Doc Shadow

This idiot is giving me everything he knows.

4th and 5th are neck and neck for me. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are fine too, I played with them for a long time and liked them very much. 
 
[Dr. Banner] You don't want to hear my opinion on 6th. You wouldn't like my opinion on 6th.[/Dr. Banner]

"To the bat-poles!"

Because I have asked you. Because your loyalty to our people should be greater than your ambition. And because I have poisoned your drink.

"Would that be the plan to continue with total slaughter until everyone's dead except Field Marshal Haig, Lady Haig and their tortoise, Alan?"

The History of the Champions Earth
 
Mid 1920s through the early 1940s
   The Pulp Era began in 1925 with the first major adventure of Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five; it lasted until the early 40s overlapping with the later heroic age. Among the most active heroes were: Savage (1925-1945), The Shadow (1929-1940), globetrotting explorer Jack Colt (1927-1939), private eye Blake Diamond (1930-1944), Agent 13 (1932-1937) and adventurer Preston Walker (1926-1932). Most kept fighting as long as they were effective, some (Agent 13 for example) dropped out of sight as soon as their “mission” was accomplished, a few like Jack Colt had the end of their careers written in blood, one – Doc Savage – vanished mysteriously only to reappear half a century later un-aged and in perfect health.
 
Late 1930s through early 1950s
   World War II brought forth the Golden Age of Heroes, and for the first time the super-powered hero made his appearance. The late 30s and early 40s gave birth to many heroes whose legends have lived on throughout time. Among the most famous were: Captain America (1940-1945), The Flash (1940-1954), The Atom (1941-1954), Steel (1942-1959), Union Jack (1939-1956), Tricolor (1940-1944), The Human Torch (1942-1947), Bullet (1940-1946) and the man who had started the age - Patriot (1938-1946). One by one the heroes appeared, in July of 1941 they were united by President Roosevelt to partake in a secret mission overseas. From this early gathering came Team America, the greatest gathering of heroes ever seen. Not since the days of Mount Olympus had the world known such power. This was truly the Golden Age of Heroes. Then on the Day of Infamy naval and air forces from the Empire of Japan shattered the US Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, aroused from her peacetime slumbers America entered the Second World War. In January of 1942 President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill brought forth all the various Allied heroes and proposed to form them into a single all-powerful group, this was the birth of the Liberty Legion.
 
   But the real heroes of the war were not those who donned colorful costumes and had strange powers. They were the Americans and Canadians, the French and Greeks, the British and Norwegians, the Australians and Poles, the ordinary citizens who joined their nation’s armies in the fight for a free world. These men fought in khaki and green and navy blue, marched through winds and rain, trudged across parched deserts and sailed through icy Atlantic swells. These soldiers risked - and many lost - their lives and to them all specially gifted heroes bow in reverence. And there were yet those brave men and women who fought their war in the shadow world of espionage: Nick Carter, Matt Helm, Hugh North and Jessica Mason. All too often these heroes paid the price of valor with blood. Until at long last their sacrifices were rewarded with victory and with peace.
 
   The war was over and so came the decline of the Heroic Age. The 1940s began with the birth of the superheroes and ended with their slide toward obscurity. The final crushing blow came in 1954 when the successor to the wartime Liberty Legion – The Justice Society of America, came under suspicion by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Rather than divulge their secret identities the Society disbanded, its members retiring to private life.
 
Early 1950s through Early 1980s
   The McCarthy Purges brought on the Age of the Superagents; government founded and operated combined paramilitary, espionage and law-enforcement organizations. The most active agencies were: UNTIL – the United Nations Tribunal on International Law (1950-1970), Task Force X (1954-1969), SHIELD – the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Directorate (1964-2003) and UNCLE – the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (1960-1983). Armed with high technology and nerves of steel they battled the multi-national cartels of crime, terror and conquest: Viper, the Secret Empire, Hydra and Thrush. For thirty years they turned back the tide of evil that threatened to swamp the world. Alone, they stood unflinching and afraid of nothing save the return of the one menace that they were ill equipped to handle. In September of 1983 the menace returned when in the tiny Balkan nation of Latveria, Doctor Doom seized the throne. The Supervillains had returned.
 
Early 1980s onward
   The time had come at last! This was to be the greatest Age of Heroes. It was heralded in by the return of the fastest man on Earth – the Flash in 1983. Among the first of the new breed was test pilot Hal Jordan summoned to the side of a dying alien and given a fabulous ring of power to become – Green Lantern. A freak accident during the testing of an experimental nuclear reactor transforms scientists Mark and Angela Stoddard into Sunburst and Solar. The test flight of an experimental spaceship transforms Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm into Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the second Human Torch and the Thing; thus is born the Fantastic Four. Genius Industrialist Anthony Stark creates the high-tech armor to become the Invincible Iron-man. Mythology and reality collide with the return of the Norse God of Thunder – the Mighty Thor. In Gotham City a child orphaned by a killer’s gun had sharpened his mind and body to a razor’s edge, Bruce Wayne became a cancer on the Underworld in the form of the Dark Knight Detective – the Batman. As the world rushes headlong to the future the rate of genetic mutation is given a violent surge by nuclear research giving rise to the mutant children of the atom and thus emerge – the Uncanny X-Men. 1987 saw the return of the Sentinel of Liberty, the greatest human combatant of all time – Captain America! As a teen Peter Parker learned a hard lesson about power and responsibility, since then he has lived up to that responsibility as the Amazing Spider-man. The child from Krypton, raised in Smallville, had moved to the city of Metropolis where he fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice, this last son of a destroyed world has become the greatest hero of all time – Superman! Schooled by the master mage known only as the Ancient One this former surgeon has become the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme – Dr. Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts. A victim of mob violence Zack Thomas became the living terror of mobsters everywhere as the dark avenger known only as the Wraith. And still more followed them.
 
   This was now the Silver Age of Heroes and inspired by the teams of the Golden Age some of the greatest that ever lived banded together to face menaces that no one hero could defeat. Taking their inspiration from the post-war Justice Society – The Flash, Green Lantern, Atom II and Blue Beetle became the first Justice League of America. In Canada - Blue Star, Sprint, Green Arrow and Apache Chief are the Avant Guard. Across the globe are the four teams of fire and purpose collectively known as Strike Force. But foremost of the teams of the Silver Age are the Earth’s mightiest heroes – the Mighty Avengers.
 
   But these strides forward are not without the occasional step back and the two most disastrous occurred within four years of one another. In 2003, on the recommendation of its director, Colonel Nick Fury, SHIELD was broken up and disbanded as a result of massive enemy infiltration following which Fury and a handful of trusted subordinates spent the next three years cleaning up the corruption. Then far and away worse, in 2007 Superman was struck down saving Metropolis from the rampaging beast that the press dubbed – Doomsday. The greatest Hero on Earth had made the ultimate sacrifice for his adopted home and the entire world mourned in an outpouring of grief the like of which had never been seen. Was this the signal for the decline of the Silver Age? It seems doubtful, UNTIL has been updated and brought back into operation under Fury’s command following the break up of SHIELD. Patriot has returned and taken up residence in Metropolis where he leads a new Strike Force team that has pledged to follow the Man of Steel’s noble legacy and life goes on. Freedom, Liberty and Justice are anything but free. They must be earned through courage, fidelity and sacrifice. But in the end it is that which makes them worth having.
 
   According to definition a Hero is a man who fights against overwhelming odds for a cause, ideals or the lives of innocents. The cause and ideals will vary with the morning’s headlines; while the innocent, in today’s world of muddy morality, may ultimate prove to be the guilty. Which leaves but one constant in that definition. That a Hero is, above all, a man. A man subject to pressures and responsibilities far above those of other men. After a time those pressures and responsibilities can begin to take their toll upon the soul of even the most valiant of heroes. And it is then that the test of a true Hero begins.
 
