As most of you know, the Earth-44 Timeline is something I've been working on for years. However, I has always seemed to me that it is kind of a dense text and possibly hard to follow.  Plus, I tried to connect in so many things that the timeline may have become overloaded.  In reviewing the timeline recently, I found references in there whose origins I don't even recall!  

So, for the couple of months, I've been working on a revised version of the timeline.

Anyway, I've done two things:

  1. I've taken out a lot of things, leaving only characters that I know well and am enthusiastic about. This will make the timeline shorter and more reflective of my personality.
  2. I've tried my best to alter the structure and style of the timeline in the hopes of streamlining it and making it easier to follow.

I hope that anyone who cares to will offer any input regarding how well I may have succeeded. Please feel free to request any necessary clarifications.

And so we begin....

BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME

 

It is known that there was another universe before ours, but little is known about its nature.  Only one being from that universe is known to survive, and the Devourer of Worlds doesn’t give interviews.

AGE OF CREATION (13,700.000,000 B.C. - 4,000,000,005 B.C.)

 

After the old universe ceased to exist, legend has it that our universe was spoken into existence. Assuming that this is true, the identity of the Being who spoke is unknown.  There are myriad beliefs about what the Words that spoke our reality into existence might have been.  They range from the sublime (“Let there be light!”), to the ridiculous (“Watch out for snakes!”). (1)

 

Only one person is rumored have been present at the Creation, and when they are asked about it, the Doctor smiles sadly, gets into their TARDIS, and goes to they alone know where. (2)

 

Our universe is said to have been created in the year 13,700,000,000 B.C., although, in the period right after the Creation, time could be said to have been “unstable”, so this date is something of an arbitrary designation.

 

For about 200,000,000 years, the universe cooled and stabilized. Finally, the first living beings came into existence, although some of these Elder Beings were as much embodiments of concepts as they were living beings.  Their number included the Celestials, Death (3), the Great Will of the Macrocosm (4), the Mandragora Helix, Mister Am, the Osirans, the Phoenix (5), the Q, the Time Lords, the Watchers, the Weeping Angels, and Coily the Spring-Sprite. (6)

 

Significant events that occurred during this time period included the following:

  • The Watchers took a vow of non-interference, after their attempts to help a primitive race backfired tragically.

 

  • Galactus, once Galan of Taa, and sole known survivor of the previous universe, was “born" into our universe.

 

  • The inhabitants of the planet Oa proclaimed themselves the Guardians of the Universe and began looking for ways to defend it.

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  • The being/device that would come to be known as “the Guardian of Forever” was created by an unknown race.

PRE-HISTORY (4,000,000,004 B.C. - 90,000 B.C.:

 

By tradition, the Earth's Solar System was created on October 23, 4,000,000,004 B.C., at 9:00 a.m. (7)

 

The Earth was far more than just the sphere that humans perceived.  There were several extradimensional; realms “affiliated”  with the Earth proper, and all of them existed (as did the Earth proper) in the branches of the being/structure most commonly known by Its Norse name, Yggdrasil, the World-Tree.

 

For a long time, the Earth was lifeless and void.  Then, in about 3,500,000,000 B.C., the beings known as the Elder Things arrived in what would one day be known as Antarctica. It is unknown where they originated, how they chose to come to Earth or how long they lived and thrived there, but in time, they died out – or at least appeared to – and left the Earth apparently lifeless.

 

The Earth remained so until about 400,000,000 B.C., when a Jagaroth spaceship exploded on Earth, its radiations jumpstarting the development of life there. The sole survivor, Scaroth, was fragmented throughout time. As a result of his efforts to reunite his fragments, he greatly affected the course of human development.

 

Sometime after this, the malign entity Cthulhu was confined in eternal (?) sleep in the sunken city of Rl’yeh in what would come to be known as the South Pacific. Cthulhu’s origin is unknown, as is the origin and nature of the beings that confined It.

 

Life continued to develop on Earth. By about 66,000,000 B.C., several races of intelligent reptiles had evolved, and developed technological civilizations of their own. These included the peoples that would later be known as the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Ice Warriors (8), and the sentient Dinosaurs. (9)

 

However, approximately one million years later the reptile civilization detected the approach of a meteor that would devastate the Earth. The ancestors of the Ice Warriors settled on Mars. The Sea Devils and the Silurians established hibernation chambers for carefully selected elites, planning to awaken once the danger had passed. The meteor struck Earth, destroying many of the dinosaurs, and wiping out the remainder of the reptile civilization. The hibernation mechanisms of the reptiles were damaged, so that they did not revive when planned.  A handful of the sentient Dinosaurs survived on the surface.

 

In 50,001,200 B.C., the Project Escape recruits (see 1960) arrived in what would one day be North America, where they discovered surviving dinosaurs existing alongside prehistoric mammals. They founded a settlement they called “Bedrock”. To mark their new beginning, they adopted new names with a “caveman” motif. Their leader, Friedrich Kieselstein, adopted the surname “Flintstone”. In subsequent years, the settlers regressed somewhat, losing their awareness of their Twentieth Century origins. They overspread North America and parts of Europe and Asia, developing a peculiar mixture of Stone Age and 1960’s technology. (10)

 

Sometime later, A splinter group that rejected all but the most primitive tools broke off from the “Bedrock” culture, founding several small states, among them the Kingdoms of Lem and Moo. Among the heroes of these civilizations were Alley Oop, Captain Caveman and the Mighty Mightor. Two noteworthy members of the Bedrock civilization were Fred Flintstone (descendant of Friedrich), and his friend, Barney Rubble.

 

In time, the “Bedrock” culture launched a handful of primitive starships which carried colonists to several worlds. These colonists became the ancestors of many of the galaxy’s humanoid races.  One such group colonized a planet they name "Kobol".

 

Then, in 50,000,000 B.C., the space monster King Ghidorah visited Earth for the first time, wiping out the “Bedrock” culture and most of the surviving dinosaurs. With the destruction of the "Bedrock" culture, Earth resumed its normal development, and the ancestors of modern humans continued to develop, sometimes alongside surviving dinosaurs.  At some point during this period, the primitive hominid Moon-Boy formed an alliance with the tyrannosaur known as “Devil Dinosaur”.

 

In about 1,000,000 B.C., the First Celestial Host came to Earth and tampered with human DNA, resulting in the eventual development of the Eternals and Deviants (11), variant humans, such as centaurs, mer-folk, draconids, angel-folk, and goat-folk (12), and the so-called “demi-humans”, such as the (non-supernatural) haemophages, succubi, snow-women and dullahans (13), among others, all existing alongside baseline humans.  Additionally, they altered the DNA of baseline humans to allow for the eventual development of mutants (14) and altered the evolution of the surviving sentient Dinosaurs so that they eventually came to more closely resemble humans. (15)  Finally, they transplanted groups of humans and other creatures to other worlds, some pre-existing and others created to resemble duplicate Earths. (16)

 

The Immortals worshipped by humans as “gods” first appeared during this age. Their origins are unknown, but they appear to have come from “affiliated” realms in Yggdrasil’s branches. They, too, took an interest in human development.  One of them, Momi, created the supernatural beings known as Mononoke. (17) The creatures known as the Soul Bees also came into existence around this time, but their exact origins are unknown. (18)

 

The various races continued to develop, until in approximately 150,000 B.C., Anthro, the first modern human was born. Then, in 100,000 B.C., the First Doctor and his companions, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman gave the secret of making fire to a tribe of cave dwellers.  This marked the Doctor’s first known interference in human history.  It would not be the last. (19)

 

Significant off-Earth events of this time period included

:

  • The Guardians of the Universe began recruiting sentient beings to serve as their agents, marking the beginning of the Green Lantern Corps.

 

  • The god-like being known as Susano Orbatos manifested in the Yamata People's Empire, on the planet Lurie, a distant descendant of a “Bedrock” colony. (20)

 

  • The Time Lords destroyed the planet of the Fendahl, the remnants of which became the Asteroid Belt of the Solar System.

 

  • Time Lord intervention in the culture of Minyos led to the Minyans' near-total destruction. Like the Watchers before them, the Time Lords adopted a policy of nonintervention in the affairs of other worlds.

THE LEGENDARY AGE (89,999 B.C. - 30,000 B.C.)

