A YJA Moment - The Underworld

Before the Godwave formed the various funerary gods and goddesses, people still died and their souls traveled to the afterlife.  Psychopomps from Heaven and Hell came and claimed the souls of the devoted. The remaining majority of souls ended up in what was known as The Underworld or Limbo, a formless and chaotic realm that was unpleasant to dwell in but was not exactly infernal punishment.

Then came The Endless and Death journeyed to Limbo and took pity on the souls therein.  She used her power to stabilize the realm, effectively creating the first Lands of the Dead.  Death herself was proclaimed regent of the realm but cared not to rule her dead subjects, preferring to dwell amongst them and help them adjust to their new status.

When the Second and Third Worlds were born, portions of the Underworld were carved into separate Kingdoms of the Dead, each beholden to a particular deity.  Some spirits continued to go to Heaven, Hell, or Limbo but the rest were sent to whatever afterlife they believed in.  In the modern-day, Limbo has once again swelled, leading to the various gods of the dead attempting to poach the souls therein.

Due to the Crisis, the Black Racer was slain before he could establish his own domain for the Fourth World.  This has led to the New Gods believing that nothing lies for them after death except oblivion.  Few if any know about Soulworld, the protoform afterlife which exists within the Soul Stone.

A YJA Moment - Dr. Sivana

The life of a superhero was very tough and no one knew that more than C.C. Batson, the original Captain Marvel.  Sometimes it seemed an impossible task being the hero Fawcett City needed and the father his family required.  In those dark times, he was lucky to have good friends: Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.

Sivana himself had a hard life. His father was a genius who had made a fortune with his inventions, using the patents to make millions with the Starks and Luthors of the world.  He believed that Thaddeus should continue the family tradition of using their genius for monetary gain.  Thaddeus, on the other hand, became enamored with the strange sciences that heroes revealed, such as the Starman's Cosmic Rod, or the Green Fire of the Green Lantern's ring.

Blending conventional theories with fringe science and even paranormal philosophy, Sivana created a weird science that was as advanced as it was garish.  With few individuals interested in such devices, he was disowned by his father and was forced to work out of a dingy laboratory.

Sivana's knowledge had helped Captain Marvel defeat Dr. Charles Langley and his radioactive robot Mr. Atom and the two became fast friends.  Both knew they were over their heads in their respective fields, but their friendship convinced them to continue on.

That friendship ended the day C.C. Batson held the Time Stone for the first time on the distant world of Triterra.  With the revelation of his dark fate, Captain Marvel decided that this only route was to erase himself from history.

C.C. said his goodbyes to his good friend, but the Doctor was incensed.  He refused to believe that anyone's future was predictable.  Even if it was, science could and would give him a solution.  Sivana came up with dozens of plans in order to thwart Batson's fate, but C.C. would not be swayed.  The Silver Surfer used the Mind Stone and wiped the memories of Captain Marvel from the world, Thaddeus included.

Despite his fascination for fringe science, Sivana was a remarkable man.  Even with the knowledge of the Batson's erased from his memory, his emotions remained.  He hated the sacrifices that good men and women had to make for the "Greater Good" and soon that feelings manifested into a hatred of heroes and in particular those that called themselves Captain Marvel.

For many years Dr. Sivana was a thorn in the side of the Marvel family.  Driven by this insatiable need to prove the Marvel and their Wizard to be a sham, he devised every sort of scheme and technological horror his brilliant mind to come up with.  In the end, however, he was defeated and sentenced to long incarceration in Arkham Asylum.

With the looming threat of Kang on the horizon, Captain Marvel has taken the extraordinary step of having Sivana released in her custody.  Mary hopes that his weird science and unpredictable nature can counter the far-future technology and foreknowledge of The Conquerer.  

In the process of aiding Tony Stark and the other science-based heroes from creating a Time Machine, Sivana came across C.C. Batson.  His memories flooded back, revealing the lost history and friendship the two shared.  

Although indignant about remaining true to his evil vision, it's clear that seeing the original Marvel has affected him.  Yet, everything about the mad doctor defies predictions.

A YJA Moment - Birth, Death, and Rebirth of a Dream (Park)

The man who would be known as The Producer was a Chicago-born animator with great aspirations, but little success. After nearly going bankrupt and being swindled out of his intellectual property, he came upon a self-styled soothsayer who offered The Producer an incantation in order to improve his fortunes.

Unconvinced by a man he assumed was a charlatan, The Producer humored him and did the ritual.  That night in his sleep he fully encountered the realm that he would later name the Imaginarium, what other occultists would name the Dreamlands.  It was the Universal Dreamstate of Humanity, home to every creative endeavor mankind had ever conceived. Awakening from his sleep with a head full of ideas, the Producer went on to create animated hit after animated hit.