The True Heroic Age has just begun.
 
 
 
Major Known Heroes of the Silver Age  (1983 onward)
and select Elder Statesman Heroes
 
Name
1st Appeared
Affiliation
Power type
Current Status
Doc Savage
1925
US Gov.
Highly trained / Super Science
Semi-retired
Patriot $
1938
US Gov / L L / Strike Force
Mutate - highly trained
Active - Metropolis
Captain America
1940
T A / L L / Avengers
Mutate - highly trained
Active – East Coast
The Atom
1941
T A / L L / JSA
Mutate - highly trained
Retired - 1954
Sub-mariner
1941
Atlantis / Avengers
Alien – Sea Powers
Semi-retired
Steel
1942
US Gov./ Liberty Legion
Mutate - Brick
Retired - 1959
Nick Fury $
1943
SHIELD / UNTIL
Highly Trained
Active - worldwide
The Flash II
1983
Justice League of America
Mutate - Speed
Dead - 1998
Green Lantern
1984
Guardians / JLA
High Tech - Ring
Dead - 2004
Power Girl
1984
JLA
Alien - Brick
Dead - 1996
Sunburst !
1984
Solar
Mutate – Density control
Active – L.A.
Solar !
1984
Sunburst
Mutate – Energy control
Active – L.A.
Atom II
1985
JLA
Mutate - Shrinking
Active – San Francisco
Ace of Diamonds !
1985
US Gov.
Highly Trained
Retired - 2001
Blue Beetle
1985
JLA
Gadgeteer
Active - Dallas
Mr. Fantastic
1986
Fantastic Four
Mutate - Stretching
Active - NYC
The Invisible Woman
1986
Fantastic Four
Mutate - Invisibility
Active - NYC
Human Torch II
1986
Fantastic Four
Mutate – Flame control
Active - NYC
The Thing
1986
Fantastic Four
Mutate – Brick
Active - NYC
The Hulk
1986
Avengers / Defenders
Mutate - Brick
Dead - 2005
Thor !
1987
Avengers
God of Thunder
Active – East Coast
Iron-man !
1987
Avengers
Powered Armor
Active – West Coast
Doc Pym
1987
Avengers
Gadgeteer
Active – West Coast
Wasp
1987
Avengers
Mutate – Shrinking
Active – West Coast
Professor X
1988
X-Men
Mutant- Egoist
Active – Shiar Galaxy
Cyclops
1988
X-Men / X-Factor
Mutant – Energy blaster
Active - NYC
Jean Grey
1988
X-Men / X-Factor
Mutant - Telekinesis
Active - NYC
Beast
1988
X-Men/ Avengers/ X-Factor
Mutant – Agile brick
Active – NYC
Iceman
1988
X-Men / X-Factor
Mutant – Ice powers
Active – NYC
Angel
1988
X-Men / Defenders
Mutant – Wings
Semi-retired
Midnight $
1988
none
Mutate- Darkness cont.
Active – Hudson City
Captain
 Mar-vell
1989
Kree Militia
Alien – highly trained
Dead - 1998
Lightmaster
1989
Justice League of America
Mutant – Light control
Semi-retired
Doctor Druid
1989
Avengers
Egoist
Dead – 1992
Atomic Knight
1989
Defenders
Powered Armor
Semi-retired
The Batman
1990
Justice League of America
Highly trained
Active - Gotham City
Spider-man !
1990
none
Mutate – Spider powers
Active – NYC
Hawkeye
1990
Avengers
Highly trained
Active – West Coast
Captain Atom
1990
Justice League of America
Mutate – Atomic cont.
Active – mobile
Power Man !
1990
Crusader & Starburst
Mutate - brick
Active – Seattle
Samson the Strong !
1990
Strike Force
Mystic Brick
Active – Metropolis
Superman
1991
Justice League of America
Alien - Brick
Dead - 2007
Crusader !
1991
Power Man & Starburst
Martial Artist
Active – Seattle
Starburst !
1991
Power Man & Crusader
Mutate – Energy cont
Active – Seattle
Black Canary
1991
Justice League of America
Mutate – Sonic Powers
Active – Gotham City
Daredevil
1992
none
Mutate – Hyper Senses
Dead – 2008
Scarlet Witch
1992
Avengers
Mutant – Probability cont
Semi-retired
Doctor Strange
1992
Defenders
Sorcerer
Active – Vibora Bay
Hercules
1993
Avengers
Demi-God – Brick
Inactive
Black Knight
1993
Avengers
Highly trained
Inactive
Mockingbird
1993
Avengers
Highly trained
Active – West Coast
Wonderman
1993
Avengers
Mutate – Brick
Active – West Coast
Blue Star
1994
Avant Guard
Mutant – Electric cont
Active – Canada & UK
Sprint
1994
Avant Guard
Mutant – Speedster
Active – Canada & UK
Green Arrow
1994
Avant Guard
Highly trained
Active – Canada & UK
The Wraith !
1994
none
Highly trained
Inactive
Apache Chief
1995
Avant Guard
Mystic – Grower
Active – Canada & UK
Major Victory
1995
Justice League of America
Mutate – Brick
Active – D.C.
Centurion $
1995
Strike Force
Powered Armor
Active – MA & Hong Kong
Copperhead
1995
Captain X
Powered Armor
Dead – 2000
Storm
1996
X-Men
Mutant – Weather cont
Active – NY
Wolverine
1996
X-Men
Mutant – senses & regeneration
Active – NY
Colossus
1996
X-Men
Mutant – Brick
Active – NY
Black Widow
1996
Avengers
Martial Artist
Active – East Coast
Captain X
1996
Copperhead
Martial Artist
Inactive
Captain Marvel II
1997
Avengers
Mutate – Energy cont
Inactive
Karate Master
1997
Justice League of America
Martial Artist
Active – San Francisco
Ms. Marvel
1997
Avengers
Mutate – Brick
Retired – 2001
The Vision
1997
Avengers
Android – Density cont
Semi-retired
Black Dragon
1997
Strike Force
Martial Artist
Active – US
Atomic Force !
1998
Strike Force
Mutate – Magnetic cont
Active - Florida
Nightcrawler
1998
X-Men
Mutant – Teleporter
Active – NY
Amazing Man
1998
Fantastic Four
Mutant – Phaser
Active – East Coast
Nightmare $
1998
Strike Force
Mutate – Brick
Active – New England
The Flash III
1998
Justice League of America
Mutate – Speedster
Active – St. Louis
The Scarlet Spider !
1999
Strike Force
Mutate – Spider powers
Active - Boston
Gunmetal Silk
1999
Midnight Archer
Highly trained
Active – Chicago
Midnight Archer
1999
Gunmetal Silk
Highly trained
Active - Chicago
Shadowcat
1999
X-Men
Mutant – Phaser
Active – NY
Mind-Star $
1999
Strike Force
Mutant – Egoist
Active – Boston
Tigra
2000
Avengers
Mutate – Cat powers
Active – West Coast
She Hulk
2000
Avengers/ Fantastic Four
Mutate - Brick
Active - LA
War Machine
2000
Avengers
Powered Armor
Inactive
Blademaster !
2001
Strike Force
Highly trained
Active – Paris
Rogue
2001
X-Men
Mutant – brick/ power-leech
Active - NY
Ultrahawk
2002
Strike Force
Mutate – Energy blaster
Dead - 2005
Guardian $
2002
Justice League of America
Mutate – Cosmic power
Active – MA & NV
The Sandman!
2002
none
Highly trained
Active - Hudson City
Starfox
2003
Avengers
Alien – Brick
Inactive
Ms. Marvel II
2003
Fantastic Four
Mutate – Brick
Active - NY
War Chief !
2004
Strike Force
Mystic Brick
Active - Europe
Shadowalker !
2004
Strike Force
Martial Artist
Active - Metropolis
Green Lantern II
2005
Justice League of America
High Tech – Ring
Active – CA
The Ghost !
2006
none
Mutant – Invisibility
Active – Vibora Bay
Wonder Woman
2006
Justice League of America
Amazon – Brick
Active – D.C. and NYC
Jack o’ Lantern !
2007
none
Martial Artist / Gadgeteer
Active – Hudson City
Psi Force $
2007
Strike Force
Mutant – Telekinesis
Active – Metropolis
Harmony $
2007
none
Highly trained
Active – Northeast US
Dark Angel $
2008
none
Highly trained
Active – Hudson City
Longbow $
2008
none
Highly trained
Active – Hudson City
Sea Sprite !
2008
Strike Force
Mutate – Sea Powers
Active - Miami
 
