Here is a combination of the story line and timeline involving the DVU.
- 1940’s – Captain America is the first superhero, and he fights the Axis powers alongside The Sub Mariner[character], The Human Torch, Union Jack and Spitfire as the team known first as “The Invaders” and later “The All Winners Squadron”. Captain America continues to solo until his disappearance in the late 1940’s while the others fade away.
- 1950’s – several heroes who were inspired by Captain America join forces to form The Justice Society. They include Black Atom, The Golden Age Flash, Wildcat, Hourman, Ghost (a discorporal woman), Dr. Fate, and Martian Manhunter (J’onn). Later in the 1950’s they are joined by The Specter and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom
During the late 1950’s
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom looks at how humanity has looked toward more powerful individuals to guide their decisions & decide the fate of humanity, and he feels this is very wrong for philosophical reasons. With the actions of WWII still fresh in his memory and the influence The Invaders had on WWII he quickly understands that unless he takes action there will be an escalation that will both jeopardize the planet and lead Man toward a stance of servitude…at least in Dr. Solar’s opinion. The Specter gets wind of Solar’s views and – being The Wrath of God – poses more than a formidable obstacle. The conflict is not one of power but of speech & logic. While Dr. Solar feels he *might* be able to defeat The Specter in single conflict he feels that if he can convince The Specter that there is no need for God’s Wrath to act on this issue, then his plan would succeed. A long debate ensued that took weeks but at the end he was able to satisfy The Specter by pointing out that Dr. Solar would not harm a single human, nor would he kill/maim/destroy/etc. any individual who opposed his plan. With no need for vengeance The Specter faded off leaving Dr. Solar to his plans. Shortly after this Dr. Solar vanished and the JSA breaks up in 1959.
- 1960’s – The JSA goes their separate ways with most of the individual members going into retirement, but several others appear on the scene. The Shadow, The (Golden Age) Green Lantern, Sandman (with the gas mask) appears and mete out justice on the streets. Recognizing that the power level has begun to de-escalate Dr. Solar begins to set about re-writing history and being more proactive towards reducing the chances of ultra-powered individuals becoming prevalent.
- 1970’s – to combat a monumental threat to the world from Kang the Conqueror a Thunder God appears from the heavens. He calls others to his side: Wonder Woman, Hercules, Black Panther and Aquaman are the first to appear to combat Kang, and they are ultimately successful. Kang’s appearance has alerted Dr. Solar to the possibility of time manipulation and travel to further his goals, but he’s unsure as to how he can proceed. After Kang’s defeat Thor says “When we doth view a wrong we shalt avenge it!” The name “The Avengers” sticks and they are joined by The Atom, Giant Man, Green Arrow and The Vision. A being known as Galactus appears with the intent of consuming Earth and they are assisted by a new quartet known as The Fantastic Four.
Dr. Solar also takes part in defeating Galactus but he is very subtle in his assistance. He recognizes that Galactus may be able to detect his presence so instead he subtly points Reed Richards in certain directions and transmutes elements to make them slightly easier to isolate. He continues to use a cat’s paw mentality to deal with The Avengers – he wants them to break up just as the JSA did – but this time he uses the U.S. Government to do his work. Pulling a few strings his subtle influence leads Henry Peter Gyrich to become the Secretary of State, and he views paranormals as a potential threat. When he informs The Avengers that they will now be under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, The Avengers disband. Thor, Wonder Woman and Hercules leave the realm of Man and with the leadership of The Avengers removed they disband in 1979.
With The Avengers removed Dr. Solar begins to re-write history, although at first he is unsure just how to do so.
Also at this time a man begins to notice subtle changes in the world. He notices small gaps in people’s memory and how entire news articles have gone missing. Feeling that there is a connection between all of these events Rorschach begins to investigate and keeps a journal.
- • 1980’s – for a short time 5 androids called Computer Force try (in vain) to take up the mantle of The Avengers. They disappear in ’83 and are not heard from ever again. Green Arrow & Black Canary continue to wage the good fight in the streets while Black Vulcan and The Fantastic Four take center stage. The world is becoming darker – nowhere darker than in Gotham City. A metal clad hero – the Cybertooth Tiger – makes his debut in ’86 as Johan joins others who are attempting to slow the decay of society.
In the midst of the decay Rorschach continues to investigate. Why has the world become so dark? What happened to the solid values of the 1950s? How did the American Dream devolve into this urban nightmare? He felt that the 1950’s had his answer and intensified his research in that direction, and a key piece of evidence pointed him in the direction of the JSA. What was the reason they disbanded? As he dug deeper he was puzzled by the roster of the JSA: Hourman, Black Atom and Wildcat he had met, The Flash had long since retired and Dr. Fate was nowhere to be found.
