Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

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NoOneofConsequence
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Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

I'm just curious, has anyone tried creating superheroes from alternate history worlds? Either as worlds usual superhero PCs visit (perhaps even semi regularly, like the frequent Earth 1/Earth 2 crossovers of pre-crisis), as it's own stand alone setting, or as part of some sort of Coalition of Earths where a bunch of them are in regular contact with each other.
Not the "Axis wins WW2" cliche/trope, though. I know Captain Britain has milked this idea a lot, and several DC Elseworlds qualify. But has anyone here come up with stuff of their own?
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
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Davies
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Davies »

NoOneofConsequence wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:28 pm I'm just curious, has anyone tried creating superheroes from alternate history worlds?
Yes. History slightly diverges in the last years of the 18th century and goes completely off the rails in 1971.
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Neo-Paladin
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Neo-Paladin »

Do you mean alternate versions of known heroes? Like Parallel Superman etc.? Or alternate versions of homebrewed heroes of our own settings?
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Ares
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Ares »

It's always interesting to me how alternate universes are handled in superhero comics. There's the standard "Each universe is a copy of the main setting, but a little different", where you get "Superman, but evil", or "Superman, but a Commie" or "Superman, but a Nazi". But you also get instances where you have the DC Universe and then you have the Wildstorm Universe. Or you have the Marvel Universe and the Squadron Supreme universe.

In my own setting I kind of break them into two different things.

"Alternate Universes" are unique universes where things are noticeably different from one universe to another. The heroes are different, some alien races may or may not exist, some universes have things unique to them, etc. Each universe within the Multiverse is considered it's own Alternate Universe, and would be the equivalent of the Marvel Universe, the DC Universe, the Valiant Universe, the Image Universe, the Hanna-Barbera Universe, the IDW Hasbro-verse, the Dragonball Universe, the My Hero Academia Universe, the Warcraft Universe and the like all existing in a multiverse next to one another.

"Parallel Timelines" are variations of each individual Alternate Universe. In this instance we get timelines where "Character X, but if Y had happened differently". So this would be where you'd get "Superman if he'd landed in Russia" or "Peter Parker if he'd been chosen by the Nova Corps".

A way to think about it is that Alternate Universes run parallel to each other on an X-Axis, but Parallel timelines start at each Alternate Universe and run up and down a Y-Axis.
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Neo-Paladin
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Neo-Paladin »

I wonder if anyone ever did a universe where basically the DC or Marvel universes intersected with Lovecraft's universe. I know it's been done with Batman in the excellent " The Doom that came to Gotham" and there was the Cancerverse arc in Marvel but I am more interested in something akin to " The Doom..." where the heroes are still heroes and their presence can make a notable difference against the horrors of the Mythos. I wonder how Superman would be interpreted in such a universe...
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

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There was one story semi-recently where they had this city that had become a horror setting because the heroes of that city had fought a Lovecraftian monster and won, but it wound up corrupting them all. The Superman analog actually managed to recover enough of his sense of self to hold the other heroes at bay to let the last survivors of the city escape.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

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The fecundity ofShub-Niggurath
The authority of Hastur
The icy heart of Aphoom-Zar
The conjoining of Zhar-Lloigor
The power of Azathoth
The morbidity of Mordiggian
.... ;)
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Ares
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

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Image
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Ares »

I love the look of "What the F just happened?" on Cthulhu's face.
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Ares wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:23 pm I love the look of "What the F just happened?" on Cthulhu's face.
"This is worse than that time a guy drove a boat into my head!"
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
NoOneofConsequence
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

I've been poking at the idea of an alternate world in which Germany wins the Great War fairly early on. Generally, the divergence starts a little earlier, with the Germans deciding not to get into a naval arms race with the British (I'd have to look up specifics for dates/details), opting instead to spend more on the army and perhaps some sort of defensive plan for the North Sea and Baltic involving u-boats. They also, for whatever reason, opt not to use the Schlieffen Plan and avoid violating Belgian neutrality while attacking through the Alsace-Lorraine (effectively using the threat of going through Belgium as a feint). Because of this, the British are reluctant to get involved militarily, and the German's are able to win the first battle of the Marne, and threaten Paris. The French government flees Paris, as does a huge portion of the civilians, leaving it a "Free City". The Germans then attempt to open peace negotiations with the French. They offer peace and withdrawal in exchange for colonies: French Gabon and French Congo, which are to be incorporated into German Kamerun, and Madagascar. This effectively ends the war on the Western Front, and causes the eventual collapse of the French Third Republic. Germany is then able to turn its full attention to Russia. The German army totally overruns Russian Poland and during 1915, it's fairly obvious that Russia is going to lose. The vultures start circling, with Romania and Japan (which hasn't taken sides as Britain is still uninvolved) decide to join the Central Powers and start carving up parts of the Russian Empire. By the time the War ends in 1916, Romania has added to its eastern territory, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, and Ukraine are established as buffer states (and effectively German puppets), the Ottoman's expand into the Caucuses, and Japan seizes Russian Manchuria. Obviously, the Revolution happens, but because the Germans never send Lenin back to Russia, the Communists never come to power.

I'm still trying to figure out the American side of things, including just how much Woodrow Wilson tries to get militarily involved with the Mexican revolution, given that he's unable to get involved with Europe after Germany's quick victory. This includes how it impacts the 1916 election.
Edit: So, after watching The Film Theorist video about Titanic, it occurred to me that with the "Second Franco-German War" effectively over by 1915, then it's possible that the various public outrages over various German doings, such as the sinking of the Lusitania, may instead be transferred to something closer to the US: the US-Mexican Border War. The US is already occupying Veracruz by 1914, and then you have the failed efforts by Mexican factions to start a race war in the US Southwest, eighteen American passengers being murdered on a train in Chihuahua in 1916, and finally Pancho Villa's invasion of New Mexico and Texas. In this setting, without Europe to worry about, I think it could easily turn into a full Second Mexican-American War instead of just the Expedition that happened in our timeline. However, since the European wars are over, the Preparedness Movement may not have gained the traction it did, leaving the US Army undermanned, underarmed, and under trained for such an encounter. So this war may turn into a bloody slog, and end up ruining Willson's reputation (in spite of him trying to make it illegal for anyone to openly criticize him or the war).

And from there, I have to figure out what's going on when the comic book superhero idea of the 1930s develops (most likely Europe's next war will involve the breakdown and civil war of Austria-Hungary) and some sort of Pacific War involving Japan and the US. So I'm not sure just what the world of the 60s, 70s, etc on to now would look like, let alone what sort of superheroes it might produce.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
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Ken
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Ken »

Ares wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:20 pm Image
AWESOME!!!
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Ken
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Ken »

Davies wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:37 pm and goes completely off the rails in 1971.
That's alternate????
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When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Shock »

Ken wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 8:09 pm
Davies wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:37 pm and goes completely off the rails in 1971.
That's alternate????
It normally happens much earlier
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Re: Superheroes of Alternate Earths?

Post by Davies »

Ken wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 8:09 pm
Davies wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:37 pm and goes completely off the rails in 1971.
That's alternate????
:roll:
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