 
 
Major Known Villain Organizations
Name
Leader (s)
Approximate Size
Goals
Viper
Serpent Council
12,000
World Domination
Demon
Inner Circle of Morbanes
8,000
Mystical Power
Hydra
Madame Hydra & Baron Strucker III
11,000
World Domination
A.I.M. 1.
Scientist Supreme
14,000
Recognition of Sovereignty
C.O.B.R.A.  2.
Unknown   3.
1,000
Unknown
The Secret Empire
Unknown  4.
7,500
Rule of America
 
 
Major Currently Active Villain Teams
Name
Members
The Destroyers
The Black Skull II*, Star Smasher !, Sonic Spirit !, Blowtorch !, Ares, Black Paladin !
The Masters of Evil
Baron Zemo III*, Goliath, Mr. Hyde, Living Laser, Boomerang, The Grim Reaper, Tachyon $
The League of Thieves*
King of Clubs*!, Jack of Spades!, Ace of Hearts!, Queen of Diamonds!
The Sinister Squadron
Terminator*, Blacklash, Force!, Shadowdragon!, Bullseye
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Magneto*, Mystique, Sabertooth, Blob, Toad, Pyro, Juggernaut, Destiny
Femmes Fatal
Cheshire*, Moonstone, Titania, Howler$
Grab $
Black Diamond*, Bluejay, Cheshire Cat, Hummingbird
The War Machine
Warlord*!, Warbird$, Warcry$, Warhead$, Warmonger$, Warpath$
Eurostar $
Fiacho*, Durak, Feuermacher, Mentalla, Scorpia, Ultrasonique
 
 
 
 
 
Major Active Villains
Name
Stomping Grounds
Power Level
Doctor Doom
Latveria, New York City
Extreme
Loki
Asgard, Northeastern US
Extreme
The Mandarin
Valley of the Dragons in China
Extreme
Ultron XII
Continental US
Extreme
The Joker
Gotham City
Moderate
Ras Al Ghul
Middle East, Gotham City
High
Juggernaut
New York
Very High
Ronan the Accuser
Kree-Lar
Very High
Hobgoblin!
Metro New York
Moderate
The Kingpin
New York City
High
Baron Mordo
Transylvania, Vibora Bay
Very High
Baron Zemo III
Eastern US, Germany
High
Batroc the Leaper
France, New York
Moderate
Thermostar $
Eastern US
Moderate
Green Dragon!
Boston, San Francisco, Hudson City
Low
Star Smasher!
Eastern US
Very High
Crimson Dynamo
Mobile worldwide
High
Force!
New England
Moderate
Grond
Western US
Very High
Blacklash
Los Angeles
Moderate
Boomerang
San Diego
Low
Ares
Olympus, Eastern US
Very High
The Fixer
Western US
Moderate
Goliath
Metropolis
Moderate
Living Laser
Western US
Moderate
Nebula
Mobile - Deep Space
Very High
Moonstone
Continental US
High
Stormfront $
Mid-western US
Moderate
Magneto
Eastern US
Extreme
Galactus
Mobile – Deep Space
Incalculable
Tigershark
Atlantic Ocean
High
Cheshire
Northeastern US
Moderate
Terminator
DC, Baltimore, Gotham City
High
Taskmaster
Hudson City
High
Sinestro
Western US
Very High
Madame Hydra
Western Hemisphere
High
King of Clubs!
Northern US
Low
Jack of Spades!
Western US
Low
Ace of Hearts!
Southern US
Moderate
Queen of Diamonds!
Eastern US
Moderate
Terrax
Mobile – Deep Space
Very High
Mystique
Eastern US
Moderate
Annihilus
Negative Zone, New York City
High
The Absorbing Man
Seattle
High
Kraven the Hunter
Africa, New York City
Moderate
Kang the Conqueror
Mobile across time and space
Very High
Card Shark $
Hudson City
High
The Red Skull
Philadelphia, New York City
High
Mechassassin $
Europe
High
Anubis $
Egypt, Metropolis
Moderate
Blowtorch $
Hudson City
Moderate
Firewing $
Eastern US
High
Howler $
Metropolis
Moderate
Shadowdragon $
Hudson City
Moderate
Icicle $
Chicago
Moderate
Tokofanes $
Southern US
Extreme
Black Skull II
Metropolis, Europe
High
Penny Dreadful !
Hudson City
Low
Baron Strucker III
Eastern Hemisphere
High
Black Paladin $
England, France
Very High
The Riddler
Gotham City
Low
Tachyon $
Chicago
Moderate
Masque $
Eastern US
Low
Talisman $
Vibora Bay
Moderate
The Imperial Khan $
Taqiristan
Very High
 
 
Known Hero Teams of the Silver Age
 
The Mighty Avengers
Founded: 1988   currently active
Sanctioned by: US Gov., UN & UNTIL
Current Bases: Avengers Mansion, New York City
                       Avengers Compound, Los Angeles
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Iron-man
1988 - F
yes
Inactive
Thor
1988 - F
no
Active - NYC
The Hulk
1988 – F
no
Inactive - Dead
Doc Pym aka Ant-man, Giant-man, Goliath & Yellowjacket
1988 – F
no
Active – LA
Wasp
1988 – F
yes
Reserve
Captain America* - EC
1988
yes
Active – NYC
Hawkeye* - WC
1990
yes
Active – LA
Scarlet Witch
1992
no
Reserve
The Beast
1993
no
Reserve
Sub-mariner
1997
no
Reserve
Hercules
1993
no
Reserve
Black Knight
1994
no
Reserve
Mockingbird
1995
no
Reserve
Wonderman
1995
no
Active - LA
She-Hulk
2003
no
Active – LA
The Vision
1998
yes
Reserve
Starfox
2003
no
Reserve
Ms. Marvel
1999
no
Inactive
Captain Marvel II
1997
yes
Reserve
Doctor Druid
1991
yes
Inactive - Dead
War Machine
2001
no
Inactive
Tigra
2001
no
Active – LA
Black Widow
1999
no
Active – NYC
Sersi
2008
no
Active - NYC
Quicksilver
2009
no
Active - NYC
 
 
 
The Fantastic Four
Founded: 1986   currently active
Sanctioned by: US Gov., NYPD & UNTIL
Current Base: Four Freedoms Plaza, New York City
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Mister Fantastic *
1986 – F
yes
Active
The Invisible Woman
1986 – F
yes
Active
The Human Torch II
1986 – F
no
Active
The Thing
1986 – F
yes
Active
She-Hulk
1999
no
Inactive
Amazing Man
2002
yes
Inactive
Ms. Marvel II
2006
no
Inactive
 
