User:Jacky 50A/Infinity Comics Writing Sandbox

Spoiler warning for potential future content of the following ideas.

Synopsis
Ethan Crane, also known as Supreme, is one of the most renowned superheroes on Earth and a veteran in the duty of defending the world from the myriad of threats that endanger it. His powerful abilities and iconic feats have made him a legend amongst men, but as ages pass and more new heroes arise, does the world still need Supreme?

Broad Ideas

 * Worldbuilding
 * Ages of Heroes
 * The modern concept of superheroes and supervillains arose during the Second World War, beginning from Nazi Germany's effort to decisively win the war using occult and supernatural means. This began with the Thule Society's (Hellboy) discovery of the mysterious substance known as Woden's Blood (Uber), which allowed them to create and deploy superhumans, starting from a trio of Battleship-class ubermensch, Siegfried, Siegmund, and Sieglinde, followed by numerous other lesser ubermensch classes. These ubermensch were deployed to battle after the United States joined the fight against the Axis, wreaking havoc upon the Allies' ranks. The Allies desperately formulated counters to the ubermensch by either reverse-engineering Woden's Blood itself at a great cost or recruiting powered mystery men that were already known during the day to their cause. In the United States' case, they experimented on a falsely convicted man named Ethan Crane (Supreme) by exposing him to the cosmic radiation of Supremium, which granted him phenomenal powers. Ethan, now known as Supreme, would be deployed to the Western Front to confront the ubermensch. Supreme proved himself to be far more than a match for them, and his presence spurred the major world governments of the time to create their own superhumans as defense against the rising numbers of these enhanced beings. The Second World War ended as it did in real life, but the world would face new challenges with the presence of these supers.
 * While proto-superheroes and the like existed way before the Second World War, this event was the first time the supers' capabilities were publicly displayed. Other enhanced beings unaffiliated with either the Allies or the Axis were also active during this era.
 * The ubermensch were deployed after the United States' entry to World War II in the aftermath of Pearl Harbour.
 * In the aftermath of the Second World War, more and more vigilantes of various origins started to appear, predominantly in Britain, Japan, and the United States, in addition to several others popping up in other nations for a number of different reasons. The supers who worked for the Allies during the Great War were either forced to retirement or continue work for the governments, whilst those who worked for the Axis were either pardoned, executed, or decommissioned through various means, depending on the results of their trials. The United States enacted the Rhodes Act, which forced American superhumans and vigilantes to either work for them or retire, unless they were to be considered criminals; there was no in-between. Britain had their own initiative known as Protocol Omicron, which automatically drafted every British superhuman and vigilante to their service with no compromise, while Japan initiated the Hero Association Act (One Punch Man), which offered their superhumans and vigilantes the option to sign up for training by the government to legitimize and legalize themselves, lest they be considered vigilantes.
 * During the years of the Cold War, there were still many superhumans and vigilantes -- also known as supers -- who operated as rogues in the eyes of the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan began their first 'hero academies' (My Hero Academia) to train their supers, especially those counted as 'Quirk' users, who were dramatically rising in numbers fast. Regardless, the world saw supers unfavorably due to suspicion, even towards those whose activities were legitimate in the eyes of their government. Of course, this was justified due to even greater fears of another great war brewing, which was only exacerbated by tension between the NATO and Warsaw Pact nations. In the midst of all these, the Global Defense Agency (Invincible) was formed at the behest of the United Nations as a peacekeeping organization meant to defend the world from 'paranatural' threats, such as supers, aliens, and many more. Accompanying the Global Defense Agency were Stormwatch (Stormwatch), which was the spear to the Global Defense Agency's shield, tasked with eliminating superhuman threats before they could bring about devastation and chaos; Military Extraterrestrial Recon Outpost/MERO (X-O Manowar), who monitored the heavens and the earth for extraterrestrial threats; and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense/BPRD (Hellboy), which was already active for many years by then, but had been given more support by the UN during this era to defend the world from supernatural and paranormal threats. The Global Defense Agency would coordinate activities between these organizations, acting as a parent organization of sorts to them.
 * To better define the roles of these major extraordinary threat defense organizations, it would be best to summarize them as such:
 * The Global Defense Agency has authority over cases and occurrences involving all superheroes and supervillains.
 * Stormwatch has the authority to deploy strike teams to eliminate supers considered threats towards the world at large.
 * The Military Extraterrestrial Recon Outpost has authority over cases and occurrences involving aliens and other cosmic phenomenon.
 * The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense has authority over supernatural and mystic cases and occurrences.
 * Midway through the Cold War, a new superhero by the name of Solar (Solar), also known as Phi Seleski, kick-started a new age of heroes after gaining phenomenal radiation-based powers. Despite the terrifying nature of his power -- especially considering the political climate at the time -- Phil chose to use his powers for the betterment of others, government intervention be damned. Although Phil himself had quite a good standing within the government due to his job as a scientist, he wasn't delighted with how the government restrained individuals of extraordinary power from doing what was right outside their purview. Phil chose not to comply with the Rhodes Act but campaigned for a change in the system where supers such as himself coordinate with authorities in serving the people. Eventually, the Rhodes Act was accommodated so that supers weren't required to work for the government but had to be identified and registered in the databases of authorities, such as the Global Defense Agency. While not quite a few supers still opted not to comply with the new Rhodes Act, this change allowed more supers to publicly unveil themselves to do good to the people, since they were no longer considered criminals.
 * The new leniency afforded by the Rhodes Act would soon be followed by Britain, and it didn't take long for the proper first Age of Heroes to happen. Whilst the Cold War engaged its course, heroes and villains alike would battle each other in spectacular quests and make their mark upon the world. It was here that the first superhero teams of the age were formed, in addition to the return of pre-existing ones, such as the Union of Justice. The First Age of Heroes would end near the dissolution of the Soviet Union when its herald, Phil Seleski, was killed while attempting to foil the plot of one Solomon Seltzer (Wanted) to trigger the Third World War.
 * The Man of Atom's death would give way to a darker age of heroes, where vigilantes were far more violent and unforgiving in their crusade against evil. So much so, that in many cases, they weren't all that different from the criminals they were meant to hunt. It was in this time, as well, when corporations such as Vought-American (The Boys) began to 'manufacture' superhumans, just as what happened during the Second World War. These so-called 'superheroes' were 'created' to further corporate interests, not for bettering the lives of the common people. Many other superheroes knew of the corruption of these corporations through the acts of their own 'heroes', but the companies sheltering them had every resource available to silence these heroes. Despite these, as time passes, the world has entered a new age of heroes: a proving ground for the next generation of heroes and villains to do right by their code and go down in history.
 * Character Details

Story Circle

 * 1) In a Zone of Comfort
 * 2) They Desire Something
 * 3) Enter an Unfamiliar Situation
 * 4) Adapt to the Situation
 * 5) Get What They Desired
 * 6) Pay a Heavy Price for Winning
 * 7) A Return to Their Familiar Situation
 * 8) They Have Overall Changed