A YJA Moment - The Super Family

The most familiar face of the Super Family is Kal-El, who is known as Clark Kent on Earth.  He was sent to our planet as a child by his parents to escape the destruction of Krypton.  Growing up on a Kansas farm, he learned all the values that would serve him well as the Man of Steel -  first as Superboy and later as Superman. Soon he would be joined by another Kryptonian, Kara Zor-L, who claimed to be his cousin.  it was revealed that she was actually from an alternate reality that had been wiped out in a transdimensional cataclysm.  Regardless, Clark welcomed her as family and she took on the identity of Karen Starr, aka Supergirl.

Tragedy struck when the mysterious villain known as Doomsday rampaged across the United States. Few knew that Lex Luthor had created a genetic hybrid containing both DNA from the Hulk and General Zod.  Almost unstoppable, it was only defeated by the sacrifice of Superman.  Thought to have perished, several new heroes arose to succeed him - the young Teen Superman, the violent Last Son of Krypton, the armored Man of Steel, and the cyborg Man of Tomorrow.

Eventually, Kal-El returned to life after spending time in a regenerative coma, taking back the mantle of Superman.  Teen Superman then became the modern Superboy, the Last Son of Krypton is revealed to be the Kryptonian android Eradicator, and the Man of Tomorrow is revealed to be the villainous Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman.

Not long after Superman resumed being a hero, another Kryptonian starship crash-landed in the waters between Metropolis and Gotham.  There Kal-El was greeted by his real cousin Kara Zor-El.  Kara was technically older than Kal when she left Krypton, but due to an anomaly in the Phantom Zone drive, she ended up on Earth decades late.  After some reconnecting with Clark and her alternate universe counterpart, Kara Danvers took on the mantle of Supergirl.  Karen Starr then became the hero known as Power Girl.

Centuries ago, after the attempted coup against the Science Guild, the Military Guild found itself relegated to the status of a minor guild, denied the funding required to maintain its previously massive army.  Withering under the mandates of the Lawmakers Guild, a faction of soldiers formed a group dedicated to returning Krypton to its former glory - the Sword of Rao.  Led by General Zod, his confederates attempted to overthrow the ruling council but were stopped by loyal soldiers from the Military Guild.  Convicted of sedition, they were sentenced to life in the Phantom Zone.  Years later an interdimensional accident freed Zod, his wife Faora, and his trusted lieutenants on Earth.  Since then, they have been a thorn in the side of Kal-El who must continually think of new ways to defeat and imprison his foes.

A few others also managed to escape the destruction of homeworld but like Zod, are inextricably linked to the House of El:  The genetically-altered soldier known as Reign who had been created by the Military Guild as a secret weapon; the chimeric survivor known as H'El, who set out on a crusade to create a New Krypton; and Zor-El the father of Supergirl who was rescued by Brainiac and turned into his Herald, becoming what would later be known as the second Cyborg Superman.

A YJA Moment - The Bat Family

Bruce Wayne was the first known wearer of the cowl, though rumors persist of his father donning a dark costume and fighting crime decades prior.  After the death of his parents, Bruce traveled the world, learning the skills that it would take to become the vigilante protector of Gotham known as The Batman.

Soon after becoming the Caped Crusader, Bruce would take in a young boy whose circus performing parents were murdered by the Gotham mob.  Dick Greyson would then train under Batman, becoming the first Robin.  After years as a side-kick, he would form the Young Justice team and eventually become his own hero Nightwing, acting as a protector of Bludhaven when he wasn't working for the Office of National Emergency as Agent 37.

The mantle of Robin would be taken by several individuals - Jason Todd would be killed by the Joker; resurrected by the League of Shadows to become the second Red Hood; Tim Drake would serve as Robin until he was framed along with Batman by Lex Luthor, forcing him to adopt the Red Robin mantle. Currently, Bruce's biological child Damien Wayne serves as Robin.

Barbara Gordon, daughter of the GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon, would independently become the young hero Batgirl.  Though Batman was initially against her joining the Bat-family, she proved herself capable and joined Young Justice.  Barbara was gravely injured by the Joker and was confined to a wheelchair, becoming the expert hacker known as Oracle.

Much like Batgirl, Kate Kane was inspired by both her cousin Bruce (Batman) and her Aunt Kathy Webb (briefly the original Batwoman), to become the latest incarnation of Batwoman.  She had no intention of joining with Batman but developed mutual respect which made her an unofficial member of the family.

