Halt Evil Doer! megaverse thread

[MightyDavidson]

You know it occurs to me. Given who partly inspired General Venom, it would be thematically appropriate for him to have an estranged son, alienated from his father due to General Venom's fanatism and the whole terrorism thing. If I were playing in that setting, I'd even create such a character myself.

[Charles Phipps]

Book of Villains has been indefinitely delayed, but I envisioned that General Venom would have some kids actually. The man is as old as John McCain, so he might well have had a few there.

I wonder what they'd be like.

[Libra]

They'd probably be model citizens. (Which model they follow is another question entirely. . .)

Most excellent write-up of Athena. Might I ask if she operated out of Freehold during the Golden Age?

(One more thing: I'd like to note that what I said in my write-up of Hades as a Cosmic Eternal still applies on Earth-627, he's just a lot more ticked off at humanity. He's less calculated in his malice than his nephew, but as you said Charles, disproportionate retribution is practically his hobby.)

[Charles Phipps]

The Traitors

Deep within the bounds of the Annihilation Zone is a world that was created by Orkus in homage of the planet that he was defeated by. It was hoped, by cracking the mirror that was the Patriots, he could understand how to defeat them. Ironically, this plan didn't work out very well. In addition to being provided no useful data on how to defeat the Patriots, the Patriots were lured by the cowardly Traitors, into help driving Orkus' forces from destroying their world.

A thoroughly corrupt and evil society, Orkus has decided to let it live for a time and soak up its horrors. He still finds it weirdly perverse and the populous fears him enough that their money still reads "In Orkus, we trust."

Demon Girl: The Succubi-like Lilith is the bisexual kid sister of Diabalos and enjoys tormenting the various mortals who fall into her power with all manner of perversities. Demon Girl is much more fond of humanity than her brother and is the occasional lover of White Wing. Demon Girl hates Eris and constantly plots against her, but usually fails due to the superior wisdom of the Cosmic Eternal.

Diabalos: The Satanic strongest super hero of them all. Diabalos hates humanity with all of his might and loves inflicting pointless suffering upon them. Diabalos with his red and black outfit is a source of misery and despair to all the peoples of Anti-Matter Earth. The ostensible leader of the Patriots, none of them like him and more or less ignore him until his superior power forces them to indulge him.

Eris: The Cosmic Eternal Eris was lured to the planet by Orkus as a way of amusement. She loves the planet and all its mayhem and is the one who chiefly results in the decision for the Traitors to routinely invade other planets in order to spread their peculiar mayhem. Eris is a somewhat hedonistic figure and enjoys playing the males of the team against one another. Oddly, she's exceptionally annoyed that Black Wing II played this against her.

Dusk Wing II: The heir of White Wing II, Dusk Wing is a violent thug that primarily acts as White Wing' spy on the other Traitors. Dusk Wing II is a violent homophobe and is the head of the criminal syndicates that have divided up the majority of the world's territory feudal style. He hates that he has to rely on White Wing in order to prevent himself from being vaporized by the other Patriots.

Miss Morgan: The Communist Miss Morgan is a psychotic and slutty female sniper that indulges in her love for murder while ostensibly remaining loyal to the Steel Commandant. Miss Morgan is a former member of the second Steel Commandant's House of Eagles. Quite loopy, she is actually quite racist and only sleeps with the third Steel Commandant because of his power.

Steel Commandant III: The head of the Foundation for World Tyranny, the Steel Commandant murdered Empress Michelle Holmes and has imprisoned the second Steel Commadant who went insane (beginning to preach a doctrine of social justice). The Steel Commandant desires to eventually replace White Wing; who taunts him racially and eggs him on by sleeping with his mistress, Miss Morgana. Unfortunately, none of his attempts to assassinate him have yet worked.

White Wing II: The Smartest Man in the World, White Wing lives in a gigantic golden pyramid and roughly has the same attitude as Ozymandias of the Watchmen. White Wing keeps a harem of Heroic Earth super heroines' doubles he's enslaved and mesmerized with his inhuman charisma. White Wing II butchered the previous White Wing and seized rulership of the world from him. In practice, he has to keep the other Traitors placated.

Death Mask III has met White Wing II and found the figure deeply unsettling. Mostly because it
was a hint as to the fact his son would be a far better villain than he.

In one of the peculiarities of dimensional travel, the Traitors have actually visited the Freedomverse and Doctor Tomorrow's home world in the "canonical" Halt Evil Doer! universe (at least as canonical as I can make something that isn't my world). The Annihilation Zone touching their reality with the one that leaks into the universe of Halt Evil Doer!

[Charles Phipps]

Yeah, Athena operated out of Freehold during the Golden Age.

[Libra]

I'll bet that the Tyranny Syndicate have shown up in Heroic Earth as well, eh?

[Charles Phipps]

The Modern Age Part One

At last, the Age everyone has been long waiting for. The MODERN AGE OF HEROIC EARTH-FREEDOM CITY! An age when heroes of all ages collide and what they think of one another. I hope everyone enjoys this particular work and shares what they think of it.

People can also contribute what they think should be involved!

The Current State of the Merged Universe

Unlike the Freedomverse, HED! ages in real time. Which means that the original Freedom City supplement was four years ago, which means that the Atom Family has grown up considerably. The Next Generation is not so little anymore and the Allterninateens are now more the Alternindults.

What does this mean for our beloved heroes, both great and small? Honestly, not so much. Still, there's some definite changes. It's been about four years since the Freedom League took up residence in the Lighthouse and the results haven't been entirely stellar. The appearance of Death Angel and her near destruction of Freedom City resulted in a HUGE backlash of negative publicity for he Freedom League.

The fact that the city was nearly destroyed by Mister Infamy and his Biblical Plague themed henchmen was as close as the city had come to annihilation since the Terminus Invasion. The fact that all the city's major heroes were off-fighting some distant alien threat and a lower profile group of heroes had to save the day resulted in a series of rather uncomfortable questions.

