The Centurion
Although some masked “mystery men” appeared before him, the Centurion was Freedom City’s first true superhero and remains one of its greatest to this day. He was born on a parallel Earth where the Roman Empire never fell; this Earth also held a far more advanced technological civilization than any on twentieth century Earth, having never experienced a Dark Age.
Invading forces from the Terminus, led by Omega, were on the verge of conquering that Earth when one of its leading scientists placed his infant son in an experimental dimensional capsule and sent it across dimensions to another habitable world: our own Earth . In so doing, he inadvertently exposed Freedom City to a cascade of dimensional energies and made Omega aware of its existence.
Exposure to the cosmic energies also changed the infant, giving him the potential for tremendous powers.
A “shooting star” seen above Freedom City streaked westward and came quietly to rest in Wharton Forest. Tom Leeds found the capsule and the baby boy inside. Concealing the life-pod, Leeds and his wife Mabel turned the child over to the Danvers Orphanage in Freedom City and adopted him soon thereafter, naming him Mark.
The Leeds raised Mark and, as his powers matured, taught him to use his gifts responsibly. Young Mark Leeds later learned the truth about his origins, the existence of the Terminus, and the world from which he came thanks to a recording device in his life-pod. Fashioning a Roman inspired costume to conceal his true identity, he adopted the sobriquet “Centurion” and used his powers to fight crime and injustice. In his secret identity, Leeds worked as a professor of history at Freedom City University, specializing in the Roman Empire.
The Centurion was a founding member of both the Liberty League and the Freedom League. It wasn’t until his time with the Freedom League that it became clear the Centurion’s powers included a greatly extended lifespan—although over forty years old by the founding of the Freedom League, he still looked like a man in his late twenties.
Mark Leeds married Laurie Lamont in the 1950s. They were never able to have children, most likely because of the cosmic energies that altered Mark’s physiology. Mrs. Leeds passed away in the late 1980s while Mark remained young and vital, using makeup to make it appear Mark Leeds was aging normally. Leeds disappeared into “retirement” after his wife’s death, and Centurion spent most of his time in his costumed identity. He was invited on several occasions to live with the Ultima, but felt he couldn’t abandon his responsibilities to the world.
Throughout much of his career, one of the Centurion’s greatest foes was Omega, destroyer of his home world.
Centurion swore the same fate would not befall his adopted home, finally giving his life in battle against the Lord of the Terminus to save the world; every nation on Earth mourned his loss. Freedom City commissioned and dedicated the Sentry Statue in his honor, and the legacy of the Centurion continues to inspire a new generation of heroes.
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