Halcyon City Heroes

Halcyon City! Shining beacon of heroism and progress! The city of tomorrow!
That’s the tagline, anyway. The truth is always a little more complex. Halcyon City has been around for several centuries, but its real history begins in the 1930s, with the appearance of Maggie MacIntyre, better known as Flying Freedom. Historians know now that there were superhumans before, scattered all throughout history. But Flying Freedom was the first public figure to whom the term “superhero” could reasonably be ascribed. She was cloaked in a pilot’s jacket, cap, and goggles, with the American flag emblazoned on her back, and she could fly. Newsreel footage of the era marveled at how she soared over Halcyon’s tallest towers.

Maggie MacIntyre fought criminals and madmen with flair and heroism. But she wasn’t immortal, and she wasn’t invulnerable. She died saving Halcyon City from her mortal enemy, Captain Coldheart, and his aerial doomcraft, but she’d already inspired new heroes. Champion and the Haunt had taken up her struggle for heroism, and Halcyon City would never be the same.

Superhumans gravitated toward the city, joining its ever-growing community of metahumans. Some immediately sought out criminal activity; others dove headfirst into heroics; still others just lived their lives. But with all of them together in one place, Halcyon became a hotbed of technological progress. Industries moved headquarters into Halcyon to be closer to the biggest developments in their fields. And with ever greater wealth and success came ever more superpowered insanity.

Halcyon has seen countless superheroes rise and fall. It’s seen super criminals and aliens, warlords and mythical monsters. It’s seen parallel dimensions overlaid on its own streets, and it’s seen time travelers from an endless panoply of possible futures. It’s been invaded, conquered, defended, and freed. And through it all the city perseveres, changing and adjusting and adapting to face whatever threats or challenges come before it.

The city is huge; over 10 million people live in its many neighborhoods and districts. It’s a city of tremendous variety, from the large island of silver and glass skyscrapers to the waterfront neighborhoods of dark alleys to the strange architecture transposed onto our Halcyon from other worlds. People from an endless panoply of cultures fill its streets, bringing their own beliefs, traditions, and practices into the city’s crucible. The city is far from perfect, with plenty of prejudice and bigotry even today, but there’s no other place on Earth quite as diverse as Halcyon. And that’s not even getting into the superhuman stuff.

Halcyon is the single greatest confluence of superheroic, metahuman, supernatural, and impossible activity in the entire world. For years scientists and historians have tried to determine the causal relationship between the city and the superpowered madness that goes on there. There’s the obvious—new superheroes and supervillains come to Halcyon because it’s where the action is.

But why is Halcyon always the target of alien invasions? Of paranormal transdimensional transpositions? Of apocalyptic events and eldritch monstrosities and whatever else you can think of? No one’s ever found a definitive answer, and most people in the city don’t worry too much about the why. The city just is what it is. Some cities deal with constant cloud cover or terrible weather. Halcyon has superpeople, monsters, time travel, sorcerers, and whatever else. *Shrug* The city’s never ended so far, and the superheroes generally have a pretty good handle on things. Life goes on.

The first real, codified superheroic generation. There were definitely superhumans and supernatural events going on for eons before Halcyon City ever arose, but the Gold Generation was the first with publicly recorded superhumans acting in their own personas. Flying Freedom started it all, but she was far from the last of her generation. Champion, the Haunt, Golden Girl, Bryce Brilliant, the Cast-Iron Man...they all came out of the woodwork in this era. None of them were spectacularly powerful, but each of them was great, strong-willed, and more than capable of fighting the good fight.

This generation pulled America out of the Depression, and in particular reinvigorated Halcyon City with new inventions and a new drive for progress. This generation sent supers into World War II, where they battled their counterparts on the other side of the lines. This generation created for itself the notion of the modern superhero, complete with colorful costume and colorful code name.
Sometimes they fought aliens or robots, but the villainous opponents of the Golden Generation were often just powerful criminals, unscrupulous corporate fatcats, or corrupt politicians. These heroes had a direct and real effect on the city’s mundane existence.

The remaining heroes of the Golden Generation often lament that theirs was the last generation of heroes to really fight both the superhuman and the all-too-human threats. The stakes were different for heroes in those days. Periodically there’d be a monster like the Gorgomoth, a gigantic minotaur creature that stomped down Halcyon’s streets, or an evil genius gone mad like Captain Coldheart. These threats posed real danger to the city, but they were rare. There were countless costumed criminals, stealing priceless artifacts and jewels or playing pranks on public officials, but they weren’t interested in hurting anyone. The city as a whole wasn’t under as much threat, let alone the rest of the world.