Doctor Metropolis has since left the Freedom League in a surprising move. Doctor Metropolis bears his friends no ill will, but the simple fact is that he's a City Elemental tied to Freedom City and leaving it for extended periods causes him great anxiety and the weakening of his powers. He's since decided to return as a full time defender of the City of Freedom. Pseudo has more or less taken up his old position indefinitely.

Ray Gardener is starting to finally question his role as a super hero, which is something almost no one expected. He's not going to crack or anything, that would hardly be heroic, but he's honestly finally starting to feel his age. The mental wear and tear of looking after the entire world and watching his son mature into a new super hero has gotten him seriously thinking about hanging up his cape for the first time.

It won't happen anytime soon, Ray's still very much about the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" but he's considering the idea that there might be something to be said for stepping back to Reserve Status. Part of this motivation is, undoubtedly, due to the fact that his son is now a grown solo hero in his own right and wants to be his "own man." Ray's wife isn't getting any younger either and wants some quality time.

Johnny Rocket's adoption of a young child has been a minor media circus, though the backlash against Proposition 9# helped move through the idea that a gay super hero was a perfectly valid role model for a super powered child that no one else could catch. Johnny is quite content to continue super-heroing indefinitely, he can do a lot of things at once after all, but he's also considering going into reserve status. Mostly due to Ray Gardener dropping some heavy bombshell sized hints that a super hero should not miss his kid's formative years. Jonni Rocket is also finally a decent super heroine in her own right, rather than a Rookie.

Beth Walton is starting to get some annoyed with her husband's "teasing" about having children becoming more "suggestions" and rapidly turning into "we need to talk." Beth wants children herself but is starting to believe its not in her future. Callie Summers has also begun an unexpected relationship that has rocked the team's dynamics a bit, specifically she's dating the 5 year younger Bowman IV. It's something that Ray Gardener isn't sure about effecting team dynamics and he's since become quite besotted with her.

Siren, on the other hand, is a reserve member of the team in everything but name due to the surprising development of her marriage to the White Lion. The event was extremely sudden and some people are actually expecting mind control, though it's much more likely that the pair decided to pursue a relationship whole heatedly. Siren's attitude had been changing since Hurricane Katrina anyway, viewing more the belief that the Freedom League should focus on Earth based issues. As such, she now largely divides her time between her husband's homeland and New Orleans.

Star Knights bisexuality revelation has caused not a ripple in the Freedom League's press, unlike Johnny Thunder's coming out, and frankly it's been something of an issue of tension between her and him. Though it's more a case of good natured jealousy on his part. He's made some rather tasteless jokes on the subject that are uncharacteristic for him. It's caused her no small amount of consternation, though, since her family was unaware and considerably less tolerant than Johnny's own.

Despite expectations, the Next Generation has not all gone on to become members of the Freedom League. In fact, Megastar is the only one whose shown any real continued interest in the idea. Bolt WANTS to join the Freedom League but has been pursuing a path as a solo hero for the time being. Ray believes, correctly, he doesn't want to be known as "Captain Thunder Junior" and can bring something to the table when he arrives. Megastar, now an adult, hasn't really changed his attitude and has become the team's unofficial Guy Gardener.

Mayor O'Conner's term has finally ended and it's a neck and neck race between Conrad Everett and Joanna Tolbert-Holmes. Neither candidate is going to be another Mayor Moore but Conrad's son died in the Death Angel Plagues. He's since developed a decidedly frosty relationship with the Freedom League, but oddly is willing to overlook super heroes who stayed and fought against Mister Infamy's minions. Conrad currently has the lead, mostly due to the fact that he's a major economic force and his policies have worked despite the ongoing Recession.

Relationship with the Patriots

The Patriots technically patrol the entirety of the world as well. However, in general, the team makes it a point to operate chiefly in the United States of America and only when the Foundation for World Harmony calls them to assemble. They usually meet on weekends for training and are otherwise free to proceed with their own activities in the meantime, though many are friends in their private lives. They do not have "Monitor" duty and are considerably loose knit in many ways.

This has honestly led to a certain amount of tension with the teams, especially during team ups. Compared to the Freedom League, the Patriots seem to have a ridiculous amount of free time on their hands and some (Ray Gardener especially) wonder how they can successfully patrol their own cities while also pursuing international careers. The answer, of course, is that Freedom City is a lot loopier city for the most part and harder for any one hero to patrol. It barely got buy with the Freedom League fully stationed there.

Still, relations with the two teams is reasonably cordial. There's a number of close friendships across the board and the two teams work well together against cosmic threats like The Collector, Omega, Star Khan, or Orkus.

In terms of popularity, the Freedom League has a minor edge over the Patriots though oddly they've been rapidly losing popularity in their own home city. Still, no one would admit to being a Patriots fan unless you meant the football team. Angry or not, the Freedom League is still "Our Team."

Freedom League Individual Members

Bowman IV: Fletcher is finally no longer the youngest man on the team and has won the respect of the others, though Ray and Daedalus still call him "kid" on occasion. Being a wealthy young socialite himself, he's often visited Alexander Timon's social functions with Callie Summers. Fletcher is considered a friend of Alex in his 'private' identity. Alex has been privately advising Bowman on the transition from B-list hero to A-list hero since the beginning and Fletcher has long since gotten the hang of it. Oddly, Fletcher is now imparting some of those same lessons onto Alex's sidekick. Brick has no interest in becoming a Arrow, but he's inspired Fletcher to realize that maybe seeking a sidekick would not be such a bad idea.

Captain Thunder: Is a close friend of Divinos. Divinos still visits during Christmas time with Pseudo and often drops buy to help Captain Thunder during his monitor duty in space. Divinos has suggested using Ultramind to handle the processes but Captain Thunder distrusts A.I. thanks to Talos' many perverse creatures. Oddly, Ray Gardener is also a former friend of Robin Hood before that man returned to a life of crime. In actuality, Ray still ignores the majority of Robin Hood's ill deeds and wishes he could help the man overcome his adolescent attitude of rebellion to become a real hero again.

