Dunwich Takeover

The Dunwich Takeover was a superpowered occupation of Dunwich, Massachusetts by Rogue super Soapbox. It took place between 1987 and 1989.
It is considered to be one of the most deadly cases of Super crime in U.S. history.

Prelude

After dropping out of university, then-unidentified super Theodore Jones (later dubbed Soapbox by the media) moved to Dunwich. A Master-type super with the ability to manipulate ideas and opinions of the people around him, he soon began to influence the people around him to view him in a more favourable light.

Takeover

Though the process was gradual, over the following two years Soapbox convinced almost the entire town that he was not only their leader, but a divine or divinely appointed ruler, whose worship and care was their highest honour and priority. Using his powers to subvert the local police and other authorities to his cause, any of those who realised what he was doing or tried to flee were soon "brought into the fold" with help of those already loyal to him. At least three people were killed by his followers as they attempted to flee and warn outside authorities.
Jones began living like a king, where the locals would bring him gift of food and expensive goods. He began to restructure life in Dunwich both to ensure that he would not be easily discovered and to reshape its society into something he deemed better. Constantly unopposed by anyone, Jones developed delusions of grandeur and began to consider himself as a creator of a better world where he would make decisions for his "disciples".

Suspicion

Eventually, reports of strange behaviour in Dunwich were noted by state officials, who dispatched federal officers to investigate. When all of them failed to return, two having been killed by the populace and another one turned to Jones' cause, a campaign of far-range surveilance against the town began and Sanctioned supers were called in as support.
When two of these supers were eventually discovered, Soapbox used his followers as hostages to pressure them into compliance. With his powers still unknown, they were not aware of the risks and were subsequently brainwashed. However, the authorities finally realised what was happening when the two supers returned reporting nothing unusual, but began to display erratic behaviour in the following weeks, opposing any further observations of Dunwich. Soapbox was labeled a Delta-class threat and the national guard, multiple AS-SWATs and large amounts of supers were mobilised to contain the threat and rescue the villagers.
However, the two manipulated supers tipped off Jones and subsequently went on a rampage, resulting in 5 civilian deaths, many severe injuries and the death of one of the two supers in question.

Breach

In September 1989, the order was given to storm Dunwich, with the objective to capture and detain both Soapbox and his followers. The townsfolk resisted fiercely as their master attempted to flee. As the tide of the battle turned against them, many began to engage in mass suicides, screaming that a life without their god would not be worth living.
The effort of capture was further made difficult by the fact that every one who got too close to Soapbox would find their own thoughts about him turn to lenience and eventually feverent adoration. It was only after Soapbox was incapacitated by long-range Blaster type supers that he could finally be arrested. Between sustained injuries proving fatal to some and the ritual mass suicides amongst the population of the town, a total of 192 people lost their life. Many more were found impossible to set free, as Soapbox's influence proved permanent. Save for a few who were deemed either free of his power's effects or affected to such a minimal degree that they could be re-integrated into society (in particular young children), most were sent to insane asylums for the rest of their lifes. There, they were observed to often fall into severe depressions and engage in self-harming behaviour.

Trial

Soapbox was put on trial under the highest of security. Kept sedated and under drugs for most of the time, all interrogations were conducted via video, as his influence requires him to be physically present with the target. In a similar manner, the jury and judges during his trial were kept at a secure and undisclosed location and followed the proceedings from afar, to ensure he would not be able to influence their actions.
Soapbox was convicted of countless charges of murder, kidnapping, rape, violations against the Human/Superman Regulations Act, and various other offenses. After the guilty verdict was returned, the court sentenced him to death, which was reduced to a record-holding 152 life sentences, with over 10,000 years without parole, under the de facto abolishment of the death penalty the laws introduced at the beginning of the decade. He was imprisoned in East Branch and would later be transferred to North Branch.