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

The insectoid race known as the Vine was a scourge of Known Space millennia ago.  Highly advanced in cyber-organic technology, they sent out genetically simulacrums known as Seedlings into other systems in order to facilitate the infiltration and takeover of their worlds.  After intervention and prolonged conflict with the Guardians of Oa and the Manhunters, they retreated to their homeworld of Okaara and signed a treaty of non-interference. In the intervening years, the Vine has grown increasingly xenophobic and isolationist, forming a quasi-religion around The Shanhara, a mythical technological artifact from the dawn of their history.

After the peace treaty, some of the Vine rebelled against the constraints placed upon them by the Guardians.  They left Okaara and formed their own separate society called The Reach. Unable to directly infiltrate, they created the Scarabs which they would use to empower individuals from other worlds and slowly corrupt them to the Reach's cause.  The Scarab heroes would then create a favorable climate for the eventual arrival of the Reach, allowing them to form trade agreements that would eventually lead to outright assimilation.  After a disastrous attempt to annex Earth, the Green Lantern Corps has declared the treaty violated and have resumed their actions against the Reach.

After the emergence of the Celestials, but before the rest of the Universe species became self-aware, the First Ones walked the stars.  With technology and perceptions far beyond the younger races, these beings have trouble interacting with the rest of Known Space.  Most are content to exist on the homeworlds far from the rest of intergalactic civilizations.  The only exceptions are the Vorlons, which have in the past openly interfered in planetary affairs; and the arachnid-looking Shadows, who covertly foment aggression,  conflict, and outright warfare in a universe-wide eugenics project.

A YJA Moment - Another Fine Holiday You've Gotten Us Into...

 It was a somber Christmas, just weeks after the devastating attack on Earth by the forces of Apokalips.  S.H.I.E.L.D, newly entrusted with sweeping powers by the remaining governments and their Xandarian protectors, was busy stabilizing the various regions wracked by the invasion.  Despite the hardships, the population was attempting to bring some normality to their existence. Nick Fury himself had invoked emergency powers to empty warehouses of their toys so that children around the world would get at least one present this holiday season.

In the shadows, however, trouble brewed.  Though the League of Villains had been defeated, other minions of The Producer still lived.  Among the remains of the Occult Imagineers and the acolytes of the Order of the Unbond Mind, there were creatures that existed that were not seen as worthy of joining the elites of the League.

Most dismissed the Uneven Hand of Confusion, an uplifted anthropomorphic canine, as being a bumbling idiot.  The truth was that his goofy demeanor hid a devious mind hungry for power.  He gathered other creatures of the Imaginarium that had been spurned by the League - The avian Thunderous Hand of Greed, who forever was attempting to usurp control of the League; the monstrous bloodhound Monosyllabic Hand of Exuberance, who once was the League's faithful mascot; and the Confident Hand of Pride, a human hunter who was destined to always fail against the mighty beasts of the world.

Using knock--off dream-dust reversed engineered from the Endless Dream, they put King Thor of Asgard into a false Odinsleep, allowing them to capture the Spirit of Christmas.  Using the power of the holidays, they hoped to resurrect The Producer and imbue him with the power of Winter itself.

Thankfully the Mythic Avengers were there to oppose the League of Substitute Villains, raiding the cryogenic lab that was hidden underneath a pirate-themed ride in Dreamland.  The Producer to life but was beheaded by Kentauride before he could wreak havoc on assembled heroes.  The Producer's head was then given to Dr. Strange, who stored it deep in his secret vaults so that no one could ever repeat the ritual again.

The fallout of this adventure was numerous.  Discovering that Loki helped The Uneven Hand enter Asgard, Thor reclaimed Mjolnir and left the throne of Asgard to his brother.  Thor refused to release the Odinforce within him, however, proclaiming that Loki will have to deal with cosmic-level thr*** with his own "guile and trickery".  The Spirit of Christmas was given to the Wizard Shazam, who in his new role as "Shazam Claus" gives the gift of magic to all the good girls and boys.