The Uncanny X-Men
Founded: 1988   currently active
Unsanctioned Organization
Current Base: Unknown location in New York State
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Professor X
1988 – F
yes
Inactive
Cyclops
1988 – F
yes
Reserve
Jean Grey aka Marvel Girl
1988 – F
no
Reserve
The Beast
1988 – F
no
Reserve
Ice-man
1988 – F
no
Reserve
Angel
1988 – F
yes
Inactive
Storm *
1996
yes
Active
Wolverine
1996
yes
Active
Colossus
1996
no
Active
Nightcrawler
1998
no
Active
Shadowcat
1999
no
Active
Rogue
2002
no
Active
Gambit
2008
no
Active
 
 
 
 
Avant Guard
Founded: 1996   currently active
Sanctioned by: Canadian Gov., UK Gov. & UNTIL
Current Base: Akiminski Island, James Bay, NT
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Blue Star
1996 -F
yes
Active
Sprint *
1996 -F
yes
Active
Green Arrow
1996 -F
yes
Active
Apache Chief
1996 -F
yes
Active
 
The Dynamic Defenders
Founded: 1997   inactive as of 2002
Unsanctioned Organization
Former Base: The Retreat, Arizona
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Doctor Strange
1997 – F
yes
Inactive
The Hulk
1997 – F
no
Inactive
Atomic Knight
1997 – F
no
Inactive
Angel
1999
no
Inactive
 
Justice League of America
Founded: 1986   currently active
Sanctioned by: US Gov., UN & UNTIL
Current Base: Watchtower space station
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
The Flash II
1886 – F
yes
Inactive – Dead
Green Lantern
1986 – F
yes
Inactive – Dead
Atom II
1986 – F
no
Reserve
Blue Beetle
1986 – F
no
Reserve
Power-Girl
1990
no
Inactive - Dead
Lightmaster
1993
yes
Inactive
Captain Atom
1992
yes
Reserve
Black Canary
1993
no
Active
The Batman *
1997
yes
Active
Karate Master
1999
no
Reserve
The Flash III
2000
no
Active
Major Victory
2000
no
Active
Superman
2003
yes
Inactive – Dead
Guardian
2004
no
Active
Green Lantern II
2006
no
Active
Wonder Woman
2007
no
Active
 
 
Strike Force
Founded: 1998   currently active
Sanctioned by: US Gov., UN & UNTIL
Main Base: Strike Force Mansion Command Headquarters, Boston
Additional Bases: Hong Kong, Paris, Miami, Metropolis
 
 
Membership Roster
Name
Year joined
Served as leader
Current status
Centurion * Bos $
Strike Force Commander
1998 - F
yes
Active – Boston, Hong Kong
Black Dragon
1998 - F
no
Active - Boston
Nightmare $
1998 - F
no
Active - Boston
Atomic Force * Mia!
1998 - F
yes
Active - Miami
The Scarlet Spider !
1999
no
Active – Boston
Mind Star $
2000
yes
Active – Boston
Saturn Five!
2001
no
Active - Miami
Ultrahawk
2002
yes
Inactive - Dead
Blademaster * Par
2002
yes
Active – Paris
El Cid !
2002
no
Active – Paris
Patriot * Met $
2003
yes
Active - Metropolis
Musketeer !
2003
yes
Active – Paris
Witch Hazel !
2004
yes
Active - Miami
Dreadnought
2004
no
Active - Paris
Saber $
2002
yes
Active - Metropolis
Challenger !
2002
yes
Active – Hong Kong
Ronin
2003
no
Active – Hong Kong
Commander Atlas !
2004
no
Active - Miami
Steel Dragon * HK !
2002
yes
Active – Hong Kong
Psi Force $
2007
no
Active - Metropolis
GunRunner !
2005
no
Active - Miami
War Chief !
2005
no
Active - Paris
Tsunami
2006
no
Active – Hong Kong
Samson the Strong !
2007
no
Active - Metropolis
Shadowalker !
2007
no
Active - Metropolis
Sea Sprite !
2008
no
Active - Miami
 
 
Notes:
   An F denotes a founding member.
   An * denotes a team’s current leader.
   Footnote 1. A.I.M. denotes Advanced Idea Mechanics.
   Footnote 2. C.O.B.R.A. denotes Corporate Organization for the Benevolent Return to Autocracy.
   Footnote 3. UNTIL suspects the following individuals have COBRA ties and may in fact lead the agency:
                       Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Justin Hammer, Alvin Roxxon, James Sinclair, Gideon Stevens.
   Footnote 4. UNTIL believes this may be a front organization for the Red Skull, Hydra or both.
   ! = needs updating, $ = ready to go, no symbol = needs to be created.
 
Metropolis is in southern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast side. Gotham City is in southeastern Maryland on the Chesapeake. Vibora Bay is in northern Florida in the pan-handle along the Gulf Coast. Hudson City is in Connecticut turned 90 degrees so that the city is oriented East /West rather than North/South along the bisecting Stewart River.
 
Anti-aging treatments have been available since the introduction of Perpetuon by Stevens Bio-Med in 2000, a one-time treatment known as Anagathics Beta was introduced three years later. In the former case annual treatments purge the build-up of aging toxins from the body resulting in no change in physiological age, while the later treatment slows the build-up of aging toxins by two-thirds resulting in a physiological aging of one year for every three that pass. Perpetuon treatments cost approximately $750,000 each, down from $3,000,000 when first introduced. The Anagathics Beta treatment costs $400,000, down from $750,000 in 2003. The two treatments are not compatible. Some superheroes have taken advantage of the treatments, some haven’t. In some cases the cities that they protect have footed the bills as a way of thanking the heroes for what they have done over the years.

I'm sorry guys but your protagonist must be a published, fictional hero.
 
Although the idea of making the protagonist ourselves is interesting. 
 
Maybe next year, assuming this one goes well. 

In the Shadows of the City
 
 
 
It was raining in New York the morning they found the body in the Hudson River. Altogether a fitting time to find a dead body all things considered. Dark and brooding. In fact if it hadn't been for the bright yellow of his clothing they might never have seen the corpse floating down river. In a few more hours it would have been washed out to sea to eventually sink into the muck at the bottom.
 
A quiet enough resting place at least.
 
But that hadn't happened. Instead the harbor patrol had pulled the corpse from the waters. It's condition was the first shock. There was no head, it had been severed from the body with an extremely sharp blade. Multiple claw marks, slices from swords or knives, and bullet wounds had turned the body into something that was only barely human. There were acid marks and evidence of blunt force trauma as well. Even the strongest stomachs could barely stand more than a few minutes with the mangled remains of the body. Who it was, was the second shock.
 
It hit the papers in the afternoon edition. The Bugle was plastered with a huge new headline:
 
"Mutant Vigilante Found Dead In River"
"Killer still at large"
 
So now the hunt was on for whoever had somehow managed to kill the unkillable mutant, vigilante, and superhero that the world knew as Wolverine.

