Golden Age Heroes
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
The Golden Age Heroes are three linked supergroups (Gods of the Golden Age, Young Gods of the Golden Age, New Gods of the Golden Age) that are dedicated to fighting for the ideals of the heroes of days gone by. Rather than treating each group as a seperate entity, all three are considered a single "mega-supergroup", with officers for each supergroup regarded as equal to each other.
Contents |
History
The Coming of the Gods
During the rebuilding Winter Wizard had a desire to reform his magnificent team of old, The Liberty League, and held a press conference to announce his intentions. Flanked by his old friend The Hooded Cowl and the aged heroes Captain Triumph, Lady Britain and British Steele declared that the heroes of old would once again fight not only for justice but to light the way for the next generation of superheroes! It was the press that first dubbed the gathering “Gods of the Golden Age” and the name stuck with the group.
The Gods of the Golden Age aided with the rebuilding of Paragon City as well as keeping their eye on promising new heroes to emerge. The following year saw many changes for the tiny group of do-gooders. British Steele, Lady Britain, and Captain Triumph all retired for good, the roster of the GGA however was on the rise! Before their departure the renowned hero The Gray Justice, who used his secret identity as a Paragon City judge to lock away criminals he caught while wearing a mask, joined the fold. The raven haired beauty Halo was next to join, having impressed Captain Triumph while helping him foil an unholy plot hatched by the Banished Pantheon! Her energy manipulation abilities were only exceeded by her fierce determination and demure strength. The cyborg powerhouse, Ironwork added both strength and clever humor to the group of supers. Emerald Force and his fast friend Mr. Virtuous became members in August 2005 at the behest of The Gray Justice. Emerald Force was known as much for his “ladies man” ways as he was his ability to channel the cosmic energies bestowed upon him by the alien Milkandians. His best friend Mr. Virtuous was also bestowed his powers from a cosmic entity, The Everwatcher. His ability to transform from skinny bespectacled day trader Rob Callahan into the blonde powerhouse of Mr. Virtuous helped to round out the GGA’s muscle. Soon the red, white, and blue giant America Eagle, the bombastic kraut Blitzkrieg, and the vivacious and brainy Vector Vixen rounded out the roster of a new era for the Gods of the Golden Age!
The Coming of the Young Gods
With a roster teeming with the brightest heroes Paragon City had to offer the GGA formed the Young Gods of the Golden Age! Initially the Young Gods were a proving ground for new heroes of all ages but soon became a group dedicated to growth and development of teenaged superheroes. Equally as important they Young Gods were able to have a community of their peers and form an identity separate from that of their adult counterparts while still holding true to the values of the golden age of superheroes! The young heroes May Queen, Gravity Breaker, and Ultragirl were chosen to begin this new branch and new era of the Gods of the Golden Age. The formation of the Young Gods of the Golden Age became the first step in what would someday be known as The Golden Age Heroes!
This age was not only limited to the founding of the Young Gods. A coalition was formed between the GGA/YGA and one of the most illustrious groups to ever operate out of Paragon City, the Guardians of the Golden Age. Many of these heroes were actual heroes plucked right out of the Golden Age of Superheroes by the Telechronos Project. The Telechronos Project was designed to grab superheroes from the past mere seconds before they met their demise at the hands of evil. In modern day Paragon City they would renew heroism and provide another beacon for today’s superheroes to look up to. The meeting was a smashing success concluding when Winter Wizard and Mister Mystical agreed to ally their two mighty teams!
The Gods of the Golden Age and their youthful counterparts in the Young Gods of the Golden Age were now operating full time out of the Sebastian Greylock Building near Atlas Plaza in Paragon City. Old Sebastian Greylock was a close friend of the Hooded Cowl’s own father and had bequeathed the building to him upon his death. While the outside remained very stoic throughout the years the inside would repeatedly undergo changes to meet the needs of the two superhero teams that lived inside.
All was well within the team organization, but it is the nature of things to change…
Trials and Tribulations
These dark times were only magnified when many of the Gods’ brightest heroes hung up their masks or made the ultimate sacrifice for justice. The indestructible Ironwork, heroic Halo, and the grim Gray Justice all resumed civilian lives. The fiery May Queen, leader of the Young Gods, had her flame extinguished in a pitched battle to save the Terra Volta reactor from the sinister Sky Raiders. A newer member, Liberty Eagle, was infected with a virus and transformed into a hulking green monster! Mr. Virtuous quit the GGA after a lengthy dispute with Winter Wizard over the treatment and dismissal of his then girlfriend Ms. Kinetica! Fortunately for himself and the team, Mr. Virtuous came to his senses after a three day cool down and rejoined the team, permanently destroying his relationship with the heroine harpy, Ms. Kinetica. In time the team was able to put The Kinetica Incident behind them. Emerald Force appeared to have been killed and a wiley old man named Rush Heston usurped his power. Heston was himself a Golden Age “hero” who dished out his own brand of justice from the barrels of his twin green handled berettas. Clad in a green cape and mask roaming the streets and dispensing lawbreakers, Heston was the only hero of the World War II era who was asked to stand down or face charges by FDR himself!