But the Producer wasn't content to profit from the dreams and desires of others.  He wanted real power over the hearts and minds of the world.  This brought him into the sway of the Order of the Mind Unbound, a group of occultists whose use of magic was only rivaled by their indulgence in brain-altering chemicals.  Though most of the initiates were only interested in the hedonistic pleasures the Order provided, the Producer was only interested in their magical secrets.

Through one ritual conducted in a haze of opiates, the Producer created a direct, conscious link to the Imaginarium, a conduit from which the knowledge of the Dreamlands could be freely accessed by a thought. Through this and successive rituals, the Producer was able to create content that appealed to the masses like never before, amassing a massive fortune in but a few short years.

The Producer still wasn't satisfied.  The money was nice, but he wanted more but lacked the magical energy to truly affect the Imaginarium.  So he created his boldest plan ever - with a combination of mundane and occult contractors, he had constructed a giant theme park in California based on his creations.  Using carefully constructed spells within the gates, a small portion of a visitor's life-force was siphoned into artificial ley lines built into the foundations of the park.  Only a tiny amount of mana was taken so that the weariness associated could be easily excused for a busy day in the parks.

As magic is inherently the power to change reality, the Imagineer did not need a Reality Stone to enact his vision.  The energies provided by the theme park was potent enough to make even the most minor spells unusually effective.  No one knows the full scope of the changes wrought by the Imagineer but drawing forth of the League of Villains from the Dreamlands and their insertion into the extraordinary history of the world was clearly a testament to its power.

With further successes, the Producer enacted plans to construct further parks in the United States and across the world.  However, despite his great mystical potency, he had little ability to deal with his own mortality.  A combination of lifelong heavy cigarette use and the use of powerful life-draining magic had greatly shortened his lifespan.  Despite an unsuccessful attempt to barter his soul for immortality, he died in late 1966.

While a mortal board of directors publicly controlled his company, the true power lay within the dream demon known as The Charming Prince.  He continued the Producers' plans surrounded by his lieutenants, the Quivering Hand of Deception, the Clawed Hand of Devastation, the Icy Hand of Incarceration, and the Gloved Hand of Domination.  Further Theme Parks were constructed in America, Europe, and Asia, each bearing the same sorcerous properties as the flagship park in California.

Yet, the activities of the Producer and the Prince did not go unnoticed by those with purview over dreams.   After gaining word that the League of Villains was attempting to use the power of the Imaginarium to rebirth the Producer, the Endless known as Dream took the rare step of intervening.  Unable to directly act, he brought in the Mythic Avengers, who defeated the lieutenants and The Charming Prince once and for all.

Few people are aware that there has been any change at all.  Except for the new board member Murphy Oneiros, Dream in a mortal guise, very little has changed.  Well, something has changed because, in the wake of all the societal changes of the Reach Invasion, the rise of Metahumans in the public consciousness, and the general global unrest, the company went through a world-wide restructuring and re-branding, becoming Dream Entertainment.

A YJA Moment - The Empires of Known Space (Part III)

The  Bolians have long been an integral part of galactic affairs and can be found in most political and economic organizations.  Known for their blue skin and a small ridge running from the back of their heads to their noses, their biology is somewhat corrosive leading to health issues if exposed to other human-like races.  Until recently they were a democratic government, but when the alien creatures known as the Starro took control of the leadership, stripping away freedoms and creating the Bolian Hegemony.

Long before the Old Republic, thousands of years in the past, the insect-like Brood were a pestilence on Known Space.  Unable to procreate without using another species as a host, they spread out across the galaxies infecting untold systems.  In the end, a mysterious species known as The Engineers would use the Brood's own genetics. against them, creating what would later be known as Xenomorphs to counter them. Their homeworld destroyed by the Galactic Empire many years ago, they survive in the void between stars, living parasitically in great fleets of enslaved Acanti, whale-like animals who can travel in space.

The Kherans started out originally a former colony of Kree far in the frontier who had declared independence in the years before the Supreme Intelligence. They were contacted by the ancient Krypton, who eventually absorbed the populace into its own growing Empire.  When the Kryptonians pulled back to their homeworld after the great solar accident, those who stayed behind founded a ruling a Monarchy.  Today Khera is a small but formative Empire in its own right, having annexed a half-dozen systems.  Interbreeding with the Kryptonian and near-human species has granted them extremely long life-spans, enhanced physical capabilities, and an active metagene.

Once a prominent member of the Republic, the human-dominated planet Rann was known for his progressive policies and its technical acumen.  Suffering hard under the Imperial yoke, they became insular after the Rebellion and relied solely on their own technology.  Many years later, the stagnant Rannian culture has started to intermingle with the rest of the galaxy in no small part to the actions of Adam Strange of Earth, who accidentally was teleported from his planet in their Zeta-Beam enhanced transporter system.