Stephanie Brown was the daughter of the minor villain Cluemaster and became the hero Spoiler in order to thwart his plans.  Eventually, she would become friends with Tim Drake and gained the confidence of Batman.  When Barabara was forced to retire, Stephanie was asked to pick up the mantle of Batgirl.

Helena Bertinelli lost her family to Mob violence.  Growing up with relatives, she trained hard in order to find and kill her parents, murderers.  Running up with the Bat-Family on numerous occasions, they eventually curbed her lethal intentions and honed her into the identity of the Huntress.

Luke Fox was the son of Lucius Fox, Wayne Enterprises CEO.  Idolizing Batman, Luke trained hard for the opportunity to be mentored by the Dark Knight.  During an emergency at one of Wayne's manufacturing facilities, he came across a prototype for the original Batwing armor utilized by David Zavimbe and used it to defeat the Penguin and his minions.  For this, Batman offered him a position within the Bat-Family as the American incarnation of Batwing.

In addition to his core group of "Gotham Knights" Batman effectively franchised out the Dark Knight methodology, forming Batman Incorporated.  The following are the known members operating around the world: Azrael in Montreal, The Bat-Man in Beijing, the original Batwing in Kinshasa, Daredevil in New York, The Dark Ranger in Sydney, El Gaucho in Buenos Aires, The Hood in London, The Knight in Edinburgh, The Midnighter in Chicago, Mister Unknown in Tokyo, Moon Knight in Detroit, a new Nighthawk in New Orleans, Nightrunner in Paris, Orphan in Hong Kong, The Signal in Los Angeles.

 

A YJA Moment - Kryptonians

Like many of the worlds in Known Space, they had been seeded by the Celestials, who returned after they evolved to sentience in order to grant them even more power, creating what would be known as Eternals. Due to unique evolutionary properties, Kryptonian Eternals drew sustenance and power from the Rao system's then-yellow sun.

Unlike other seed-worlds, Krypton was geometrically unstable and because the Kryptonian Eternals were better suited to survive such conditions and eventually outlived all of their unenhanced and meta-brethren.

Millennia before the other races developed interstellar travel, Kryptonians discovered the Negative Zone, which they called the Phantom Zone.  Besides using it as a prison, they constructed stardrives that all allowed them to explore their galaxy.  Among those that were colonized was Daxam and the Daxamites continue to be members of the galactic community.

Experiments on Krypton's sun, Rao caused it to change and become a Red Dwarf.  The cataclysmic effect on the homeworld required the full attention of the Kryptonians.  Red-spectrum radiation no longer empowered their cells and they soon found themselves powerless.  A deep winter fell on the planet, killing millions.

In response, the Scientist Guild leaders were disposed of and a new militant regime was installed by the Military Guild.  They recalled their forces back to Krypton to spearhead the construction of domed habitations for the surviving populace. Even though a form of democratic rule was established years later through the Lawmakers Guild, xenophobia had set into the public consciousness.  The people of Krypton would only look inward from that point onward.

The end came for Krypton at the hand of Galactus, who had been drawn to the unstable core of the planet.  Determined to make a stand, the forces of the Military Guild set its fleet on a suicide mission to stop the Devourer of Worlds.  It was not enough and the planet was consumed by Galactus' unquenchable hunger.

Only a few individuals survived the destruction of Krypton.  A few ships managed to escape the planet, saving those who would become Superman, Supergirl, General Zod, and the Sword of Rao, the High, and H'el are a few of those which would make their way to Earth.  In addition, their genetic legacy continues within the Daxamites, the Strontians, the Viltrumites, and the Royal House of Khera. 

Years prior, Brainiac had visited Krypton, shrunk the city of Kandor, and stored in it his spaceship's vaults.  After being defeated by the Justice League, Superman took the city and to the Fortress of Solitude and remains the only remaining society of pureblood Kryptonians.

A YJA Moment - Nekron

The Lord of the Greek Underworld, Hades, had long sought to increase his influence in the lands of the dead.  Held in check by the Higher Power and the Hosts in the 10th Realm, Hades found himself with limited options.

Hades discovered the underworld kingdom of Mictlān, home to the mesoamerican gods of death.  There he spied Mictecacihuatl, the Queen of the domain.  Her husband, Mictlāntēcutli was away much of the time, engaging in rituals of bloodletting and warfare.  So while the King was away, Hades arranged for his allies to arrange for a tragic accident to occur.  When Mictlantecutli did not return for many weeks, his Kingdom feared the worst.