Daedalus: Is one of the few individuals that Colonel Shepherd can go to get his armor repaired when Alex is off on one of his weird binges (or dating a Maxim cover model). Daedalus has improved the armor in several ways and is privately considering the possibility that there might be some benefits to allowing SOME (not all) of his technological breakthroughs with armor to trickle down if they fall into the hands of men like the Third Steel Commando.

Unfortunately, Daedalus also remembers General Venom and the two of them had their association crash and burn over the House of Serpents. Daedalus tends to win their fights, but just barely and the two have a genuine rivalry that will not end until Jack Washington Junior is brought to justice. Daedalus has another enemy that's even more repulsive in Project: Icarus. He senses the Labyrinth and the DN Ascent Project has ties to this organization, he's right, and his desire to see it destroyed occasionally verges on the fanatical. He's even endangered the Freedom League's legal sanctioning a few times to pursue it.

On a related note, Daedalus also acknowledges Alexander Timons is one of the few human beings in the world smarter than him (he's the only man Daedalus says "Can match the late Doctor Atom for gifted"). He actually needs to reign back Alex on occasion since the discoveries he often handles by happenstance could have dire effects for the world. Alex, on the other hand, argues that caution is good but holding back too much is morally wrong.

The only member of the team that Daedalus is honestly uncomfortable with is undoubtedly Athena. The Cosmic Eternal is the genuine article and Daedalus has a complex relationship with the Olympians to say the least. He's still angry about his son's death and his own cursed immortality. Nevertheless, Athena is one of the few soothing presences to Daedalus in the world and often reassures him that his torment will eventually come to an end.

Doctor Metropolis: Hasn't much of a relationship with the Patriots to be honest, they've rarely operated in Freedom City and he's rarely operated out of it. He's a mysterious figure to them and actually rather frightening.

Johnny Rocket: The team ups between Splotch and Johnny Rocket were a mainstay of the Speedster's early career as he'd jolt down to Freehold on his lunch break and fight bad guys before heading back to Freedom City in time to continue work fighting his rogues' there. The two are still close friends, Splotch having long since gotten over his initial discomfort at his friends' revelation. One thing that Johnny has been doing recently that he never expected to do was to start encouraging his friend to "grow up." Basically, acknowledging that he should stop trying to pretend its still college and maybe marry the cute (for a girl) redhead who works in his office. Mary or Gwen or whatever her name is.

Johnny Rocket despises Gang Lord Gorilla and the two have had it out on several occasions. Privately, Johnny has considered setting him up with Doctor Simian and often makes cracks to the considerable annoyance of Gang Lord Gorilla (who was a straight Italian gangster in his old life).

Lady Liberty: Beth Walton once had the closest relationship with the Patriots and still feels strong some affection for the team. She's the only member of the Freedom League that holds dual membership in the Patriots (this is mostly just a reflection of her willingness to work with the Foundation for World Harmony). Beth rarely shows up at Patriots Manor but has a pass key and often shows up as their representative at government functions. Ray is rather curious why she doesn't use her position as a member of the Freedom League to do this rather than acting on behalf of a team she only belongs to in name only but it boils down to the fact that the Patriots have much higher technical government standing.

Lawyers like her have to remember things like that.

Beth's closest relationship is now her most distant as she and Steven Shepherd were once lovers before her marriage to Trevor (during one of their rough spots due to the pressures of being Lady Liberty). It's almost an embarrassment now and the two don't discuss the issue, since it was the only time she ever even looked at another man. The fact that she still views Steven with a powerful attraction just makes their meetings awkward. Steven carries his own baggage from the relationship and they have yet to reconcile.

Beth, simultaneously, is close friends with Ashley Morgan and is the former terrorist's lawyer. Beth has a peculiar relationship with General Venom. Something about the House of Serpent's leader actually DRAINS her power around him and she thinks there is something spiritually WRONG with the terrorist leader that makes encounters with him to be close to terrifying. In fact, as America's former champion, General Venom is a symbolic open wound to the Spirit of Liberty and only his destruction or reconciliation can heal it.

Beth hasn't yet consulted someone like Eldrich or Seven to confirm such an outlandish theory, however. She only knows that she REALLY doesn't like him.

Pseudo: Pseudo and Divinos often exchange philosophical discussions when the alien grows bored at the Lighthouse. In fact, the two are close friends and often visit the other's space stronghold. Splotch made the joke that if Pseudo was a woman, Divinos would probably marry her. Awkward silence ensued.

Pseudo nasty relationship with the Tsavong. Bluntly, they're very impressed by his strength and have often made him offers to join their individualist society. Having discovered temporal pleasures and often feeling intensely needy for the friendship of his kind, Pseudo has to admit that he's strongly tempted. Not to become a member of the conquering warrior race but to perhaps help them become a better people.

Several times, he's visited Tsavong Space and while repulsed by their Mongol like conquests, noted that not all Tsavong are evil. Meta-Grue personally looks down on the Tsavong but has started to note that he could probably become a King amongst them (and he's right).

Raven: Raven is the second most friendly Freedom Leaguer to the Patriots after Beth Walton. Callie and Alex have known each other since children and the two are like siblings separated at birth (which has irritated matchmakers for some time since they seemed perfect for one another). Alex helped Callie through a brief period of incapacitation when she was shot by a Jack'A'Knives possessed host. Something that she wouldn't allow anyone else to see amongst her fellow Freedom Leaguers.

Oddly, the media does think Callie Summers and Alexander Timons are lovers and they've even appeared on People together. The pair absolutely love this but would probably never become involved due to their need to preserve their friendship. Raven's recent relationship with Fletcher has met with full approval by Alex, even though Fletcher was initially rather suspicious due to Alex's reputation.

