THE MEGAVERSE
HISTORY
The world dubbed The Megaverse was an alternate Earth, a world with a similar history to the main Earth but one where
superhumans were rare, and none of Earth's heroes and villains had any counterparts. The world was not completely without
heroes, American super-soldier Captain Victory of that Earth's World War II is a prime example, but superhumans were a
rarity, until test pilot Jack Miser arrived.
Jack Miser was a Cold War U.S. Air Force test pilot from the main Earth. Captured by the evil Darkseid of Apokalips,
Jack was tortured and experimented on by Darkseid's servants before he eventually escaped with help from one of the gods
of New Genesis. Fleeing Apokalips in a Boom Tube, Jack attempted to return home but instead found himself appearing on
the Megaverse Earth. The experiments on Apokalips had given Jack super powers, and his arrival on this alternate Earth
triggered the appearance of several native super heroes and villains. Jack became the hero
Elemental, and fought alongside many of this Earth's heroes for over a decade
before his worst fear came true – the forces of Apokalips tracked him down and attacked his new homeworld.
Elemental fled, hoping to draw the forces of Apokalips away. He was able to return to his home Earth, where would continue
his heroic career as a founding member of Justice Incorporated. Months later
Elemental's Atomic Four teammate Firedrake came to find him, claiming that the heroes of the Megaverse had successfully
repelled the forces of Apokalips. Elemental and Justice Inc. traveled with Firedrake to the other world where it appeared
that the Megaverse Earth had indeed survived relatively unscathed. The truth, however, soon became apparent.
At the same moment that Justice Inc. were in the Megaverse, a great battle was taking place between Darkseid and his
son Orion. Darkseid was apparently killed and as a result a shadow passed through everything the powers of the New Gods
had touched. On the Megaverse Earth the change was instantaneous; a veil was lifted and the world was revealed to be a
devastated wasteland. The reality was that Darkseid's forces had destroyed the world and killed most of the population,
including almost all of the world's heroes. Two of the surviving heroes, Dr. Psyche and Dream Weaver, combined their powers
with a recovered Mother Box to create a facsimile of the world as it had been, including their deceased teammates. The
shadow of Darkseid's passing broke the power of the Mother Box, revealing the truth.
Elemental was also affected by the shadow, his connection to the Source resulting in a portion of Darkseid's essence
tainting him. Elemental became a reflection of Darkseid and proceeded to rally surviving heroes and villains along with the
scattered remaining forces of Apokalips. With this he declared himself the new ruler of the devastated ruler, claiming a
firm hand was needed restore order. Unable to stop their former teammate, Justice Inc. were sent back to their Earth. True
to his word, Elemental and his allies restored order to the devastated world, though at the cost of any remaining freedoms.
Elemental's rule lasted less than two years. Darkseid returned, his earlier apparent death being part of a larger plan,
and now he was seeking the fragments of his essence that remained. Elemental and his allies were unable to resist this new
invasion from Apokalips and Darkseid. The fragment of Darkseid's essence was stripped from Elemental as were the former
hero's powers. These events coincided with the Genesis crisis, and due
to the resulting disturbances the heroic Guardians from the main Earth also
found themselves in the Megaverse universe. As Darkseid and his forces prepared to finish the destruction of the world they
had begun years earlier, the Guardians were able to help a few thousand survivors escape back to the main Earth. These
people, including a trio of remaining heroes as well as the de-powered Elemental, would be the only survivors from their
Earth which had now been rendered completely uninhabitable. The three surviving heroes were
Cavalier, Silver Vixen,
and Spectrum and they have attempted, with mixed results,
to find a place for themselves on their new world.
HEROES
Before the invasion of their world by Apokalips, the Megaverse Earth was home to many super-heroes. Three prominent
super-hero teams were:
ATOMIC FOUR
HISTORY
Dr. Marshall Michaels was an aerospace engineer working on an experimental space plane when he took the vehicle out on an
unauthorized test flight, aided by his fiance and her brother. The test flight coincided with the arrival of Jack Miser to
their world with a Boom Tube. The exotic Fourth World energies mixed with high energy radiation during the test flight and
the combination bombarded the flight crew and disabled the space plane. The pilot, Alan Christopher, managed to get the plane
down and afterward the trio discovered the exposure to the strange energies had granted them super powers. Together with
Jack Miser the group decided to form their world's first super-hero team, calling themselves the Atomic Four.
The quartet became a cornerstone of a new heroic age and battled many dangerous threats, notably saving their world from
the cosmic being known as the Celestian. After Elemental's effort to lure Darkseid's forces away failed, the remaining three
attempted to help defend the Earth but Mr. Quantum and Atomica were killed. Firedrake was killed during the second Apokalips
invasion.
MEMBERS
- Mister Quantum: Leader of the Atomic Four, Dr. Marshall Michaels was a genius scientist and engineer and went
by the name Mister Quantum. He had the power to manipulate matter.
- Atomica: Originally going by the name Atom Girl, Ann Christopher was a physicist and mission specialist on the
rogue flight. Her brother is Firedrake and she later married Mister Quantum. Atomica had the power to shrink to subatomic
size.
