Post by WildKnight on Sept 28, 2016 9:38:36 GMT -5
The first costumed heroes, the "mystery men", appeared during the early days of the Cold War. In the wake of World War II, the world saw that science was developing ever more dangerous weapons, and fear begin to spread like wildfire. The AXIS powers had brought terrible weapons of magic and science to the battlefield, created for their use by HYDRA, and the Allies (and in particular, the United States) responded with what they saw as the only viable option; nuclear weapons. Bombings in Germany and Japan ended the war, but at a great price.
The first masked men appeared on the East Coast of the United States (and that region remains the locus for such activities to this day); by the time the 1960's began, dozens of "mystery men" were operating around the globe, typically without powers or with a few gadgets. People with in-born powers were still extremely rare.
In addition to these mystery men, there were hardy adventurers who traveled the globe digging into ancient tombs and other ruins. The most famous of these was Johnathon Pym, the bronze-skinned, square jawed leader of a team of veterans with varied skill sets. Pym became known as the "Man of Bronze"
By the end of the 1960's, most of the world's major powers had brought super-powered (or technologically aided) agents to play on the covert field, with flamboyant code names like Captain America (United States), Union Jack (United Kingdom), and the Red Skull (East Germany & The Soviet Union).
In 1989, the influence of super-powered beings on the course of human history took an enormous step forward with the accidental creation of the Fantastic Four. A former student of Johnathon Pym, Reed Richards, was doing research on a new form of energy, and transformed his research team (fellow scientist Sue Storm, pilot Ben Grimm, and Sue's tag-along younger brother Johnny) into super-powered beings. They used their newfound fame to market themselves and fund Reed's research, eventually in 2000 forming the "Future Foundation", a massive research project that gave jobs and research funding to the most brilliant minds from around the world, primarily gathering them at the Foundation's New York Campus.
By 1993 it was obvious that genetic mutation (possibly due to the development and use of nuclear arms during WWII) was leading to beings with natural powers, and worldwide prejudice against these so-called "mutants" was on the rise. A geneticist named Charles Xavier gathered a team of mutants to help promote a positive view of mutants in the public eye; Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Beast, and Marvel Girl. Like the Fantastic Four, their identities were made public to show that they had nothing to hide. The team was called the X-Men, and they became a counter-cultural phenomenon, sparking a lot of controversy. They clashed frequently with other mutant groups, most notably The Marauders, a group that seemed to serve little purpose other than the slaughter of humans (and occasionally, other mutants), and The Brotherhood, a terrorist organization led by the mysterious "Magneto." They also clashed with "Human Power" groups that consider mutants a threat, including certain organizations within the United States and Canadian governments themselves.
As the battles of the Fantastic Four and X-Men escalated, the world's governments saw a need for super powered beings that were firmly under government control and answerable to someone. In the United States, this project was called The Avengers. The original team consisted of Steve Rogers, reportedly a Cold War era spy who had been in suspended animation (known as Captain America), Hank Pym the son of Jonathon Pym and a noted scientist, Hank's wife Janet Van Dyne-Pym, and the mutant twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Later, as the "super powered arms race" escalated, the United States brought the norse god Thor, the rage fueled monster known as The Hulk, and trillionaire industrialist Tony Stark's "Iron Man" project onto the team, causing most of the original team to quit or join sub-teams.
An odd side-ffect of the destructive super-powered battles that raged across the globe was that anti-mutant prejudice became muted amidst the general fear of all super powered beings. Magneto disbanded the Brotherhood and was recognized as the rightful ruler of the island nation of Genosha. The original X-Men retired, and Xavier replaced them with a new team who spent more time on public relations than they did in battle. Cyclops and Marvel Girl (now calling herself "Phoenix") moved to San Francisco and opened "X-Factor Incorporated", a corporation devoted to developing mutant-friendly technologies. Hank "Beast" McCoy became a professor at Harvard, the first openly mutant Professor at an Ivy League institution, and Warren Worthington and Bobby Drake married and moved to a ranch in Colorado to raise Warren's daughter from a prior relationship together. They did not all live happily ever after, however, as a little bit less than two years ago, Xavier and all 5 of his original students were assassinated. Xavier's mansion has since been converted to a school by one of his new X-Men, the African-born "Storm."
One year ago, Latveria, the sovereign nation ruled by perennial enemy of the Fantastic Four Victor Von Doom, was conquered by an outside force known only as Onslaught. Immediately registered as a highest level threat by every world government, Onslaught seems to be some kind of potent psionic entity, and most of the world's major powers, including Magneto and most of his former Brotherhood, the then-current X-Men not counting Storm (who stayed behind to watch over the school), the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers entered Latveria to stop him... and were destroyed almost instantly.
