http://www.perrinworlds.com/Perrinverse%20Timeline/Timeline.htm
The premise is simple. The author of this page took the golden age and silver age superheroes he liked -- DC, Marvel, and other companies -- as they were first presented, at the time they were first presented, and then runs the timeline out from there.
I understand why superheroes are continually updated and their origins continually creep forward in time. And I understand why heroes change as they get new writers and new adventures. But I think this is also a cool idea -- it was one of the attractions of Kingdom Come. If someone ran a supers campaign like this, I'd probably be a lot more interested in the genre.
So, has anyone run a campaign along these lines before?
no, but it is a cool idea. :) really, i think it would have been cool to see a superhero universe where the characters are born in a specific year, and actually age according to passage of real time. you'd be seeing the grandkids of the x-men, JLA, avengers, and the rest by now. :)
Yes -- that was part of what was so cool about Kingdome Come. You had a second generation of supers showing up. The Incredibles, too, for that matter.
Of course, given the original origins of a lot of the heroes, many of the Marvel heroes could be second-generation, with many of the DC heroes first generation. And you could have whipper-snappers like the Titans be third generation.
Cool idea, though I would have preferred it separated by "universe". It would be nice if it included some of the "big events" along the way.
Might be a nice wiki project to start up, if no other reason that "what if" is a fun game to play.
a big "what if" would definitely be fun to try. say spiderman and the fantastic four started up in 1961 and are middle aged nowadays. the x-men started in 1963, and the new x-men came around in 1975 to take over where the first generation move on to new things.
captain america would have been revived in the early 60s, having been gone only 20 years, and would by now have continued to age (age well though, he'd still be in phenomenal shape). guys like namor and the original human torch (android) from the 40s could be just fine as human aging don't apply to them in the same way. likewise, thor could be a superhero for all time, having reappeared on earth in the early 60s as well, in the "golden age" of superheroes.
everyone that doesn't have a reason why they don't age at a normal rate just gets older - it's healthy and normal. ;)
Quote from: BOZeveryone that doesn't have a reason why they don't age at a normal rate just gets older - it's healthy and normal. ;)
Here's a question: Would Reed Richard's elasticity keep him younger looking longer? Would it actually increase his life span if you assume he can stretch his organs into better working version as he "ages"?
Or would it the opposite? Would the strain of the stretching age him faster?
What about people with strange bodies? Is the Thing made of rock through and through? If so, does he age very slowly (i.e. geologically)?
i would imagine that the thing wouldn't look any older as he ages. he might be more at risk for heart problems than most people.
reed richards would probably sag and bag like most people, but he could give himself a facelift at will and look 20. ;)
Same could be asked of Wolverine...would his healing ward off aging? Would some heroes, like Spiderman, be able to pass their power to offspring? This would kinda rock as a campaign.
there was a storyline that suggested that wolverine, sabertooth, and mystique are all quite old (and have known each other for a good long time), but that their powers have given them superior longevity.
Quote from: the ultimate nullifierHere's a question: Would Reed Richard's elasticity keep him younger looking longer? Would it actually increase his life span if you assume he can stretch his organs into better working version as he "ages"?
Or would it the opposite? Would the strain of the stretching age him faster?
What about people with strange bodies? Is the Thing made of rock through and through? If so, does he age very slowly (i.e. geologically)?
I would argue that many heroes with altered metabolisms or strange body structures might age at a reduced rate, or perhaps in a few cases, an accelerated rate. Someone like Captain America might age one year in two, so that after forty years, he might still appear as a man in his 40s or early 50s, and might well still be active in some manner.
Quote from: BOZthere was a storyline that suggested that wolverine, sabertooth, and mystique are all quite old (and have known each other for a good long time), but that their powers have given them superior longevity.
doesn't hurt that ORIGIN, wolverine's origin story, takes place in mid-19th century canada/alaska, does it? ;)
The JSA are actually said to be as old as they would be from their original appearances, but they had a fight with a time-powered villain (or a villain using a time device) that had a side-effect of retarding their aging - and that a couple of them actually had their non-super significant others present (possibly from discovered identities, and being hostages) at the fight. There was a chronal discharge resulting from the battle that retarded the aging process of those present, so that the JSA members (Who would be in their late 80s or 90s) have the bodies of (very well trained) persons in their 40s to early 60s (hence their children, Infinity Inc., mostly being born in the 60s, though the Atom's foster daughter, a baby during WWII (see All-Star Squadron), herself had a son in that group.
So, it's possible that, if you set up a universe with the silver age of heroes, you can probably find some "handwaves" that allow you to start some of the "golden age" characters at slightly younger appearance than their actual age, but progress them from there (at a slow rate). The JSA had that chronal infusion; Captain America was frozen, plus has the supersoldier serum that probably acts as an age retardant. Namor is a mutant half-breed between a normal human and a longer-lived variant subrace. Mystical origin beings, including ones empowered, also have a slower-aging possibility, as do experimentals, and ones using super-high tech, or have healing abilities well beyond the norm (natural, supernatural, or tech-based - for example, the age regression technology in the "Legacy of the Aldenata" novels).
The question can become, if it's not person-specific, with whom, if any, will they share? And, how do they cover the fact that they are aging slower, or are being age-regressed (imagine if a hero comes in to work one day, having gotten 30 years younger - or hasn't aged a day when his co-hires are retiring)
Quote from: Thjalfidoesn't hurt that ORIGIN, wolverine's origin story, takes place in mid-19th century canada/alaska, does it? ;)
i haven't read that one, but i have seen it. i was referring to, i think a one-shot which depicts wolverine, sabretooth, and mystique as associates during WW2. can't remember the name of it, or exactly when it came out.
Quote from: Thjalfidoesn't hurt that ORIGIN, wolverine's origin story, takes place in mid-19th century canada/alaska, does it? ;)
I'd say late 19th century (I think 1890 or so), but that's nitpicking. Which, incidentally, is one of my hobbies.
Quote from: DackeI'd say late 19th century (I think 1890 or so), but that's nitpicking. Which, incidentally, is one of my hobbies.
really? are there that many lice in sweden? :confused:
Interestingly enough the setting in Hearts and Souls (my Superhero rpg) is intentionally devoid of the "first gens*" (if one wished to name them that and in some cases second gens)--their villains remain, but not the heroes for the most part. In order to leave room for the heroes. (And most of the villains are decidedly Golden/Silver age in feel...although there is a modern era but much more briefly addressed setting)
Did I suceed? No clue. *shrugs* I tried to though.
*For the most part there are a very few named/sttatted first (and pre) gens in case one wanted to bring them back from retirement/run a game set in the past, etc.
Quote from: Thjalfidoesn't hurt that ORIGIN, wolverine's origin story, takes place in mid-19th century canada/alaska, does it? ;)
His officially not official origin story?