Callie and Angel Girl also have a close friendship, which calls back to their days as young heroines fighting against the Iron Age's allure.

Of the Heroic Earth's villains, Callie Summers hates the Emerald Dragon the most and personally has nearly crossed the line to try and kill her a few times. This is due to the Emerald Dragon's absolute lethality in combat and the fact that she is favored assassin of Doctor Tzin. Callie has collaborated with Alex several times against the Black Hand. On occasion, she debates the merits of going underground with him to try and destroy that organization forever. The White Lotus Society, beleaguered as it is, has accepted Callie as a full time member.

Siren: Siren actually knows Red Jaguar far better than she knows any of the Patriots. Several times, the Psychotic Seven member and she have teamed up to fight against Baron Samedi and other evil creatures. Siren is disgusted by his villainous acts, but her visits to Nestoria have helped convince her that he was not entirely unjustified. Her own anger at the United States government after the Hurricane still burns inside her goddess like blood. Through that relationship, she also become acquainted with Aquarius. Another associate that was once a close friend.

The only Patriot she really associates with is, oddly, Athena. As a fellow goddess, Athena treats her with the difference and respect that is expected of a sea divinity. Siren often allows her "hair down" to act in a suitably imperial manner amongst them.

Star Knight: Maria Montoya is quite friendly towards Divinos, in no small part because he and she patrol the same areas in Earth's Space. Oddly, her street wise attitude and attractive face also resulted in her having a brief affair with Black Wing II (something which is actually public knowledge due to a weird gaffe when her bisexuality came out). As a Star Knight, she's also welcome at Patriot's manor despite never actually joining.

Maria is an implacable enemy of General Iblis, thanks to that man having murdered several Star Knights in his pursuit of a new Mithran. She also has battled Ultramind several times (that deranged computer having attempted to usurp control over Mentor in order to dominate the entire Universe---and damn well nearly succeeded). Maria is also quite bigoted against the Tsavong and Thran due to past encounters, something that Johnny Rocket is quick to point out the irony of.

[Charles Phipps]

The Liberators

A high-casualty and maximum-risk group, the Liberators were a weird collection of irregular soldiers and superpowered individuals. The Chinese martial artist Wei Ling, the Polish saboteur Black Shadow and the super powered Russian known as the Grizzly King were all members of the Liberators. Some say the team had up to forty members in its entire history, but this is a list of the Liberator's most iconic members.

James Brody: A Japanese-American, he was hardly welcome in the United States during World War 2 but contributed numerous inventions to the cause (like his Jet Engine transport "The Mayfly", the Glue Gun, the Tesla Cannon and so on). He was a dire enemy of the Japanese Imperialists despite being Japanese himself and thwarted many of their plans.

Ironically Doctor Brody retired to Japan after the war and helped rebuild the country.

Doctor James Brody missed the Ruritania mission because he'd become disenchanted with America, largely because the government had shown no interest in apologizing to the Japanese citizens interned during the war.

Corporal Victory: Karl Victory is only seventeen at this time and is not a full member of the Liberators. Nevertheless he is their "mascot" and succeeds in showing himself to be an excellent commando. The Steel Commando's unofficial sidekick, Karl Victory leaves the team due to his romance with a communist agent during World War 2 and thus misses the Ruritania mission.

Rebecca Carmichael: "I've had it up to here with this @&@& Leprechaun!" Is a typical example of discourse between "Becky from the Bronx" and her team mates (Charles, in this case). A sailor's daughter, Rebecca is noteworthy for the fact that she could wield two guns effectively and was the least lady-like woman in the entire 1940s, at least as far as her associates were concerned.

There's some evidence Rebecca was bisexual in an era when it wasn't tolerated, but her affairs with her male team mates were well publicized (if incredibly unromantic). She was also the team's mechanic and a stone-cold killer.

Rebecca is perhaps most noteworthy for the fact that she is an ancestor of The Londoner, Britain's one half-decent remaining super hero (discounting Robin Hood) and a man personally devoted to putting down Jack Union, once and for all.

Rebecca Carmichael died fighting the Forty Seven Ronin in the Philippines. Her last words to them as she went down fighting are not fit for print – or any other form of repetition.

Thomas Duvalle: A two-fisted American hero, Thomas Duvalle’s superhero assets totalled little more than a Domino Mask and a good pair of fists. So many were aware of this that few people remember his codename (Americaman) and instead remember him by his regular name. One of the few Liberators to survive, he helped in the reconstruction of Japan after the war and raised Rebecca Carmichael's daughter. Later, he sent her to England where she became the mother of the Londoner.

Thomas Duvalle, miraculously un-aged after sixty years, seems to still manage the Foundation for World Harmony's motor pool. This is partially due to the fact Thomas DID die during the Ruritania mission, he just got better (long story on that).

Jack Union I: Britain's gravity-defying superhero who dressed in a black version of the Union Jack. Jack Union was really Lord Jacob Union and a member of the House of Lords when he discovered his awesome abilities while protecting London during the Blitz.

Jack Union had one desire above all other things: that his family not inherit any of his abilities. Lord Jacob realized long ago that his own children were arrogant, spoiled and corrupt. Unfortunately Jack Union could not prevent his son from defiling his good name during the Cold War, since he died fighting Death Mask I.

Lady Excalibur: Susan Pennington first travelled to Otherworld as a young girl and there became a Queen of a fairy kingdom with her siblings. Then they returned home to mundane life. But the Great Lion still visited Susan and gave unto her the keys to defend the realm of England from Evil, transforming her from a young girl to a woman every time she needed it.

During the ill-fated Ruritanian mission, Susan suffered a serious head wound that left her amnesiac of her heroic past. Susan's siblings died, unfortunately, in a train accident that left her emotionally devastated.