Coming to Mictlan to pay his respects, Hades set about plans of wooing Mictecacihuatl. Soon she was with child and the Greek god made plans to unite the two kingdoms under his rule. Then the unspeakable occurred - King Mictlantecutli returned, greatly injured but otherwise alive.  Seeing his wife in the arms of another man, the King declared eternal enmity against the Greek Underworld and vowed to have them sacrificed on the altars of his realm.

In order to protect his realm, Hades utilized the waters of Lethe to make all those involved forget the incident and resume their normal lives.  No one would ever find out about Hades' dalliance with the Aztec goddess...except there was a problem:  The Boy.  As soon as he was born, they would all relearn the truth of Hades actions. As evidence of his discretion, he would have to be dealt with.

Using allies, he had the baby mystically removed from his mother's womb, replacing it with a stillborn child. He then cast the unnamed babe into the Netherealm, the then vast unclaimed section of Lands of the Dead.  The Boy would have perished, but the fates intervened.

Discovered by slavers he grew up in the pits of the Dragon King.  He suffered terrible indignities in the Netherealm which scarred both his body and his mind.  A gaunt figure, the Boy persisted first in life and then in a form of unlife, persisting due to his divine heritage and his desire for revenge.

Scouring the various Lands of the Dead for tools to use against his father, he came upon a concealed tomb in a forgotten valley.  There the Soul Stone, which had been hidden by the Spectre to make sure no one would ever misuse its power.  The Boy took the Stone and used it to invigorate this skeletal body, remaking him and granting him a new name:  Nekron.

Trapped in the Lands of the Dead and only able to spend fleeting moments in the living world, he was currently unable to satisfy the Soul Stone's desire for the spirits of the dead.  However, he had encountered many dead members of the Green Lantern Corp who recounted the ability of their rings to draw upon the emotional spectrum.  Not physical energy, but spiritual.

Gaining access to a Personal Lantern Power Battery, he merged the Soul Stone with, corrupting it and turning it black.  Drawing upon the power of the Stone, he created hundreds of Back Lantern Power Rings, sending them into the living world to raise the dead.  His new army could then seek out the strongest souls in the Universe and collect them, sending them into the Soul-World inside the Stone.

With each Soul in the Stone augmenting his powers, soon he wouldn't need to be heir to his father's kingdom.  He could walk through the Lands of the Dead with his new-forged power, casting aside the old regime and rebuild a new empire in its place.

An Empire in his own twisted image.

A YJA Moment - The Soul Stone

In an alternate timeline, in a discarded future, the New God known as the Black Racer would have been the Fourth World's Lord of Death.  So powerful was the Black Racer that a shadow continues as the Black Flash, the grim reaper of speedsters.  The demise of the Black Racer had a profound effect on the cosmos, for he was unable to fashion an afterlife for anyone in the Fourth World.  The gods of the Fourth World seeming had no future after death; apparently only oblivion.

The essence of the Black Racer was forged into what was known as the Soul Stone.  As the most powerful of the Stones, it was least understood.  The rest of the Infinity Stones instilled an instinctive knowledge of how to operate them, the result of the vestige of the New Gods' personality.  The Soul Stone conferred little in the way of understanding, requiring that the user was gifted with unusual insight, or decades worth of patience.

The first time the Soul Stone appeared in history was when it found its way to the hands of Jim Corrigan, the man that served as host to the Spirit of Vengeance known as the Spectre. Understanding its great power, the Spectre utilized the Stone for many years granting him almost omnipotent power to punish the guilty and right wrongs.  While Jim was content with this newfound strength, the Spectre was less so.

Delving deep within the Stone revealed a horrible truth - because the Fourth World had not progressed far enough to develop its own afterlife, the Soul Stone itself contained the souls of the departed.  Every life that a wielder of the Stone took was destined to be drawn into this Soul-World within the Stone, never to emerge.  This fate included the slain New Gods as well.

Unable to deal with the thanatological ramifications of Soul-World, the Spectre abandoned the Soul Stone.  Concerned that another might use it for ill, it was buried in the unclaimed Lands of the Dead in a Tomb of an underworld warlord whose domain had perished along with his worshipers.