The leadership was not immune to these trying times either. Despite having the appearance of a 50 year old man, Winter Wizard was well into his 90s. Advanced in age he now had trouble controlling the very powers that had slowed his aging so dramatically. At one point he not only lost control of his powers but his mind as well, turning on his teammates and sparking a battle across Atlas Park! It took the combined might of the remaining Gods and Young Gods, under the direction of The Hooded Cowl, to subdue Winter Wizard and save the city. After this episode Winter Wizard took a sabbatical to his chalet in the Swiss Alps. This left the Hooded Cowl the sole authority of both groups.
To help maintain a sense of stability Mr. Virtuous and Vector Vixen increased their already loaded patrol times. Both heroes had a deep love for the Gods and Young Gods and kept their eyes open for new recruits. Diligence paid off as they recruited the extraordinary Epoch Girl, who would be a central figure of the GGA in the months ahead. The Hooded Cowl meanwhile, had discovered that the real Emerald Force was alive and wandering the streets of King’s Row as a homeless man with no memories of his heroic life or his identity as a NASA pilot! He battled Rush Heston in Perez Park, defeating him and using his magic to rest control of Emerald Force’s cosmic energies from the old coot! Once the energies were restored to Emerald Force his memory returned and he was able to rejoin his old teammates, while Rush Heston was fitted for a cell in the Ziggursky Penitentiary.
Shortly afterward The Hooded Cowl began to spend more and more time with his old friend Winter Wizard during his convalescence. This lead to the Gods’ becoming listless and fractured. While Mr. Virtuous and Vector Vixen did what they could they had no authority or executive power to make necessary decisions and changes to keep the Gods and Young Gods a strong and united team. The Gods of the Golden Age were on the brink…
A New Hope
The pair wasted little time in putting plans into action that would stop the roster hemorraging and infuse the GGA and YGA with new heroes and mighty heroes that previously operated solo or with other prestigious groups. The old headquarters, The Sebastian Greylock Building, saw an extensive internal makeover as well. A seemingly endless string of interviews were conducted as luminaries like Lord Liberty, Flambelle, Lacey Liberty, The Timeless Sage, Miracle Maiden, and others were added to the rosters of the GGA and YGA. Liberty Eagle, Epoch Girl and Emerald Force aided in the evaluation of talent and appearance. Their knowledge and taste were instrumental in rebuilding the GGA and YGA into groups to be proud of!
The Young Gods also saw changes. Anyone over the age of 21 was no longer a proper fit for the group of youngsters and their membership was transferred to the GGA. Gravity Breaker became the last original member still affiliated with the group. To aid in their rebuilding a certain young sidekick supreme was promoted to the rank of Legend. The Scarlet Thrush would prove to be instrumental in building and maintaining the Young Gods of the Golden Age for a long time to come. Young and fresh heroes like Lacey Liberty and the Scarlet Bow, and Speed Limit, and the magical Hauntress were soon added to the roster among others.
The Greylock Building was made into a HQ worthy of a mighty group for justice! New supercomputers were brought in to store dossiers on heroes and criminals alike as well as process raw data to help our heroes solve important cases. A new medical facility was constructed, one that specialized in superhuman and alien medicine. A ready room was added to keep an eye on the city and allow the members to jump into action as soon as any nefarious plots of ne'er-do-wells were hatched. Teleporters were constructed to get our heroes where they needed to go in quick time! For the first time ever a conference room was constructed to hold meetings. It was Scarlet Thrush who birthed the idea and over saw the construction of the iconic "G" Table. The very same one that heroes sit around today!! If that table could speak there would be no end to the tales it would tell!
Both the Gods of the Golden Age and the Young Gods of the Golden Age were also gaining notoriety around Paragon City for their heroic deeds. Promotions were regularly earned by the members that went above and beyond the call of duty. Meetings were a regular occurence and electricity was in the air. It was truly an exciting time to be a member of both groups. Throughout the winter and spring it was truly a second Golden Age! Could it possibly last...?
The Foundation of the Future
Sadly Epoch Girl, who helped the GGA regain its lost luster disappeared from Paragon City without a trace. Seemingly the victim of a sinister scheme Scarlet Thrush also vanished. It was also a time of misguided alliances for the teams. An ill fitting alliance with the Technocratic Union was formed. Their Agents rubbed many the wrong way with their abrasive attitudes and would prove to be the powder keg in a future group explosion. The long time member of the Gods, Emerald Force was called out of our very galaxy on a mission from the Milkandians. He tendered his resignation before leaving Earth. The tempestious Young God known as Night Dove began to run amok and attempted to usurp the Paragonship of the YGA before finally resigning out of frustration. Lord Liberty himself became the shortest tenured Paragon resigning after only two weeks in office to reform his old team the Liberty F.O.R.C.E.
With Lord Liberty’s seat vacated Flambelle was elected to fill the co-Paragon office. Flambelle would prove instrumental in providing the infrastructure still in use by the GAH today. In addition to the many contributions the firey heroine made she also became one of the longest tenured Paragons of the GGA. She became a constant rock upon which Mr. Virtuous relied to aid him in the steering of the bulging Gods of the Golden Age.
Indeed, by the summer of 2006 the Young Gods were maintaining their roster quite well and the GGA was positively bursting at the seams! A bold plan was being forumlated amongst the leadership of the Young Gods and Gods and their closest confidants. The building blocks of the Golden Age Heroes (GAH) were now all in place…
Roster of Heroes
| New Gods of the Golden Age | |||||
| Canadian Standard | Madame Insight | Miss Medusa | Sebastian the AI | Timeless Sage | |
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