Susan eventually recovered her memories but suffered another tragic loss when her daughter used Morgana Le Fey's magic to become the new Lady Excalibur. Totally unworthy, Susan's daughter defeated her in the courts, preventing her from taking possession of her abused grandchildren (the future Jane Union and Jack Union III).

After the death of her daughter, she managed to retrieve the sword at the cost of her life (preventing it from falling into the hands of PHANTOM).

She then joined her siblings in the True Otherworld.

The Londoner: Time lost, Edward Alistair-Stuart, is the two-fisted and shield-wielding Londoner. Edward has the abilities of a soldier far beyond normal men due to the amazing power of being "just that damn good." Edward is uncomfortable during this time being amongst his ancestors but nevertheless fights the good fight for Queen and Country.

He can't help but hate Lord Jacob Union, though, not just because he's the grandfather of the traitorous Jack Union III, but because he's also an arrogant upper class twit.

Edward Alistair-Stuart is transported back to the future by the Spirit of Heroism when he's assumed killed in a rock slide caused by Death Mask III.

Charles O'Reilly: The team's pilot and the most Irish human being that you'll ever meet. Charles often played up the act of being a drunk on missions to put people off their guard, but was in fact a teetotaller. Charlie was also an explosives expert and helped blow up numerous enemy encampments.

Charles ‘Charlie’ O’Reilly was killed sinking a Japanese aircraft carrier, during the course of his own kamikaze attack during the Pacific Campaign.

Steel Commando I: Jack Washington Senior led this motley crew whenever he was away from the Liberty Men. He was closest with Thomas and Karl during their myriad missions but never quite opened up completely, even to them.

His greatest regret was leaving his son without a father when Death Mask I finally ended his life.

[Libra]

Most excellent work on all parts Charles.

A few more detailed thoughts:

The Modern Age

An interesting take on the likely impact of Time of Vengeance which seems appropriate in the context of Earth-627 as well as the canon World of Freedom.

I agree that Ray is probably going to be feeling his years, but I suspect he'll never quite get around to hanging up the cape. Oh he'll certainly scale back a good deal, but there'll always be a situation where the Whippersnappers need help from the Big Blue Bolt - which they'll probably even ask for.

Beth's dilemma is amusing - given that her adoptive daughter of the Future will probably be showing up sooner rather than later.

I like the idea of the Raven/Bowman relationship. I suspect that Fletch will be practically worship his 'Dark Goddess of Caped Vengeance" in a fashion that makes everyone else midly uncomfortable and Raven practically preen (in private).

The Siren/White Lion relationship is interesting, but I always thought that she'd go for Theseus when she got broody. Ah well, she probably couldn't put up with the Swashbuckling Sovereign of the Deeps sheer enthusiasm. Either that or she lost the toss to Ariel.

One wonders what the Next-Gen are up to, but it's ever-so-slightly hilarious that Megastar has gone Gardner.

I'd add that Bolt, Jonni Rocket and Johnny Rocket - possibly Relentless as well - form a kind of Speedster Family, helping to keep the streets of Freedom clean. (Ray junior has pretty much thought of Johnny as 'Uncle John' for years and was practically his sidekick until recently.)

Individual Members

Bowman: I'd say that it's more likely that Lady Liberty calls Bowman 'Kid' rather than Daedalus, since the Cunning Cretan stopped judging people by their youth around about the year AD.

When you're as old as he is practically everyone is a 'Kid' and when you're as kind as Daedalus is you don't rub it in.

Captain Thunder: Excellent work. I suspect that Ray and Rob have run into each other since and that the Hood is definately, positively not actually a reserve member of the Freedom League - despite consistently showing up whenever they look like they need a hand.

He and Bowman have tried to avoid each other, but Fletch has finally felt the pull (Well, the tug) of ego recently and the whole thing inevitably devolves into a debate over who has the most impressive scars/trick-shots/equipment. Rob has yet to succeed in pulling Fletch to a bar, however.

Daedalus: A very fine write-up and I totally agree on your characterisation of the Black Wing/Daedalus relationship. My idea of Daedalus is that he's a genius artificier, not inventor.

He can use technology to improve Human Life and problem solve like no other being on the planet and has a grasp of science second to none, but he's very thoughtful, considered and above all careful. He'd rather use existing science to the limits of it's ability to Help Humanity and make sure it's used responsibly, rather than invent more.

Still, Black Wing has a point too, Daedalus can be perhaps a little too suspicious - but not as often as Alex might think.

I'd also say that Project: Icarus and the Freedom League are moving for a confrontation. Who will walk away from it is an interesting question.

Johnny Rocket: Awesome. Just. . .

Lady Liberty: An interesting insight into The General and the Steel Commando's relationship with another American Icon. I agree that Beth was almost certainly a member of the Patriots during the 80s - as well as Raven's sparring partner and occasionally her finest friend in the World.

Pseudo: Excellent and understated.

Raven: I'd argue that rather than trying to kill the Emerald Dragon Callie has simply recognised that she doesn't have to hold back against an immortal, but the relationship makes sense. I'd also argue that there's probably a twisted sort of affection on the part of Emerald Dragon for Callie, who she insists on trying to 'Improve.'

Siren: Ha! I love the mental image of Siren and Athena doing their 'divine dames' routine in front of some obstructive beareaucrat.

"Oh my Goddess."

I think her relationship with Red Jaguar and Aquarius is something I'll really have to address in my Sunset of Heroism articles, when I get back to them.

Star Knight: Good work. I like the reversal of the Johnny Rocket situation in the press. The media loves her but her family isn't so happy.

The Liberators

Excellent work, Charles. Howlin' Commando and Howlin' Mad in one package.

I hope you won't mind if I edit it a little and return it via PM?

James Brody: A fascinating character concept, a Nisei version of Doctor Atom - who I'm sure was a close friend on Earth-627. I suspect that the same can't be said for the Atom Family and the Black Sheep of the Solo lineage. . .