Her Majesty Queen Hippolyta of Themiscyra Requests the Honour of Your Presence At the Marriage of Her Daughter   Her Royal Highness Princess Diana of Themiscyra   to   His Majesty King T'challa of Wakanda   Saturday, the 26th of January Two Thousand Nineteen at Five O'Clock in the Evening   Orchid Bay City Hall Star City, Earth-One   Reception to Follow   We Request that Weapons and Artifacts Be Excluded from the Ceremony   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Guest List   His Royal Highness Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard Her Royal Highness Koriand'r, Princess Starfire of Tamaran His Majesty Arthur Curry, King of Atlantis Her Majesty Maxima, Queen of Almerac Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips Thanos, Lord of Titan Nebula, Heiress of Titan His Imperial Majesty Teth-Adam, Pharaoh of Kahndaq Her Majesty Lady Blaze, Queen of Purgatory Death Tribble, Deadly Death Tribble of Death   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   RSVP   The Favor of a Reply is Requested   Names:______________________________________   __ We look forward to attending                             __ We will attend in another time or dimension   __ Regrets                                                                      Please initial guest entree preferences:   __ Steak   __ Chicken   __ Vegan   __ Pure Energy  __ Souls           Title: Red Wedding in Star City, or Honeymoon in Latveria  
       

Yup. It's interesting  how profoundly tone deaf to reality folks like Ross are. He's hardly alone in that, but he's one of those we have on footage of pretty much showing his ignorance of how the brittle class is forced to live. 
 
And the comments about 800,000 people don't matter? Dude, we have states with fewer people than that. 

So, by that thinking, federal workers should be able to go to any Trump hotel or restaurant and get free lodging and food, right?  Because "that's how it works." 
 
I'd love to see a bunch of federal workers try to get free eats at one of his restaurants.  I'll bet that would go over well.

This is a symptom of the same mindset as behind Wilbur Ross's comment that federal workers should take out loans. These are people who have been privileged all their lives, and have no experience or comprehension of what's demanded of people who have to work to survive.

After watching yesterday’s two games I am officially done with the NFL. Between the Saints being robbed of the win by that non-call and the Chiefs not even getting a chance to play offense due to the league’s asanine overtime rules I just can’t take it anymore. I’m not a fan of any of the teams that played yesterday but between officiating that’s at best wildly inconsistent and an overtime format that quite literally comes down to a coin flip I can’t take it seriously anymore. Looks like I’m down to two pro sports now. 

Not only is it not their job, it'd be incredibly irresponsible of them to do so.  Any concessions would merely empower the GOP to take the government hostage over and over and over again.  On top of that, Trump is impossible to negotiate with because he's unable to negotiate in good faith.  He changes positions more often than he changes his underwear.  Just look at the negotiations leading up to this shutdown, where he proudly proclaimed he'd take ownership of it and then turned around and blamed the Democrats for it a couple of days later.  I can't think of a more clear cut situation where negotiations should not even be attempted.

I've been thinking about running this GURPS WWII campaign for years and just thought I'd post it here to see what people thought of it.
 
All the King's Men
The War in North Africa
a GURPS World War Two campaign
 
 
Premise: All the King's Men will consist of three intertwined campaigns set during the Desert War in North Africa during World War Two. One campaign will focus on the war on land, one in the air, and the third at sea. The campaign style will be a mix of the "Gritty Heroes" and the "Dashing, Daring, Do" styles of play.
 
This will be a long term campaign lasting through nearly half of the war. The Desert War began in September of 1940 and didn't finally wrap up until May of 1943, 32 months later.
 
The land campaign will see the PCs start as the seasoned soldiers of the 16th British Infantry Brigade, having fought in the early skirmishes against the Italians in June, July, and August. By the end you'll be elite troops with either Major Ralph Bagnold's Long Range Desert Group or Lieutenant-Colonel David Sterling's Special Air Service.
 
The air campaign will start you as young Pilot Officers flying the old Gloster Gladiator biplanes before you earn your way into Hurricanes and eventually Spitfires, with special missions in Beauforts, Blenheims, Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes. Control of the skies was constantly see-sawing back and forth through most of the war in the desert so you can expect to see plenty of action for this one.
 
The sea campaign will see the PCs initially aboard a scratch force of hastily armed speedboats and motor launches trying to interdict enemy supplies coming across the Med from Italy. Once they arrive from home, you'll transition into motor gun boats, and torpedo boats. It's possible that you could finish the campaign on one of the big fast German E-boats, but you'll have to capture and then refit one first.
 
 
For the land campaign you'll build your characters on the 50 point Rifleman template but you'll have 30 extra points to work with. Keep the ranks at 0 or 1 (private/lance corporal, corporal) Use those extra points to pick up needed skills from the LRDG or Commando templates. Most characters should be from England, but Welsh, Scottish or Irish would be okay as well.
 
For the air campaign you'll build your characters on the straight 60 point Fighter Pilot template. Everyone will start as rank/grade 3 Pilot Officers at no cost. Your characters could be from anywhere in the British Empire as long as you can come up with a plausible, or at least interesting, explanation of how they wound up in the RAF in North Africa. Please try to have an even mix of regulars and reservists.
 
For the sea campaign you'll build your characters on the 50 point Sailor template but with 15 extra points to reflect the fact that the Royal Navy is a seasoned force and even the reservists are well trained. You'll all be RNVR officers with the rank of Midshipman or Sub-Lieutenant, again at no cost. I am willing to allow one player to create a veteran Petty Officer built on an extra 30 points for a total of 95. But such a character would be in his early 40s at least and of course will never be the CO.

First off, I did not write this.
 
KA wrote this many moons ago and published it in a thread right here on this forum. 
 
The problem is I doubt I could find it after all these years.
 
However, as I recognized the wisdom he was bestowing on us all, I saved it to my hard drive. I now pass it on to all of you here today.
 
 
Building a Campaign for Newbies
by KA
 
 
I am basing this on the problems I have had over the years introducing new players to Champions, and some of the solutions that seem to work.

They may not work for you, but here they are.

1) Start with comics. If you don't own, and don't want to buy, the kind of comics you hope to recreate in your campaign, check your local library, or the 25 cent bin at the local comics store. Find things that very closely match the kind of world you want to have. (See below for suggestions on that)

Insist that the players do their "homework" by reading at least some of these before you even begin to create characters.

You will save yourself endless frustration if you and the players are on the same page before you get going.

2) Plan a day with each player to create their character, individually, in private, and run through at least a simple scenario.

One player at a time.

This will give you much more of a chance to get the player "into" their character. They will also be able to try out powers and see what they do, try out skills etc.

My advice would be to come up with a scenario that allows for multiple solutions.

A bank robbery with one or two hostages.
A kidnapping.
Gathering intelligence on a Viper base.

You can run each character through the same thing, since you will be doing it one player at a time.

This will give them a good idea of what their character can do, and what they might want to change.

Be sure to let them know that this is a "simulation" or something, that doesn't count in the actual campaign.

The easiest way to kill a new campaign is to have a bunch of players who don't know who their character is supposed to be and what he can do.

They all just wander about, either killing everything they meet or doing nothing at all.
Or the one "alpha male" Player starts bossing everyone around, and all the rest of the pack establish a pattern of just doing what they are told and never making any decisions.
If you let each player get the feel of their character first, without the other players around, they will act more like the teams in the comics do.

3) No matter where you want your campaign to eventually end up, I would try to start out fairly close to Silver Age.

Why?

Well for one thing, it is not hard to darken a campaign as you go along.

The players can find out that Police are corrupt, Friends can't always be trusted, etc.
 
But it is almost impossible to lighten one.

Players that aren't used to the Superheroic Genre will often act like they are The Punisher with a better gun. They will see no reason not to just kill anyone who gets in their way. Which means you will quickly have The Authority on your hands. The characters will have done things that no society would accept in the name of "right". The society will react by attempts to capture, incarcerate, or kill the characters, in turn feeding their anger and paranoia, and you will quickly end up in a showdown where the characters will either rule the Earth or be buried under it.

You need to let the players get the feel of being Heroes.

Give them the chance to actually do some good.

Don't taint every victory with some sort of negative side effect.

Some campaigns seem to run on the theory that "No good deed goes unpunished."

GM: "You know that little girl you rescued from the fire last week?

She was actually the clone of Hitler's mother. A neo-Nazi group is going to rapidly age her into a teenager and create a Fourth Reich of genetically enhanced Hitler clones that release hard radiation out of their testicles.

