A History of 20th Century Superheroes

World War One

The First costumed heroes were witnessed during the violence of the Great War. At first dismissed as visions caused by the noxious chemical warfare and extreme stress, it slowly became obvious that these unique individuals had joined their country's soldiers to fight for glory and honour.

The Angels of Mons were supposedly supernatural protectors of the British forces during the traumatic Battle of mons. A pair of angelic beings armed with bows and graced with wings, they provided covering fire for the advancing Tommies. Although their origins were never discovered, a corpse was located in the last days of the Somme, belonging to a British soldier who had painted some makeshift robes with fluorescent paint, as well as worn makeshift wings. They had been pierced multiple times by machine gun fire.

The Dandy, Britain's premier and greatest Superhero first appeared during World War One. Dressed as a fop, complete with silver wig and domino mask, actor Olivier Gielgud (real name, Gregor Brent) was possessed of an incredible dexterity, foot speed, and beyond athletic-levels of stamina and strength. Armed with a silver-topped cane he used to pummel his enemies into unconsciousness, the Dandy was extremely opposed to needless bloodshed, even having the slogan “In The Spirit Of The Game” emblazoned on handkerchiefs he would leave on the prone bodies of defeated officers.

La Renard was France’s answer to the Dandy, a red-clad masked showgirl who could seemingly transform into a fox at will, easily avoiding gunfire and weaving between soldiers. Renard claimed she was the fabled Renard the Fox, the French folklore trickster, and she enjoyed experimenting with switching between gender.

The Maid also aided the French forces, a radiant spectre that resembled Joan d’Arc and deflected arrows with their bright sword. It is worth noting the similarities between this figure and Unconquered figurehead Sant...

The first American hero, Johnny Appleseed is often quietly forgotten nowadays. Armed with “magic appleseeds”, the farmer could sow fruit-bearing trees into existence with only a minute's watering for a full grown tree. There entirely for moral support, Johnny was run through with an Austrian bayonet in the late days of the war. Most American Superhero scholars instead choose to attribute the rise in popularity of superheroes in the coming years to the US’ answer to the Dandy, The New Yorker, rather than in the humble origins of Johnny Appleseed.

Perhaps the most famous of the WW1 Superheroes was Der Frau Grosse, aka The Fat Lady, Germany's most prominent hero. A woman of honour and moral fibre, The Fat Lady claimed she was a living embodiment of Europe's Cultural Zeitgeist, manifested as a large Valkyrie, complete with winged helmet, shield and spear. An unsurpassed combatant, The Fat Lady fought both La Renard and The Dandy to a standstill; both later related that if she had wanted to, she could have easily killed them.

In 1918, Germany and its allies were defeated, at incredible cost, and the War ended. The heroes returned to their countries and mostly vanished until the 1930's...

The Rise of The Guide

In 1933, the National Socialist Party is led to victory and control of the German Government through charisma and rabble-rousing, their leader and Chancellor aided by the tutelage of the mysterious superbeing known in English as The Guide - his German name is now illegal to use. The Guide claimed to have once been a struggling artist and drafted soldier, heavily hospitalised by the monstrous tactics of The Great War. While heavily medicated, he claimed to have been visited by “Eagles & Owls made of shimmering gold, spirits of the air wrapped in thunder and purple fire”; the birds told him he had a great purpose, to guide his country to total control of Europe, and subjugation of the weaker world.

When he awoke, he possessed a a thick woolen hooded-cloak in a shimmering golden hue, and a six-foot shepherd's crook, precious metals woven into the wood's cracks. The cloak obscured the Guide’s face, and radiated brilliant light; by recounting an incantation in ancient Germanic, the Guide could grow to thirty-feet tall, possessed with an unnatural strength and endurance. The Crook could seemingly summon birds from the sky, enormous glowing facsimiles of eagles and owls to claw at his enemies.

It gifted him no influence, charisma, or mind control powers; his rise to influencing the leadership of Germany was, sadly, entirely human.

The horrors the country instigated at the behest of The Guide are well documented, and there is no need to repeat them here. Of course, wherever there is cruelty and oppression, there will be those who rise to fight it...

The Matinee

Since the 1920's, the slowly-aging Dandy had been gathering his own team of superhumans, stationed at Gielgud mansion in Staffordshire. When war broke out again, The Matinee were fast to respond. Other than Gielgud and Renard, now identifying as male, their membership included:

Principle Boy, quite obviously a young woman in her early 30s, a Master of disguise and accomplished acrobat & gymnast.

The Great Dame, an incredibly strong and resilient pantomime drag queen, the team's engineer and heavy-weapons expert.

Soliloquy, a member of British Military Intelligence, the team's intelligence expert and coordinator, able to “cloak” individuals from sight through concentration.

Robyn Goodfellowe, the same petulant Fae from the Forest of Arden, able to fly and render targets asleep via flower pollen.

Two members, Exeunt and Interlude, were killed in the early days of the war. Their abilities were not documented.

