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Earth-22
The history of Earth-22 is thought to largely parallel the history of Earth-0, with costumed adventurers emerging in the late 1930's and forming the Justice Society and then the All-Star Squadron during World War II. Unlike Earth-Two or Earth-0, the Spear of Destiny does not exist and itsrole in limiting super-hero involvement on the Axis homefront did not occur. Instead, the fear that the loss of a super-hero to German forces would damage morale resulted in President Roosevelt ordering that all costumed adventurers remain on the home front.
After the war ended, returning soldiers were viewed as the true heroes and costumed vigilantes faded in prominence. Whether Congress and the HUAC contributed to the disbanding of the JSA as it does in other timelines is unknown. An exception to this was Tex Thompson, known as Mr. America or the Americommando. Secretly operating in Europe of the President's orders, Thompson was credited with defeating Parsifal, the most prominent of Nazi super-agents and returns to fanfare and appointment to fill a vacant Senate seat.
In the years that followed, Thompson engaged in two activities against a backdrop of negligible super-hero activity. The first was to amass political power for himself. A swaggering, handsome war hero, Thompson captured the imagination of American people and by 1950, was seen as the lead contender for the Presidency. He took Joan (Miss America) Dale as his paramour becoming the perfect power couple. The second was to conduct a series of experiments to create the next generation of superhuman agents that, combined with his leadership would usher in a Golden Age of American prosperity and dominance. He first attempted to empower the Atom, only to find his atomic powers already emerging, this rendering him unsuitable for the task. In Daniel Dunbar, known as the Dan the Dynamite, he found an ideal subject that was physically fit and mentally malleable following the death of his mentor TNT.
In the spring of 1950, Thompson hosted a bold initiative to gather all the known super-heroes and form a new force under his direction. His initial cadre including the Atom, Johnny Thunder, Robotman and Dyna-Man, the amped up Dan the Dynamite. However, things were not as they superficially appeared. As uncovered by Manhunter, Joan Dale and several JSA members, Thompson was in fact the Ultra-Humanite, long-time foe of the JSA who had disappeared in Germany in the 1940;s. In reality, Thompson had been captured and killed so that the Humanite's brain could pass from host Dolores Winters to the Americommando. Moreover, the experiments conducted on Dunbar were not simply to create new super-heroes but to prepare a host for the Humanite's ally, Adolph Hitler. The truth revealed, Dyna-Man declared open hositility to the heroes as Tex Thompson flees.
All of the assembled vigilantes launched an open assault on Dyna-Man with brutal results. Several were killed, heroes and villains alike including the Red Bee, Tarantula and the Sportsmaster. Others such as the Human Bomb or Doll Man are severely injured and possibly dead. As the battle turned against the heroes, much more powerful members of the JSA such as Starman and Green Lantern arrived on the scene but were quickly defeated. As Dyna-Man is on the verge of total victory, a newcomer named Captain Comet leaps into the fray, He too makes little headway against Dyna-Man but distracts the villain long enough for Liberty Belle to impale him with Starman's cosmic rod.
The government confiscated the bodies if Dyna-Man and the Ultra-Humanite along with all the evidence of their activities and supresses the truth of what happened. The Justice Society permanently disbands and most mystery men retire. In the years that follow, a new generation of heroes arose started by Captain Comet and including many of the prominent members found in other timelines: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Additionally, some heroes remained active or evolved into different forms, such as Green Lantern or the Flash. The new team eventuall forms an extended Justice League and become the dominant protectors of Earth-22.
In the early 21st century, a metahuman named David Sikela arrived on Earth-22 from, to them, an unknown origin. In reality, David was a survivor of an unknown dead world within Hypertime who had been rocketed by his parents to Earth-o. There, developing powers under the sun of his new home, he was found by Superman and Batman who resolved to mentor him in his new powers as Superman's sidekick, the Boy Thunder. While initially successful and included in the Teen Titans, Boy Thunder was later kidnapped and tortured by the Joker and the Key to understand the secrets of the multiverse. In addition to traumatizing Sikela, they cause his ship to open a multiversal breach and sling him into an world unknown to them that would later to be revealed to be Earth-22 (Batman/Superman: World's Finest #7-11).
Years later on Earth-22, the Batman and Superman of Earth-0 - informed of David's location by their own Flash - arrive and make contact. Enraged at his former mentors, Sikela - now known as Thunderman - attacks them. Outnumbered, he summons the Superman and Batman from Earth-22 but the battle that ensues is interrupted by the arrival of Gog, an old God who has been slowly influencing the heroes of Earth-22 to create a battle force against Apokolips. Gog banishes the Superman and Batman of Earth-0 into underground prisons where the eavesdropping Batman and Superman of Earth-22 learn that they are not their enemy. The heroes of Earth-22 release their Earth-0 counterparts in time to be confronted by Gog and David in his new identity, Magog. The arrival of Darkseid changes the balance of the forces and the heroes of Earth-22 and Earth-0 launch a combined attack. Realized Darkseid's goal is to extract knowledge from the mind of Gog, Magog murders the elder Gog, thwarting Darkseid. His mentors are appalled and Magog abandons them to pursue his own course (Batman/Superman: World's Finest #20-24).
