The Golden Age (1938 - 1951)
The superhero archetype
is first defined and the heroes who will shape the eras to come are created. It
was a simpler time... A time of just causes and vengeance filled characters who
had brightly clad costumes and spunky sidekicks at their sides.
The Feel of the Golden Age
Many of our memories of
the Golden Age are inaccurate as they are actually memories of recently written
stories set in that era. Comic book writers like Roy Thomas and James Robinson
have done much to recreate and sanitize the era. In the actual comics of the
time, super villains were a relative rarity. The bad guys tend to be forgettable
goons, evil scientists or deformed freaks. Most of the "Golden Age" villains we
remember were actually created during the Silver and Modern ages and inserted
into history. The more common villains were fifth columnists, mobsters and other
"normal" opponents.The closest thing most Golden Age heroes came to fighting a super villain were the evil scientist -- not just the Luthors and Sivanas – but a
multitude of genius crackpots who created colorful weapons of mass
destruction. Also note that many of the Golden Age heroes were not
particularly averse to taking a life if necessary. Even Superman had occasion to
knock off a ratzi or two. This having been said though, Golden Age heroes were
not callous murderers – this wasn’t the Iron Age. Villains deaths tended to be,
if at all possible, self-inflicted (usually accidental), and extremely ironic.
Getting caught in one's own deathtrap is a good way for a villain to die. This
was not a grim and gritty period, but people did get killed. Villains frequently
killed wantonly and without reason but they also died grisly deaths, usually by
accident or of their own making. Action and excitement were the most important
aspects of the stories, and death is sometimes exciting. Rabid patriotism also
popped up at this time, including the most negative aspects such as bad racist
iconography and incredibly unsubtle racial stereotypes. Of course, just because
most of the heroes of the era used ethnic slurs and insults, it does not
necessarily follow that your heroes have to do the same. In the retcon stories
(like All-Star-Squadron and The Invaders) the heroes have a more modern sense of
ethics and morality.
Magic versus Science
During the Golden Age, what people
knew about modern science was very limited and usually wrong. This means that,
in the stories of the time, magic is at least as (if not more) common that
meaningful science. What “high technology” is evident tends to be big, bulky,
and unreliable. (The vacuum tube can be your friend.)
Golden Age Characters
Morality is typically very close to
Black & White, although there is a sub-category of the Golden Age hero whose
methods tend toward brutal – but even these heroes avoid actually killing or
seriously harming the villains, instead using their extreme methods to frighten
their opponents. At the start of the Golden Age period villains lacked actual
superpowers, which means that the heroes are typically fighting either
convention criminals or slightly Pulp-style masterminds. This period also
includes World War II, so expect super-patriot heroes and villains after the
first few years of the period. Teen sidekicks are unusually common in this
period, and are quite appropriate as player characters.
Classic Power Origins for the
Golden Age
- Special training in boxing
and gymnastics
- Chemicals, particularly a
serum or formula
- Scientific accident
- Magic
- Learning strange powers in
Tibet
- Given or built a special
vehicle
- Radiation
- Raised by animals
- Alien
- Robot
Character and power concepts tend to be simpler in construction.
Complicated or unusual powers are uncommon, and many effective heroes are
created with very few powers (or even just a single power). Many characters are
relatively powerless, just athletic people with costumes and a usually gun-like
gimmick. Female superheroes tend to get captured and tied up a lot. Golden Age
characters also tend to have names that, by today’s standards, seem campy.
Everyone one was Captain Something, Doctor Soandso, Mister Thisandthat,
Adverbman, or Color Whatzits. Golden Age characters tended to lack depth. Many
Golden Age characters in the comics were cardboard cut-outs with powers. (Bruce
Wayne, for example, was a millionaire playboy who put a suit on and fought crime
- nothing else.) In the Golden Age, the writers never bothered to go into *why*
he did it other than the rather shallow response "oh... because his parents were
killed by a mugger". They never actually delved into what precisely that sort of
experience would do to a person. Now, this doesn’t mean that your characters
must follow this convention, but don’t go so far overboard with detail that the
mood is lost. Golden Age origins stories tended to be quite vague, with the
actual sources of their power rarely explained or considered important. The most
common power origins are random accidents with chemicals, visits to secret
societies, usually in Tibet, and stumbling across an ancient magical artifact.
Character Build: 150 point base + 100 points in
disadvantages
Note: Consider severely limiting the number and/or total
value of limitations on powers.
Defining Events in Neptune City
In the early part of 1938, the Centurion
appeared on the outskirts of Neptune City - appeared from 1000 years in the
future. Upon realizing he could not immediately return to his own time he
established a secret ID for himself. Shortly thereafter, forced to use his
powers to prevent a disaster, he becomes the first super-powered hero.
Although operating in a diminished power level due to
the effects of his trip through time, he still possesses the power to be a
significant force for good and so takes on the name Centurion (a thinly veiled
play on word referring to his being from a different century). He has never
revealed to anyone that he is not native to this time period, or what his true
name is.
His
presence; due in part to his "first superhero" fame, and in part to his level of
power; will have a large influence on how superhero in the Golden Age comport
themselves. Even the heroes who started as pulp-era mystery men eventually take
on more heroic public persona due to his influence.