that all others tried to live up to. [to be continued'] Maybe, but you'll note that's the situation in the actual DC universe (not to mention Smallville). Also, of course Superman wasn't the first superhero, the pulps had plenty of predecessors. It isn't my preferred approach, but it's better to my mind than a situation where superheroes all live at least six times longer than anyone else and nobody notices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Re: Multiverse YMMV' date=' but I would find that unacceptable. They are called SUPER heroes because Superman was the prototype, the avatar, the example that all others tried to live up to. [to be continued'] Part of the problem with a merged timeline is defining where the Big Guns go. For example' date=' if we say that the Justice Society, Superman, Batman, etc. debuted in 1940, they should long since be gone from the scene, occasional time traveler and immortal excepted.[/quote'] Maybe' date=' but you'll note that's the situation in the actual DC universe (not to mention Smallville). Also, of course Superman wasn't the first superhero, the pulps had plenty of predecessors. It isn't my preferred approach, but it's better to my mind than a situation where superheroes all live at least six times longer than anyone else and nobody notices.[/quote'] Were any of the pulp-age heroes, Doc Savage, The Shadow, Green Hornet, called "super" heroes? Yes, Doc was the literary ancestor of both Superman and Batman, but the genre is not Savage Heroes. Rather than not noticing, immortals have popped up through human history in my timeline. Captain John Carter does not know how old he is, but is publicly known as the last Civil War veteran. Stamata Revithi lives in Athens and looks younger than her great-great grandchildren. James Brendan Connolly still writes and drinks at the age of 143, and still looks a few years shy of 30 (while working for the Daily Planet under the name of Olsen, he was actually older than Editor-in Chief Perry White.) Bruce Jenner, again in my time line only, looks younger than his step daughters. Immortality or slow aging does not necessarily bring other powers. In my timeline, Superman became active in 1938. Supergirl made her first public appearance in 1962, and within a year had taken her cousin's place in the Justice League. Superman was semi-retired until 1978, when he appeared, suddenly looking decades younger. Killed in combat with Doomsday in 1992, he reappeared in 2006. Tabloid speculation is rife, no official explanation has been given. No official explanation is needed as this is an NPC players will hear about but are unlikely to meet. If I think of a good story line using him, I'll decide just what the back story is. Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, went the Howard Hughes route in the 70's, becoming an increasingly eccentric recluse. This was mostly to hide the fact that he had stopped aging in 1948 at the age of 34. Now approaching 100, Wayne Industries is now run by Bruce's distant cousin, Thomas Wayne IV (one of Batman's dozen or so deep cover identities). Batman on the other hand has been being seen since 1939, seldomly with more than a few weeks between alleged sightings. Wonder Woman is publicly known to be over three thousand years old. All the Green Lanterns find their power rings slow down their aging. The Flashes have as a side effect of their amped metabolism a healing factor that makes them more vigorous than others, even trained athletes, of their own age. And so forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Re: Multiverse Were any of the pulp-age heroes' date=' Doc Savage, The Shadow, Green Hornet, called "super" heroes? [/quote'] Obviously not at the time, but that's what they are. It's similar to the way Smallville assiduously avoids referring to the superheroes by that name. Superman hasn't made his debut yet and had his impact on nomenclature. On the whole for a Batman-type character I prefer to go the legacy route. That he has an apprentice-ship program explains the sidekicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Re: Multiverse Even if you use publish dates and real time, you would still have plenty of heroes and teams around. Guys like Metamorpho and the Metal Men were sixties creations. Most of the marvel guys would still be around. Recent guys like Booster Gold and Blue Devil would be out there and fairly new. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Re: Multiverse On the whole for a Batman-type character I prefer to go the legacy route. That he has an apprentice-ship program explains the sidekicks. Enough legacies in the GL's, Flashes, etc. Batman in my timeline has had sidekicks, 3 Robins, 2 Batgirls, Catwoman, Batwoman,and currently the Huntress. Like the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, there may be a curse on the position. "But this time it will be different." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted April 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Re: Multiverse Here is an idea. In 1938 Superman appears in Metropolis. His appearance begins the Golden Age of Superheroes as others become active. He falls in love with Lois Lane, who after five years marries her. In 1944 Connor Kent is born. Due to his kryptonian physiology he grows rapidily, and is sent to Smallville during his training years. He is raised by his grandparents Jonathan and Martha Kent, and meets and falls in love with Lana Lang. Superman's powers expand and he explores the Kryptonian systems, and discovers a survivor in suspended animation on the nearby planet Argo. Her name is Kara In-ze, and is sent to live with her cousin Connor in Smallville as Kara Kent. She laters becomes Power Girl, and changes her name to Karen Starr. A few years later Kara Zor-El arrives and is raised by Fred and Edna Danvers as their adopted daughter Linda. The Crisis caused the group along with the rest of the Multiuniverse to be catipulted into the future, and only the heroes and a few of their associates are aware of what has happened. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Re: Multiverse What about "frail old" Aunt May? She's looked 90 years old since about 1962. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Re: Multiverse She made a deal with the Devil, er editor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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