Even if you kill all the Radioactive Hitlers, millions of people are going to develop cancer just because they were using the subways to travel around and everything is contaminated."

Even if you don't want things to be clean and perky all the time, allow the players to actually help some people and accomplish something in the beginning.

For instance, you could have UNTIL gradually become corrupt and/or anti-metahuman over the course of the campaign, due to internal problems, outside influence, etc. rather than having the players start in a world where basically everything was against them.
Heroes struggling to do the right thing in an imperfect world, is a lot more interesting than cynical jaded beings with powers, doing morally neutral things, in a cynical jaded world.

But if the players start out feeling like "everyone is against them" they will quickly descend into a Rusty Iron Age mentality.

"Who cares what we do? Everyone hates us anyway. Let's go steal some weapons from UNTIL and start blowing things up."

4) I would start out with the idea that the team is already formed. Let the players know that they are building a Team Member, not an Individual Hero.

You can come up with the background for how and why the team formed after you know who the characters are, but make sure that the players know they are part of a team.
For some reason perfectly reasonable people can be utter bastards when it comes to this topic.

It is just like the old sitcoms where someone who has never acted before gets a bit part in a movie, and is suddenly demanding to know
"What's my motivation?"
"You're at an ice-cream stand. You walk up, and say 'Give me a vanilla cone.'
How much motivation do you need? You just want an ice cream!"
"But why do I want the ice cream?
Am I trying to recapture the innocence of my childhood?
Do I have an eating disorder?
Do I have an oral fixation?
Is the ice cream symbolic of the ever-changing state of man's existence?"

I have read stories here on the boards of GM's who were never able to get their team together.

The players just kept coming up with crap like:
"Well, sure, I hear the Police sirens, but why would I follow them? Those things go off all the time. It could just be a car theft or something. I am going to stay where I am and see if the bus station comes under attack by aliens.
After all, my character does have Xenophobia as a Psych Lim!"

"Why would I tell this person how to contact me?
I don't know them.
What if it's some kind of trick?
They could be an enemy trying to discover my Secret ID.
I am going to wait until they are distracted, and then fly into orbit.
Then I will follow a random untraceable path to the Paranoia Cave and activate all the defense systems.
After that, I am not coming out for six weeks.
That way they can't find me."


You are much better off just telling the players how the team got to be a team and going from there. If you start up another campaign with these players some day, then you may want to roleplay it out, but with a bunch of newbies, it can be like herding cats.

5) The Inevitable "Loner"
Anyone who, during the creation process, starts down the "moody psychotic loner" path, should be asked:

a) Why is your character on this team? What does it mean to him? Since he hates all authority figures and won't work with anyone, what in his personality is so overwhelming that he puts up with being on a team? Why did he join in the first place?
Expect this to come up in play, often.

When your character wants to stalk off into the night, there should be a hook that pulls him back before he is out the door.

What is it?

Because I am not going to run an individual campaign for you while everyone else sits around and stares at the wall for three hours.

You can have that "type" of personality, but there must be a strong reason why, even though you don't like it, you stay with the team and follow orders.

Otherwise, come up with a concept that is more of a team player.

b) Why would the other team members put up with you?

If you are such a foul-tempered, uncontrollable, individualist, why would rational people with powers of their own put up with your crap?

Are you just crusty on the outside, with a "heart of gold"?

Do you bravely throw your body in the way of attacks that might kill other team members?

Are you the guy who "will not leave a team-mate behind" even if you die in the rescue attempt?

Why weren't you kicked off the team the first time you opened your mouth?

The other players aren't going to come up with reasons to put up with you, you have to come up with reasons you are worth putting up with, and then make sure you live up to them!

Anyway, hope this helps.

Good Luck!

Oh yeah, I forgot my locations:
 
Avengers Mansion
 

 
 
and the Watchtower
 

 

And finally, because it'd be a cryin' shame to have this draft without them....
 

 
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold!
 
My Title: The Justice Buddies!

First off, I did not write this.
 
KA wrote this many moons ago and published it in a thread right here on this forum. 
 
The problem is I doubt I could find it after all these years.
 
However, as I recognized the wisdom he was bestowing on us all, I saved it to my hard drive. I now pass it on to all of you here today.
 
 
Building a Campaign for Newbies
by KA
 
 
I am basing this on the problems I have had over the years introducing new players to Champions, and some of the solutions that seem to work.

They may not work for you, but here they are.

1) Start with comics. If you don't own, and don't want to buy, the kind of comics you hope to recreate in your campaign, check your local library, or the 25 cent bin at the local comics store. Find things that very closely match the kind of world you want to have. (See below for suggestions on that)

Insist that the players do their "homework" by reading at least some of these before you even begin to create characters.

You will save yourself endless frustration if you and the players are on the same page before you get going.

2) Plan a day with each player to create their character, individually, in private, and run through at least a simple scenario.

One player at a time.

This will give you much more of a chance to get the player "into" their character. They will also be able to try out powers and see what they do, try out skills etc.

My advice would be to come up with a scenario that allows for multiple solutions.

A bank robbery with one or two hostages.
A kidnapping.
Gathering intelligence on a Viper base.

You can run each character through the same thing, since you will be doing it one player at a time.

This will give them a good idea of what their character can do, and what they might want to change.

Be sure to let them know that this is a "simulation" or something, that doesn't count in the actual campaign.

The easiest way to kill a new campaign is to have a bunch of players who don't know who their character is supposed to be and what he can do.

They all just wander about, either killing everything they meet or doing nothing at all.
Or the one "alpha male" Player starts bossing everyone around, and all the rest of the pack establish a pattern of just doing what they are told and never making any decisions.
If you let each player get the feel of their character first, without the other players around, they will act more like the teams in the comics do.

3) No matter where you want your campaign to eventually end up, I would try to start out fairly close to Silver Age.

Why?

Well for one thing, it is not hard to darken a campaign as you go along.

The players can find out that Police are corrupt, Friends can't always be trusted, etc.
 
But it is almost impossible to lighten one.

Players that aren't used to the Superheroic Genre will often act like they are The Punisher with a better gun. They will see no reason not to just kill anyone who gets in their way. Which means you will quickly have The Authority on your hands. The characters will have done things that no society would accept in the name of "right". The society will react by attempts to capture, incarcerate, or kill the characters, in turn feeding their anger and paranoia, and you will quickly end up in a showdown where the characters will either rule the Earth or be buried under it.

You need to let the players get the feel of being Heroes.

Give them the chance to actually do some good.

Don't taint every victory with some sort of negative side effect.

Some campaigns seem to run on the theory that "No good deed goes unpunished."

GM: "You know that little girl you rescued from the fire last week?

She was actually the clone of Hitler's mother. A neo-Nazi group is going to rapidly age her into a teenager and create a Fourth Reich of genetically enhanced Hitler clones that release hard radiation out of their testicles.

Even if you kill all the Radioactive Hitlers, millions of people are going to develop cancer just because they were using the subways to travel around and everything is contaminated."

Even if you don't want things to be clean and perky all the time, allow the players to actually help some people and accomplish something in the beginning.

For instance, you could have UNTIL gradually become corrupt and/or anti-metahuman over the course of the campaign, due to internal problems, outside influence, etc. rather than having the players start in a world where basically everything was against them.
Heroes struggling to do the right thing in an imperfect world, is a lot more interesting than cynical jaded beings with powers, doing morally neutral things, in a cynical jaded world.

But if the players start out feeling like "everyone is against them" they will quickly descend into a Rusty Iron Age mentality.

"Who cares what we do? Everyone hates us anyway. Let's go steal some weapons from UNTIL and start blowing things up."