However when he looked at an old photograph he saw two more chairs – and two more people. As he looked at the photograph the name card for The Specter began to blur and there was a silhouette where Dr. Solar sat. Immediately he phoned Hourman and asked him to recall the members of the JSA, and he recounted all of them except for The Specter & Doctor Solar. When prompted he did remember a “Ghost..? Ghoul..? Something like that” but when Rorschach pressed about Dr. Solar Hourman was insulted and swore that there was never someone like that on the team. That was enough for Rorschach as he began to track down what had happened and what Dr. Solar was capable of. At one point during his quest for the truth he realized it was a one-way trip; once Solar was made aware of what Rorschach was doing he would succumb to whatever effect was being used.
In his travels he came across a very young woman who had a unique ability to be aware of her surroundings by reading any book, and felt that she would be a suitable bridge toward the next person to take up his work. When the time came he would leave her with instructions in a sealed envelope.
Meanwhile Solar had seen some success in his plan to safeguard the earth. A slight delay in time put the Earth out of position so that a rocket from the planet Krypton never landed there. The New Gods battled Apokolips far from Earth and were never made aware of other worlds such as Earth. Most of the Gods were already so insulted by what Gyrich did in his treatment of The Avengers that they had long since turned a blind eye toward Earth. However he wanted more than just to keep the Ultra powerful from noticing Earth, he needed to remove any precedent for Ultras in the world. That meant that he needed to remove himself from the equation as well, and that included his teammates. He wouldn’t kill any of them however he removed himself from their memory, at first one at a time, carefully altering their perception of reality to mask his own. He then went on to remove news articles and any mention of him from the media. While he initially felt this would be successful he recognized that this could lead to further problems by raising suspicions. Finally he decided that the best way to remove himself from history was to use a theory that he wrote about when he was still human: The Quantum Effect.
Rorschach discovered a paper written by a crank scientist named Dr. Raymond Solar back in 1954 that posited the theory that viewing an action would induce a chain reaction of quantum events that would affect each connected or related moment moving forward in time. He looked at the old photograph of the JSA and noticed that everything looked fine, but there was something missing. At that moment he realized just what was happening and that it was only a matter of time before he too was affected beyond his ability to combat. He began to consult some of his notes but as he viewed each one he could tell something was missing. Referring back to the paper written by Dr. Raymond Solar he surmised that this affect was targeting anything after a fixed point in time – a time when the JLA first formed. Anyone alive at that time who had read these articles would be affected; his only hope was for someone born after this day, January 13th 1986, to take up the cause. He could still remember what had happened – the interviews, the photograph and his research – but anything written was vulnerable. Furthermore he knew that his memory was likely going be affected in time for whatever reason, so he put his contingency plan into action with the greatest sense of urgency.
He found his chosen vessel again; she had just turned 20. He gave her all of his journals and research and told her that she would know the right person to give it to when she met him, and she knew he was right. She had long ago fallen in love with him and was told by The Book – her ability to perceive the universe – that what he said was true. He gave her a letter with instructions to back up what he had just conveyed and turned to meet his fate. The young woman dressed in blue returned to her Italian home and continued her studies, saddened that she would never again see this man.
Rorschach chose to meet his adversary face-to-face. Drawing a blade and putting it to his throat he screamed in his mind the name that he could barely remember: SOLAR. As he did he slit his throat; he felt this was the only way to be sure to get his attention. In the Eternal Second between life and death he was face to face with the man who had brought him to this point: Dr. Solar, Man of the Atom. As with the greatest conflicts across time this was not a meeting of swords but of words. Rorschach asked Solar why he had committed these acts against his friends and Solar pointed toward the tendency of humanity to lean on the powerful to run their lives. Furthermore he has taken steps to ensure that humans do not develop the level of inherent power that could destroy the planet as they must learn to deal with each other. Rorschach accurately pointed out during the debate that Solar had done something far worse – he had removed the choice for humans to select their own path. Furthermore he charged Solar with doing nothing more than “holding the planet Earth as his own little lab rats, like when you were still calling yourself Raymond. Hope there’s a place in Hell for you run by the rats you tortured.” Rorschach swore that if he could he would reveal what Solar had done for the world to know, and hoped that someone would find the power to put him in his place.
Solar ended Rorschach’s suffering.
Reading her book, @Azuria sobbed as she read the death of her love. One of the items that he had given to her was a set of ink blots to remember him by; he was never a fan of photographs. Just when she began to view the pictures Solar applied The Quantum Effect to Rorschach thus wiping him from history, however she had already transferred her heart to the images on the cards. She didn’t know why she loved those cards, but she loved them more than life.