The culture of Halcyon City often presents the Golden Generation as a simpler era of superheroics—a time of obvious and easy conflicts—but there’s a stronger and stronger impulse to deconstruct that narrative. The Golden Generation had real battles to fight, real struggles. Women and minority heroes were often laughed at, degraded, insulted, and ignored—they had to fight for every single ounce of respect they could get. The entire city was filled with the prejudice and bigoted ideas of that era. While the conflict between Champion and the pugilistic Deadly Devil might have been simpler than those faced by later generations, Champion’s struggle as a homosexual man and public figure in the 1940s was far from simple. For all the flaws of the generation and the people within it, the heroes of the Golden Generation are credited with starting everything, and you can find monuments to their victories and their sacrifices all over Halcyon City.

Today, most of them are either gone, having passed away or given everything in their struggles, or they’re retired. Most from this generation who are still active are either trying to reclaim their lost glory or success—the Scarlet Songbird wants nothing more than to be a relevant supercriminal again—or they’re the most powerful, most impressive, and most enduring members of this whole generation. Aquaria, Brass Brilliant, and the Lady Faust might be from an older era, but they survived into today for a reason, and they’re not to be trifled with.

There was a sea change in the superheroic scene of Halcyon City during the ‘50’s. For reasons unknown, superpowers became more powerful, and with their increased powers came ever greater threats. Many suprologists consider the first hero of the Silver Generation to be the Silver Savior—a hero covered in silvery metal, capable of flight faster than ever seen before, nigh-invulnerable, as strong as Champion if not stronger, wielder of the Silver Spark and all its powers. Sam Tolman was a mathematician and physicist, working for United States’ aeronautical research division, before he inadvertently summoned the Silver Spark to him with an experimental new engine. With its powers, he became the first widely acknowledged representative of a new kind of superhuman. Silver Savior was bright, shining, and powerful.

Silver Savior didn’t contend with costumed thieves. Instead, he fought Doctor Infinity, the all-powerful time-altering android. He clashed against the Jabberwock, a monster risen from fiction itself to convert all of our reality into words on a page. The battles he fought, while still mostly centered around Halcyon City, were often struggles over the fate of the entire world. These powerful, impressive, explosive abilities and these incredible fights against enormous foes characterized this generation. Nucleon fought against the Demonicator. Starbolt clashed against Sablestar. The battles at their worst leveled whole city blocks, or changed the color of the sky for days, or left a scent of ozone and smoke pervading the entire city—but Halcyon became more adept than ever at repairing the damage and restoring itself to “normalcy”with incredible speed.

Teams were more important to the Silver Generation than they’d ever been to the Gold Generation. Such incredible threats meant these new heroes sought aid from each other. The Exemplars, the Silver Saviors, the Amazing Eight—all saw their origins in this generation. And as the heroes banded together into new super teams, so too did the villains form their own alliances against the heroes. The Silver Generation was a constant cycle of escalation, with all sides growing in power and support for ever more epic clashes. Toward the beginning of their rise to prominence, the Silver Generation made great strides on mundane struggles. There was a major public push by the Silver Generation for equal rights among all the people of Halcyon and indeed America. Some even took on overtly political roles.

But over the course of their time in power, the Silver Generation largely abandoned struggles against social issues, and even against criminals or corrupt politicians. There were always exceptions, but by and large as their power grew, their focus shifted ever upward, to greater and greater threats, planet enders and dimension destroyers and the like. While the fight against such enormous threats was clearly important, those who criticize the Silver Generation often focus on the fights that they let lie fallow...the changes they didn’t push for.

The Silver Generation is still largely around and in power today. They’re reaching the end of their time, however, and many are looking into retirement of some kind. They’ve fought for many, many years to keep the city and the world safe, and they’re well due their rest, but...it’s hard to see figures who’ve been so prominent and dominant for so many years easily abandoning their control. Many of the Silver Generation would love nothing more than to find successors they can shape directly into new versions of themselves, to ensure that things continue exactly as they have so far.