As war across Europe and the Pacific intensified, more heroes became disillusioned with their country's politics and tendencies, joining the Matinee:

Kabuki, an actress from Japan able to slow time through traditional dance movements and incredible concentration.

Circus Maximus, a suspicious Roman Gladiator, whose face was always obscured by a helmet.

Unsurprisingly, The Fat Lady defected once she became aware of the tragedies being orchestrated in her country's name, choosing instead to represent “Art and the Spirit of Europe”.

The Matinee continued fighting throughout the 30's and 40's until apprehended Axis intelligence indicated a spy was installed inside the Matinee. Suspicious of Circus Maximus, the team had him arrested by British Military Intelligence; he committed suicide that same night, his autopsy revealing that his silence was due to nerve damage caused by chemical castration.

Realising it was highly likely they had made a mistake, Great Dame investigated the chain of information going back to Military Intelligence… only to realizes there was a breakage in messages returning. Realising Soliloquy was the double agent, bought out in University, Dame informed the team, but not before being murdered by the vengeful spy. Soliloquy was arrested, and like poor Circus Maximus, killed themself in custody.

With no Military Intelligence individual present on the team, the British Government sent Dr. Lieber, an expert in superheroes and their origins. Lieber immediately hit up a close friendship with The Dandy.

As the war reached its climax, the team clashed with The Guide and his gold-clad teutonic Knight honour guard in Berlin; with the Dandy grievously wounded and Principle Boy & Kabuki dealing with the GUIDE'S guards, it came down to The Fat Lady to slay the threat to European freedom. Driving her spear through the giant's throat, The Guide was defeated, his body exploding into shadowy birds that dispersed across Germany. Under The Dandy's orders, The Cloak was destroyed within minutes, as would the Crook… if it had not vanished.

The Deterrents

As the conflict in Europe ended, The Matinee were unaware that the fighting in the Pacific persisted. When Hiroshima was bombed, the team rallied around a devastated Kabuki, sickened that the same forces who had fought to stop total control and devastation in Europe had willingly attempted total control and devastation in Asia. The Matinee retired and broke ties with the Government, stating that they would “never stand by as any force on Earth had the power to single handedly subjugate another with the flick of a switch”. The Dandy returned to Gielgud Mansion, bringing his allies with him, including Lieber, to better understand their gifts and what they could achieve together…

By 1958, fourteen nuclear weapon facilities around the world had been raided, their weapons disarmed and rendered useless. No evidence suggested the surviving members of The Matinee were involved, but it was hard to imagine that they were not, and The Dandy is largely considered their founder. Letters left at the scene named the perpetrators “The Deterrents”, and their goal as “the absolution of villainy and oppression worldwide, to apprehend and destroy what the Governments of the world can not, or will not, do themselves”.

By 1971, the Deterrents were recognised worldwide as instigators of peace and threats to any and all villains that threatened and oppressed, with a Government liaison for each of the International Super Powers, and UMBRA, and their own Space Station, GREGOR1, seemingly named after The Dandy.

While The Deterrents are an International team, there are similar, smaller teams worldwide: From the Chinese Twelve Wonders and the Russian People's Protecterate, to the ill-fated British Action Team! and the Canadian First Response.

UMBRA

Founded in 1959, the United States Military Bureau of Response to Anomalies, or UMBRA, is the Military response to The Deterrents; a Government special agent network dedicated to dealing with superpowered or outright alien threats.

UMBRA operates from the ominous “Sky Fish”: enormous shimmering discs of unknown origin, salvaged by the American Government and converted into flying fortresses.

UMBRA agents all have US Naval training, and are equipped with the best weapons the world can offer : laser pistols, shoulder-mounted plasma cannons, and the dread “Wriggler”, a needle-tipped-device that shuts down Parahuman abilities temporarily.named due to the painful spasms it causes.

In 2018, UMBRA is headed by legendary special agent Lancaster Wilder, a decorated hero well known for butting heads with the (any) President.

As far as the American Government and President Keel are concerned, The Deterrents are part of UMBRA, and UMBRA is a wing of the American Military.

ETHER

Founded in 1979, the European Territories’ Hazardous Escalation Response bureau, or ETHER, is the smaller, European equivalent of UMBRA, employing special agents and Superheroes, Parahuman or not, across Europe and the world. They have “offices” (sprawling underground complexes) throughout Dover, Calais, Milan, Munich. St Petersburg, Krakow and Vienna (the Central offices), but also employ a number of “Sub-Lets”, submersible offices that travel the Mediterranean and North Sea.

Having inherited the British Government's “Quartermaster” division of Military Intelligence, ETHER is well known for its wacky, if not practical, tools, like mini-gyrocopters, knife shoes and laser watches.

While not a Military extension like UMBRA, ETHER is funded by Governments across Europe.

In 2018, ETHER is headed by Zuzanna Mazur, the respected Polish diplomat. Mazur is incredibly vocal that ETHER is an extension of Interpol, an investigatory service free of national leashes, not a European private military service.