By about 80,000 B.C., a great civilization arose on Earth, one whose memory comes down to the present day as “Atlantis”. One of the early great leaders of this civilization was the warrior-king Kull the Conqueror of Valusia.  Atlantis thrived and developed an advanced technology. However, Atlantis was geologically unstable, and there were those who foresaw its destruction, although most Atlanteans ignored their warnings.

 

One group who didn’t ignore the warnings were powerful psychic warriors known as jedi, who constructed a space ark and led a group of settlers to a new world in a galaxy far, far away.  (21)

 

Eventually, the Atlantean civilization reached its height – ironically, on the eve of its destruction. At that time, around 75,000 B.C., Atlantis was dominated by two great powers – Mondas (22) and Poseidonis.  When they finally accepted the inevitability of Atlantis’ destruction, the two powers reacted differently.  The Mondasi constructed the great world-ship Mondas which carried a large portion of their population off into deep space. These were the ancestors of the Cybermen. The inhabitants of Poseidonis developed a means to alter themselves so that they could survive underwater. These were the ancestors of Aquaman’s people. 

 

In 74,980 B.C., the Great Cataclysm occurred, and Atlantis was destroyed. Human civilization collapsed, and the world dissolved into many small kingdoms. After many years, progress began to rise again in what came to be known as the Hyborian Age.

 

One of the legendary heroes of this period was Conan of Cimmeria, also known as Conan the Barbarian, who flourished around 50,000 B.C. 

 

Another was Corrin, who lived around 47,000 B.C., and who united the warring kingdoms of Hoshido and Nohr to defeat the dragon god, Anankos, and who afterwards became monarch of the re-born Kingdom of Valla. (23)

 

Yet another was the Legendary Hero of Gotha, who lived around 46,000 B.C., and who, with his family defeated the demonic sorcerer Nimzo. (24)

 

Other heroes who lived during this age included Link of Hyrule who battled alongside Princess Zelda against the evil sorcerer Ganondorf, and the sorceresses Lina Inverse and Naga the White Serpent. (25)

 

In about 45,000 B.C., beings called the Valar visited the region known as Middle Earth (possibly modern-day Europe), and brought about the creation of various magical races, including hobbits, elves and dwarves.

 

In about 40,000 B.C., the evil Sauron chose Mordor as his stronghold. Over the next five thousand years, Sauron made several attempts to conquer Middle Earth, until being finally defeated by the group of heroes known as the Fellowship of the Ring.

 

About five hundred years after the end of the Ring War, a group of elves left Earth by unknown means. They settled on a planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. There, biological changes caused by the new planet’s environment eventually caused them to become the race that came to be known as the Vulcans. Still later, a splinter group of this race became the Romulans. (26)

 

In 37,984 B.C., an unnamed human woman became Satan’s secretary.

 

The legendary age ended about 30,000 BC when the Great Flood happened, leaving Earth’s continents in their modern shape.

 

Significant off-earth events of this time period included:

 

  • 75,500 B.C.: Along with many other races, the descendants of the jedi-led Atlantean colonists founded the Galactic Republic, initially settling on the planet that would come to be known as “Coruscant”. (27)

 

  • 75,000 B.C.: Settlers from Kobol colonized twelve planets: Aerilon, Aquaria, Canceron, Caprica, Gemenon, Leonis, Libran, Picon, Sagittaron, Scorpia, Tauron and Virgon.
  • 70,000 B.C.: The Galactic Republic was overthrown and replaced by a Galactic Empire led by the evil Emperor Palpatine.  Fleeing Palpatine's clone troopers, an unknown jedipassed through a wormhole, crashlanding on a desert planet on the other side of the universe.

 

  • 69,969 B.C.: The Galactic Empire was overthrown by a Rebel Alliance and replaced by a second Galactic Republic.

 

  • 50,000 B.C.: Humans descended from the Bedrock civilization colonized the planet that was home to the creatures known as “Pokémon”.

PRE-MODERN HISTORY (29,999 B.C. - A.D. 1600)

Human history now emerged from the fog of legend into a period of which the details are reasonably well-known. This period saw the rise and fall of powers such as Egypt,  Greece and Rome, and in their turn, the rise of new powers, such as England, France and Spain, several of which would go on to colonize the continents that would become known as the Americas.

 

Some of the more interesting events of this period were as follows:

 

  • 5,089 B.C.: The Osirans battled Sutekh the Destroyer in Egypt and then imprisoned him on Earth.

 

  • 4,000 B.C.: On Skaro, the Fourth Doctor and his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan attempted to interfere with the creation of the Daleks.

 

  • 1,800 B.C.: Edmun, a druid, was the first known member of what came to be known as the “Blackadder” family.

 

  • 1,779 B.C.: In Egypt, the High Priest Im-Ho-Tep was mummified alive as punishment when he tried to steal the Scroll of Thoth in hopes of reviving his lost love, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon.

 

  • 1,550 B.C.: Time travelers Doug Phillips and Tony Newman were present for the Battle of Jericho, during the Israelite conquest of Canaan.

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  • 1,184 B.C.: The First Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister encountered Doug Phillips and Tony Newman at the end of the Trojan War. Vicki elected to remain behind when the Doctor and Steven left. Having fallen in love with the warrior Troilus, she adopted the name “Cressida”, and entered into history.

 

  • 1,028 B.C.: High Priest Thothek cursed Prince Zethi of Egypt to sleep as long as darkness reigns. (28)

 

  • 753 B.C.: Rome, the earliest known of the living national avatars known as “Hetalians” manifested about this time. (29)

 

  • 100 B.C.: The cursed sword Soul Edge and the blessed sword SoulCalibur were created. Over the next eighteen hundred years, notable warriors fought for control of them. (30)

 

  • 44 B.C.: The Gaulish warrior Asterix fought a lengthy battle against the Roman occupiers of his country.

 

  • A.D. 33: Brian Cohen was crucified.

 

  • A.D. 64: The First Doctor and his companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister visited Rome in the time of Emperor Nero. Unbeknownst to them, Pearl Forrester, the Observer known as “Brain Guy”, Professor Bobo and the crew of the Satellite of Love were also present. It is uncertain which party of time travelers was responsible for the Great Fire of Rome.

 

  • A.D. 79: The Tenth Doctor and his companion Donna Noble battled the Pyroviles in Pompeii.

 

  • A.D. 170: The Pictish warrior chieftain Bran Mak Morn battled the Roman occupiers of Britain.

 

  • A.D. 530: Arthur, King of the Britons, encountered the Knights of Ni while searching for the Holy Grail.

 

  • A.D. 537: Prince Valiant of Thule adventured all over the known world.

 

  • A.D. 550: The hero Beowulf battled the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother. Years later, he would die defending Geatland from a dragon.

 

  • A.D. 720: Horwendil, the Prince of the Jutes also known as “Amlothi” avenged his father’s murder.  As “Hamlet”, he was remembered for ages to come. (31)

 

  • A.D. 730: Abdul Al-Hazred wrote Al-Azif, the dark grimoire which became known as the Necronomicon.

 

  • A.D. 950: A war began between the twelve Kobolite colonies and the robotic Cylons.

 

  • A.D. 1040: Ash Williams appeared in Britain, falling out of a mystical “wormhole”. He helped the locals fight the Evil Dead, before being returned to his own time.

 

  • A.D. 1066: The First Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister stopped the Meddling Monk from altering the result of the Battle of Hastings.

 

  • A.D. 1126: The Norse warrior Erik Njorl visited the English town of Malden. (32)

 

  • A.D. 1150: In Japan, the bandit Tajomaru was accused of the murder of a samurai and the rape of the samurai's wife. The witnesses at his trial provided conflicting accounts of the events.

 

  • A.D. 1190: The First Doctor and his companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister met Richard the Lionheart in Palestine during the Crusades. Around the same time, the Twelfth Doctor and his companion Clara Oswald helped Robin Hood battle the Sheriff of Nottingham and robots of unknown origin.

 

  • A.D. 1215: The Fifth Doctor and his companions Tegan Jovanka and Vislor Turlough stopped the Master from manipulating King John of England. Around the same time, Doug Phillips and Tony Newman were present at the signing of the Magna Carta.

 

  • A.D. 1273: The Third Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane Smith battled the Sontaran warrior Lynx in England.

 

  • A.D. 1289: The First Doctor and his companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman met Kublai Khan and Marco Polo in China. 