Corporal Victory: A fine character concept. Might one ask if his son's America Force One is still a part of the HED! Universe?

Rebbecca Carmichael:

Rebbecca is perhaps most noteworthy for the fact that she is the ancestor of the Londoner. Britain's one half-decent remaining super hero, discounting Robin Hood. A man personally devoted to putting down Jack Union once and for all.

Just because they don't like to put on spandex doesn't mean we don't have superheroes. We just don't have highly visible costumed adventurers.

Thomas Duvalle: I like this chap already. Nice punchline.

Jack Union I: Ah, Colonel Blimp as a superhero. Poor soul. . .BAAA!

Lady Excalibur: Now I wonder where this reference could have come from. . .

Nice to know that Jack didn't deliberately neglect her, he simply wasn't told what she'd got up to.

The Londoner: Sounds like an interesting chap. I'll have to give some thought to what the superhuman situation in the UK is like on Heroic Earth.

Charles O'Reilly: Now that's just an awesome stereotype version and subversion. You do realise I'm going to have to give him a charm bracelet from which he bestows a token on each of his lady-loves?

Steel Commando I: Poor senior, he probably developed a migrane herding this lot. Still as he put it "At least they are merely demented, rather than insane. Fortunately they lack the distressing habit of fighting crime and injustice with naught but alarming enthusiasm and a circus strongman's tights seen in the Liberty-Men. Unfortunately they make up for that outbreak of common sense by committing considerable imagination to their various neuroses, pecadillos and. . .well, that's quite enough on that subject."

[Charles Phipps]

Sure, g'head. I usually edit my works over a couple of hours. I was just inspired for this one.

[Libra]

Okey-dokey, no problem.

[Charles Phipps]

I just like the idea that Megastar, now that he's 18, has no intention of pursuing a normal career but considers himself hugely experienced and is eager to cash in on his superior power to the "old fogies." Given he's not NEARLY as hip as he thinks he is, this makes it even funnier.

I also liked the idea of Beth Walton as a Patriot simply because of their names. It'll be fun to see her reaction to her "daughter." There's a strong undercurrent of Patriotism and Spirits in the Heroic Universe and no one embodies that better than her.

I think her relationship with Red Jaguar and Aquarius is something I'll really have to address in my Sunset of Heroism articles, when I get back to them.

The Black Panther-Storm relationship made for some interesting inspiration.

Star Knight: Good work. I like the reversal of the Johnny Rocket situation in the press. The media loves her but her family isn't so happy.

Oddly, it reminded me of an odd moment where Alfred pointed out Bruce had an affair with Kathy Kane (the new Batwoman).

It made me say "Huh, Bruce, maybe you should work on your technique."

James Brody: A fascinating character concept, a Nisei version of Doctor Atom - who I'm sure was a close friend on Earth-627. I suspect that the same can't be said for the Atom Family and the Black Sheep of the Solo lineage. . .

If Grandpa Brody is still alive, I imagine he says "You call that a giant robot? When Godzilla first attacked Tokyo, *I* built a giant robot to fight him and it was a lot nicer than this one!"

Corporal Victory: A fine character concept. Might one ask if his son's America Force One is still a part of the HED! Universe?

So far, though I haven't yet gotten a chance to describe the team yet. I'll need to get inspired for some good characters, first.

Rebbecca Carmichael: Laughing

I've actually used Becky in my games before. The player characters love her.

The Londoner: Sounds like an interesting chap. I'll have to give some thought to what the superhuman situation in the UK is like on Heroic Earth.

It's not so bad, really. Despite the statements regarding Jack Union and Jane Union, the UK has a pretty good stable of super human agents. They just mostly work for MI-13 (which I came up with before Marvel)

Charles O'Reilly: Now that's just an awesome stereotype version and subversion. You do realise I'm going to have to give him a charm bracelet from which he bestows a token on each of his lady-loves? Wink

When my player characters had to deal with Charles in a time travel jaunt, they were on the verge of going insane with how utterly drunk/sotted out of his gourd he was. Only when one of them grabbed his flask for a drink when they were flying through a wave of Japanese zero fighters did they find out it was Ginger Ale.

[Libra]

If Grandpa Brody is still alive, I imagine he says "You call that a giant robot? When Gigantosaur first attacked Tokyo, *I* built a giant robot to fight him and it was a lot nicer than this one!"

I say he gets to survive into the modern day for this alone!

[Charles Phipps]

The Modern Age Part II

Duncan Summers experiences in the past four years have left him severely injured. The events of Time of Vengeance resulted in his back being injured and he's still in recouperative therapy. Worse, the event caused him to reconsider just how safe his students were since "Darkness" almost managed to kill them all.

There's also the fact that the Claremont Academy is getting rather 'packed' lately. His switch of the school to being fully an academy for super powered teens was controversial enough but it's now no longer possible to educate them all. He's considering opening a branch campus since he's swamped with overflow.

What's also irritating Duncan is the fact that quite a few of his students are not turning into the models of good behavior and morals that he expected. Battlecry, Firepower, Pusher, Sloth, and Student Body recently defected en masse from the Claremont Academy to join Ms. Scarlet's Zodiac All-Stars for the promise of a better paycheck.

Duncan has been trying to ressure himself that the children are misunderstood and were led astray by forces they couldn't possibly understand. Instead, recent events has shown him that the children are perfectly capable of not only theft but murder under Ms. Scarlet's tutelage.

The Claremont Academy has also gained an implaccable enemy inherited from their associates in the Atom Family. Doctor Psion has discovered the Claremont Academy and its very existence seems to offend him on a personal level. Worse, it's given him ideas. Duncan is certain that he played no small role in the corruption of his students. The fact that the Zodiac All-Stars have teamed up with the Psions on several occasions has only furthered his belief.