Despite not leaving their home system, Rann has had numerous skirmishes with the Thanagarians, who desire access to the mineral-planets on their outer planets.  Worshipping a pantheon of hawk-like deities, their nobility is divided between nobility which possesses wings and a populace that largely doesn't.  Their military employ special wingsuits which grant them flight using the natural gravity-manipulating properties of Nth Metal.

Thanagar has a long history, spreading back almost four millennia.  Three thousand years ago, a Thanagarian ship crash-landed on Earth in what would be known as Ancient Egypt.  The pilot would end up being adopted by Pharaoh Ramesses II as Prince Khufu.  When he and his betrothed priestess Chayara were murdered with a cursed Nth metal dagger by the high priest Hath-Set, it set them on a path of reincarnation that resulted in the modern-day heroes Hawkman and Hawkwoman.

A YJA Moment - The Mind Stone

It's been stated that most of the Infinity Stones have a certain level of intelligence and will, the remnant of the New Gods from which they were formed.  Few have the sentience and ability to manipulate that of the Mind Stone, an ability derived from the Genesian known as K'zandar.

In the previous timeline, K'zandar was an elderly-appearing New God who served as Highfather's Oracle.  Most of the denizens of New Genesis knew her for her abilities of precognition but her abilities went well beyond simple divination.  She was one of the most powerful psychics in Known Space, rivaling the power of Phoenix-enhanced Jean Grey.

With the Mind Stone possessing its own self-direction and the ability to alter memories, much of its history remains untold.  Those that had studied the Infinity Stones could pinpoint possible locations where the Mind Stone hid, but any investigation proved fruitless as no one could remember the artifact being present.

It is therefore quite possible to theorize that the only reason Leo and his ThunderCats were able to secure the Mind Stone was that it wanted to be found;  that it saw a chance to be reunited with the other Stones for reasons that can only be guessed at.  When Leo then gathered the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer was given the Stone.

After the Enshrouded One was defeated the Surfer continued to keep the Stone with him, defending it from those seeking its power.  Though the Power Cosmic granted Noran Radd a great many powers, it did not shield him from the influences of the Mind Stone.  While it allowed the Surfer to shake off the mental conditioning inflicted by his master Galactus, it also began influencing him in other negative ways.

His cosmically-aware mind began to sense the influence of the Mind Stone had on his thoughts.  In order to keep from being further manipulated, he cast the Mind Stone onto the remote planet Starro, a world devoid of sentient life.  There, without anyone to psychic influence, it could remain without threat.

Starro was home to a dominant life-form, a species of creature which greatly resembled echinoderms.  They had a unique structure, where a central Queen communicated with her Drones via a complex neurological signal.  The Queen had biological control over her children and could alter their genome during gestation, usually doing so to adapt to some environmental threat or correct a genetic flaw.

The Mind Stone enslaved the Starro Queen and used her biokinetic knowledge to rewrite a new generation of Starro Drones with enhanced intelligence and psychic ability, all linked to the Queen (and the Mind Stone) via a complex hivemind.  Now the Stone had an entire species of servants, willing and able to do its bidding.

When a Bolian explorer vessel made an emergency landing on the planet, the Starro Drones captured and took control of the crew without incident.  With a starship cargo hold full of Drones linked to a Queen empowered by the most powerful psychic artifact in existence, the Starro have made a move to pacify Known Space.

A YJA Moment - The Charming Prince and the Four Lieutenants

 Before it became Dream Entertainment, the Producers Company was already a worldwide juggernaut worth Billions.  After his death, various dream entities took control of the company, using their influence to sway the board of directions.  Though its theme parks were powerful centers of power, the headquarters were located in the Burbank headquarters, which were turned into a veritable supernatural fortress. 

The notable dream creatures follow:

Starting its existence as a true Dragon, the creature who would become The Clawed Hand of Devastation was slain somewhere in China during the Shang Dynasty.  Bound by the national legends of the mythic beasts, it was trapped in the Dreamlands until it was rescued by the Charming Prince, who offered it freedom in exchange for servitude.  When it manifests, the Clawed Hand chooses a small, almost-mascot like form, only revealing its massive true form when the simple conversation will not suffice.  The Dragon has been given control of the Asian operations.

The Icy Hand of Incarceration is an elemental spirit from that the Charmed Prince granted self-awareness with a powerful infusion of dream-magic. Though its manifestation varies depending on the location and raw material, it has developed a fondness of revealing itself as a snowman, a form that distracts individuals from the sociopathic spirit within.  The least influential of the lieutenants, the Icy Hand is in control of the European corporate region, where it must often deal with the troublesome Les Heroes de Paris.

What the Quivering hand of Deception looks like is not fully known, for it chooses to stay hidden within the Imaginarium.  When it does manifest itself, it does so through vessels, usually uplifted and horrifically- altered animals, which it mentally possesses.  The Quivering Hand first manifested itself in a neighborhood in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where it and its monster allies "educated" the local children to be allies in adulthood.  As a trusted servant of the Charming Prince, it was in charge of theme parks in the United States as well as general American operations.