 

  • A.D. 1345: A Wersgorix ship landed in England. The local feudal lord and his people overpowered the crew and attempted to fly it to the Holy Land. Instead, it returned to Wersgorix space, where the English, through intrigue and luck, conquered Wersgorixan and established an English kingdom in deep space. (33)

 

  • A.D. 1485: Prince Edmund, the Black Adder, failed to arrive at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He accidentally killed Richard III.

 

  • A.D. 1492: The Fourth Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane Smith battled the Mandragora Helix in San Martino, Italy.

 

  • A.D. 1498: Prince Edmund, the Black Adder, was killed after an abortive attempt to gain the throne of England.

 

  • A.D. 1500: The guardian spirit known as “Daimajin” first manifested.

 

  • A.D. 1535: The first of the long line of heroes called “The Phantom” began his battle against evil. Their line continued for the next several centuries.

 

  • A.D. 1554: A small village in Japan hired seven samurai – Kambei, Katsuhiro, Katayama, Kyuzo, Hayashida, Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo – to defend their village from bandits. The samurai helped the villagers defeat the bandits, although four of the samurai were killed in the process.

 

  • A.D. 1557: Washizu Taketoki became lord of Spider’s Web Castle in Japan but was soon overthrown by the son of his friend Miki Yoshiaki. 

 

  • A.D. 1558: After a battle between the Japanese realms of Yamana and Akizuki, General Makabe Rokurota escaped to the friendly realm of Hayakawa with Princess Yuki of Akizuki and the Akizuki gold reserves, having enlisted the unwilling help of peasants Matashichi and Tahei to do so.

 

  • A.D. 1570: The man who would come to be known as “Adam Eterno” was cursed to immortality. Cast adrift in time, he could be killed only by gold. (34)

 

  • A.D. 1585: Lord Ichimonji Hidetora attempted to divide his lands among his three sons and then abdicate, with disastrous results.

 

  • A.D. 1586: Edmund, Lord Blackadder, the great-grandson of the original Black Adder, entered the service of Queen Elizabeth I, becoming one of her courtiers. 

 

  • A.D. 1588: The Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane traveled the world battling evil.

 

  • A.D. 1599: The Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones and William Shakespeare battled the Carrionites in London. 

 

  • A.D. 1600: Cervantes de Leon, Ivy (Isabella Valentine) and Nightmare (Siegfried Schtauffen) battled for possession of Soul Edge.

 

THE MODERN AGE (A.D. 1601 - A.D. 1913)

In this era, the world began to assume a state that would have been familiar, or at least recognizable, to a person of the Twenty-First Century. The colonization of the New World, Africa, Asia, and Australasia by the powers of Europe continued. The United States of America, the power which would dominate the Twentieth Century, was born during this period. Towards the end of this time, Earth had its first serious contacts with life from outer space.  Some of the interesting events of this period were as follows:

 

  • A.D.1605: Alonso Quixano the Good assumed persona of “Don Quixote”. Accompanied by his “squire”, Sancho Panza, he set out to revive the concept of “knight errantry”.

 

  • A.D. 1612: The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions Graham O'Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair battled the Morax alongside King James II in England.

 

  • A.D. 1648: Sir Edmund Blackadder tried to save King Charles I from the Puritans.

 

  • A.D. 1651: Ogami Itto came into conflict with Yagyu Jubei.

 

  • A.D. 1659: Robinson Crusoe was stranded on a deserted island.

 

  • A.D. 1666: The Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Nyssa of Traken and Adric battled the Tereleptils and inadvertently started the Great Fire of London.

 

  • A.D. 1699: Lemuel Gulliver unwittingly visited several other-dimensional realms where he met the Lilliputians, Brobdingnagian, the Laputans and the Houyhnhnms.

 

  • A.D. 1746: The Second Doctor, Ben Jackson and Polly Wright traveled to Scotland shortly after the Battle of Culloden. Jamie MacCrimmon joined the TARDIS crew.

 

  • A.D. 1754: Captain Flint buried vast wealth on Treasure Island.

 

  • A.D. 1756: The first edition of the Mercantile-Onion was published. This newspaper would later become known simply as The Onion

 

  • A.D. 1760: James Hawkins visited Treasure Island for the first time.

 

  • A.D 1772: The highwayman Dennis Moore attempted to re-distribute the wealth of Britain. (35)

 

  • A.D. 1775: The Old Soldier appeared during the American Revolution. The exact origin or nature of this being is unknown.

 

  • A.D. 1776:
    • Elizabeth Lynn fought the British as Miss Liberty.
    • Uncle Sam first appeared around this time. Uncle Sam’s relationship to the Hetalian known as “America” is not fully understood.

 

  • A.D. 1790: Swiss scientist Viktor Frankenstein animated a creature made from sewn-together body parts. Eventually, the creature escaped, eventually returning to torment Frankenstein until its creator’s death, after which it disappeared.

 

  • A.D. 1794: The First Doctor and Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman visited France during the Reign of Terror.

 

  • A.D. 1795: Barnabas Collins became a vampire.

 

  • A.D. 1811: Edmund Blackadder, Esquire, served as butler to the Prince Regent.

 

  • A.D. 1813: Elizabeth Bennet married Fitzwilliam Darcy.

 

  • A.D. 1829: Edmond Dantès escaped from the Chateau d’If.

 

  • A.D. 1839: Friedrich von Junzt wrote Unaussprechlichen Kulten.

 

  • A.D. 1840: Captain Ahab and the Pequod were destroyed by Moby-Dick, the Great White Whale. A crewman named Ishmael survived alone to tell the tale.

 

  • A.D. 1841: 
    • Auguste Dupin became famous for solving the murders in the Rue Morgue.
    • Hanshichi of Kanda solved crimes in Japan during the later years of the Shogunate. (36)

 

  • A,D. 1842: 
    • The blind masseur/swordsman Zatoichi had the first of many adventures. (37)
    • At Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by three spirits, after which he changed his ways.

 

  • A.D. 1851: The Tenth Doctor and Jackson Lake battled the Cybermen in London.

 

  • A.D. 1852: The lawsuit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce ended when all of the money under dispute was used up in court costs. Inspector Bucket investigated a murder associated with the suit.

 

  • A.D. 1857: A thief named Sutekichi living in an Edo slum found himself plumbing the lower depths of human existence.

 

  • A.D. 1860: Captain Nemo built the submarine Nautilus.

 

  • A.D 1863:
    • The Old Soldier appeared during the American Civil War.
    • Professor Otto Liedenbrock led an expedition to the “center of the Earth”, actually an extensive subterranean realm.

 

  • A.D. 1864: The March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - helped their mother as best they could while their father was away fighting in the American Civil War.

 

  • A.D. 1865: The end of the American Civil War marked several transitions, in that country, and elsewhere. Events that year included:
    • The earliest-known record of the ghostly woman known as “Kawakami Tomie” dates to this time.
    • Captain Wilton Parmenter assumed command of Fort Courage, KS.
    • The members of the Baltimore Gun Club financed the first attempt by humans to travel from the Earth to the Moon. The project would take several years to complete.
    • A young doctor named Yasumoto Noboru was assigned to an Edo clinic run by Doctor Niide Kyojio, commonly known as “Red Beard”.
    • Alice Liddell visited the extra-dimensional realm known as “Wonderland”.

 

  • A.D. 1866:
    • Jonah Hex began his career as a bounty hunter.
    • The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams visited Concord, NH, where Rory cured Beth March of the illness that was slowly killing her. (38)

 

  • A.D. 1869: The Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Charles Dickens battled the Gelth in Wales.

 

  • A.D. 1870:
    • The cowpoke known as “Lucky Luke” had many adventures around this time.
    • Members of the Baltimore Gun Club launched a manned projectile, the Columbiad, into lunar orbit. The crew managed to return safely to Earth. Unbeknownst to them, their voyage was witnessed by powers not of Earth, in particular, the so-called “Tripod-Riders” on Mars.
    • A Mexican town hired seven gunmen - Chris Adams, Vin Tanner, Bernardo O'Reilly, Harry Luck, Lee, Britt and Chico - to protect them from a gang of bandits led by a man called Calvera.

 

  • A.D. 1871: The martial artist Kwai Chang Caine traveled to the American West in search of his father.