Most suprologists, historians, and sociologists agree on a single defining moment as the transition point from the Silver Generation and their ethos to something new, something more complicated and ambiguous: the Bronze Generation. Quintessence, a younger hero acting within the style of the Silver Generation, was under threat by his greatest foe, a telepath known as Psilence.

Psilence targeted Quintessence in his real life as Niall Collins, publicly abducting and threatening Niall’s best friend, a young man named Sam Reed. Quintessence attacked Psilence directly and angrily, and Psilence responded with cold glee at having truly hurt her old foe. And when Psilence knocked Sam from the top of the Colossus Building in downtown Halcyon, Quintessence responded with fear and desperation, rocketing down the side of the building after his friend in a last ditch effort to save Sam. The medical examiners couldn’t say with confidence what caused Sam’s death. It’s possible he was dead before Psilence cast him off the building or perhaps he struck the building on his way down, but it’s equally possible (and a much darker interpretation of events) that he died from the force
of Quintessence striking him in mid-air in an attempt to arrest his descent. Regardless, the fact remained: Sam Reed died for being friends with Niall Collins. Quintessence failed to save him.

Psilence had changed the game.

The ripples touched the new generation of heroes growing up in Halcyon City. Most of them had started out clearly under the Silver Generation, acting in their style and idiom. But the death of Sam Reed started a wave of introspection among the younger generation, forcing them to take a harder look at the failures of their parents and mentors. They saw that the Silver Generation’s methods never seemed to solve the problems in their entirety. The Silver Generation often seemed more focused on grand gestures than real change. What’s more, the Silver Generation still clung to power, held their positions of dominance over the city and the world, and this new generation had little to no room to call their own.

Young heroes changed their identities and their ideas. They shifted away from their ties to the Silver Generation, doing everything in their power to differentiate themselves and find whatever places were left to them. New heroes rose up, touting new ideas and methods. Some, such as the sword-wielding and murderous vigilante Guillotine, pursued unremitting violence against criminals. Some, such as the patriotic Blue Eagle, became political figures, trying to change the system from within. Some, like super-scientist Dr. Sheila Supreme, left Halcyon City and even this world entirely to explore brand new realms of possibility. Some, like Agent Caldwell Wing, aka Soar, became government operatives, working from the shadows to do what was necessary for good or ill.

The Bronze Generation defined itself in the cracks left for them by the Silver Generation. And they were the first generation to truly doubt the entire idea of superheroism as it had existed so far. They opened doors to exploring different ways of being heroes, even if many of those doors led to dark places. They took on social issues their parents and mentors had left alone. And they carved out their own place as a darker, more exploratory, more cynical generation than the ones that had come before.

The Bronze Generation is very much present and active today. Though members of the Silver Generation still sit in positions of power over most of the city and throughout the superheroic society, the Bronze Generation have found their own places and their own sources of power. They may not be as openly in charge as the Silver Generation, but the members of the Bronze Generation are still positioned as people of import, and they’re ready to seize the reins as more of the Silver Generation moves into obsolescence and retirement.

The newest generation of superheroes, most of them still quite young, comes from a unique place. They live in a world well-used to the idea of superhuman individuals. Dinosaurs stomping down Main Street is just a thing that happens sometimes; invading aliens and escaped products of mad science are treated as somewhere between average problems of the city and tourist attractions. As the latest superheroes to arrive on the scene, they have a stronger, more innate grasp of superhuman issues than any other generation—though that’s not always a good thing.

They don’t have a name yet, really—the name “Modern Generation” is a tentative placeholder, used right alongside “The New Generation,” “The Young Generation,” and other names. They haven’t yet made their mark on the world, nor have they developed as strong an identity as those who have come before. Halcyon City doesn’t know what it will become as they grow up and rise to greater and greater power.

Some members of the Modern Generation have made splashes, especially
in the realm of celebrity and the internet, like teen pop-star turned villain Cygnus. Some have apprenticed themselves to older heroes, earning their names in the city at large as scions of the powers that be, like the Silver Ace, wielder of a portion of the Silver Spark. Most are aware of fame and popularity, of the voices of everyone around them, more than those of other generations. And they all feel the eyes of the older generations on them.