Some years later, the aging Joker turned his attention to Superman. Knowing the Man of Steel's deep relationship with the Daily Planet, the Joker attacked the editorial office, killing everyone inside including Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Superman is enraged but brings the Joker to justice. As the criminal is being escorted by police, Magog appears and traumatized by other versions of the Joker and sick of the "soft" treatment the law provides, murders the Joker in front of 100's of onlookers. Superman immediately arrests Magog but at his trial, he is acquisted. Public opinion strong supports Magog's view that super-villains should be eliminated, not brought to justice under the "old world view" of Superman and his allies. As a result, Superman and his entire generation largely retire.
Years later, Magog's bands of heroes have dissolved into anarchy, battling each other and terrorizing the populace in general. Sometime in the early-to-mid 21st century, a group of vigilantes led by Magog cornered the aged Parasite in the wheatfields of Kansas. Ignoring the elder villain's pleas of mercy, Captain Atom closed ranks and was slashed open by the Parasite, breaching containment and causing a small nuclear explosion, killing all around excluding Magog. Roused to anger by the continued degradation of their world, Superman re-assembled the Justice League and attempted to restore order. Working against the League are the Mankind Liberation Front headed by Lex Luthor with several aged villains and the Silent Calvary, led by Batman who opposes the authoritarian approach favored by the League.
As the League rounds up various vigilantes and place them in a gulag in the ruined site of Kansas, tensions mount. and a riot breaks out, leading to death of warden Captain Comet. Converging on the site, the League and Cavalary engage in battle as the world watches on. Manipulated by Luthor's MLF and frightened at what their world had become, the United Nations orders a tactical nuclear strikes on the gulag with the intention of killing all involved. Batman and Wonder Woman realize the threat and manage to stop some of the jets from delivering their payload but one gets through. Seeing it drop, Captain Marvel leaps into the fray pushing in skyward and shouting "SHAZAM!" until it denoates without fully reach the ground, killing him - presumbably in his Batson form and many of the combatants on the ground. Marvel's delay allows some heroes to flee and others to be protected by the emerald energy of Green Lantern and his daughter Jade (KIngdom Come LS). Superman is blown through a hole in the universe and is stuck on Earth-0 until Thom Kallor, the future Starman, returns him home at the exact moment he departed (Justice Society of America Vol. 3 #9-22).
Enraged at the massive death, Superman attacks the UN and threatens to destroy them until the Spectre brings a simple pastor name Norman McCay to reason with him. Seeing the error of his ways, the surviving heroes unmask and resolve to live among the people, returning them to their original roots.Superman builds a monument to the fallen and ultimate marries Wonder Woman, starting a lineage of powerful children. Batman becomes the godfather of these children, cementing the restoration of the world's finest super-team (Kingdom Come LS).. Superman is briefly transported to Earth-0 where he confront Gog with the Justice Society before being returned to Earth-22 ( Magog struggles to find his place in the world but is eventually restored to honor after a conversation with the Superman of Earth-0 (Batman/Superman World's Finest #24).
In the years the follow, the world knows peace. Superman and Wonder Woman raise their children to be exemplars of society but lose Batman roughly 20 years after the events in Kansas. A century later, those children lead humanity into space to escape the effects of climate change, which submerge much of the earth within 200 years. 500 years in the future, Superman remains alive helping rebuild civilization and in the 31st century, a Legion of Super-Heroes maintains peace across the galaxy, admired from a distance by aging Kryptonian forefather (Justice Society of America Vol. 3 #22).
Multiversal Index
Balance of Good and Evil
Overall, the weight of probability in this timeline keeps good and evil in balance. While there have been periods of violence that exceed that seen in other timelines, good and justice ultimately always win out.
Abundance of Magic
Magic is reasonable abundant in this world. In the earliest records, powerful mages including Doctor Fate, Zatara and Sargon the Sorcerer are active and the Spectre acts as God's agent among humanity. While many of the new age of heroes displayed science-based powers, magical beings persisted into the 21st century, notably the legacy of Zatara through his grandson of the same name, the immortality of Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate and the Marvel Family among others.
Arrival of Heroes
The arrival of heroes likely occurred in the 1940's with the arrival of super-human adventurers such as the Flash, the Green Lantern and the rest of the Justice Society of America. Whether other heroes preceded this group has not been established or explored.
Notable Recorded Cases
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Issue |
Comment |
Reprinted in |
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The JSA arise as heroes of World War II but in the aftermath must face the combined forced of the Ultra-Humanite and Adolph Hitler |
JSA: The Golden Age TPB, JSA: The Golden Age Deluxe HC |
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Magog begins career as Boy Thunder |
Batman/Superman Strange Visitor TPB |
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Magog begins his career on Earth-22 |
Batman/Superman Return to Kingdom Come TPB |
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In the early to mid-21st century, elder heroes but regroup |
Kingdom Come TPB, Kingdom Come HC, Absolute Kingdom Come |
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An interlude in which Superman of Earth-22 is transported to Earth-0 in the midst of the nuclear explosion in Kansas |
Justice Society: Thy Kingdom Come, JSA Omnibus #3 |
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Spotlight on the daughter of Wally West |
The Kingdom TPB (1999) |
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Spotlight on the daughter of Dick Grayson and Koryand’r |
The Kingdom TPB (1999) |
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Spotlight on the son of Eel O’Brian |
The Kingdom TPB (1999) |
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Spotlight on the son of Bruce Wayne |
The Kingdom TPB (1999) |
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The future of Earth-22 revealed |
Justice Society: Thy Kingdom Come, JSA Omnibus #3 |