 

  • A.D. 1872:
    • Phileas Fogg traveled around the world in eighty days.
    • The arrival of the Daleks, who were in pursuit of the Doctor, caused the crew of the Mary Celesteto abandon ship.

 

  • A.D. 1874: A black man named Bart was appointed Sheriff of the town of Rock Ridge. With the help of a gunslinger called the Waco Kid, he saved the town from destruction at the hands of Hedley Lamarr and Governor Le Petomane.

 

  • A.D. 1881: Events this year included:
    • Sherlock Holmes met Doctor John H. Watson.
    • The First Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet witnessed the gunfight at the OK Corral.

 

  • A.D. 1882: Sugata Sanshiro became a judo champion.

 

  • A.D. 1883: The scientist Agatha Heterodyne lived around this time, becoming the prototypical “science hero”. (39)

 

  • A.D. 1885: Doctor Emmett Brown was stranded in this time period for a while, until he managed to jury-rig a time machine from a locomotive.

 

  • A.D. 1886: Doctor Henry Jekyll devised a formula which released his evil “inner self”, physically transforming him into a person that called himself Mister Edward Hyde. Jekyll/Hyde was believed killed after having murdered Sir Danvers Carew.

 

  • A.D. 1887: Sherlock Holmes’ niece, Lady Crystal "Christie" Hope, solved several crimes, some with the help of her famous uncle. (40)

 

  • A.D. 1889: The Fourth Doctor and Leela battled Magnus Greel in London. 

 

  • A.D. 1892: Events this year included:
    • An anonymous scientist invented the first working time machine. Although this fact was not publicly known on Earth, it attracted the attention of others, in particular the Time Lords. (41)
    • The Eleventh Doctor, Clara Oswald, and the Paternoster Gang battled the Great Intelligence.

 

  • A.D. 1895: May Reilly, an ancestor of Peter Parker, became the “science hero” known as Lady Spider.

 

  • A.D. 1897: Events this year included:
    • Doctor John Griffin discovered a drug which rendered him invisible, but which had the side effect of driving him insane. He embarked on a campaign of violence before being tracked down and shot by the police. 
    • Moe Howard was born in New York City, NY. (42)
    • The vampire Count Dracula traveled to Britain, where he was apparently destroyed.

 

  • A.D 1898: Tripod-riding aliens based on Mars invaded Britain, (43) but were defeated with the assistance of the newly formed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

 

  • A.D. 1899: Viktor Heinrich "Henry" von Frankenstein recreated his ancestor's experiments by constructing a humanoid creature from parts of corpses and successfully reanimating it. The creature proved to be mentally unstable, becoming a Monster, and was subsequently believed destroyed. Henry married his fiancee Elizabeth. Shortly thereafter Henry's father died, and he became Baron Frankenstein. Henry was pressured by his former colleague Doctor Pretorius to create a mate for the original Monster. Frankenstein and Pretorius successfully reanimated a female creature, but she rejected her intended mate. Incensed, the Monster destroyed Pretorius, the female creature and apparently, himself.

 

  • A.D. 1900: Events this year included:
    • The Fourth Doctor and Leela battled a Rutan at Fang Rock Lighthouse in England.
    • A tornado pulled Dorothy Gale into the extra-dimensional Land of Oz, where she destroyed two Wicked Witches.

 

  • A.D 1902: Larry Fine was born in Philadelphia, PA.

 

  • A.D.1903: 
    • Professor George Edward Challenger discovered a plateau in South America where prehistoric life forms survived. He named it “Maple White Land”, but it came to be known as “The Lost World”.
    • Curley Howard was born in New York City, NY.

 

  • A.D. 1904: Princess Ozma assumed the throne of Oz. (44)

 

  • A.D. 1908: Oscar Diggs, the onetime Wizard of Oz, returned to Oz and took up residence there with Ozma's permission. (45)

 

  • A.D. 1910: Dorothy Gale, who was now twenty years old, went to live in the Emerald City. (46)

 

  • A.D. 1911:
    • The Fourth Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane Smith battled Sutekh the Destroyer, in England and on Mars.
    • The Spanish Inquisition invaded a house in Jarrow in the U.K. No one expected it.

 

  • A.D, 1913:
    • Kal-El was born on Krypton to Jor-El and Lara. Jor-El, a leading Kryptonian scientist, became convinced that Krypton was doomed but was unable to convince the Kryptonian leadership. Jor-El conceived the idea of escaping Krypton by using rockets.
    • That same year, An Irish-American named Jiggs won a large sum of money in a lottery. His wife Maggie became an inveterate social climber.

 

THE GREAT WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH (A.D. 1914 - A.D. 1937)

This period would mark the first of the great wars of the Twentieth Century and its aftermath, which was largely taken up with what would come to be known as the Great Depression.

  • A.D. 1914:
    • The Great War (Later known as “World War One”) began in August. It lasted until November 1918. The greatest pilot of this war was Hans Von Hammer, known to the allies as the Enemy Ace. Other famous pilots included the Vulture Squadron, who used unusual experimental aircraft to try to disrupt Allied communications. (47)
    • Bruce Wayne was born in Gotham City, NJ.
    • Cartoonist/scientist Winsor McCay opened an interdimensional bridge between Los Angeles and the other-dimensional realm known as “Toontown”. (48)

 

  • A.D. 1915:
    • Jor-El of Krypton launched his family's pet dog Krypto into space while testing a prototype rocket. A meteor deflected the rocket into deep space, and Jor-El considered the dog lost.
    • The Toonerville Trolley began operation.

 

  • A.D. 1916:
    • Hercule Poirot, living in exile in Britain, began his career as a detective.
    • Jor-El launched his son Kal-El into space as Krypton was destroyed. Kal-El landed on Earth and was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent of Smallville, KS, who named him “Clark”.

 

  • A.D. 1917:
    • Vito Corleone first became involved in criminal activities.
    • Captain Edmund Blackadder was killed in World War One.

 

  • A.D. 1919:
    • Barney Google obtained a horse called “Spark Plug”.
    • With the opening of the Toon Realm, many Toons came to Earth and found work in the nascent motion picture industry. Among these was Felix the Cat, who became one of the first Toon film stars.
    • Castor Oyl, his sister Olive, and her boyfriend, Ham Gravy, had many adventures together.

 

  • A.D. 1921:
    • Walt Wallet adopted the foundling Skeezix.
    • In Egypt, an expedition led by Sir Joseph Whemple inadvertently revived Im-Ho-Tep.

 

  • A.D. 1923: Tokyo Prefectural 49th Junior High School was established. (49)

 

  • A.D. 1924: Events this year included:
    • Casper Milquetoast was known to be the mildest-mannered man who ever lived. (50)
    • Oliver Warbucks adopted a little orphan girl named “Annie”.
    • Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered.

 

  • A.D. 1925: On a duplicate Earth, the child mage Tanya von Degurechaff was drafted to fight for her Empire. (51)

 

  • A.D. 1926:
    • The infamous artist Richard Upton Pickman disappeared mysteriously.
    • The Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble and Agatha Christie battled a Vespiform.

 

  • A.D. 1927:
    • Buck Rogers was caught in a mine cave-in. A mysterious gas put him into suspended animation.
    • Dick Grayson was born in Gotham City, NJ.

 

  • A.D. 1928: Mickey Mouse made his film debut.

 

  • A.D. 1929:
    • Tintin and his dog Milou traveled to the U.S.S.R., the first of many adventures they shared.
    • Popeye the Sailor met Olive Oyl for the first time.

 

  • A.D. 1930:
    • Captain Jeffrey Spaulding returned from Africa.
    • The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones battled the Daleks in New York City.
    • Henry Frankenstein’s son Wolf von Frankenstein returned to his ancestral home with his wife and his young son Peter Friedrich Frankenstein. There he encountered the monster created by his father. The creature had fallen under the influence of the criminal Ygor, who pressured Wolf to help the Monster. When the Monster and Ygor were both believed killed, Wolf and his family left, eventually settling in America.
    • The aviator Scorchy Smith began his career as an adventurer.

 

  • A.D. 1931: Dick Tracy joined the Chicago Police department.

 

  • A.D. 1932: In Egypt, Frank Whemple met Ardath Bey (who was, in fact, Im-Ho-Tep in disguise), who helped him find the tomb of Anck-es-en-Amon. Im-Ho-Tep kidnapped Helen Grosvenor, a woman he believed to be the reincarnation of Anck-es-en-Amon. Frank and his friend Doctor Muller rescued her, and Im-Ho-Tep was destroyed.