A YJA Moment - Apokalips Now

 From the Collector, Kentauride had traded the reconstituted First Ring of the Green Lanterns for the ultra-rare element Radion.  This substance was poisonous to New Gods and was practically the only way to kill them.  Kentauride constructed a weapon with the Radion, knowing that because of Thanos' Eternal heritage, the element would just render him, largely mortal.  This left him helpless to deal with Kentauride's next attack which beheaded him.

The death of Thanos once again earned the attention of the Lord of Apokolips Darkseid.  Opening a Boom Tube, he walked down to confront the instruments of his son's fall. The Mythic Avengers.  He gazed upon his dead offspring with contempt and congratulated Kentauride on her victory.  He then but proclaimed there will be a price to be paid.  With a wave of his hand, Boom Tubes opened across all of Known Space and the armies of Apokalips swamped out for war.  Though Oa and  Xandar were among the worlds invaded, it was clear that those incursions were designed to keep them occupied.  The greatest focus of the forces of Apokalips was the Mythic Avengers homeworld of Earth.

Steppenwolf and his armies focused their attention on North America, where the highest concentration of metahumans existed.  A Hell-Seed into the American Mid-West, creating a Fire-Pit that nearly obliterated the State of Nebraska and caused cataclysmic damage to Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and  Wyoming.  The toxic fumes flooded the skies, blocking out the sun and causing ground-poisoning acid rain.

The combined force of Earth, including the various Avengers and Justice League teams, battled the Hunger Dogs, Parademons, and members of the Darkseid Elite.  Though the battle was seemingly insurmountable, the united heroes were eventually able to force a retreat. With the sacrifice of many individuals, both human and metahuman, the day was won. 

As the Parademons were fleeing, the horrible cost of the Battle for Terra was revealed.  The ecosystem of the Earth was destroyed, with the terrible storms of acid rain continuing the poison the ground.  Over a billion people died in the initial invasion, with almost two billion in danger of dying because of homeless, starvation, and/or the environment.  Many heroes had perished, to the point that Earth might not be able to survive another assault.

As the Mythic Avengers contemplated their next move, they were joined by forces from the Green Lantern and Nova Corp, who worked to help stabilize the situation.  S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United Nations, along with reluctant support from the United States of America negotiated a deal with the Xandaran Senate to have Earth temporarily declared a protectorate of the Nova Empire until the world can be reconstructed.

A YJA Moment - The Space Stone

The Space Stone was formed out of the essence of the New God known as Lightray.  The high-spirited denizen of the Fourth World was fast enough to travel to anywhere in the Known Universe in the blink of an eye.  Likewise, the Space Stone could open portals to any region within its home dimension.

Like many of the Infinity Stones, the Space Stone fell to Earth and was passed from tribe to tribe.  While some were able to tap its power and travel the cosmos, most of it simply worshiped it as a gift from the spirits or their gods.

It fell briefly into the hands of the great painter and architect Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni who became enraptured by Stone's beauty.  Exposure to the power of the Space Stone changed Michaelangelo, allowing him to exist and perceive all points in the universe, becoming the Forever Man. Understanding what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands, he hid it away.

It would not appear again until the 20th Century, when Johann Schmidt, the infamous Red Skull, discovered the Space Stone and attempted to use it to open a gateway to Niffelheim and bring forth an army of the dead to defeat the Allies in World War 2.  He was defeated by The Invaders and the Stone would be confiscated by the Strategic Science Reserve.

Weapons Plus would inherit the Stone after the War conducted a host of experiments on the artifact, developing radical new theories about space and time in the process.  Advanced technologies were created, including teleportation systems and prototypical hyperdrives.  When a disasterous accident with the Stone turned Nathaniel Adam into Captain Atom and nearly destroyed the North American continent, no further human trials were permitted.

The Space Stone would be stolen from a secure Weapons Plus storage facility by an alien known as Leo.  He was the commander of anthropomorphic animals called ThunderCats, an elite force from the planet Triterra.  They had been tasked by their master the Enshrouded One to seek out the Infinity Stones so that he might rule the universe.

While Leo did acquire the Space Stone, he had no plans for giving it to undead Mumm-Ra.  Instead, he gathered a powerful group of individuals that he named the Infinity Watch, who returned to Triterra with the Stones, defeated the Enshrouded One, and entombed him in his own Black Pyramid fortress.

