Interregnum
With the end of the Golden Age, it would be many decades before the next, even greater wave of superhumans would arise during the Modern Age of Heroes. This did not mean that this period was bereft of heroes, however. Though costumed superhumans would be few and far between, they persisted nonetheless, and many other extraordinary men and women would step up to fight for justice, protect the innocent, and defend the Earth.
Superhero Showcase
Through the rest of the Red Scare and the subsequent decade, superheroes are virtually unknown, though not entirely gone. Shortly after the original Starman retires a mysterious new Starman appears in Opal City, operating for a single year before disappearing. Robotman continues to fight crime but is caught in a cave-in in 1954 and enters a state of suspended animation. In 1957, Max Mercury returns from his latest time jump but keeps a relatively low profile for the next decade or so until he emerges to team with Johnny Quick to battle the superspeed villain Savitar. As a result of the battle Max, this time with Savitar in tow, is thrown forward in time again.
While costumed heroes remain a rarity in the United States, internationally things are a different matter. An 11,000 year-old immortal African wizard-king, now going by the name Doctor Mist, sees the lack of superheroes and decides to act. He convinces political delegates from many nations, though not the United States, to sign the Treaty of Rome in 1957, creating the legal framework for a team of international superheroes under Mist's leadership, to be headquartered in Paris. This team would see many iterations over the years, evolving into the Global Guardians.
Forced to go public to thwart an attempted alien invasion, a young man with superhuman strength and great mental powers becomes known as Captain Comet. The last surviving Martian, J'onn J'onzz is accidentally teleported to Earth by eccentric scientist Dr. Erdel. He would operate in secret for many years, using his shapeshifting powers to adopt different identities until the Modern Age, when he will act publicly for the first time as the Martian Manhunter. In Gotham City a masked vigilante named the Reaper would fight a violent, often lethal, battle against crime. His extreme actions would bring the Green Lantern out of retirement to confront him, after which the Reaper would disappear, his true identity not learned until several decades later.
It was not only the occasional Justice Society member who would briefly emerge from retirement during this period. Three enemies of the Flash, the Shade, the Fiddler and the Thinker, used their powers and intellect to cause the Flash's home, Keystone City, to be transported to another dimension. In this other dimension time passed more slowly and the trio of villains kept the inhabitants, including the Flash, in a hypnotic state not unlike sleepwalking while they plundered the city at their leisure. Another effect of their scheme made sure that Keystone City and its people would remain forgotten by the outside world, only half-remembered like a dream, or spotted for a second, a faint mirage on the other side of the river from Central City, across a bridge that now appeared to go nowhere. The city would remain trapped this way for years.
Action Heroes
People still have a need for heroes, and in the absence of costumed superheroes others step into the role. Print, film, radio, and the new medium of television brought the adventures of these new heroes to the masses. Host of the show Impossible... But True!, Roy Raymond, aka the "TV Detective", traveled the world exploring mysteries and debunking hoaxes. A former K-9 Army Dog, Rex the Wonder Dog crossed the country performing a variety of jobs, from Hollywood stunt dog to forest ranger, and even thwarting crimes, alongside his trainer. Another famous animal star of the era was Bobo the Detective Chimp. Captured in Africa and brought stateside, Bobo was trained to perform a detective act in the circus. When his trainer was murdered, Bobo helped solve the crime and he became a mascot to a local sheriff. In their later years, Rex and Bobo would team up to capture a gang of thieves on an adventure during which the two would also accidentally discover the mythical Fountain of Youth. Drinking from the Fountain not only restored their vitality, but it also granted Rex and Bobo extended life and increased intelligence. In later years the Detective Chimp would even gain the ability to speak.
Four men, Olympic wrestler "Rocky" Davis, oceanographer "Prof" Haley, daredevil "Red" Ryan, and fighter pilot "Ace" Morgan, were en route to appear on a TV show celebrating great human achievements when the plane they were flying in crashed. The four miraculously survived without a scratch. Believing they were now living on borrowed time, the four band together as the team of global adventurers called the Challengers of the Unknown. They were not the only ones, as others would make names for themselves, like geologist and explorer Calvin "Cave" Carson and his team, and the Sea Devils led by deep sea diver Dane Dorrance.
The absence of superheroes did not mean the absence of the kinds of threats they used to deal with. To compensate, the American government took steps to combat the costumed villains and otherworldly threats that still presented a danger. Once a covert group, the so-called Suicide Squad now operated in the public eye. Federal law enforcement also stepped up, with agents of the Central Bureau of Investigation like King Faraday and Sarge Steel battling enemy agents as well as more unusual threats to national security.
During the height of the Cold War, the government would attempt to create its own superpowered soldier with the Captain Atom Project. The test subject, Capt. Nathaniel Adam, would be projected forward in time leading to the effort being deemed a failure, though when he arrived in the Modern Age of Heroes, Adam would become the hero Captain Atom. Veteran Air Force pilot Col. Travis Morgan would go on to perform missions for the CIA, flying SR-71 Blackbirds over Soviet territory. On a mission over Siberia his plane was damaged by anti-aircraft missiles and Morgan would crash after passing through a portal to the other-dimensional realm of Skartaris. He would make a new life for himself in the primitive land, becoming a hero to the people there as the Warlord.
Previous: The Golden Age
Next: The Forgotten Age