 

  • A.D. 1933:
    • Clark Savage Junior (known as “Doc”) and his associates fought various “science criminals”.
    • Carl Denham brought the giant gorilla named “King Kong” from Skull Island to New York City, where Kong escaped and was destroyed by military airplanes  A subsequent expedition to Skull Island discovered a juvenile giant ape they named “Son of Kong”.  This ape perished when the island was destroyed in a volcanic eruption.
    • Rufus T. Firefly assumed the presidency of Freedonia.
    • Ygor sought out Ludwig Frankenstein (younger brother of Wolf) in order to force the latter to transplant his brain into Frankenstein's Monster. The operation was only partially successful, and the Monster was believed killed when Ludwig's laboratory was destroyed. Ludwig was killed at the same time.

 

  • A.D. 1934:
    • Li’l Abner Yokum and his family lived in the mountain town of Dogpatch.
    • Mandrake the Magician began his crime-fighting career.
    • Pat Ryan and Terry Lee met and began adventuring together in the Far East.
    • Barney Google met Snuffy Smith.
    • Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Doctor Hans Zarkov traveled to the planet Mongo, where they helped overthrow Ming the Merciless.
    • Donald Duck began his film career.

 

  • A.D. 1935:
    • The Toon named ”Porky Pig” debuted as a film star.
    • The Second Doctor and Jamie MacCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield battled the Great Intelligence in Tibet. 
    • Lawrence Talbot became a werewolf but was presumed killed shortly thereafter.

 

  • A.D. 1936: Indiana Jones retrieved an artifact known as the “Ark of the Covenant”.

 

  • A.D. 1937:
    • Daffy Duck made his film debut.
    • Slam Bradley began operating as a private investigator.

THE HEROIC AGE, PART ONE: THE WAR YEARS (A.D. 1938 - A.D. 1945)

While there had been mystery men and super-powered heroes in the past, this period was generally considered to mark the advent of the “super-hero”, with the first appearance of Superman and his many imitators. It also largely coincided with the largest war that humans ever fought among themselves while still confined to the Earth, a war in which the super-heroes played an important part. Events during this time included:

  • A.D. 1938:
    • June:
      • Clark Kent began his crime-fighting career as Superman.
      • The sorcerer John Zatara began fighting crime as Zatara the Magician.
    • October:
      • Journalist Lee Travis began fighting crime as the Crimson Avenger.
      • The tripod-riding Martians invaded New Jersey but were driven off with the help of Superman and Popeye the Sailor.

 

  • A.D. 1939: Events this year included:
    • January:
      • Doctor Elbert Wonmug invented a time machine that he used to bring the cave dwellers Alley Oop and Ooola to the present day.
    • March:
      • Lawrence Talbot was revived by graverobbers, and subsequently traveled to Vasaria, in Transylvania. There he encountered Elsa Frankenstein (kid sister of Wolf and Ludwig) and a Doctor Mannering, who attempted to cure him by draining his energy into Frankenstein's Monster. The experiment failed and both Talbot and the Monster were believed destroyed.  Elsa subsequently left Transylvania.
    • May:
      • Bruce Wayne began fighting crime as Batman.
    • July:
      • Wesley Dodds began fighting crime as the Sandman.
    • August:
      • Edward Blake began fighting crime as the Comedian.
    • September:
      • The Second World War began. It lasted until 1945. At the same time, the Hetalians began fighting their own version of the war.
    • October:
      • Professor Phineas T. Horton created the android known as the Human Torch. Adopting the name “Jim Hammond”, the Torch began using his powers to fight crime.
    • November:
      • Hollis Mason began fighting crime as the Nite Owl.
  • A.D. 1940:
    • January:
      • Exposure to an unknown chemical catalyzed Jay Garrick’s latent mutant super-speed powers. He began using them to fight crime as the Flash.
      • Carter Hall began using wings made of Nth Metal to fight crime as Hawkman.
    • February
      • The wizard Shazam granted Billy Batson the powers that enabled him to begin fighting crime as Captain Marvel.
      • After he was killed by criminals, police detective Jim Corrigan became the vengeful ghost known as the Spectre.
      • Dennis Burton began fighting crime as the Laughing Mask.
      • Allan Lewis began fighting crime as the Phantom Bullet.
      • Alan Armstrong began fighting enemy agents as the Spy-Smasher.
    • March:
      • Batman first encountered the criminals known as the Cat – later Catwoman – (Selina Kyle) and the Joker.
      • Chemist Rex Tyler re-discovered the “magic potion” of the Gaulish druid Getafix. Calling it “Miraclo”, he used it to fight crime as Hourman.
      • Elmer Fudd began his film career.
    • April:
      • Superman first met Alexei Luthor, who would become his archenemy.
      • Dick Jones began fighting crime as the Phantom Reporter.
      • Rick Raleigh began using his specially trained bees to fight crime as the Red Bee.
      • When he was orphaned by criminals, Dick Grayson became Batman’s crime-fighting partner, Robin.
    • May:
      • Kent Nelson found the Helmet of Nabu and began fighting crime as Doctor Fate.
      • Actor Richard Stanton began fighting crime as Madam Fatal.
    • June
      • Salem Ryla Nader begins fighting mystical menaces alongside Doctor Fate as Saleem the Witch Girl.
    •  July:
      • Alan Scott received a mystic power ring and battery, He used them to begin fighting crime as the Green Lantern.
      • Uncle Sam began fighting crime and enemy agents in the U.S.A.
      • Bugs Bunny began his film career.
    • August:
      • Claire Voyant began claiming the souls of criminals as the Black Widow.
    • September:
      • Exposure to atmospheric radiation catalyzed Happy Terrill’s latent mutant light-based powers. He began using them to fight crime as the Ray.
    • October:
      • College student Al Pratt began fighting crime as the Atom.
      • The reporter Tintin first met Captain Archibald Haddock.
    • November:
      • Abigail Hunkel began fighting crime as the Red Tornado.
      • Woody Woodpecker began his film career.
      • Rosibel Rivera begins fighting crim alongside the Red Bee as Ladybug,
    • December:
      • The super-heroes known as the Atom, Doctor Fate, the Flash, the Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, the Sandman and the Spectre founded the Justice Society of America, which was the first super-hero team.

 

  • A.D. 1941:
    • January:
      • When her flame-based mutant powers manifested, Danette Reilly began fighting crime as the Firebrand.
    • March:
      • The U.S. government administered the Super-Soldier formula to Steve Rogers, who became Captain America. James Barnes became his sidekick, Bucky.
      • Mark Todd began fighting crime as the Blazing Skull.
      • Cecil Turtle began his film career.
    • April:
      • The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond battled the Daleks on Earth.
      • Charles McNider began fighting crime as Doctor Mid-Nite.
      • Ted Knight invented the Cosmic Rod, which he used to fight crime as Starman.
      • Thaddeus Brown uses his escapology techniques to perform as Mister Miracle.
    • May:
      • Jeff Mace began fighting crime as the Patriot.
    • June:
      • Jim Scott, cousin of Alan, gained mystical flame powers after being exposed to a fragment of the Starheart. He used them to fight crime as the Human Lantern.
    • July:
      • Shiera Sanders became Hawkman’s crime-fighting partner, Hawkgirl.
    • August:
      • Exposure to an experimental explosive catalyzed Roy Lincoln’s mutant powers. He began using them to fight crime as the Human Bomb.
      • The mystical being known as Jack Frost entered the mortal world and began using his powers to fight evil.
      • After her mutant powers manifested while she was dreaming of the Statue of Liberty, Joan Dale began fighting crime as Miss America.
      • Sandra Knight began fighting crime as the Phantom Lady.
      • Exposure to acid catalyzed criminal “Eel” O’Brien’s mutant shape-shifting powers He reformed and fought crime as Plastic Man.
      • An injection of mongoose blood catalyzed Robert Frank’s mutant super-speed powers. He began fighting crime as the Whizzer.
    • September:
      • Johnny Chambers learned a magical formula which granted him super-speed. He used his powers to fight crime as Johnny Quick.
      • Medieval knight Sir Justin awakened after centuries in suspended animation. He began fighting crime as the Shining Knight.
      • Archie Andrews and his pals began attending high school in Riverdale, MA.
    • October:
      • Sylvester Pemberton III and Pat Dugan began fighting crime as the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy.
      • Jonathan Law began fighting crime as the Tarantula.
      • When her dissident boyfriend was killed because of his anti-fascist views, Yagihara Yukie went to live on his parents' farm.
    • November:
      • The Atlantean-American known as Arthur Curry began defending the world’s oceans as Aquaman.
      • Oliver Queen and Roy Harper began using their archery skills to fight crime as the Green Arrow and Speedy.
      • Greg Saunders began fighting crime as the Vigilante.
      • Pat Murphy began fighting crime as the Vagabond.
      • Vladimir Sokov began acting as a Soviet agnet called the Red Lantern.
    • December:
      • The Amazon Princess Diana of Themiscyra went to the U.S.A. Adopting the identity of Army nurse Diana Prince, she began fighting evil as Wonder Woman.
      • The Crimson Avenger, the Green Arrow and Speedy, the Shining Knight, the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy and the Vigilante founded the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
      • After the attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR drafted all of the U.S.A.’s super-heroes into one large super-team under the leadership of Captain America called the All-Star Squadron.