The Tomorrow Society and the Claremont Academy

Duncan Summers founded the Claremont Academy with the express purpose of dealing with Freedom City super-powered youth. He used his own fortune and contacts to find the children that would populate his school. This was roughly contemporous with Serena Mass beginning the Tomorrow Society. Being the original Raven, Duncan was well aware when she began her own academy and largely approved.

Duncan was less friendly when it became apparent that Serena intended to use her students to fight against the growing influence of the Gene Nation. Duncan believed very strongly that the business of super heroism should be reserved for adults. Serena, on the other hand, was a former teenage heroine herself. Duncan eventually relented on this subject when the Next Generation appeared amongst his own students.

Now, the two schools share a friendly rivalry that Changeling has called "The Triwizard Tournament" due to her fascination with "The books with the Harold who is a Potter." Duncan hadn't expected the two schools to become rivals but now blinks when they host a half dozen matches against each other every year (powers included). For many of Serena's students, it's a chance to operate without prejudice and the Claremont Academy loves a chance to cut loose.

Privately, Alex Timons and Serena have both approached Duncan about becoming part of the Tomorrow Society and helping them establish more schools across the country. Duncan is hesitant, not because he doesn't have his own plans, but the fact that he prefers to handle things in his own way. A holdover from his days as the Raven.

The Next Generation

Bolt: Ray Junior has since graduated from the Claremont Academy and spends most of his time as the "newly debuted" solo hero of Freedom City. Ray has developed a bit of an attitude problem, mostly from dealing with nosy reporters who keep coming to him with questions about his father.

Oddly, Bolt has started running down to the Tomorrow Society a lot recently. No one is quite sure why but the reason is that he's developed a very strong crush on Valkyrie. The fact she's "also" a fellow Solo Super heroine makes him think that she understands him better than another super heroine might. In fact, Valkyrie is a little put off by Ray's forward attitude. The fact she's been seeing someone ELSE would cause Bolt considerable distress.

Unfortunately, Ray has also used this time to become close friends with Ultimatum and the two are as close as humanly possible.

Megastar: Christopher Beck is now a member of the Freedom League and routinely gets these (unstated) performance reviews; adequate, decent, could use improvement, alright, not too bad, obnoxious but talented. Christopher is firmly convinced he's made it to the big time and while he's improved tremendously; he fails to realize that he could do a lot better. Christopher privately wishes Bolt would just join the Freedom League already since he's feeling kind of isolated with the much older team.

Oddly, Megastar has a long time rivalry with Ultimatum from the fact that he once tried to bring the "vigilante" in. Oddly, the two have since come to accept that they're on the same side but Megastar still privately uses Ultimatum as an example of "I may have screwed up but I never screwed up that bad."

Chris has a fairly close friendship with Eugene "Brick" Wilcox. The two met during a mission and Eugene is occasionally open for team ups. While Brick isn't the genius his father is, he's smarter than Chris and both know it. The two have a peculiar Superboy/Robin dynamic going on and Megastar has started sounding the "Boy Wonder" (how he hates being called that) to the prospect of starting their own team.

Chris thinks he'd prefer leading his own team than waiting years to be a big dog on the Freedom League.

Nereid: Princess of Atlantis, Nereid has since returned to her homeland and spends much of her time preparing for her ceremonial duties there. At this point, she's positively dying of boredom and wants to return to the Claremont Academy or go to Freedom City University. She misses her friends and given the longevity of Atlanteans, sees no reason to continue her service there indefinitely.

Nereid began a relationship with Magni recently but the thing swiftly turned sour as she found that she wasn't ready for the commitment that he automatically desired. She still mourns the damage of that relationship and is considering a relationship with Relentless. While not really bisexual, Nereid senses her attraction and imagines it would be fun.

Nereid still occasionally visits her "cousin" Ariel. Ultimately, Ariel is a big influence on her and is one of the reasons she's becoming a bit of a party girl. This may not be the best thing in the world given Ariel, herself, doesn't know what she wants to do with her life other than have fun.

Seven: Serena Vervain is now part of the Claremont Academy's faculty and is pursuing her degree in Library Sciences. Duncan has already decided that she will be the next Headmistress of the Claremont Academy and Serena has no objections at this time. Her only problem is the fact that she's starting to notice that she's moving from being a vivacious life of the party to being the "Hot Teacher" and its making her uncomfortable.

Serena has since defeated Lucius Cabott and successfully exorcised the Hell Rider spirit from the Academy (unfortunately, into a new host). This has left her life rather aimless and while Eldrich has dropped bombshell sized hints about her becoming Earth's Master Mage, she's also come to the realization she has no interest in such a position.

Serena privately considers Serena Mass to be her "other" master after Eldrich. Serena is almost as powerful as Orkus' daughter but relies on the older woman for advice. Whoop-Ant has said "They are the Gilmore Girls of Magic." After making it quite clear she had no interest in him, she's also befriended Alexander Timons who has helped her make some necessary adjustments to her lifestyle. Seven has never really thought much about serious relationships, but recently has started to notice the dejected Magni in a new way.

Sonic: Now spends most of his time patrolling Lincoln and the Southside. Sonic was actually offered a chance to join the Freedom League but turned it down. He has no desire to lose sight of the little people and pretty much exclusively patrols "his" district. The former Black Avenger has dropped some hints that he may be a bit myopic in this pursut. Sonic doesn't particularly feel up to patrolling the whole of Freedom City, however.

Eugene "Brick" Wilcox and he have a rather checkered history. Bluntly, the two sought each other out for a rumble on a few occasions entirely because they were the only two black super heroes their own age that either new of. Lemar has always thought of Eugene as a rich kid's son, but has since softened his views upon learning that he mostly grew up in poverty. The two usually end up fighting when they do meet but make a fairly effective team.

They've also attended charity functions together. If Megastar ever starts his super hero team, recruiting Sonic will be easy enough.

