The 21st Century

Back to Setting History

One long-term consequence of Madman's arrival was proving the existence of parallel universes, along with the possibility of traveling between them. Despite some controversy around the subject, Venture Industries set out to research the subject; by studying Madman's own portals, they began creating their own, though they remain unsafe prototypes.

Shadow has, on one recorded occasion, hijacked one of those portals in an attempt to conquer a weaker universe. While they were stopped, it is impossible to tell for certain if they have not been making other attempts...

The most recent major event has taken place less than a year ago. A mysterious individual, calling himself the Man of Might, showed up in Jerusalem, displaying vast superhuman power. Once he was in the media's eyes, he proceeded to blow up Jerusalem.

When heroes reached the smoking crater, the Man of Might was waiting for them, smiling. A massive battle began, as the Global Champions and thousands upon thousands of superheroes - practically all of the active ones - fought the Man of Might, who who displayed power levels off the charts.

With the world's superheroes losing the fight, some supervillains actually joined in, fearing that the Man of Might would destroy the world if not stopped. Even with their help, though, the mysterious newcomer kept the upper hand.

As all seemed lost, an orbital weapon was fired at the Man of Might from Venture City. Venture Industries has so far kept the weapon's nature a secret, but whatever it was, it drastically reduced the Man of Might's power, allowing the remaining meta-humans to destroy him.

The true nature of the Man of Might remains a mystery. Experts agree that his powers were magical in nature, but they do not completely fit known models of magic. Regardless of what he was, the consequences of his actions were quite grave: He has not only annihilated Jerusalem, but also killed half the world's superheroes in a single battle.

Such is the current situation of the Avatar's World. Thousands of superheroes watch over it, but with their numbers recently cut down, many worry about their ability to protect the world. With Madagascar and Jerusalem destroyed, Pittsburgh turned into the Cryosphere, Avalon still flying above the Atlantic, Shadow plotting across the world, and countless villains making their moves, the world has never needed heroes more than now...