 

  • A.D. 1942:
    • January:
      • Terry Sloane began fighting crime as Mister Terrific.
      • Boxer Ted Grant began fighting crime as Wildcat.
      • After a transfusion of the Human Torch’s blood catalyzed her mutant super-speed powers, Jacqueline Falsworth began fighting the Axis as Spitfire.
    • February:
      • Larry Jordan began fighting crime as the Air Wave.
      • Raghu Seetraman becomes the Quiz Kid, sidekick to Mister Terrific.
      • Elizabeth Rose and Molly Preacher becomes Miss america Joan Dale's sidekicks, Betsy Ross and Molly Pitcher.
    • April:
      • When he was mortally wounded by criminals, Robert Crane had his assistant implant his brain into a robot body they had been building.  Assuming the name “Paul Dennis”, he began fighting crime as Robotman.
    • May:
      • Sergeant Nicholas Fury commanded the Howling Commandos.
    • June:
      • Sergeant Frank Rock commanded Easy Company.
      • Wrestler Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta began fighting evil as El Santo.
    • July:
      • The demon Wormwood was sent to Earth as a Tempter, with little success.
    • September:
      • Colonel Wilhelm Klink became Commandant of Stalag 13. Allied prisoners in his charge, led by Colonel Robert Hogan, began operating a sabotage and espionage ring out of the camp.
    • October:
      • Brian Falsworth began fighting the Axis as Union Jack.
      • Lieutenant-Commander Quinton McHale assumed command of the PT73.
      • Captain Hercules Hurricane fought the Axis as part of the Royal Marines.
      • The robot known as the Steel Commando was deployed against Britain’s enemies.
    • December:
      • When her mutant powers manifested after a visit to the Liberty Bell, Libby Lawrence began fighting crime as the Liberty Belle.
      • The wizard Shazam gave super-powers to Mary Batson, who began fighting crime as Mary Marvel.

 

  • A.D 1943:
    • January:
      • Lance Gallant and his murdered brother Michael began fighting crime as Captain Triumph.
    • February:
      • After exposure to an unknown chemical catalyzed his latent mutant powers, Jeff Jordan began fighting crime as Captain Wonder.
    • April:
      • Alfred Pennyworth began working for Bruce Wayne.
      • Tokyo Prefectural 49th Junior High School was renamed Tokyo Metropolitan 49th Junior High School.
    • September:
      • Steven Traynor began fighting the Axis as Jetlad.
    • October:
      • The Seventh Doctor and Ace battled Fenric in England.
      • Charles “Charlie” Brown was born.
    • November:
      • After a bolt of lightning catalyzed her latent mutant powers, Madeleine Joyce began fighting evil as Miss America II
    •  December:
      • Gloria James becomes Cherry Bomb, sidekick to the Human Bomb.

 

  • A.D. 1944:
    • April:
      • Watanabe Tsuru worked for the East Asian Optics, Ltd. Hiratsuka Factory.

 

  • A.D. 1945:
    • February:
      • Clark Kent married Lois Lane.
    • April:
      • Hans Von Hammer surrendered to Sgt. Rock.
    • May:
      • Yosemite Sam began his film career.
    • August:
      • The beating, undying heart of Frankenstein’s Monster was taken out of Germany by U-boat and delivered to a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean. It was then taken to Hiroshima, where it was presumed destroyed in the atomic blast.
      • Grade schooler Nakaoka Gen lost several members of his family during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
    • September:
      • The Second World War ended with an Allied victory.

THE HEROIC AGE, PART TWO: THE POST-WAR YEARS (A.D. 1945 -1960)

 Although the overt war had ended, Earth seemed headed for a “Cold War” between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. Even as many of the war-time heroes retired, fewer new heroes arose to take their place. While humanity moved into a new phase of internecine conflict, other powers took an interest in their world.  Events during this time included:

  • A.D. 1946:
    • April:
      • Mark Trail began his career as a nature photographer.

 

  • A.D. 1947:
    • June:
      • Diana Prince married Steve Trevor.
      • Detective Eddie Valiant helped clear toon actor Roger Rabbit of the murder of Marvin Acme.
    • August:
      • Dinah Drake began fighting crime as the Black Canary.
      • Ned Oaks began fighting crime as the Vagabond Prince.
      • Romeyn Falls was renamed “Astro City”.
      • The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions Graham O'Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair encountered the Thijarians during the partition of India.

 

  • A.D. 1948:
    • April:
      • Tokyo Metropolitan 49th Junior High School was reclassified as Tokyo Metropolitan 49th High School.
    • June:
      • Dick Grayson married Vicki Vale.
      • Doctor Sandra Mornay revived the original Count Dracula and Henry Frankenstein's Monster. Lawrence Talbot became aware of this and pursued them to America, where he enlisted the aid of delivery men Chick Young and Wilbur Grey in defeating them. In the end, Dracula, the Monster and Talbot were believed destroyed.
    • July:
      • Steve and Diana Trevor’s daughter, Stephanie Trevor was born. (52) At about the same time, they adopted an orphaned infant named Donna Troy.

 

  • A.D. 1949:
    • May:
      • The city of Neopolis was established as a haven for super-humans. Johnny "John Q. Public" Genovese was appointed the city’s first mayor.
    • June:
      • Joe Friday joined the LAPD.
    • August:
      • Colonel Lilliput (Sam Slinger), the Maid (Joanna Dark) and the Skywitch (Leni Muller served on the Neopolis Police Department.
      • Steven Traynor moved to Neopolis.
    • September:
      • Quincy Magoo, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote began their film careers.

 

  • A.D. 1950:
    • April:
      • Tokyo Metropolitan 49th High School was renamed Tokyo Metropolitan Cromartie High School.
    • June:
      • Bruce Wayne married Selina Kyle.
      • Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Blake took command of the 4077th M.A.S.H. in Korea.
    • September:
      • In the final act of their long war, the Cylons attacked and destroyed the twelve Kobolite human colonies in deep space. A fleet of 221 ships, led by the battlestar Galacticaunder Commander Adama, escaped and fled to Earth.

 

  • A.D. 1951:
    • April:
      • An intelligent humanoid vegetable thing from another world crash-landed in the Arctic, where it was destroyed by the staff of a U.S. military base.

 

  • A.D. 1952:
    • January:
      • Rex the Wonder Dog began his crime-fighting career.
    • February:
      • Robot ARCHIE was constructed.
    • May:
      • Claude Kane III began fighting crime as Radioactive Man.
    • July:
      • Tony the Tiger began his career as a cereal mascot.
    • October:
      • After learning he was dying of stomach cancer, Tokyo bureaucrat Watanabe Kanji struggled to understand life and death, and to leave a legacy by getting a patch of waste ground remade into a children’s park.

 

  • A.D. 1953:
    • June:
      • An American nuclear test in the Arctic awakened a slumbering Rhedosaurus, which proceeded to New York City, where it was captured with the assistance of the JSA.
    • July:
      • Bobo the Detective Chimp began his crime-fighting career.
    • August:
      • The "tripod-riding” Martians invaded Southern California, where they were defeated with the aid of local super-heroes. 
      • M. Hulot vacationed at a French seaside resort.
    • October:
      • Tintin and his friends made the first manned landing on the Moon.

