The first world war called "The War to End All Wars"
Pre-Campaign
Everything from the dawn of time through Batman's "Year One" in 1996.
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The War to End All Wars
World War I
Military action -
1916
Case of the Black Eagle
Life, CareerLocation
Europe -
1922
Lamont Cranston meets Kent Allard
Life, Crime -
1923
Training of the Shadow
Life, Education -
1929
February
Rise of the Shadow
Life, CrimeAlso known as
The Rasputniks Incident
The first appearance of the Shadow, one of the earliest known metahumans.
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1929
June
Origin of Mercury
Life, Career -
1929
November
Rise of Mercury
Life, Crime -
1929
December
The Shadow Strikes!
Life, CareerLocation
Gotham City -
1931
The Shadow Knows
Life, Career -
1937
The Rocketeer
Technological achievementReturning to his plane in a lonely hanger outside Los Angeles, stunt pilot Cliff Secord stumbles across a one of a kind jetpack. The jetpack is modified by Secord's friend, inventor and confidant, "Peevy" Peabody for Cliff's use. Cliff initially uses the pack on a lark, only to find himself against a Nazi spy cell led by actor Neville Sinclair. Dubbed the Rocketeer in the papers, Secord adopts the guise taking the fight to the Nazi's. Secord continues his occasional appearances as the Rocketeer as the need arises.
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1938
The Golden Master
Life, CrimeThe Rocketeer and the Shadow work together against Shiwan Khan's plot to flood the underworld with a tainted opium shipment.
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1938
January
Čtvrtník family flees Czechoslovakia
Life, RelocationElias Čtvrtník flees Czechoslovakia with his infant son Radovan ahead of the Munich Pact. The rest of the family either stay behind to fight, or are unable to evade the closing borders. At Immigrations, their good Czech name is replaced with the Anglicized "Spectre", and Radovan is renamed "Randall".
Location
Europe -
1938
June
Green Lantern
Rasputin, using the false name of Nikolai Vladivosk, attempts to kidnap and mesmerize a member of the British Crown. Rasputin is stopped by a young inventor named Nigel Withers. During the fight, Nigel is caught in the explosion of a prototype power generator. The chemicals, along with the amazingly high levels of magnetic radiation, alter Nigel permanently. For reasons unknown, he gained the ability to control and manipulate magnetic and force fields of varying strengths. He took the name of 'Green Lantern' because of the greenish glow resulting from the use of his power.
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1939
Hawkman and Hawkgirl
Life, CareerIn Egypt, archeologists Lara and Kent Carter uncover an ancient tomb in the middle Nile region that contained wings and harness fashioned from an ancient meteoritic metal that responds to thought. Using these, they manage to defeat Dr Hans Gruben and his Nazi associates that came in search of the legendary wings as well. Reluctantly, the couple adopted the guise of Hawkman and Hawkgirl in dealing with Dr Gruben and later the notorious Shiwan Khan.
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1939
Project Strongman begins
Scientific achievementConcerned over the rumors of a Nazi project to perfect the "Ultimate Human", the US government begins "Project Strongman".
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1940
20 March1940
22 March
True Beginnings I chapter 2
Metaphysical / Paranormal eventIn a meadow outside the city of San Francisco at 10:23 a.m., the exact moment of the Equinox, a ripple forms in the air.
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1940
April
Project Strongman ends
Scientific achievementProject Strongman comes to a rapid end in April as a Nazi attempt at sabotage accelerates the process that makes Steve Rogers the world's first "Super Soldier". Dubbed Captain America, he debuts in the eyes of the press by exposing the Nazi spy ring.
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1940
May
Oppenheimer study conclusion
Cultural eventSelect team of scientists, led by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, conclude a study in May on the appearance of the "Heroes" that exhibit amazing powers and abilities. Oppenheimer coins the phrase "meta-humans" or "metas" to describe these beings.