Overseeing the rest of the lieutenants is the Prince's most trusted servant the Gloved Hand of Domination.  Appearing as anthropomorphic animals, the various forms of the Hand have become the face of the Producer's company and are beloved by millions.  This entity is incredibly powerful and almost indestructible, but his most insidious power is the supernatural ability to make people accept anything it says as absolute truth.  Though the hand uses the Calfornia theme park as its headquarters, it the only lieutenant that has global scope.

The Charming Prince, the Dream Demon of Corruption, has existed for millennia.  It saw in The Producer an excellent mortal to manipulate.  So in the form of a charlatan, he initiated him into the world of Dreams, introduced him to the Order of the Mind Unbound, and then made sure that the spells the Producer would ultimately lead to his death.  The ultimate goals of the Prince were unknown, but if not for the actions of the Mythic Avengers and the Endless known as Dream, there would have been nothing to stop him.  

A YJA Moment - The Fist of Khonshu

 The first known Warrior of the Moon-god was a nameless priest in the early 27th century B.C.E. during the reign of Pharaoh Djoser.  He was a shadowy force in the night, dealing with the corruption in the kingdom at that time.  He was to be in the army of Imhotep during the great battle with the Brood in 2620 B.C.E.

With the arrival of Kang the Conqueror, the history of the 3rd Dynasty was threatened.  Though the time-traveling Mythic Avengers were able to stop "Rama-Tut" from conquering the ancient world, there were casualties.  One of them being the original Warrior of the Moon.

The blessing of Khonshu then passed to the great hero Imhotep, who used it to combat the alien Brood and bring the existential threat to an end.  Much like the previous history, Imhotep founded a secret society devoted to protecting the world - the Brotherhood of the Eye.

The power of the moon god became part of the secrets protected by the Brotherhood.  Every generation or so, Khonshu would choose an avatar on Earth, who would become his Moon Knight.  This agent was an important part of the Brotherhood for many centuries.

With the collapse of the Brotherhood, the means to contact Khonshu was lost.  It would take the arrival of Marc Spector, to rediscover the ancient temple to the Moon-god.  Gravely wounded after being betrayed by his teammate, Marc was left to die in the desert.  Coming upon this ancient temple-structure, he collapsed at the foot of the altar and was healed by the moon god.  

Becoming the new Fist of Khonshu, Marc returned to the United States to use his powers to clean up New York City.  Using the money he earned as a mercenary, as well as selling valuable trinkets given to him by Khonshu for this purpose, he designed a new white costume that both included the motifs of his godly patron, but also those resembling Batman, who served as Specter's inspiration.

After a few years of fighting crime in the Big Apple, he gained the attention of the Dark Knight, who offered him a position within his Batman Incorporated.

A YJA Moment - Kang the Conqueror

Nathaniel Richards was a brilliant scientist, working for the Strategic Science Reserve in the later years of the World War Two.  Devoted to the strange new fields of science, he would be an inspiration for his son, the founder of the Future Foundation Reed Richards.  Few knew that he was also a covert operative to a centuries-old conspiracy devoted to saving the planet from itself.

Recruited into the Brotherhood of the Eye by his good friend Howard Stark, Nathaniel became a trusted agent-scientist within the Order.  His first mission was to deal with the rogue scientist Nikola Tesla, whose discoveries threatened the balance of power.  During their raid, Richards was caught in an explosion that destroyed Tesla's lab, seemingly vaporizing both individuals.

Though Tesla would later return as the vengeful cyborg Night Machine, Nathaniel was instead wrenched from the timestream and sent hurtling centuries into the future.  Emerging in the 30th Century, he found himself within the ruins of a great metropolis of unbelievable technology.  The only people were mindless humans enslaved into acquiescence by the Anti-Life Equation,

Himself seemingly immune to the Anti-life, Nathaniel Richards used the advanced knowledge of the future to become the unquestioned ruler of Earth.  Donning a suit of armor and enhancing his body with biological and cybernetic implants, Nathaniel rechristened himself as Kang the Conquerer, an attempt to prevent other time travelers from deducing his true identity.

With the changes in history undertaken by Rip Hunter, the Man of Storms, and the Mythic Avengers, Kang finds his future in doubt.  Normally when changes occur, a new separate timeline is created, but with his time so thoroughly corrupted by Anti-Life, it would not survive being a branching timeline and would collapse.

His solution is to remove his greatest threat, the Brotherhood of the Eye from existence, by journeying to the distant past and stopping Imhotep from founding the order in the first place. As the new ruler of the ancient world under the guise of "Rama-Tut", he will scour the timeline free of all those who would stop his domination of the world.