 

  • A.D. 1954:
    • February:
      • In a remote section of Brazil, an expedition led by Doctors Mark Williams and David Reed discovered an amphibian humanoid they nicknamed "The Gill Man".
    • April:
      • The boy who would come to be known as “Bazooka Joe” began his career as a chewing gum spokesman.
    • June:
      • Giant mutant ants appeared in the New Mexican desert. Most were killed by the U.S. military, but some migrated to Los Angeles, where they were subsequently destroyed.
    • August:
      • Michael Corleone took over as Don of the Corleone crime “family”.
    • October:
      • Nuclear testing in the Pacific awakened and mutated a hibernating dinosaur that came to be known as “Godzilla”. It attacked Tokyo but was destroyed by Doctor Serizawa’s Oxygen Destroyer.
    • November:
      • Janie Jackson began fighting crime as the Tomboy.

 

  • A.D. 1955:
    • March:
      • A team led by Professor Clete Ferguson captured the Gill Man and brought it to Florida.  The creature escaped but was recaptured with the help of the Justice Society, who returned the creature to the Amazon.
    • April:
      • Godzilla II battled and defeated the monster Anguirus in Osaka before being frozen in an iceberg.
    • May:
      • Krypto arrived on Earth, where he took up residence with the Kents.
      • Doctor Eric Vornoff attempted to create a race of atomic supermen that would rule the world.
      • John Wilson behgins fighting the Ku Klux Klan as John Henry,
    • June:
      • Doctors Cal Meacham and Ruth Adams were kidnapped by aliens from Metaluna. A friendly Metalunan named Exeter helped them escape, even as Metaluna was destroyed.
    • October:
      • Captain Kangaroo took up residence in the Treasure House.
    • November:
      • J’Onn J’Onzz was accidentally brought to Earth by Professor Mark Erdel, who died of shock at the sight of the Martian. J'Onzz adopted the name "John Jones" as an alias and began fighting crime as the Martian Manhunter.
      • Time-traveler Marty McFly helped his parents fall in love.
      • Vito Corleone died.
      • On a duplicate Earth, groups of sentient cats and rabbits began fighting an odd parallel to the Vietnam War.
    • December:
      • Peter Friedrich "Frederick" Frankenstein, son of Wolf, returned to Transylvania to claim his birthright. He discovered Henry's notes and created a monster of his own. Despite some initial difficulties, the experiment was ultimately successful, and Frederick's creation took a respected place in society.

 

  • A.D. 1956:
    • February:
      • Beldar and Prymaat Conehead were sent from the planet Remulak to seize control of the Earth. However, the mission failed when their ship crash-landed in Lake Michigan. They settled down to live as ordinary Earth people.
    • May:
      • Gumby and Pokey began their television career.
    • June:
      • Alan Craig began fighting crime as the Silver Agent.
    • July:
      • Kathy Kane began fighting crime as Batwoman.
    • October:
      • Police scientist Barry Allen was struck by lightning and splashed with chemicals. This catalyzed his latent mutant super-speed, which he used to fight crime as the Flash II.
    • December:
      • Seismic activity in Japan awakened two hibernating pterosaurs that came to be known as Rodan. One Rodan was destroyed by the Japanese military and the other was forced back into hibernation.

 

  • A.D. 1957:
    • February:
      • Ace Morgan, Prof Haley, Red Ryan and Rocky Davis formed the Challengers of the Unknown.
    • May:
      • A giant mantis attacked New York City, but was subdued by Green Lantern Alan Scott.
    • June:
      • Scientist Ed Wainwright battled giant grasshoppers near Chicago.
    • September:
      • In New York City, a rumble between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks was broken up by the Silver Agent, giving young lovers Tony and Maria a chance to start a new life together somewhere else.
    • October:
      • After being caught in an atom bomb test, Colonel Glen Manning grew to sixty feet in height. He wreaked havoc in Nevada before being shot off Boulder Dam.
    • December:
      • In the Toon Realm, the Grinch attempted to ruin Christmas for the inhabitants of Whoville.
      • Aliens known as the “Mysterians” attacked Japan with a giant robot called MOGUERA, making territorial demands. They were defeated by Superman.
      • The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions Graham O'Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair stopped the time criminal Krasko from interfering with Rosa Parks' place in history.

 

  • A.D. 1958:
    • April:
      • Clark Kent Junior began fighting crime as Superboy.
      • The Kusakabe family moved to rural Japan, where they encountered the nature spirits they called "Totoro".
    • May:
      • Adrian Veidt began fighting crime as Ozymandias.
    • June:
      • Glen Manning reappeared in Mexico. He was captured and brought to Los Angeles, where he escaped and electrocuted himself.
    • September:
      • An alien creature that came to be known as “the Blob” arrived on Earth and began devouring humans. When it was discovered that the Blob was vulnerable to cold, the military froze it. It was subsequently captured with Superman’s help and confined in his alien zoo.
    • October:
      • A monster named Varan was discovered in a Japanese lake. It attacked Tokyo but was driven off.

 

  • A.D. 1959:
    • May:
      • Kara Zor-El arrived on Earth, where she encountered the Kent family. After arranging a suitable cover story, they brought her to live with them as Clark's orphaned distant cousin “Linda Lee”. In time, she began fighting crime as Supergirl.
    • July:
      • Aliens from planet Eros executed their Plan Nine by reanimating the recently dead but were defeated when Trent beat them up.
    • August:
      • The Seventh Doctor and Mel battled the Bannermen in Wales
    • September:
      • Michael Corleone had his brother Fredo killed.
      • As the result of accident during a nuclear experiment, Jonathan Osterman gained the powers which he used to fight crime as Doctor Manhattan.
    • October:
      • Hal Jordan received a power ring from the dying Abin Sur, becoming the Green Lantern II.
    • November:
      • Toons Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel began their television career
    • December:
      • Wally West became Kid Flash after suffering the same accident as Barry Allen had, which catalyzed his latent mutant super-speed.
      • Santa Claus battled the demon Pitch in Mexico.

 

  • A.D. 1960:
    • February:
      • First recorded exploits of Bill and Thel Keane, and their children Billy, Dolly and Jeffy.
    • March:
      • Aquaman, Batman, the Flash II, the Green Lantern II, the Martian Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman founded the Justice League of America.
    • May:
      • Ralph Dibny began fighting crime as the Elongated Man after excessive Gingold consumption catalyzed his latent mutant powers.
    • June:
      • Norman Bates killed Marion Crane and Milton Arbogast.
    • September:
      • Charismatic and slightly insane genius Professor Friedrich Kieselstein created Project Escape, in which he and 2,000 carefully chosen recruits took a one-way trip to the distant past to escape the nuclear doom they believed was imminent.

THE HEROIC AGE, PART THREE (A.D. 1961 - A.D. 1970)

As the swinging 60’s proceeded, a second wave of super-heroes emerged. The Earth faced numerous kaiju attacks, and these, coupled with several alien invasion attempts, caused humans to finally begin to understand that they could no longer afford to fight among themselves.  The Vietnam War, the last war fought between humans while they were still confined to Earth, petered out in the wake of the Kilaak invasion. Events during this period included:

 

  • A.D. 1961:
    • February:
      • A U.S./Danish mining expedition accidentally revived a hibernating dinosaur called Reptilicus. Military forces destroyed it when it attacked Copenhagen.
    • March:
      • A British entrepreneur captured an immature kaiju that came to be known as “Gorgo”, taking it to London. An adult Gorgo went to London to retrieve it.
      • Thanagarian police officers Katar and Shayera Hol came to Earth to study Terran police methods. They fought crime as Hawkman II and Hawkgirl II.
    • April:
      • Betty Kane began fighting crime as Bat-Girl, Batwoman’s sidekick.
    • July:
      • American businessman Clark Nelson kidnapped the Twin Fairies from Infant Island and took them to Newkirk City in Rolisica. Mothra went to the U.S. and /retrieved them.
      • Under their mother’s supervision, Stephanie Trevor and Donna Troy began fighting crime as Wonder Girl I (Trevor) and Wonder Girl II (Troy).
    • October:
      • Scientist Ray Palmer used white dwarf star material to become the Atom II.
    • November:
      • Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Storm and Johnny Storm were exposed to cosmic radiation during an experimental spaceflight. This triggered their latent mutant powers. They became the Fantastic Four: Mister Fantastic, the Thing, the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman) and the Human Torch II.