4) I would start out with the idea that the team is already formed. Let the players know that they are building a Team Member, not an Individual Hero.

You can come up with the background for how and why the team formed after you know who the characters are, but make sure that the players know they are part of a team.
For some reason perfectly reasonable people can be utter bastards when it comes to this topic.

It is just like the old sitcoms where someone who has never acted before gets a bit part in a movie, and is suddenly demanding to know
"What's my motivation?"
"You're at an ice-cream stand. You walk up, and say 'Give me a vanilla cone.'
How much motivation do you need? You just want an ice cream!"
"But why do I want the ice cream?
Am I trying to recapture the innocence of my childhood?
Do I have an eating disorder?
Do I have an oral fixation?
Is the ice cream symbolic of the ever-changing state of man's existence?"

I have read stories here on the boards of GM's who were never able to get their team together.

The players just kept coming up with crap like:
"Well, sure, I hear the Police sirens, but why would I follow them? Those things go off all the time. It could just be a car theft or something. I am going to stay where I am and see if the bus station comes under attack by aliens.
After all, my character does have Xenophobia as a Psych Lim!"

"Why would I tell this person how to contact me?
I don't know them.
What if it's some kind of trick?
They could be an enemy trying to discover my Secret ID.
I am going to wait until they are distracted, and then fly into orbit.
Then I will follow a random untraceable path to the Paranoia Cave and activate all the defense systems.
After that, I am not coming out for six weeks.
That way they can't find me."


You are much better off just telling the players how the team got to be a team and going from there. If you start up another campaign with these players some day, then you may want to roleplay it out, but with a bunch of newbies, it can be like herding cats.

5) The Inevitable "Loner"
Anyone who, during the creation process, starts down the "moody psychotic loner" path, should be asked:

a) Why is your character on this team? What does it mean to him? Since he hates all authority figures and won't work with anyone, what in his personality is so overwhelming that he puts up with being on a team? Why did he join in the first place?
Expect this to come up in play, often.

When your character wants to stalk off into the night, there should be a hook that pulls him back before he is out the door.

What is it?

Because I am not going to run an individual campaign for you while everyone else sits around and stares at the wall for three hours.

You can have that "type" of personality, but there must be a strong reason why, even though you don't like it, you stay with the team and follow orders.

Otherwise, come up with a concept that is more of a team player.

b) Why would the other team members put up with you?

If you are such a foul-tempered, uncontrollable, individualist, why would rational people with powers of their own put up with your crap?

Are you just crusty on the outside, with a "heart of gold"?

Do you bravely throw your body in the way of attacks that might kill other team members?

Are you the guy who "will not leave a team-mate behind" even if you die in the rescue attempt?

Why weren't you kicked off the team the first time you opened your mouth?

The other players aren't going to come up with reasons to put up with you, you have to come up with reasons you are worth putting up with, and then make sure you live up to them!

Anyway, hope this helps.

Good Luck!

First off, I did not write this.
 
KA wrote this many moons ago and published it in a thread right here on this forum. 
 
The problem is I doubt I could find it after all these years.
 
However, as I recognized the wisdom he was bestowing on us all, I saved it to my hard drive. I now pass it on to all of you here today.
 
 
Building a Campaign for Newbies
by KA
 
 
I am basing this on the problems I have had over the years introducing new players to Champions, and some of the solutions that seem to work.

They may not work for you, but here they are.

1) Start with comics. If you don't own, and don't want to buy, the kind of comics you hope to recreate in your campaign, check your local library, or the 25 cent bin at the local comics store. Find things that very closely match the kind of world you want to have. (See below for suggestions on that)

Insist that the players do their "homework" by reading at least some of these before you even begin to create characters.

You will save yourself endless frustration if you and the players are on the same page before you get going.

2) Plan a day with each player to create their character, individually, in private, and run through at least a simple scenario.

One player at a time.

This will give you much more of a chance to get the player "into" their character. They will also be able to try out powers and see what they do, try out skills etc.

My advice would be to come up with a scenario that allows for multiple solutions.

A bank robbery with one or two hostages.
A kidnapping.
Gathering intelligence on a Viper base.

You can run each character through the same thing, since you will be doing it one player at a time.

This will give them a good idea of what their character can do, and what they might want to change.

Be sure to let them know that this is a "simulation" or something, that doesn't count in the actual campaign.

The easiest way to kill a new campaign is to have a bunch of players who don't know who their character is supposed to be and what he can do.

They all just wander about, either killing everything they meet or doing nothing at all.
Or the one "alpha male" Player starts bossing everyone around, and all the rest of the pack establish a pattern of just doing what they are told and never making any decisions.
If you let each player get the feel of their character first, without the other players around, they will act more like the teams in the comics do.

3) No matter where you want your campaign to eventually end up, I would try to start out fairly close to Silver Age.

Why?

Well for one thing, it is not hard to darken a campaign as you go along.

The players can find out that Police are corrupt, Friends can't always be trusted, etc.
 
But it is almost impossible to lighten one.

Players that aren't used to the Superheroic Genre will often act like they are The Punisher with a better gun. They will see no reason not to just kill anyone who gets in their way. Which means you will quickly have The Authority on your hands. The characters will have done things that no society would accept in the name of "right". The society will react by attempts to capture, incarcerate, or kill the characters, in turn feeding their anger and paranoia, and you will quickly end up in a showdown where the characters will either rule the Earth or be buried under it.

You need to let the players get the feel of being Heroes.

Give them the chance to actually do some good.

Don't taint every victory with some sort of negative side effect.

Some campaigns seem to run on the theory that "No good deed goes unpunished."

GM: "You know that little girl you rescued from the fire last week?

She was actually the clone of Hitler's mother. A neo-Nazi group is going to rapidly age her into a teenager and create a Fourth Reich of genetically enhanced Hitler clones that release hard radiation out of their testicles.

Even if you kill all the Radioactive Hitlers, millions of people are going to develop cancer just because they were using the subways to travel around and everything is contaminated."

Even if you don't want things to be clean and perky all the time, allow the players to actually help some people and accomplish something in the beginning.

For instance, you could have UNTIL gradually become corrupt and/or anti-metahuman over the course of the campaign, due to internal problems, outside influence, etc. rather than having the players start in a world where basically everything was against them.
Heroes struggling to do the right thing in an imperfect world, is a lot more interesting than cynical jaded beings with powers, doing morally neutral things, in a cynical jaded world.

But if the players start out feeling like "everyone is against them" they will quickly descend into a Rusty Iron Age mentality.

"Who cares what we do? Everyone hates us anyway. Let's go steal some weapons from UNTIL and start blowing things up."

4) I would start out with the idea that the team is already formed. Let the players know that they are building a Team Member, not an Individual Hero.

You can come up with the background for how and why the team formed after you know who the characters are, but make sure that the players know they are part of a team.
For some reason perfectly reasonable people can be utter bastards when it comes to this topic.

It is just like the old sitcoms where someone who has never acted before gets a bit part in a movie, and is suddenly demanding to know
"What's my motivation?"
"You're at an ice-cream stand. You walk up, and say 'Give me a vanilla cone.'
How much motivation do you need? You just want an ice cream!"
"But why do I want the ice cream?
Am I trying to recapture the innocence of my childhood?
Do I have an eating disorder?
Do I have an oral fixation?
Is the ice cream symbolic of the ever-changing state of man's existence?"

I have read stories here on the boards of GM's who were never able to get their team together.

The players just kept coming up with crap like:
"Well, sure, I hear the Police sirens, but why would I follow them? Those things go off all the time. It could just be a car theft or something. I am going to stay where I am and see if the bus station comes under attack by aliens.
After all, my character does have Xenophobia as a Psych Lim!"

