An Overview of the Setting

The year is 2012. World history is nearly unchanged through the year 1938. There are some tweaks here and there, but an observer can assume things are roughly the same. The world currently is similar to early 21st century Earth in culture, technology level, political atmosphere, and most other regards. The major difference in history and the modern day is the presence of superhumans who emerged during the Second World War. Although the original superhumans were largely the results of scientific investigation into the creation of super-soldiers, there were notable exceptions who harnessed occult powers, rather than scientific enhancements. Comic book tales of superheroes were swiftly followed by the appearance of actual superhumans. Both the Axis and the Allied Powers employed super soldiers during the early days of the war, with a Nazi platoon of early speedsters allowing them to rapidly advance through enemy territories, in this universe's version of blitzkrieg. While these super soldiers were much more powerful than unenhanced combatants, however, they were as normal men compared to the being the Americans were working on across the sea.

Codename: Setting Sun was an American program designed to engineer the next level of superhuman, the one that would be unthreatened by any other superhuman currently existing. For this mission, they recruited Robert Rhodes, an American soldier born in Mississippi. On 16 July 1945 the experiment which remade Rhodes was a success. Rhodes would prove to be far superior to every other soldier on the planet when America joined the war, easily defeating the grand villains who had plagued the Allies prior to that point. Rhodes was given the call sign Minuteman, and embraced the patriotic role with a good deal of eagerness. Where most soldiers were outfitted with camouflage, the Army equipped Minuteman with a uniform specifically designed to draw the attention of foes and allies alike. This was the beginning of the superhero costume, as many through the following decades would emulate the design of Minuteman's uniform in their own choices for costume.

Following the revelation of Codename: Setting Sun, a ranking system was devised to quantify the war-fighting capabilities of various superhumans. At the lowest end of the superhuman spectrum is the Epsilon classification, commonly called E-class superhumans. There are then Delta, Gamma, Beta, and Alpha leveled individuals, D-class, G-class, B-class, and A-class respectively. In recognition of Setting Sun, the next two classes are Sigma and double Sigma, S-class and SS-class. S-class was designed to fill the gap between Minuteman and previous superhumans, while SS-class denoted a superhuman with a level of combat ability on the order of magnitude of Minuteman himself. In the years following, the SSS-Class has also been added as heroes above the level of Minuteman have emerged. Finally, there is a level reserved for superhumans and threats which possess the capability of destroying entire planets on their own, Omega classification or O-class. This final classification is purely theoretical at this time; as there is no unclassified intelligence to conclusively support the existence of anyone or anything with such a power level.

In August 29, 1949, the Soviet superhuman program succeeded in creating an SS-class superhuman. Pervaya Molniya (First Lightning) was a Russian soldier who was designed to be as exact a match to Minuteman as the Soviets were capable of producing. During the Cold War, Lightning and Minuteman would never physically come to blows. Despite this, the rivalry between the two of them felt omnipresent to the peoples of their respective nations.

27 October 1962 was the date of one near miss, as Minuteman and Lightning almost came to blows over the ocean off the shore of Cuba. Both Minuteman and First Lightning defied order and sallied forth for battle. If the two of them had met in conflict, it is believed that the scrap would have turned into a brawl as either the US or USSR were forced to send in other superhumans in order to maintain face. Most historians agree that such an event would have led to a world-wide superhuman war, which would have almost certainly erased civilization as we know it. Luckily, a quick thinking Soviet soldier by the name of Vasili Arkhipov was on site. The officer deliberately falsified intel and provided Lightning with the incorrect location of Minuteman, buying crucial minutes for contact to be made with the two superhumans. The two were eventually pacified and returned to their respective front lines, and disaster was avoided.

The Superhuman Nonproliferation Treaty was signed during the 1960s and came into effect in 1970. The treaty, commonly abbreviated as the NPT, was designed to prohibit states from continued experimentation in the creation of S-class or higher superhumans. It did not bar states from training citizens who already possess superhuman abilities, nor does it prohibit signatories from courting high-class individuals. In practice, it is impossible for an S-class or above individual to successfully defect, as they would quickly be declared a traitor and hunted by a coalition aiming to preserve the delicate balance of power.

In the years following the close of the Second World War, the world began to see born superhumans, people who had possessed their power since birth, as opposed to gaining powers from experimentation. The reasons for this advent of superhumans in the civilian populations aren't clear, though conspiracies range from clandestine government experiments to aliens who took the opportunity afforded by super soldiers to reveal their true abilities. Whatever the origins of these people, they were to change the shape of society forever.

As superhumans entered into the world unbound by military training and chains of command, the time of superheroes, and supervillains, was on the horizon. The 1950s and 60s saw relative calm as born superheroes were young enough to be controlled, and infrequent enough to be contained. As America wrestled with the Civil Rights movement, super powered individuals took second place in the news cycle. During the late 1960s and 70s, the most powerful of born superhumans barely encroached on Beta class, and most super soldiers were capable of handling such threats with ease. It was during the late 70s and early 80s that superheroes and villains began to truly emerge. During the 1990s, however, the power levels of born superhumans began to increase at a rapid rate, eclipsing the standard level of super soldiers and beginning to rise towards S-rank.

There were three events which changed the American psyche when it comes to empowered individuals: Three Mile Island, The Kidnapping of Sophia Harper, and the Death of Terrance Welch. This led to important changes with regards to the way in which superpowers were handled. Many families keeping the abilities of their children a secret from the world at large. Most superhumans began to adopt secret identities as a way of protecting their loved ones. Many superhumans also began keeping their abilities and crime fighting secret from even their closest of confidantes. Of course, not every hero has the luxury of hiding their identity, as some are so changed physically by their powers that it is impossible to pass as a normal human and others belong to a legacy of heroic tradition and have been known to be empowered since they were born. And some choose the fame purposefully, or find themselves unable to bear the weight of a secret life without telling someone.

At the closing of the millennia, the Western world was rocked with tragedy as the hero Minuteman died at the age of 82. As the world entered the 2000s, the first superhero had proven that, no matter how super, every human is mortal. Throughout the 2000s, the world continued to see increasing power levels from superhumans.
By the year 2012, there are superhumans who were born with powers that are classified at SSS-rank, leading many to worry that there will be no end to the increasing abilities of superhumans until eventually Omega class superhumans arise and the planet is destroyed. Only about 0.1% of humans are born with superhuman abilities, and only a fraction of these have the potential to develop into SSS-class or above, but it would only take a few to usher in an apocalyptic event.
It is estimated that there at very least 300,000 superhumans across America, with about 500 of these in Serine City, 350 in Hamilton County, Tennessee, 800 in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 900 in Erie County, New York, and 8,000 in Virginia. Of these, about 20% have the capacity to reach B-Class or above, 30% fall between D-class and G-Class, and 50% would struggle to eclipse E-class. That works out to 100 superhumans of B-class or higher in Serine City, 150 in D-class and G-class, and 250 with only minor superhuman abilities.
At the time of that our heroes begin to take their first steps towards adulthood, the world has been forever changed by the superhuman. Most of the super soldiers who fought in World War Two have been retired for a decade or more, and many of the early superheroes have begun to take steps back from the spotlight to allow the next generation the chance to show their abilities.
A timeline for this world is here: Overall Timeline