The Spirit of Heroism
There are entities above even the Cosmic Eternals and beings that are mysterious even to them. The Spirit of Heroism is certainly one of them. It is an entity that is capable of restructuring the universe at its whims and undoing even the most devastating damage. It is also a being that has deliberately endangered the cosmos on numerous occasions for reasons that are unfathomable.
The Spirit of Heroism is exactly that, the amalgated concept of heroism and struggle that exists in the universe. The Spirit of Heroism is located in every culture across every world in every dimension. Whenever someone struggles against great odds, the Spirit of Heroism grows stronger. It bears silent witness to the struggles and tribulations of the universe's greatest champions.
Despite its benevolent seeming name, the Spirit of Heroism is not a friend to the Earth any more than it is an enemy. The Spirit of Heroism exalts all forms of heroism, be they to modern morality or to more bloody ancient ones. The struggle is all that matters to the Spirit of Heroism and it has literally put heroes through Hell in order to temper their mettle. Conflicts have been lengthened and wars brought to pass because of the Spirit's meddling.
The Spirit of Heroism's role in Heroic Earth is fairly well documented by its mystics. The Spirit of Heroism taught the first Cave Men how to throw a spear. The Spirit of Heroism was the Lady of the Lake who gave the sword Caliburn (also known as Excalibur) to King Arthur. The Spirit of Heroism, more recently, was a defining force in the formation of the Liberty men and later the Patriots.
The Spirit of Heroism's most direct appearance was when he assembled a host of the world's super villains and super heroes to do battle with one another. This event, known as the Freedom Wars, was to have a reward of world domination to whoever managed to win the event. Ironically, General Venom was on the side of heroes and won the tournament. For a very brief time, he possessed the Pyramid of Light and dominated the Earth before voluntarily giving up his domination after an argument from the Third Steel Commando.
Other appearances by the Spirit of Heroism have been his restoring the Red King to life after his death at the hands of
Hell Rider and briefly sending the Patriots into another reality where all of the world's heroes had been killed off by Death Mask III's analogue. The Spirit seems to have no higher agenda than fostering glorious battle. Thus, he can be a great force for good or evil.
Describing the Spirit of Heroism is a pointless task. It appears as whatever it desires and will constantly change shape as the expectations of its audience demand. Its most common form is a strange hooded figure with no face. Its robes made of stitched together flags and pieces of comic books of all things.
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Note: The Spirit of Heroism is a Deus Ex Machina for Game Masters. Players should not feel cheated or unduly helped by the entity but it can be a wonderful plot device for explaining how player characters end up on other worlds or facing threats far outside their normal sphere of influence.