A side effect of The Quantum Effect is that people now truly view ink blots differently every time.
- • 1990’s – a large, hulking figure is on the rampage but his rampage is stopped by Fortress. The decay of the 1980s’ is threatening to become the cancer of the 1990’s and nowhere is that more prevalent than in Gotham City where reports of a six foot bat are on the rise. A friend of the Fantastic Four – The Human Bolt – begins to patrol the Pacific Northwest and is viewed as the spiritual successor to Black Vulcan and The Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. In 1997 Oz Forbish and Johnan pool their resources and put out a call for The World’s Greatest Heroes. The Flash, Batman (as a provisional member – not much of a joiner), The Human Bolt, The Vision, Fortress and Tony Stark’s body guard: Iron Man comprises the first roster of this new team. As the roster increases to match the increasing ranks of villainy they settle on a new co-operative name: The League of Avengers. The leader of Latveria protests this new League due to the decidedly American bias of the roster and as such Dr. Doom states that they are not welcome in his nation…which has expanded after the fall of Yugoslavia.
- • 2000’s – in the year 2000 a glacier is found, and Capitan America has returned to the world. He is almost immediate moved into a position of leadership as he is appointed team leader of The League of Avengers. Later in the decade New York City reports sightings of the now famous (or infamous) Spider-Man from every borough, and there are whispers of people born with tails and strange powers. In 2007 there is a huge gang war in Dakota where hundreds are killed but shortly afterwards ‘Bang Babies’ – metahumans – appear in various parts of Paris Island. However no matter how bad things get the world knows that The League of Avengers will keep them all in check.
In the early 2010’s Azuria is drawn to reports of a person in Hub City. This man has taken on one of the most corrupt towns in the United States and has continued to press onward…even if it’s a losing battle. The Book indicates what she already knew in her soul; this was the man she was waiting for to take up the mantle of the man she loved 25 years ago. Over time the two got to know each other and once a solid trust had been established she had a conversation with him.
“You are a man who finds answers,” she said.
“So is Alex Trebeck,” The Question replied. “Your point?”
“You are also a detective.” Her reply was neither defensive nor aggressive.
“So is Batman. Get to the point.” The Question was often blunt in these situations.
“Before you were born I knew a man.” Azuria held out a journal toward The Question. “He said I should give this to you.”
“Me?" He put his hand on the book. "Why?”
“You don’t take no for an answer when seeking answers or justice." She turned her face downward, narrowing her eyes. "Neither did he. You seek the truth and he died trying to find the truth.”
The Question took the book and examined the cover. “Big stakes?”
“The biggest,” she replied.
He handed the journal back to her. “Then get your Spandex Squadron to handle it. Not interested.”
Azuria's hand trembled as she held the book with an outstretched arm. “This is…from what I can understand of it…the biggest crime against the smallest people. It’s not robots, or aliens or some destructive cybernetic man-droids. It’s calculated cruelty to Man.”
He straightened his collar and turned his body to one side. “Right.”
“I’m not asking for Justice," she said. "I’m not asking for Vengeance. I’m asking for the Truth. Since I cannot turn to you, whom do you suggest?”
The Question stood still for a time, perhaps half a minuted. “Give me my damn book.” He snatched it from her hand.
As he opened it she turned to walk away. “What gives?”
“That is not for me,” she said with a touch of sadness. “I can’t look at it or else it will change. I’m sure you’ll understand. Contact me when you want the rest of what I have for you.”
He gave the slightest nod. Just inside the journal was a manila folder, closed but unsealed. Gently he opened it and examined the contents. A gloved hand reached inside and pulled a letter and a photograph from within. He began to read aloud.
“January 13th, 1986. Memorize this first sentence before you continue because you’ll have to check every time you read something.”
He didn't move a muscle for nearly a full minute, never blinking. After he’d done so he looked at the sentence again and noticed that it didn’t match what he thought it was at all.
The Question continued to read. “That will happen every time you view something about this case. Get used to trusting your gut & memory. To hell with the rest. Now do the same with the picture I sent.”
He took a long look at the photograph, taking time to memorize it. It was a photo of the JSA with a circle around Dr. Solar. After he had committed it to memory he blinked and looked at the picture again. Both Dr. Solar and The Specter had vanished.
Reading from the note, he continued. “Neat trick. Read ‘The Quantum Effect’ by Dr. Raymond Solar. It’s what he did to me…and to himself. He has tried to hide the truth from the whole world, and with our help (Me and Azuria’s) you’re going to expose him.”
The Question took a breath to let that sink in. There was no way Vic Sage could ever let a story like this go untold.
The Beginning.
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