Each member of the Infinity Watch was given a Stone to protect, with Leo himself taking possession of the Space Stone.  While most of the others hid their Stones away, the ThunderCat instead grafted his artifact into the hilt of his blade for safekeeping, calling the weapon the Sword of Omens.  Over the many years, the stone altered the property of the sword, granting it the ability to change its blade length, cut through most objects, project powerful energy blasts, and grant the ability to see anywhere through the Sight Beyond Sight.

A YJA Moment - The Amazons

Some text derived from the DC Comics Wikia 

The Amazons of Themyscira are a race of immortal warrior women that live on the mystically hidden island of Themyscira. They were created by a coterie of Olympian goddesses over three thousand years ago to serve as their messengers to the world in the name of peace and justice. The souls of the original Amazons came from the spirits of all women who had unjustly died at the hands of a man. 

Queen of the Amazons was given to Hippolyta, who was the first of her people to be created.  She was followed closely Antiope, who became the commander of their armed forces. In addition to notable warriors such as Artemisa, Nubia, and Venelia they also attracted outsiders to the island such as the Kheran sisters Zannah and Kenesha who would become the heroes Zealot and Savant.

The Amazons constructed for themselves a magnificent city at the mouth of the river Thermodon on the Black Sea. They called this city Themyscira, but it was also commonly known as the city of Amazonia.  This fortified enclave withstood many assaults, including an extended campaign of Greek soldiers led by the famous hero Achilles.

The city would fall at the hands of the demi-god Hercules.  Seeking to atone himself of the murder of his family, King Eurystheus had bid him take the Girdle of Hippolyta.  He gathered an army and invaded the hitherto impenetrable Themyscira, leading to the defeat and slavery of the Amazons.  Hippolyta was able to free her sisters and defeat Hercules' forces but refused to exact further vengeance. This caused a split within the Amazons as Antiope wished to kill all the men.

Many of the Amazons that survived left Amazonia and found a new home on an island hidden from the rest of the world, which they called Paradise Island. There built a new city, which was named Themyscira after their original home.  Antiope refused to join her sister and took a portion of their people into the World of Men eventually become a society of warriors and assassins known as the Coda Sisterhood.

In the years since there have been many famous Amazons.  The product of a secret relationship with the Greek god Zeus, Hippolyta gave birth to a daughter Diana who is known in the World of Men as Wonder Woman.  During various times in her career, Diana has taken a leave of absence, from the role of Wonder Woman, leading to Artemis and Nubia both filling in for the demi-god, using magic items to grant equivalent powers. 

Additionally, there have been other people who have laid claim to Amazonian heritage. Circe used magic to create a teenage duplicate of Diana called Donna Troy, who would end up redeeming herself as the original Wonder Girl.  Demeter was the daughter of an Amazon who was seduced by a Demon Lord into betraying her people, becoming the hero called Glory. Grace Choi, Mercy Graves, and Hope Taya would also discover that their ancestor's game from the Coda Sisterhood.  Cassie Sandsmark was not an Amazon but was a grand-daughter of Zeus, earning the respect of Diana and Donna to become the modern-day Wonder Girl.

A YJA Moment - Heaven and Hell

With the exploits of Wonder Woman, Thor, and most recently Dream, the world is very aware of the four generations of gods.  Many people struggle to reconcile these deities with their own faith, but it turns out they don't have to.

Within reality is a single figure which is believed to be the creator and ultimate force in the universe.  Although he is not directly worshipped by all sentient life, most people are cosmically aware that there is something vastly powerful existing just beyond reach.  He is known by many names but most use the terms The Presence or The One-Above-All.

The most well-known servants of the One-Above-All are Angels, powerful beings that exist in Heaven, an extradimensional realm imbued with light and fire.  There they carry out the orders of their maker, directives only they can hear and understand.  Led by the beautiful and fearful Archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel - they have no equal in all creation.

Many eons ago, an Archangel attempted to rebel against the One-Above-All and was defeated.  Cast down, this Fallen Angel known as The First Fallen, was exiled with his loyal followers into a dimensional prison which would eventually be known as Hell. There he would plot the day when his followers would rise and corrupt all reality.