Now is the age of Onslaught. The great heroes (and some of the villains) are dead or severely wounded. No one knows what Onslaught wants, but its certain that its desires don't stop at ruling a single central European nation.
Now is the time for heroes. Even if those heroes are villains.
The first masked men appeared on the East Coast of the United States (and that region remains the locus for such activities to this day); by the time the 1960's began, dozens of "mystery men" were operating around the globe, typically without powers or with a few gadgets. People with in-born powers were still extremely rare.
In addition to these mystery men, there were hardy adventurers who traveled the globe digging into ancient tombs and other ruins. The most famous of these was Johnathon Pym, the bronze-skinned, square jawed leader of a team of veterans with varied skill sets. Pym became known as the "Man of Bronze"
By the end of the 1960's, most of the world's major powers had brought super-powered (or technologically aided) agents to play on the covert field, with flamboyant code names like Captain America (United States), Union Jack (United Kingdom), and the Red Skull (East Germany & The Soviet Union).
In 1989, the influence of super-powered beings on the course of human history took an enormous step forward with the accidental creation of the Fantastic Four. A former student of Johnathon Pym, Reed Richards, was doing research on a new form of energy, and transformed his research team (fellow scientist Sue Storm, pilot Ben Grimm, and Sue's tag-along younger brother Johnny) into super-powered beings. They used their newfound fame to market themselves and fund Reed's research, eventually in 2000 forming the "Future Foundation", a massive research project that gave jobs and research funding to the most brilliant minds from around the world, primarily gathering them at the Foundation's New York Campus.
By 1993 it was obvious that genetic mutation (possibly due to the development and use of nuclear arms during WWII) was leading to beings with natural powers, and worldwide prejudice against these so-called "mutants" was on the rise. A geneticist named Charles Xavier gathered a team of mutants to help promote a positive view of mutants in the public eye; Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Beast, and Marvel Girl. Like the Fantastic Four, their identities were made public to show that they had nothing to hide. The team was called the X-Men, and they became a counter-cultural phenomenon, sparking a lot of controversy. They clashed frequently with other mutant groups, most notably The Marauders, a group that seemed to serve little purpose other than the slaughter of humans (and occasionally, other mutants), and The Brotherhood, a terrorist organization led by the mysterious "Magneto." They also clashed with "Human Power" groups that consider mutants a threat, including certain organizations within the United States and Canadian governments themselves.
As the battles of the Fantastic Four and X-Men escalated, the world's governments saw a need for super powered beings that were firmly under government control and answerable to someone. In the United States, this project was called The Avengers. The original team consisted of Steve Rogers, reportedly a Cold War era spy who had been in suspended animation (known as Captain America), Hank Pym the son of Jonathon Pym and a noted scientist, Hank's wife Janet Van Dyne-Pym, and the mutant twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Later, as the "super powered arms race" escalated, the United States brought the norse god Thor, the rage fueled monster known as The Hulk, and trillionaire industrialist Tony Stark's "Iron Man" project onto the team, causing most of the original team to quit or join sub-teams.
An odd side-ffect of the destructive super-powered battles that raged across the globe was that anti-mutant prejudice became muted amidst the general fear of all super powered beings. Magneto disbanded the Brotherhood and was recognized as the rightful ruler of the island nation of Genosha. The original X-Men retired, and Xavier replaced them with a new team who spent more time on public relations than they did in battle. Cyclops and Marvel Girl (now calling herself "Phoenix") moved to San Francisco and opened "X-Factor Incorporated", a corporation devoted to developing mutant-friendly technologies. Hank "Beast" McCoy became a professor at Harvard, the first openly mutant Professor at an Ivy League institution, and Warren Worthington and Bobby Drake married and moved to a ranch in Colorado to raise Warren's daughter from a prior relationship together. They did not all live happily ever after, however, as a little bit less than two years ago, Xavier and all 5 of his original students were assassinated. Xavier's mansion has since been converted to a school by one of his new X-Men, the African-born "Storm."
One year ago, Latveria, the sovereign nation ruled by perennial enemy of the Fantastic Four Victor Von Doom, was conquered by an outside force known only as Onslaught. Immediately registered as a highest level threat by every world government, Onslaught seems to be some kind of potent psionic entity, and most of the world's major powers, including Magneto and most of his former Brotherhood, the then-current X-Men not counting Storm (who stayed behind to watch over the school), the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers entered Latveria to stop him... and were destroyed almost instantly.
Now is the age of Onslaught. The great heroes (and some of the villains) are dead or severely wounded. No one knows what Onslaught wants, but its certain that its desires don't stop at ruling a single central European nation.
Now is the time for heroes. Even if those heroes are villains.
