Germany

The Second World War…the rise of the Third Reich...it adheres to Germany.
Even though the war ended 70 years ago and most of the people living today were not even born at the time, Germans still serve as good villains (and quite often, Nazi villains) in Hollywood and the comics. Yes, Germans are seen as methodical, composed, and organized, all traits that scream “criminal mastermind” to many authors. But Germans, as far as national stereotypes go, are much more complex, and heroes must be aware that Germany has changed a lot since WWII. It has become ethnically diverse, with thriving Turkish, Spanish, Lebanese, and Italian communities, to name only a few. Politically, it is one of the harshest countries regarding apologists of Nazism and war crimes.
A LITTLE HISTORY Although German history is filled with famous heroes and rogues like the dragonslayer Siegfried, the modern superhuman history of Germany begins in the 1930s with attempts by the Nazis and the Thule Society to gather occult knowledge and further their Aryan cause. Among them, three ambitious young men rose through the ranks of the Nazi party: Wilhelm Kantor, Jürgen Reinholt, and the scheming Joscha Von Weldensteyck. Each was tasked to explore the world and return with arcane lore and treasures for the Society’s coffers. Kantor was assigned to Africa and found the ancient city of Seti-Ab in the sands of Libya. Reinholt was assigned to Northern Europe and found Ultima Thule (although this knowledge was erased from his mind). Von Weldensteyck found nothing but mostly insignificant artifacts in Asia Minor.
With the mighty Übermensch, the devious Doctor Geistmann, and the mystic Crimson Mask, the cadre soon formed the foundation of Nazi Germany’s superhuman forces. At first unchecked by opposing superbeings, the Übersoldaten soon had to deal with the Allies of Freedom abroad and with White Rose and White Thorn and the mysterious Austrian jester Kasperle at home.
For several years, super-humans of the Axis and the Allies fought each other. By 1945, it had become clear to everyone, including the champions of the Nazi Party, that Germany was losing the war. After the fall of Berlin, the Allies immediately tried to arrest the super-powered minions of the Axis, though many managed to escape. Kantor and Reinholt fled to South America. Madame Blitz surrendered to the Americans, and the Valkyrie, stunned by the loss of her powers, was captured the Soviets. For the next ten years, Allied powers relentlessly pursued any trace of superhuman activity in Germany and Austria, frightened that one day the powers of the Axis might resurface and start a third world war. The coming of the Killer Kaiser in 1950 only confirmed these fears, and, during the 1960s, any trace of superhuman activity in Germany was swiftly and harshly suppressed by occupying powers or by the German authorities themselves, who outlawed any paranormal activity.
In 1972, during one of its most grandiose schemes, SHADOW took hostage all of the Olympics teams in Munich, forcing the German authorities to execute a desperate assault, leading to the death of many innocents. This incident finally forced the German government to reconsider their “no superhuman” policy and new freedoms were slowly granted to costumed crime fighters, primarily to counter the paranormal super-teams of the Warsaw Pact and provide additional support in case of another such crisis. The first official West German (BRD) super-team, the Bundesguard (Federal Guard) was created in 1980, immediately followed by its East German (DDR) counterpart, the Volksgeist. The two soon became rivals and enemies.
In 1989, the Berlin wall fell and Germany began reunification. The Volksgeist was disbanded, but its leader, Direktor X, destroyed all files in the Stasi (East Germany’s Ministry for State Security) archives relating to his team. Most of its members retired or went into hiding. Direktor X himself was captured put on trial for alleged crimes committed while working for the East German secret services. The Bundesguard, having lost its rival, began to fade as the Cold War waned and SWORD emerged to fight supercrime.
Reunification did bring new problems. In the former East Germany, crime rates grew. Overthrow appeared: a new terrorist group claiming that the fall of the Wall was not a triumph of capitalism but a harbinger of a new future. First limited to Germany, the threat of OVERTHROW grew quickly and remains one of the most serious menaces in the western world of today.
In 2002, Stuttgart was nearly destroyed by an invasion of extra-dimensional demons. Rumors claimed that The Thule Society had re-emerged, but this was never proven. Heroes from across Europe rushed to the rescue and drove the fiends back to Hell. This was the signal for the Bundesguard to reform, just in time to fight new dangers like the cyborg biker gang Dirty Party (Dreckete Partie) and the mercenary society known as the Fables.
“ICH BINEIN UBER-BERLINER” Berlin today is the political, economic, and cultural center of Germany. The city has its rivals—Hamburg and Frankfurt for economics, and Cologne for culture—but in the heart of all Germans it remains their capital. Like Germany, it is still divided into West (modern, liberal with a touch of hippie) and East (bulky socialist architecture with a lot of buildings currently under demolition for renovation and rebuilding).
Berlin is the home of the Bundesguard, but the city also relies on the crime fighting duo of der Röter Adler (the second Red Eagle, who claims to have no relation to the first) and der Schwarzer Bär (the Black Bear) since the larger team operates throughout the country. Rumored to be supported by a group of radio amateurs and field informants, der Röter Adler and der Schwarzer Bär often clash with their arch-enemies, the bloodthirsty crime lord, Yatagan (named for a type of Turkish sword), and his henchman Toxin Tom, or the flying thief Herr Uhu (Mister Owl).
HAMBURG The second largest city in Germany is also one of the least safe in the country. To the dismay of the locals, it is the home of the Dreckete Partie, a gang of cyborg bikers who gained their cybertechnology from MENACE for the sole purpose of spreading mayhem and chaos in Germany.
The gang has fought the Bundesguard several times and has ended up in jail almost as often. Their benefactors keep helping free them and the gang remains one of the most serious threats in Northern Germany today.
MUNICH Munich is the third largest city of Germany, as well as the richest. The economic heart of southern Germany, it is also one of the safest places to live on the continent. It would seem strange indeed if the shadow war plaguing this Bavarian capital were to be revealed to the public. This unseen war is actually a conflict taking place inside SHADOW. Since 1989, the terrorist organization OVERTHROW has used the Baader University for Political Studies as headquarters, in close proximity to Labyrinth’s Stauffen-Mann Media conglomerate, led by Heinrich Stauffen. While Taurus and Dominic Ashe enjoy a rather positive “business-like” relationship at a higher level, the same is not true for their ground troops. To make matters worse, their leaders cannot even order a truce without blowing their covers as members of the SHADOW network to their unsuspecting troops.
So far, both organizations have been very careful to keep this struggle discreet, since any incident would draw unwanted attention to the city and their operations. But it would take just a tiny spark (perhaps a new team of heroes visiting the city?) for the conflict to escalate to full-scale war.

Type

Geopolitical, Country