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1940
7 September
London Blitz
Military actionGerman bombers fill the sky over London, beginning the London Blitz. In their darkest hour, Green Lantern took to England's defense, but soon found he was outnumbered. Emerging from a mysterious base off the coast of Scotland, mechanical genius, Mary Hotchkiss, jumped into her highly modified Supermarine Spitfire and flew into battle using only the name of "Sky Captain". Together Green Lantern and Sky Captain managed to rally the troops and prevent the complete destruction of London itself.
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1941
7 December
Pearl Harbor attack
Military actionJapanese bomb and decimates the naval fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Captain America, Mercury, The Shadow, The Rocketeer, Hawkman and Hawkgirl meet for the first time. While their efforts were astounding, even they could not avert the disaster.
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1942
April
Raid on Tokyo
Military actionLieutenant Colonel James Doolittle leads his task force in an aerial raid on Tokyo.
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1942
May
The Liberty Guard
Military actionAt the insistence of President Roosevelt, Captain America goes in search of the "meta-humans" he worked with at Pearl Harbor along with Green Lantern and Sky Captain of England and the Russian hero Red Phoenix. They worked together under the name of "The Liberty Guard", a name suggested by Roosevelt and Churchill.
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1943
Moon Knight killed by Axis forces
Life, DeathAnton Čtvrtník, the inheritor of the Moon Knight legacy, dies at Axis hands while defending the escape route of a Czech family.
The mantle of Moon Knight passes on to Radovan/Randall, who cannot claim it until after his 21st birthday.
Location
Europe -
1948
1950
Olympic Games postponed 2 years
Sporting Event / CompetitionBecause of the appearance of metahuman athletes, debates about the qualifications for Olympic competitors having a "extreme genetic advantage". Should people born with particularly athletic genes be allowed to compete? What about those who, through no fault of their own, became mutates? Is that any different from athletes whose trainers provide them with chemical boosts of a non-mutagenic nature? Where does the Olympic Committee draw the line?
While technically, a naturally-born mutant is considered a valid candidate according to the current Olympic guidelines, such a strong stigma against metahuman competitors is present to this day that few are willing to subject themselves to the genetic tests and background scrutiny involved.
All of this process took so long that the Summer Olympics were delayed from their scheduled 1948 London, England event to happen in 1950 instead. Winter events still happen according to the original schedule, but all subsequent Summer Olympic events are on a two year delay.
Location
About Earth 1 -
1953
1954
Super Soldier Serum trial 2
Scientific achievementJack Monroe, age 15, begins taking the Super Soldier Serum. He becomes Bucky, sidekick to Captain America. Within a year, the Super Soldier Serum has been deteriorating his mind. Jack Monroe is placed in cryogenic freeze until such time as a cure can be found.
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1958
Randall Spectre becomes Moon Knight
Life, IdentityFollowing in his late uncle's footsteps, Randall begins a career as a masked mystery man. He fights for justice in Toronto, Ontario, where he meets Mila Cermak and falls completely in love.
Location
Canada -
1960
Jean-Claude Gironde
Life, BirthJean-Claude Gironde is born, a late-in-life son to Jean-Pierre Gironde.
Location
Metropolis -
1961
De'Salle home invasion
Life, DeathJohn De'Salle, age 25, wakes up in middle of night to assault on his home; sees daughter and wife shot. Continuous memory lost until beginning of 1998.
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1971
Phillip Paxton
Life, BirthPhillip Paxton is born to Théophile Paxton and Joëlle (Ribleau) Paxton in Bordeaux, France
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1971
30 September
Jarissa Venters
Life, BirthJarissa Ingegerd Venters is born to Paul and Stefani Venters in eastern North Dakota, USA.
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1973
August
Marc Spectre
Life, BirthMarc Spectre is born to Mila (Cermak) and Randall Spectre in Detroit during a trip to visit Randall's father Elias.
Location
Detroit -
1975
David John Ironhorse
Life, BirthDavid John Ironhorse is born to Sara Kimi Ironhorse in Oklahoma, USA.