The original Hell dimension would attract various realms filled with other evil creatures.  Some of these were physical beings, still others purely spiritual.  All were corrupted by the First Fallen and his Archdukes, becoming the various species of Demons.

In recent years, the First Fallen gave up his infernal crown and left the Abyssal realms for the mortal world.  For a time, the Archangels in Heaven sent powerful Angels to keep the Infernal Hosts in line, but they eventually gave up and left the fields to their own schemes.  The resulting Bloodwar has raged on and off ever since, each time threatening to tear the dimension asunder.

Although some unique individuals, such as the half-demon Lady Bhlaze and the spirit of vengeance Ghost Rider, have managed to briefly unite the Infernal lands for a time, they are swiftly deposed by the great Archdukes such as Asmodel, Malborgia, Mephisto, Neron, and Trigon, 

A YJA Moment - Lanterns and the Law

The biggest and longest-serving group of interplanetary law enforcement officers is the Green Lantern Corps.  Founded many millennia ago by the Guardians of Oa, the Corp replaced the Guardian's original police force, after the Manhunters went rogue and obliterated a trillion souls in the Lost Sector. Using the Power Rings forged by Krona, the Green Lanterns have been the greatest source for peace and order in the universe.

While the Guardians of Oa gave the Corps a mandate to dispense justice, their reach and authority are not absolute.  No political entity is required to allow a Green Lantern to operate in its jurisdiction, so Corp members must remember to adhere to the wishes of the authorities when conducting investigations.

In the days of the Old Republic, the Galactic Senate had granted the Green Lanterns unprecedented access to its member worlds and often worked in conjunction with the Jedi Order and the Grand Army of the Republic. This precedent and their succeeding good reputation have allowed the Lanterns to operate in the majority of sectors within Known Space.

Yet there are still areas that the Corps are not allowed access, whether by treaty or threat of violence. The Guardians of Oa signed agreements with the Vine and the Reach, agreeing never to enter their spheres of influence.  Autocratic species such as the Klingons, the Kree, and the Romulans are openly antagonistic to the Lanterns' presence, so most Corps members give them wide berths.

Within the Nova Empire, law enforcement is conducted by the Nova Corps. When the Green Lantern Corp was decimated by Parallax, galactic order was maintained in the Nova Empire through the Darkstars, the armored agents utilized by the Controllers.  After the Darkstars returned to Maltus after the return of the Lanterns, Xandar created a corp using technology reversed-engineered from the Darkstars technology and created the Nova Corps.  Though the two Corps sometimes work together, the Green Lanterns are officially excluded from Empire space.

Likewise, the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar was also was born in the era of the Darkstars.  Not trusting the Controllers, the Magestrix instead uttered a decree that all metahumans from every world within the Protectorate would be required to serve in what is known today as the Imperial Guard.  An ever-changing force, their exploits have made them cultural icons within Shi'ar space and even in adjacent worlds.  They are led by Kallark the Gladiator, a Strontian warrior whose power rivals that of Superman.

A YJA Moment - The Hidden Masters of the Emotional Spectrum (Part II)

 On the planet Nok there is a very secret and unusual prison that has no walls or guards.  There the members of the Indigo Tribe, some of which were formerly known as the most terrible individuals in Known Space.  The Green Lantern Abin Sur found the world a decade ago, drawn to the strange energies emanating from the planet.  There he found peaceful people who possessed staves that harnessed purple energy, not unlike the Green Lanterns own Power Rings. Tracing the source of this power deep in the earth he discovered a cavern with a rock formation that coalesced the Emotional Spectrum of Compassion.  With the help of a rogue Qwardian Weaponeer called Nastromo, they altered Power Rings to tap into the Indigo Spectrum.  Before his death, Abin Sur then took the most irredeemable criminals he could find and inducted them into the Indigo Tribe.  The Power Rings have the ability to bring out the best in people, helping them legitimately redeem themselves.  Instead of channeling its own energy for effects, the Indigo Rings can emulate the power of the other Power Rings, granting themselves unique abilities without the limitations normally associated with them.