Neither Corrigan nor the Spectre could have envisioned someone entering the forgotten deathlands.  Yet the man would become known as Nekron was no ordinary soul. Seeking out lost artifacts and knowledge to use against his father Hades, Nekron had chosen to scour the portions of the Lands of the Dead far from the brimming lands of the Greeks and Egyptians.

Finding the Soul Stone, Nekron set to using it to forge himself and a weapon against his enemies.  Corrupting a Green Lantern Power Battery, he has created a host of Black Lantern rings, capable of resurrecting the dead and turning them into emotional draining zombies.

A YJA Moment - Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters

There are heroes that have had a profound effect on the world, but whose actual exploits are not well known.  One such hero is Uncle Sam, whose image has appeared throughout history as a symbol of American patriotism.  Few know that Uncle Sam is an actual person, and a metahuman who has been given a broad and ill-defined range of powers fuelled by the Spirit of America.

At his side is a group of heroes that he calls his Freedom Fighters.  The original team was gathered during World War II, when a group of Nazi metahumans called Axis America traveled back in time from an Axis-dominated alternate future to ensure that their history comes to fruition.  Unable to face them by himself and mistrusted by the Justice Society of America, he sought out heroes that were not attached to existing teams.

What resulted was an unusual group of heroes:  The psychic Black Condor who was telekinetically capable of flight;  Doll Man who made a serum that made him permanently six inches tall; The Human Bomb whose exposure to exotic chemicals allowed him to generate explosive blasts; The vigilante known as Phantom Lady; and The Ray, a metahuman capable of generating and manipulating light.

Sam often told his team-mates that they were destined to be part of the Freedom Fighters.  While the concept seemed ludicrous to his teammates, few could contest the strange coincidences the team experienced.  Members of the team would often adopt the legacies and gain power-sets similar to their predecessors.

The current version of the team directly spiraled from the events of the Checkmate take over of the Office of National Security.  Confiscating most of the technology from the Triskelion and the Avengers, the scientists of Weapons Plus set to work reverse-engineering the designs for their own operatives.  Many of those who were part of the experiments were not there or their free will.

Uncle Sam broke one such Weapons Plus installation and liberated their staff.  From that came a new group of Freedom Fighters: Black Condor, wearer of a prototype wing-suit derived from those of the Falcon; Doll Man who utilized Pym Particles stolen from Hank Pym in order to change size; Human Bomb, who had his DNA spliced with the explosive metahuman Nitro; Phantom Lady, who gained invisibility, intangibility, and energy expulsion powers from a mysterious alien artifact; and The Ray, photokinetic son of the original hero.

With the shifts in global power, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters once again protect the country, even if the Avengers and the Justice League get all the good press.

A YJA Moment - Alpha Flight

Inspired by the Covert Action Teams of the United States, Department H, had developed its own program for metahumans agents of the Canadian government.  Code-named the Flight program, much of the program was composed of training teams, known within the program as Beta, Gamma, and Omega Flights.  There was only one field team, known appropriately as Alpha Flight.

It was a very well kept secret that much of the development of Flight assets were developed by the shadowy Department K, which had been established to research paranatural phenomena and develop countermeasures.  Even more secretive was that the entirety of Department K was actually part of Weapons Plus, who had assimilated it in order to gain access to Adamantium-expert Omo Kurokaze and his supply of the unbreakable metal.

Alpha Flight itself, like the Sword, was a covert unit, operating under the notice of the general populace.  This was because publicly Canada had put its full confidence in the Justice League to protect it from metahuman threats, as well as discourage the proliferation of national super-teams.

In the wake of the Reach Invasion, confidence in the League in Canada fell to an all-time low. Critics questioned the government's unwavering support for the U.N. Charter and the Justice League as a whole.  As it was an electron year, the Prime Minister felt compelled to answer the complaints, especially in light of his falling approval rating.

Thus the decision was made to retool Alpha Flight into a national and public super-team.  To that end, team-leader James Hudson retooled his Vindicator suit into a more patriotic Guardian identity.

He was joined by the twins Aurora and Northstar, metahumans which possessed photokinesis, flight, and superspeed; Puck, who possessed enhanced strength, reflexes, and durability; Sasquatch, who once gained his Hulk-like powers from Gamma Radiation but now housed a mythical spirit; and shapeshifting Inuit demi-goddess Snowbird.