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1976
24 October
Sarah Paxton
Life, BirthSarah Paxton is born to Théophile Paxton and Joëlle (Ribleau) Paxton in Bordeaux, France
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1977
Paxton family relocation
Life, RelocationThe Paxton family leaves the American Ambassadorial Service and moves to New Iberia, Louisiana, where family can help care for Mrs. Paxton in her growing illness. Phillip was 7 and Sarah was 1.
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1977
Eureka
FoundingFoundation of The Eureka Settlement, a self sufficient colony established by a group of geniuses and visionaries on a remote island in the South Pacific.
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1977
February
Black Spectre defeats Moon Knight
Life, DeathAfter many years of repeated confrontations, archnemesis Black Spectre manages to ambush and murder the Toronto champion known as Moon Knight. His body is unidentifiable, but enough of his hood was missing that Mila Spectre immediately packs up house and son and moves across the border to Chicago for her family's safety.
Location
Canada -
1979
Tina Grewal
Life, BirthTina Grewal is the 2nd and final child of the Grewal family to be born in the United States
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1979
Thomas Jordan Arcane
Life, BirthThomas Jordan Arcane is born not too far from Metropolis, Pennsylvania, USA.
Location
Metropolis -
1980
Joëlle Paxton dies
Life, DeathMrs. Paxton abruptly dies. Mr. Paxton becomes a violent, abusive drunk.
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1983
Jean-Pierre Gironde dies
Life, DeathJean-Pierre Gironde dies. The Gironde house is shuttered, with one longtime employee resident to keep an eye on the place and make any necessary groundskeeping arrangements. Jean-Claude Gironde tries to maintain his own career as a psychiatrist ((secretly working for the NSA)) while taking one day a week to oversee all Phoenix Industries matters. The balancing act between two high-stakes roles gets excrutiatingly difficult as the 1980s continue.
Location
Metropolis -
1983
Phillip Paxton has leukemia
Life, MilestonePhillip Paxton, age 13, is diagnosed with a rare and terminal form of leukemia. His uncle, Jean-Paul Ribleau, attempts to gain custody of his deceased sister's children. (He is unsuccessful.) He also spends a significant amount of his fortune on experimental cures for his nephew's leukemia. Mr. Paxton steps up his abuse of his children.
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1985
Steven Reynolds
Life, BirthSteven Reynolds is born on Eureka to George Herbert Reynolds, a geneticist on Project Chrysalis, and Alice (Harper) Reynolds, a marine biologist in Project Deep Blue. Both projects are part of the Eureka Settlement. Like most children born on Eureka, Steven is the beneficiary of the fruits of Project Chrysalis. Besides enjoying the common benefits of exceptional intelligence and lack of inheritable maladies, the children possessed a variety of metahuman abilities. Steven, for example, had the psionic talent of telekinesis.
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1985
12 January1985
25 March
Phillip Paxton becomes Blackjack
Life, MilestonePhillip Paxton, age 15, now working under the moniker "Blackjack" on a riverboat casino, is succumbing to leukemia and his father's abuse; he is in danger of losing his job, and possibly his life. Ribleau agrees to a highly experimental, illegal process called a "DNA Replacement Technique". While successful in curing Phillip, it also mutates him. The boy's skin turns deep blue, his eyes a deep solid purple, and he has odd, unrelated metahuman powers.
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1985
30 April
Théophile Paxton dies
Life, DeathMr. Paxton, incoherent from alcohol abuse, attempts to murder his children. Phillip murders his father in self-defense. Ribleau quickly steps in, tying up the courts while he moves the children into his Atlanta home.
Shortly afterward, Blackjack leaves to try to find his own way in the criminal underworld.
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1985
June
Sarah Paxton undergoes adolescent metahuman expression
Life, MilestoneSarah Paxton, age 9, develops a puzzling malady that lands her in a hospital, which persuades a judge to remove custody from Ribleau.