"Why would I tell this person how to contact me?
I don't know them.
What if it's some kind of trick?
They could be an enemy trying to discover my Secret ID.
I am going to wait until they are distracted, and then fly into orbit.
Then I will follow a random untraceable path to the Paranoia Cave and activate all the defense systems.
After that, I am not coming out for six weeks.
That way they can't find me."


You are much better off just telling the players how the team got to be a team and going from there. If you start up another campaign with these players some day, then you may want to roleplay it out, but with a bunch of newbies, it can be like herding cats.

5) The Inevitable "Loner"
Anyone who, during the creation process, starts down the "moody psychotic loner" path, should be asked:

a) Why is your character on this team? What does it mean to him? Since he hates all authority figures and won't work with anyone, what in his personality is so overwhelming that he puts up with being on a team? Why did he join in the first place?
Expect this to come up in play, often.

When your character wants to stalk off into the night, there should be a hook that pulls him back before he is out the door.

What is it?

Because I am not going to run an individual campaign for you while everyone else sits around and stares at the wall for three hours.

You can have that "type" of personality, but there must be a strong reason why, even though you don't like it, you stay with the team and follow orders.

Otherwise, come up with a concept that is more of a team player.

b) Why would the other team members put up with you?

If you are such a foul-tempered, uncontrollable, individualist, why would rational people with powers of their own put up with your crap?

Are you just crusty on the outside, with a "heart of gold"?

Do you bravely throw your body in the way of attacks that might kill other team members?

Are you the guy who "will not leave a team-mate behind" even if you die in the rescue attempt?

Why weren't you kicked off the team the first time you opened your mouth?

The other players aren't going to come up with reasons to put up with you, you have to come up with reasons you are worth putting up with, and then make sure you live up to them!

Anyway, hope this helps.

Good Luck!

(With apologies to The Greatest Showman's "the other side')
"We're on an alien planet, but there's some high tech terrorist group with blaster rifles who seem as lost as we are, but are deciding to take over a chunk from Denver Colorado of yet another alternate Earth I got that right?" Huntress dodged a barrage of blasts duckng behind a Starbucks,
 
"Viper, they're calling themselves VIPER…" Black Canary let loose a scream toppling over one of the Green and yellow tanks.  "We need to find out who their leader is, get to him or her and take them down or the sheer numbers of this…"
 
One of the agents cried out in pain as a quarrel tore through his helmet. If he hadn't turned at the exact right moment it would have him him square through the eye, visor or not.
"Hey!" Black Canary cursed Helena had come so far, but it was obvious she was slipping into some nasty habits.
And she began to sing to her friend, unaware that somehow over the din of blasts and grenade explosions,, music was coming through
"Right here, right now
Let's spell the boundaries out
Lay sound ground rules down
I know you know you know this
You fight Besides me
Remember we're not just vigilantes
We've got higher standards, we're superheroes!"
"Are you, SINGING this lecture?" Huntress said and fired again, but at this this time she aimed for a hand.
Black Canary suddenly realized she was, but she wasn''t able to stop "So trade that broodiness, that killer moodiness, for something better!  And if kid gloves are crazy, well let's be a little crazy!
You play it killer grim, you just keep the whole world dim! Or you can try to stand taller and find…."
Black Canary sidekicked another agent before swinging around to clip another, and though it all she kept singing "Don't you, want to get away from the D&D brainless hack and slay?
Cause that's not what we need
If you want to make this grungy world shine?
We do not cross that line!
Cause you kill like you do, and spread more misery
Or you can rise above it all, hey it works look at me!
Stay in hate's cage or listen to me as  I hand you the key?
Oh, damn, suddenly better side flies!
Because you will not cross that line!"
 
Huntress dislocated an agent's arm and got ready to tell Black Canary to kiss off but instead
"Okay, my friend, you want to hem me in
Well I hate to tell you but we're at war here
So thanks, but no
I'll still do me you know
Because terrorists deserved methods beyond hand slapping!
Now I admire you, and this goody two shoe show you do!
I wish you good luck here, really good luck here!
But innocent people die on the streets, and that takes more than being sweet
I'll leave the kid gloves off to you!"
 
Black Canary flipped a foe into another a bit amused at the horrified look on Helena's face. Turn about was far play.
Huntress continued, "Don't you see that I'm okay with this bloody price I got to pay
Because I do what's needed and I am willing to pay karma's fine
Sometimes you have to cross that line!
So you do what you do
I'll do like me
Some dogs go rabid and deserve a vigilante!
Oh Damn, can't you see taking them entirely works fine!
So, I'll keep crossing that line!"
 
Black Canary started singing again,  her voice the stronger one in more ways than one,  "Is this really how you want to endanger your soul ? A blood thirsty killer her heart now a hole?"
Huntress hissed but only a moment as she rebutted, "If I took up your path,
We'd risk a revolving door. The system is broken, if it weren't so sad I would laugh!"
"But you're a teacher in your secret ID, not yet yet retired. You could protect and ALSO inspire
Just find the courage to dream and it'll
Wake you up and cure your aching
You can also build and not just bee breaking
Now that's a deal that seems worth taking
But I guess I'll leave that up to youuuuu"
Huntress wrinkled her nose, damn it, Dinah had a point. Helena had tried a better path. Was she really ready to abandon it because she thought it didn't work, or was it because she couldn't hack it? She replied to her fishneted friend.
"Well, you've got a point there but there are no absoultes here
Surely there are times when it might be even jjustified to you, dear!"
They each broke a different man's jaw
"Fair enough, I'd be a hypocrite to say I was never tempted
But you have to change your ways or you'll never give yourself redemption!" BC sang back
"You take care of your soul, God will take care of mine" Huntress fired a flare arrow.
"How about no killing unless an civillain's life is immediately on the line?" Canary suggested/sang
"Cops" Huntress reminded
Black Canary nodded at that "Fine"
"Friends.." Huntress also said, but whether she meant she' kill to save a  friend's life, or was telling Dinah she considered her one was lost in the last refrain they both shared!
As they did so they kicked ass in choreography that could only be described as brutally beautiful
 
"so, we'll try to enter every fray with awareness of our better angels being at play
Because the night needs more than more blood to make it kind
We'll try not to cross that line!!"
 
"So I'll try like you do," Huntress slammed a guy in the balls, his armor not enough to protect him fully.
"And I'll try to see" Black Canary screamed and sent a dozen over.
Together they sang "Looks like there's room on Code vs Killing that we can agree!"
"Oh Damn, Lady Justice isn't so blind!
If we try not to cross that line!"
Over twenty four agents were down, and the ladies bowed as if to an invisible crowd.
The music stopped.
"What the hell just happened to us?" Huntress said "Besides the usual code vs killing debate I mean?"
"I don't know," Black Canary said, "But I liked it."
"I hated it," Huntress glared around looking at someone to blame.
"Why, you were a bit flat on one of the high notes but other wise…" Dinah smirked.
"Bite me, Fishnets." Huntress huffed.
"Pick for me where and we'll inspire fanfiction," Dinah smirked.
"Sad but probably true" the two women went off to solve this mystery on this strange battle world.

...........
 
I'm behind so picks are...
Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
and
Huntress (Helena Bertinelli version)
 
And as an option...
VIPER!
 
 
 
 
 

Honestly , at this point I think the Dems should go for something big and progressive and say "Here, you want five billion for the wall? You got it, IF you get twice as much to starting universal health care. We'll start with free health care for kids 12 and under. And build up from there."
 

Hero 3a: The Winter Soldier (James Buchanan Barnes)

 

Hero 3b: Moon Knight (Marc Spector)