The recent appearance of the Black Lantern Corps during the troubles on Oa has caused worry not only throughout the Green Lantern Corps but across all of Known Space.  For all their differences, the various Lanterns Corps share some similarities, but that is not so for the Black Lanterns.  Instead of living participants, the Black Power Rings animate the corpses of the dead, giving them a zombie-like existence and a craving for the emotions of the living.   Though they possess flight and occasionally provide spectral constructs in mockery of the other Colors, the Rings are about consuming the Emotional Spectrum in much as death consumes life.  Members of the Corp seek out the living and drain their life-force, drawing from it the emotional energy within.  This leaves a dormant husk devoid of life.  The Central Power Battery of the Black Lantern Corps is in the Underworld, atop the staff of the death lord known as Necron.  Within it lies the Soul Stone, one of the fabled Infinity Gems and the undisputed master of life and death.

The corrupting power of Anti-life infects reality and makes a simulacrum in mockery of existence.  Such has occurred with the Emotional Spectrum, with the creation of the Ultraviolet Power Ring.  Drawing from the primal emotions of bloodlust, self-hatred, and shame, users of the Invisible Emotional Spectrum can replicate all the powers of an Oan Power Ring.  In addition, the Ultraviolet power can infect another person, forcibly and irrevocably turning them into a fellow member of the Corp.  Thaal Sinestro originally discovered the existence of the Invisible Spectrum and attempted to use The First Ring to tap into it.  He ultimately failed and was arrested, seemingly ending his quest forever.  

A YJA Moment - The Hidden Masters of the Emotional Spectrum (Part I)

The Zamarons left Maltus millennia ago due to a schism with their counterparts, the future-Guardians of Oa.  Embracing the power of emotions in the face of the cold stoicism of the Guardians, the followers of Zamar founded their own world and civilizations. On their new planet, they found a crystalline formation, from which the remains of two lovers were intertwined.  The eternal love of these individuals tapped into the Violet Spectrum of Love, which the Zamarons believed was the strongest of the Emotional Spectrum.  Utilizing this crystal as a substitute for a Central Power Battery, the Zamerons forged gems to tap the spectrum, creating the all-female Corps known as the Star Sapphires.  The Sapphires have all the abilities common to a Power Ring such as the abilities of space flight the generation of energy constructs.  The crystal gem also has parasitic properties with the ability to infect another being and seemingly consume them - males always perish but the females are reborn as brand-new Star Sapphires.

Though denied by the Guardians of Oa and virtually unknown by the Green Lantern Corps, the Orange Spectrum of Greed lies within the Vega star system. Vega and its capital world Okaara were notable as one of the homeworlds of the spider-like Vine, who had attempted to infiltrate the governments of Known Space with its Seedlings.  The Guardians and their Manhunters had stepped in, eventually resulting in a peace treaty that turned back the invasion but also banned the Guardians forces out of the Vega system.  The treaty also inadvertently concealed the existence of another alien, the immortal creature known as Larfleeze, the sole wielder of the orange spectrum.  The origins of his Power Ring and the source of its power are not known as he selfishly guards anything regarding his history.  In addition to having powers of other Power Rings, the Ring of Avarice can create an army of energy "avatars" made up of any individual that it has killed.  These energy constructs compromise the entirety of Larfleeze's "Corps".

The Blue energies of Hope started with the Guardian known as Ganthet, who began a project to rebuild the Corp after the destruction of the Oan Central Power Battery by Parallax.  He located a powerful wave of emotional energy emanating from the world of Odym, which revealed itself to be the spiritual entity known as Adara, which the populace worshiped as a god.  After conversing with the bird-like spirit, who had harnessed the power of the blue portion of the emotional spectrum, she forged a link to by altering seemly normal rings forged by her followers.  These Rings were given to the foremost members of her clergy, Saint Walker among them, granting them the power of Hope.  Though the Adaran Ring has many of the common powers to Power Rings its is the weakest in comparison to the rest of the spectrum.  Its main advantage lies within its ability to boost other emotions, primarily the green energy of Willpower, to unseen levels.  This grants Green Lanterns in Saint Walker's vicinity an incredible boost in power.