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1989
attempted assassination of Phoenix Industries heir
Life, Failure / MishapJean-Claude Gironde's balancing act comes crashing down. Because he has not been available to his riskier "world-renowned psychiatrist" role for more than one day per week, and because he is not getting enough downtime, enemy operatives from HYDRA almost succeed in assassinating Jean-Claude with an experimental ray gun. He lives, but is confined to a wheelchair while neurologists try to figure out what happened to his spine.
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1990
1995
Blackjack joins Card Shark organization
Life, Organisation AssociationBlackjack, quickly becoming a well-known and gifted catburglar, impresses the leader of the Card Shark Syndicate, who invites the nineteen-year-old into his network as a Wild Card (albeit the boy starts at a low rank, equivalent to a King among the Face Cards). Blackjack quickly proves himself willing to learn from his peer the King of Diamonds, cheerful and patient and inventive.
It is not until a few years later, when Blackjack officially outranks all of the Face Cards, that he starts to find out what the other suites do, especially Hearts (information gathering, interrogation, torture, money laundering and finances) and Spades (assassination). If it had been handled right, Blackjack might never have cared what harm is being done to strangers; something must have happened just exactly wrong.
Location
Atlantic City -
1990
Phoenix Industries milestone
Life, RelocationJean-Claude Gironde moves back to Metropolis, Pennsylvania and oversees a wheelchair-friendly renovation of the family home.
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1991
Phoenix Industries targets metahuman market
Financial EventWith Jean-Claude Gironde's undivided attention at the head of Phoenix Industries, several businesses start aggressively pursuing the metahuman consumer base in the USA.
Location
North America -
1991
August
Hybrid Alpha 003a
Life, IdentityDavid John Ironhorse is acquired by Infinity Inc and becomes Puma, a Hybrid Alpha Series Minion.
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1992
Cindy Reynolds
Life, BirthCindy Reynolds is born on Eureka. Like most children born on Eureka, Cindy is the beneficiary of the fruits of Project Chrysalis. Besides enjoying the common benefits of exceptional intelligence and lack of inheritable maladies, the children possessed a variety of metahuman abilities. Cindy, for example, had the psionic talent of foresight.
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1992
12 May
Hybrid Alpha 004a
Life, IdentityJarissa Venters is acquired by Infinity Inc and becomes Feral, a Hybrid Alpha Series Minion.
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1992
20 September
Hybrid Delta 007e
Life, IdentityThomas Jordan Arcane is acquired by Infinity Inc and becomes Silverwing, a Hybrid Delta Series Minion.
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1993
formation of Wyldfire
FoundingJean-Claude Gironde, Doctor of Psychiatry, heir of Phoenix Industries and several pieces of private real estate, takes his career in a new direction. In the process, he secretly creates a supergroup called "Wyldfire" which employs interesting metahumans whom he has met in various other circumstances.
Location
Metropolis -
1995
Alice Reynolds dies
Life, DeathAlice (Harper) Reynolds dies in an accident undersea, leaving her husband George Reynolds and children Steven (10) and Cindy (3).
Location
About Earth 1 -
1996
Batman: Year One
MiscellaneousGotham City, New Jersey has its own urban myth: a costumed crusader who has had enough of criminal metahumans.
Location
Gotham City
Tales of Justice is a work of pure, unabashed fiction. In fact, it considers itself rather heroic and quite proud of itself. Names of characters, places, events, organizations, and locations are creations of the author's imagination for this fictitious setting. Some have been inspired by other sources, which will be credited at the top right of the article.
Permission is not granted to use this material to feed a so-called Artificial Intelligence chatbot.
Any resemblance to persons living, dead, or reanimated is coincidental. The opinions expressed are those of the characters and should not be confused with either of the authors, since the characters and authors tend to disagree a lot.
Unless otherwise stated, all artwork and content are © CB Ash and Jarissa Venters, 1993-2024, All Rights Reserved.
Original CSS "Comic" theme comes from Oneriwien but has been adapted/modified and expanded by Kummer Wolfe
Original CSS "Comic" theme comes from Oneriwien but has been adapted/modified and expanded by Kummer Wolfe