History of the World

The Mythic Ages
The mythic ages were a time of heroes and gods, beings with superpowers and abilities. Hercules, Thor, Achilles, Buddha, Son Tun the Monkey King, Jesus, Mohammed, King Arthur. Beings touched by the Gods themselves. But as time wore on, these demigods passed into myth and legend.

History
History records other heroes, lacking superpowers but no-less heroic. Usually, these heroes use guile and cunning, and often must wear masks to protect their true identity. Robin Hood, the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Three Musketeers, Zorro.

The 19th Century
Even into the 19th century heroes defended the innocent without the aid of supernatural powers. The Cavalier (my analog of Lone Ranger), Vermillion Vixen (a female Zorro), Sherlock Holmes, and Wong Fei Hung of China.

The Thirties
The early 20th century continued this tradition with men like the Conscience, the Whisper, the Blue Ace, the Crimson Dragon, and the Black Spider. These men used their wits, brawns, and weapons to fight the criminal underworld in the late-night shadows of justice.

The Guardian
Then, in 1939, the Guardian appeared. The Guardian could fly, lift buildings, and withstand a direct hit from a tank cannon. The god-like beings of old had returned. The Guardian explained that he was the beneficiary of an extra-dimensional entity that endowed him with powers and knowledge from another world, and that he had been chosen to be the Guardian of the Earth.

The Forties
Soon after, more super-powered beings made themselves known, supplanting the costumed night-crawlers of the thirties with garish costumes and personas unafraid of the light of day. The Guardian was joined by the likes of Maxima the warrior princess of Lemuria, the Timekeeper, and others.

With the advent of World War II, these super-beings lent their aid to the Allied cause, fighting against the Axis super-beings, creatures created in laboratories or through dark magic.

The Fifties
and the Crackdown After the war, many of the aging superheroes settled down and retired. The government, who found the super-beings useful during the war, now looked upon super-beings with apprehension. Laws were passed that required the registration and control of super-beings, and costumed crime-fighters all but disappeared. The immortal Guardian had retreated to his orbital Citadel, pledging himself to guard the Earth against newly discovered extraterrestrial threats.

The Sixties
The sixties saw the use of super-beings by espionage and covert operations organizations as secret agents. Costumed crime fighters began to make a comeback, though this time more low-key and down to earth.

The Seventies
In the late sixties and early seventies, the Guardian's defense of the Earth was not enough. Earth was invaded several times by beings from other worlds and dimensions. The inter-dimensional menace XOXOX came to Earth to drain the world of all its souls. After a fierce battle involving most of Earth's extant super-beings, XOXOX was defeated and permanently changed by the telepathic young girl responsible for his fall, a counter-culture heroine named Mary Gold, aka Flower Child. From that point on XOXOX pledged his existence to spread love and happiness to the world. Little did Flower Child imagine that her simple act would cause the world so much annoyance in the future.

The Eighties
The eighties saw the return of the violent masked vigilante hero of the thirties. This time, the hero was better armed, better trained, and lacked the style of their predecessors. What they lacked in panache, they made up for with firepower and lethality. Vigilantes like Eliminator, the Butcher, and the Triggerman laid waste to organized crime while staying one step ahead of the legitimate law.

The Nineties
Like the forties, the nineties saw the return of super-beings, supplanting the vigilantes of the previous decade. With the reversal of the superpower control laws of the fifties, and the fall of communism, masked superheroes once again felt safe to fight crime in the light of day. INTERPOL has even set up a special program to empower these super-beings with international police status, effectively empowering them as super-powered consultants to local law enforcement bodies around the world. The United Nations, likewise, fields its own teams of super-powered peacekeepers known by Greek letter designation such as Alpha Team, Beta Team, Gamma Team, etc. These teams are sent to trouble-spots around the world to maintain peace and order during trying times. Meanwhile, Guardian maintains vigil over the Earth from his Citadel in space, though he intervenes little anymore nowadays. The older, more mature Guardian prefers diplomatic relations with other worlds and the guidance and training of new heroes he chooses as his pupils.

A New Millennium
With the passing of the Millennium a new generation of heroes has risen to defend the people of Earth. Superheroes like Cosmic Storm, String Theory, and Wounded Knee join the likes of King Crab, and Jumbo Shrimp in the west coast metropolis of Pacific City. Will they be able to protect the citizenry from the menaces of Dr. Necrosis, Panzer, Supermodel, Redlight/Greenlight, and other dastardly villains?

Find out, next Friday!