In the late 1920’s a unique individual came into public view.  He was dubbed by the media as Mr. Miracles, and his real name was unknown.  He was called Mr. Miracles because he was in many ways single-handedly responsible for ending World War 1, the dust bowl, and the great depression.  The nature and origin of his powers was not entirely understood, nor even published, but it was documented that he made infertile grounds fertile, cured diseases plaguing the people of the time, and was able to build and repair large sections of infrastructure.  It is unknown how much of this he actually did versus how much his exploits were overblown by zealous witnesses.  He worked primarily in North America, though he was also known to help any nation that he considered “morally upright.” Most notably Australia, and Great Britain. He was well loved by the public and feared by some.  A group of radical fans even created a religion around him and praised him as a god on earth.  He denounced this religion and tried to assure the public that he was not a god nor did he wish to usurp the place of any god.  In  light of the following controversy, Mr. Miracles slipped out of public spotlight.

     By the 30’s there were several similar individuals coming into public view.  None of them were reported to be as powerful as Mr. Miracles with the possible exception of Der Uberman from Germany. Exceptional strength, flight, invulnerability, Speed, and concussive blasts from his eyes.  He was the prize of Hitler’s Nazi army, and to much controversy, the winner of dozens of gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.   With Der Uberman leading his army and Mr. Miracles not heard from in nearly a decade, Hitler marched with reckless abandon into neighboring countries to expand his  territory. Many countries by this point had 1 or more superhumans serving their interests, but they were no match for the Nazi, Der Uberman.  To further complicate the matter, Germany had allied with Japan and their squad of super soldiers, Yin, Yang, and Zenjin (It means “The Saint”), master of the Shinto elements: fire, water, Earth, wind, and Void.  The United States was trying to stay out of these conflicts.  While the U.S had the strongest conventional military, with the absence of Mr. Miracles, the few superhumans they had in their employ were less formidable than those of the Germans and the Japanese.  The US had its hand forced when the Japanese bombed pearl harbor hoping (and largely succeeding) to eliminate the U.S. conventional naval superiority to keep them out of the conflict.   (much more successful than “real Pearl harbor” since they had a guy who could control water and air) This incited the Americans to take arms.  With their navy reduced to minimal use, the U.S. was primarily limited to guarding its own borders until Western Europe offered the use of their carriers to shuttle the U.S.’s superior air fleets to combat locations.  Meanwhile a group of scientists worked on a way to end the war. The war culminated in a coordinated ambush staged by the allied forces who snuck the entirety of their superhumans to Japan  in an “invisible submarine” where surprised Yin, Yang, and Zenjin. This was working very well until Der Uberman and the Nazi super soldier squad arrived.  All seemed lost for the allied forces as it seemed that the Nazi and Japanese supers would slay all of the allied supers leaving the free world defenseless against Hitler’s advances.  Then, it is told, Mr Miracles made an appearance.  Appearing mid-fight trying to get all sides to stop fighting.  His negotiations and his ability to withstand the assault of Der Uberman with minimal injury had most of the combatants giving pause, it is said.  I say, “it is said” because this last part is only told through story and not officially documented.  As the next documented event during the brawl was the eruption of a Nuclear Blast, vaporizing the Hiroshima battleground and all occupants.  A second explosion was seen moments later in Nagasaki, where a secondary battle had splintered off from the group.

     The U.S. and their “Manhattan Project” took credit for the explosions.  They also reported that they were working WITH the supers who were fighting there, and that the nuclear option was a regrettable last choice should it seem that the Allied forces would fall.  They expressed much remorse at the surfacing of the story that Mr. Miracle may have been on the scene ending the fight.  After that event, the conventional armies rallied around pennants of their superhuman martyrs, and crushed the German and Japanese forces ending World War 2 weeks later.

     Since that day in Japan there have been 0 credible reports of humans with superhuman abilities.  Some scattered tabloid reports and stage magicians claim to have powers as such.  Still the fallen supers are spoken of with reverence, but have fallen into the role of distant parable, having nearly 3 generations since they were active.  Grandparents who were in World war II will still tell the stories of meeting the supers or seeing them demolish enemy bunkers, but it is hard to know how much of the stories are romanticized and how much is fact.

     The setting is identical to current world with the exceptions of the historical changes.

Some of the supers of history and their reported abilities:

In general, Mr. Miracles and Der Uberman were considered to be Superman or Sentinel level of power.  The others are Spiderman, X-men, Doom Patrol, Watchmen (not Dr Manhattan) level or lower.

I include these because they are common names to use in conversations about that time period and in nerd conversation.

1920s-

Mr. Miracles:

Power descriptions vary. Matter transmutation and varied applications of such tend to be the agreed upon abilities.  There are only some old photos and that exist to  prove that he was a real person rather than a legend.

1930s and 1940s-

U.S.-

Uncle Sam: Man in his 50s or 60s.  Very skilled tactician and mechanic.  Tougher, faster, and stronger than normal men.  Excellent with firearms and brawling.

Old Glory:  Woman in her 40s or 50s. Could make tools out of energy.  Color and translucency were variable.  Could also project the same energy.

Plymouth Rock: Could turn into Stone and be very strong and resistant to harm.

Liberty’s torch: Could immolate, fly, and project fire

Germany-

Der uberman: Super strong, fast, Invulnerable, flight, concussion blasts from eyes.

Elsa: (female), Mind control, weapons use.

Herr Blut: Telekinetic-style control over Blood and other biles.

Japan-

Zenjin: Control of Earth, air, fire, water, and void.

Yin: Nimble and contemplative. Precognitive. Fought with a Ninja-to

Yang: Strong and aggressive.  Fought with a Katana. Said to give a prayer for each fallen foe.

Great Britain-

Admiral England: Flight.  Peak human physique.

Shillelagh: Strong. Used a “magic” cudgel to smite foes and project energy.

Clansman: Berserk fighter, fast healer.

Australia-

Sheila Sharp: (female) Razor sharp teeth and talons. Also had spines that could grow from her body that acted like weapons and armor.

Bloke Brawn: Very strong and talkative Australian.

Bruce: many powers never known to use the same power twice.

There were a few scattered others from other countries. They were all under the employ (voluntarily or through conscript) of their government during WWII and they were all in one of the nuclear blasts.

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