The Alterniteens

Navigatrix: Has actually left the team at this point. Shocking as it may seem, she's realized there's numerous other crises to deal with and has been recruited by the Norn to find teams to deal with pan-dimensional Crises. Orkus has recently noticed that Earth Prime isn't the only dimension he's been thwarted on, likewise there have been many other dimensions that have been helped by alternate doubles of other heroes.

Navigatrix's relationship with Earth-627 is deeper than anyone realizes. In fact, it was her involvement at a critical junction that merged a parallel of Heroic Earth and Freedom City into one distinct reality. Doctor Tomorrow is currently investigating what the possible results of this might be, especially since he's not used to the idea he could be an alternate of ANOTHER Doctor Tomorrow.

Recently, Navigatrix was clued into the origin of the builders by a strange man in a scarf who traveled around in a Police Box of all things.

Changeling: Has since been outed as a Grue and this caused her much brief grief, but she's since found acceptance back on the team. She attempted to begin a relationship with Elite and the two managed to break down many barriers, but recently he's turned cold to her and their relationship has broken down. This has left her feeling "bad in the stomach."

Changeling has befriended Angel Girl, who has been tutoring her in the ways of society and the fact that Flower Children are not an appropriate fashion sense for the modern era (which disappointed many when she changed it). Recently, Ultimatum has started approaching her about the possibility of a relationship. Changeling has so far completely misread his intentions and Ken's failure at communication isn't helping. His feelings are fairly artificial at this time, "I mean, she can be Angelina Jolie OR Jessica Alba!", but he also loves that she doesn't judge him by his mistakes of the past.

Dauntless: The final destruction of the mutant hating government of Earth-3001 has taken a huge load off of Dauntless' mind. Ironically, the solution was brought about by violence and the execution of the Leader by Elite followed by the frame up job of him as a Mutant. The result was civil war that allowed the common people to rise up with the realization that most of them were latent mutants. The method used by Elite, however, has caused Dauntless to start questioning Duncan Summer's own means.

Dauntless doesn't like to admit it, but he's secretly attracted to the Gene Nation. He was captured once by Cassius Mass, who invited him to some fine dining along with rather blatant (but effective) tease of some attractive young Metaman girls. Girls that were interested in him as an "Alpha-class Mutant" like it was MVP at the Superbowl. The recent revelation that the government has been experimenting with Exterminator bots has also got him seriously questioning if he's fighting on the wrong side.

So far, his innate decency has prevented him from hooking up with someone like Doctor Psion. However, there's another reason. He's switched his interest from Serena Vervain to Tesla Atom. Any threat to her results in a shout of "It's CLOBBERING TIME!"

Relentless: Has come to grips with the fact she's a lesbian. Oddly, it hasn't resulted in her feeling nearly the consternation that she thought it would (Earth-3001 was backward in a lot more ways than just its hatred of mutants). Her brother has had the most difficulty accepting it, in part because of his own upbringing but they haven't had too many fights over it. With the defeat of Earth-3001's National Humanity First Party, she's actually let go fully of her past and has embraced her life on this world. Unlike Dauntless, she has no belief that this world is going to be like her own. There's too many good people.

It's a view that her brother doesn't share.

Elite:Elite is currently dealing with the fact that he did something unforgivable, taking the life of the Leader in Earth-3001. Only Woundmaker and Dauntless know this. But it is eating him up with guilt since he'd vowed never to take a life again. It also resulted in the collapse of his relationship with Changeling. Elite is not going to rejoin the Murder League because of this but needs serious counselling or he's likely to become increasingly reckless.

In the meantime, Elite has become yet another solo-hero of Freedom City. He's actually more effective at it than anyone but Raven and Foreshadow has personally become an associate of the boy. Elite, privately, wanted to be the next Raven after Callie Summers but has abandoned that dream thanks to his recent "unforgivable" act.

Duncan Summers, of course, has already figured this out and is considering sending Black Wing to talk with him. Duncan has never taken a human life and believes that Alex might be able to discuss the fact that there's a difference between murder and killing in war. Or, at the very least, might explain to Elite that there's atonement possible for such a deed.

Magni: Magni is only growing stronger as time passes and has already started contemplating membership of the Freedom League (which he would be infinitely more suited to than the arrogant Megastar). However, he's already stated that he believes further experience in both combat and this world before he's ready to undertake such a measure. To that end, he's been using the Claremont Academy as a base while he walks the Earth.

Magni has also developed his own recent relationships, in this case, with Valkyrie. The two have immediately hit it off with his gentle giant persona contrasting against her wiser beyond her years mentality. Really, the two are so perfectly matched that one almost expects SOMETHING to explore soon. Magni has unconsciously picked up on Seven's interest in him, however, and is holding back a bit with Valkyrie. There's also the fact that Jun is the "rebound" girl and he's wondered if he's been entirely honest in his feelings with her.

Magni has recently also found a new substitute father figure. It took three knock down fights to realize that Ymir is actually a hero and that the Asgardians of this world were not nearly as benign as his own. Ymir, in fact, reminds him of his father in almost every way. This is due to the fact that Miles Westlake's alternate is actually the soul that Thor adopted as the basis for Doctor Blake Masterson, Magni's mortal father.

The two have since become very fast friends.

Whoop-Ant: Anthony Andrews is now officially bored stiff with this universe. Now that he's graduated Claremont, he's not interested in going to college but doesn't have the power to join the Freedom League full time like Megastar. Instead, he's been supporting himself with the largess of Duncan Summers and some (unreported) petty larcency. The Irredeemable Whoop Ant has since gotten into numerous petty altercations.

Oddly, he's helped talk Rant and Rave out of their life of petty violence into something slightly more prosperous. Whoop-Ant has recently been trying to subtley influence Megastar into creating their own super hero team so he doesn't have to work.

[Libra]

Excellent work Charles, though I'm not sure I quite agree with all you've done.

I'll post more detailed comments tomorrow, I think.