Though they were overshadowed by the dominant presence of The Shield (aka The Avengers), they were popular in Canada and instilled a renewed sense of national pride.  This was only enhanced after the Watchtower Incident when Alpha Flight had to step up and protect not only Canada, but much of the Arctic as well.

A YJA Moment - Memories of Outland

The Nexus of Realities is the point where all dimensions intersect in the great Spiral.  Above that Nexus lies a fragment of reality known as Outland, which can use the Nexus to access any point in time and space.  Few know how the land came to be here, not Kentauride or any of the Mythic Avengers and their allies.  

The truth lies centuries in the past and begins with a  young man named Shao.

Many centuries ago, Shao, a young soldier serving in the Yuan Dynasty, was fighting in a battle against the forces of Ghenghis Khan.  He was believed to have perished but was instead found a natural portal that led into the Nexus of Realities.  Finding transported himself on an alien world, he was quickly captured and enslaved into the armies of the Onaga the Dragon King, ruler of what would later be known as Outworld.

Shao was very intelligent and learned the languages of Outword and gained favor with the slave-masters.  He eventually was transferred to the Arena where is pleased the masses in gladiatorial battles.  After winning his freedom, he progressed up the Legions until he became the right-hand of Onaga himself.  Each step of the way he learned the secrets of Outworld, learning forbidden magics that gave him power and augmented his body.

Eventually, he overthrew Onaga and gathered Outworld's armies to attack Earth.  Using the natural portals on Outworld, his forces landed in China, where he battled with both the mortal forces of the Ming Dynasty.  It was here he was first known as Shao Kahn (a corruption of the insulted Shao Khan or "Little Warlord").  

While his forces were great, he was unprepared for the intervention of the Chinese Gods of the Celestial Bureaucracy.  The battles were mighty and the magics threatened to break down the dimensional barriers between Earth-Prime and the Nexus of Realities.

The Intervention of the Endless marked the end of the Incursion.  Driven back by the forces of the Celestial Bureaucracy, the Gods of the First World banished the planet of Outworld into an underworld which would later be known as the Netherrealm.  Shao Kahn attempted to stop the migration but was only able to keep a part of his world above the Nexus, what Kenauride refers to as "Outland".

The strain of keeping Outland in the Nexus proved too great and he died.  He was buried in a secret underground crypt by Shang Tsung, a powerful sorcerer that had turned against his Ming masters with the promise of power.  Tsung walks the world, seeking a means to resurrecting his master and reuniting Outland with the rest of his realm.

A YJA Moment - Galactus, Devourer of Worlds

If there is a doomsday figure which hangs like a sword of Damocles over the sentient species of Known Space, it is the being known as the Galactus the Devourer of Worlds. Very little is known about Galactus, even the eldest races do not know a time where he was not a threat.  Some believe he predates the arrival of the Celestials; a refugee from before the big bang in a previous incarnation of the universe.  Others believe he is a manifestation of the universe's need for death and renewal.

Whatever is the origin, Galactus is an imposing figure, towering 30 feet in the air.  He is encased in purple and blue armor which covers most of his body, his head adorned with a great horned helmet.  His body contains seemingly infinite level of cosmic energy, allowing him to create and destroy at his whim.  Although he does not need any assistance, he travels in his great Worldship he calls Taa.  Being slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, the Worldship can fly at superluminal speeds and has equipment that improves the efficiency of his world digestion.

Although his power seems endless, the truth is that Galactus needs regular nourishment.  To do without regular feeding robs him of his powers, reduces his stature, and brings great pain and anguish.  The only way that he may replenish such great reserves as by consuming worlds, specifically habitable worlds which possess sentient life.  Using equipment within his Worldship, he converts the entire world to energy, then sinks down toward the center of the planet to absorb the power.  Such a move results in the destroys of every living thing and provides enough nourishment for up to a week before he must search out a new world.

Because finding a suitable world is not easy, Galactus has gathered together a number of individuals he calls Heralds to aid him.  Granted a portion of the Power Cosmic, these Heralds gain the ability to fly at faster-than-light speeds and a host of powerful abilities.  Once a world is found, they are to announce the arrival of Galactus to the native population before returning to their master to order to guide him to his feast.

Though individuals generally encounter only one Herald at a time, Galactus has multiple Heralds throughout known space.  Currently Airwalker, Firelord, RedShift, Stardust, and Terrax the Tamer serve Galactus as Heralds but he holds the Silver Surfer as the favorite and most trusted lieutenant.