So far, they’ve proved themselves a generation of greater hope and greater skepticism, somehow, than any other generation. They’re aware of both the triumphs and the failings of those who came before them, in a way no other generation has been. They see the Gold Generation’s nobility, and all-too easy oversight; the Silver Generation’s power and success, and domineering
attitudes; the Bronze Generation’s frustration and search for new alternatives,
and ultimate failure to change anything significantly. All of that history weighs on them, as they try to determine who they want to be, and what they can do. Maybe they want to change the world; maybe they give up the fight and go for fame instead. Maybe they think the whole system needs fixing; maybe they try to work within the rules. In all cases, they’re still finding their way, deciding exactly what they’re going to be, and what world they’re going to make.

The world awaits with trepidation and excitement to see what they will finally become.

Superhero teams have been an important part of the city’s metahuman social scene since the Silver Generation, and even before. They’re viewed with the same combination of celebrity awe and interest as a combination of Hollywood celebrities and up-and-coming tech companies. Some long-standing teams like the Exemplars have become part of the fabric of the city, while new ones are viewed as spunky newcomers trying to find their own niche. A team is far better equipped to actually deal with threats than individuals are, and forming a team is a great way for up and coming superheroes to get attention and a level of authority that individual members might not have on their own. But there’s no tried and true method here. Some teams are corporate sponsored, some are brought together by random happenstance, some are successors to existing teams. Halcyon City now has a large enough superhuman population that the turnover of teams is pretty high, and for every team you’ve heard of, there are probably five or more that you haven’t.

The Advanced Expert Group for Intervention and Security is the primary governmental agency for the metahuman world. Its roots go way back to the Gold Generation, but it’s changed a great deal over the years. At this point, it has agents and strike teams, metahuman holding facilities, a tremendous intelligence network, and more. When metahuman law enforcement is necessary, it comes from A.E.G.I.S. That makes A.E.G.I.S. somewhere between a constant thorn in the side of the superheroes of Halcyon City, and one of their strongest allies.

Only the highest level agents of A.E.G.I.S. know who’s on the current Board of Directors. They’re all either agents or important people in the superhuman community or the world at large. And the decisions they make are ostensibly for the good of the whole world...but superheroes have come into conflict with A.E.G.I.S. and its Board plenty of times, either publicly or secretly. A.E.G.I.S. is always on the lookout for new talent, for those who can do what needs doing to keep the world safe from genuine superhuman threats. It’s found agents even among the young. A.E.G.I.S. keeps files on everyone, and fosters and recruits new talent wherever possible. But A.E.G.I.S. isn’t a place to be a superhero—it’s a place to be an agent, a servant of a greater purpose that pushes you to make hard decisions. Joining A.E.G.I.S. can change you, and not always for the better.

The metahuman population is still ultimately a fraction of the regular population of Halcyon City. But just as there are more heroes than ever before, there have never been more villains and super criminals than there are today. They go hand in hand with the heroes, falling into the same generations and styles as their counterparts. Gold Generation villains were a bit cheesy and generally kinda tame; Silver Generation villains were over the top and cosmically powered; Bronze Generation villains were intense and frightening; Modern Generation villains are still finding their own places in the world.

Although many metahumans can make more money legitimately than they can through crime, that’s not true for all of them. And many aren’t just interested in the money in and of itself—they want the thrill of crime, or they can’t stand the mundanity of regular work. A young super-powered woman from a poor neighborhood might be able to make herself a celebrity...but it’s just as likely that monolithic and dangerous corporations will kidnap her for further study, or lock her into controlling contracts. She might be better able to earn money if she simply steals it. Many supercriminals are mercenaries, taking up dangerous work in exchange for tremendous pay, with no concern for the morality of their jobs. These criminals abound throughout the city, although they’re not considered the greatest threats from the metahuman side of life. “Supervillain” or “villain” are terms used with a bit of chagrin—as they feel outdated and useless—and used all the time, as no one’s come up with a more catchy term for the superpowered entities that threaten Halcyon City. These aren’t the people out to make money or rob banks; these are the people out to end the city or take control over time itself. The term is applied unilaterally to extend from dangerous super scientists to time-traveling demigods, all of which Halcyon City has seen over the course the past century.

The heroes of Halcyon City have defended it well, and it has weathered many a crisis from these threats. So the city begrudgingly accepts the endless cycle of new heroes arising to combat new villains, and new villains arising as a result of the actions of the heroes. Though the city’s media or politicians may criticize any individual hero, the populace largely accepts this cycle as “just the way things are,” for better or worse. It’s the new normal.