- Firedrake: Pilot for the rogue spaceflight and brother of Atomica, Alan Christopher gained fire-based powers
and went by the name Firedrake.
- Elemental
VINDICATORS
HISTORY
The Vindicators were the most powerful super-hero team on the Megaverse Earth. The team was originally formed by accident,
an unintended consequence of the manipulations of a super-villain, but the heroes remained together in the aftermath. The
roster would change frequently over the years, with certain members remaining part of a core to provide continuity, but the
team would consistently help defend the planet against a variety of threats. The Vindicators wound up taking the brunt of the
casualties from Darkseid's initial invasion, and after the devastating second invasion only two members of the Vindicators,
Cavalier and Silver Vixen, were among the survivors to escape the destruction of their world.
MEMBERS
There have been dozens of members of the Vindicators over the years. These are some of the most notable heroes to have been
part of the team.
- Captain Victory: The current Captain Victory thought he was the original, who had been a heroic Allied operative
during World War II, revived in the present day after being stuck in suspended animation since his mysterious disappearance
near the end of the war in 1945. As he would later discover, Captain Victory was actually a clone of the original, created
by the US government after they discovered the body of the long-missing super soldier and programmed to believe he was the
genuine article. After discovering the truth about his origins Captain Victory severed his connections with the American
government, but remained a hero as field leader of the Vindicators.
- Champion: Billionaire engineer and industrialist Kevin Sage was a futurist determined to show how technology could
help humanity. When some of his technology was stolen and used by terrorists, Sage developed an advanced suit of power armor
and went after the terrorists. He decided to continue to use the armor, which he would continually improve over time, and
became a founding member of the Vindicators as Champion. As well as being a frequent member of the team Champion also provided
the funding for the team.
- Braax: An alien traveller, Braax was initially tricked into attacking civilians until several heroes revealed the
trickery and the alien helped them defeat the true villain in the encounter that led to the formation of the Vindicators.
Braax possessed immense superhuman strength.
- Target: Ace archer and former secret agent Jeremy McLeod started out as an enemy of Champion who reformed and was
welcomed into the Vindicators. Target used a special bow equipped with a variety of trick arrows.
- Bolt: William Tract and his sister Isabella were Factor 500 mutants who had previously been pegged as terrorists,
but who had in reality been simply defending themselves against prejudiced groups who were attempting to kill them. The pair
would join the Vindicators to change the public view of themselves and their fellow mutants. As the Bolt, William could move
at superhuman speeds.
- Dream Weaver: Sister to Bolt, Isabella and her brother were welcomed into the Vindicators after helping the team
against one of their most dangerous foes. Despite the perception that the siblings were terrorists, the Vindicators soon
realized the truth and invited the pair to join the team. Dream Weaver had the ability to create hyper-realistic illusions.
- Cavalier
- Silver Vixen
FACTOR 500
HISTORY
The team of outcasts called Factor 500 is named after a genetic factor identified as the cause for the spontaneous development
of superhuman powers. The individuals who developed powers because of the Factor were often called mutants or freaks and faced
persecution from the public, with the media adding the 500 based on early reports of the alleged number of mutants in the United
States caused by it. The Factor was discovered by geneticist Dr. Michael Lawson, who himself possessed power caused by it. Blaming
himself for the oppression called by the public disclosure of the Factor and its mutating effect, Lawson assembled a group of
fellow Factor mutants for self-protection. With the rise in popularity of superheroes like the Atomic Four and the Vindicators,
several of the mutants gathered by Lawson decided they would also start operating as superheroes, hoping it would help dispel
some of the prejudice. Lawson himself would head the group as Dr. Psyche and the team elected to use Factor 500 as their name.
The public perception of the team varied over time, with them being viewed as threats to being hailed as heroes. Regardless of
how the public felt, the team was on the front lines of the battles against the forces if Apokalips. By the end all members except
Spectrum had been killed and he was among the handful of survivors of the Megaverse Earth that escaped with the Guardians.
MEMBERS
There were many members of of Factor 500 over the years, starting with founding five Spectrum, Material Girl, Condor, Freeze
Frame, and Wild Thing. The tam rose to higher prominence in the public awareness with the second major lineup, presented here.
- Doctor Psyche: Founder of the group, geneticist Dr. Michael Lawson possessed telepathic and telekinetic abilities.
- Spectrum: Founding member and team leader, Spectrum
had electromagnetic powers.
- Lilith: Formerly Material Girl, Lilith was a powerful psychic. Lilith and Spectrum were engaged to be married prior
to her death in the Apokalips invasion.
- Badger: A vicious warrior and former special operative, the Badger had razor-sharp claws and an accelerated healing
factor.
- Sahara: An orphan from Africa, the beautiful Sahara had wind control powers.
- Barricade: Originally from Eastern Europe, the Slavic Sentinel Barricade could transform into living metal.
- Nightstalker: Despite possessing vampire-like powers and appearance, the hooded Nightstalker was man of faith who
fought for good.
- Sonic: Former Welsh schoolteacher, the man known as Sonic could project and control sound waves.