 

  • A.D. 1962:
    • January:
      • Hank Pym invented the technology that enabled him to fight crime as the Ant-Man.
    • May:
      • Exposure to gamma radiation caused Bruce Banner to periodically transform into the Hulk.
    • July:
      • Victor Von Doom assumed control of Latveria.
    • August:
      • An expedition to Faro Island by the Pacific Pharmaceutical Company found a
        giant ape they called “King Kong II”. They brought it to Japan even as
        Godzilla II revived. Godzilla II and King Kong II battled inconclusively before vanishing into the sea.
      • Student Peter Parker – a descendant of May Reilly - was bitten by an irradiated spider, which catalyzed his latent mutant powers. After his uncle was murdered, Peter began using his powers to fight crime as Spider-Man.
      • While vacationing in Norway, Doctor Donald Blake found the hammer of Thor.
      • P.J. Keane was born.
    • September:
      • Appalachian Jed Clampett discovered oil on his property. Selling the land
        for sixty million dollars, he moved to Beverly Hills, CA, along with his
        daughter, Ellie Mae, his mother-in-law Daisy “Granny” Moses and his
        grand-nephew Jethro Bodine.
      • Daniel Dreiberg began fighting crime as the Nite Owi II.
    • October:
      • Sabrina Spellman became a teenage witch.
    • December:
      • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer helped Santa Claus make his Christmas deliveries.

 

  • A.D. 1963:
    • February:
      • Josephine "Josie" McCoy, Melody Valentine and Valerie Brown formed a band they called "Josie and the Pussycats".
    • March:
      • Tony Stark invented the armor he would use to fight crime as Iron Man.
      • Wealthy Japanese industrialist Gondo Kingo was targeted by a kidnapper.
    • April:
      • "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers defeated Antonino Rocca in a tournament in Rio de Janeiro to become the first World-Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF)
    • June:
      • Hank Pym gave Janet Van Dyne the powers that she used to fight crime as the Wasp.
    • July:
      • Kara Zor-El began calling herself “Superwoman”.
      • A group of Japanese were stranded on the island of Matango, where they
        discovered a race of intelligent mushrooms. They were subsequently rescued by Green Lantern Alan Scott.
      • Doctor Stephen Strange became the Master of the Mystic Arts.
    • September:
      • The Ant-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the Wasp founded the Avengers after battling Loki.
      • Professor Charles Xavier (a.k.a “Professor X”), himself a mutant, founded the Westchester School for Gifted Youngsters, a school for young mutants. The staff included Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), a former actress with mutant size-changing powers, and Robotman II (Cliff Steele), whose brain was transplanted into a robot body after an accident. The students were known as “X-Men”.  The initial X-Men were the Angel (Warren Worthington III), the Beast (Henry McCoy), Cyclops (Scott Summers), the Iceman (Bobby Drake) and Marvel Girl (Jean Grey).
    • October
      • Judy Garrick becomes the Boom.
    •  November:
      • Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright met Susan Foreman and her grandfather, the Doctor, who abducted them in his TARDIS. Subsequently, they battled the Daleks on Skaro.
      • The Seventh Doctor and Ace battled the Daleks in London.
    • December:
      • The undersea Mu Empire attacked surface shipping with the monster Manda. The Japanese government sent the submarine Gotengo to Mu, where it defeated Manda and the Mu Empire.
      • Inspector Jacques Clouseau gained fame as a detective.

 

  • A.D. 1964:
    • January:
      • USAF General Jack D. Ripper attempted to launch a nuclear strike against the USSR but was stopped by the JLA.
    • March:
      • Mutant siblings Pietro and Wanda Maximoff began operating as Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.
    • April:
      • Godzilla II attacked Tokyo but was driven off with Mothra’s help.
      • Natasha Romanova began operating as the Black Widow II.  
      • Attorney Matt Murdock used his mutant powers to fight crime as Daredevil.
    • May:
      • Beldar and Prymaat Conehead had a daughter, Conjaab “Connie” Conehead. 
    • June:
      • Dan Garrett found a mystic amulet which gave him super-powers that he used to fight crime as the Blue Beetle.
    • August:
      • The JLA and JSA traveled to a “mirror” universe where they battled 
        the Crime Syndicate of America.
      • The space monster Dogorah attacked Tokyo but was driven off.
    • September:
      • Clint Barton began operating as Hawkeye.
      • Walter Kovacs began fighting crime as Rorschach.
      • Sylvia Barrett joined the faculty of Calvin Coolidge High School. (53)
      • The Munsters – Herman, Lily, Eddie, Marilyn and Grandpa – moved into a home in Mockingbird Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles.
      • The Addams Family – Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandmama and Uncle Fester – lived in their ancestral home.
      • The S.S. Minnow was shipwrecked on an island in the South Pacific.  The
        passengers and crew were soon rescued by Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
    • November:
      • Zatanna Zatara, daughter of John, began fighting evil as Zatanna the Magician.
    • December:
      • King Ghidorah attacked Japan, but was driven off by Godzilla II, Mothra and a newly revived Rodan.
      • A group of Martians kidnapped Santa Claus, but he escaped and returned to 
        Earth.

 

  • A.D. 1965:
    • June:
      • The demigod Hercules returned to the mortal world after a long absence, where he began fighting evil alongside the world’s heroes.
    • August:
      • Nick Fury became director of SHIELD.
      • By this time, the heart of Frankenstein’s Monster (see 1945) had mutated into a giant humanoid. The giant Frankenstein battled the monster Baragon.
    • September:
      • Maxwell Smart began working as an agent of CONTROL.
      • The Toon spy Secret Squirrel fought enemy agents in the Toon World.
    • October:
      • Reed Richards married Sue Storm. 
    • November:
      • An accidental atomic explosion revived the giant turtle Gamera. It attacked 
        Tokyo but was trapped in a rocket and shot into space.
    • December:
      • The inhabitants of Planet X attacked the Earth using the mind-controlled 
        monsters King Ghidorah, Godzilla II and Rodan. They were defeated by Earth’s super-heroes and military forces.

 

  • A.D. 1966:
    • January:
      • Hank Pym married Janet Van Dyne. 
    • April:
      • Gamera returned to Earth, where it battled the monster Barugon.
      • The First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet battled the Celestial Toymaker.
    • June:
      • Mifune Goh, also known as “Speed Racer”, began his career as a race car driver. His brother, Mifune Kenichi, began operating as Racer X.
      • The First Doctor, Dodo Chaplet, Ben Jackson and Polly Wright battled the War Machines and the computer WOTAN in London.
      • Victoria Winters arrived at Collinwood.
    • July:
      • T’Challa began operating as the Black Panther.
      • Hayada Shin began fighting alien monsters as Ultraman.
      • In Japan, cells from Frankenstein’s Monster had grown into Sanda, the 
        benevolent Brown Gargantua, and Gailah, the cannibalistic Green Gargantua. The Gargantuas battled to their mutual destruction in a volcanic eruption. 
      • Galactus came to Earth for the first time. He was driven off by the intervention of the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer and Uatu the Watcher.
    • September:
      • The robot Frankenstein Junior was constructed.
      • Clark Kent Junior, son of Clark Senior and Lois, became Superman II. 
      • Daniel Briggs formed the Impossible Missions Force.
    • October:
      • Cuckoo-Man, Diaper-Man, Rope-Man, Strong-Man and Tornado-Man formed the Mighty Heroes.
    • November:
      • Ted Kord began fighting crime as the Blue Beetle II.
    • December:
      • The Red Bamboo, a communist paramilitary group working from a South Pacific base, oppressed the local islanders using the giant lobster Ebirah. 
        Godzilla II destroyed both the base and Ebirah, while Mothra rescued the 
        islanders.

 

  • A.D. 1967:
    • January:
      • Barbara Gordon began fighting crime as Batgirl.
    • February:
      • Mister Fred Rogers first visited the magical realm known as the 
        “Neighborhood of Make-Believe”.
    • March:
      • Gamera battled the monster Gyaos in Japan.
      • A Japanese Mars mission brought back a spore which grew into the monster 
        Guilala, which had to be destroyed. 
    • April:
      • Japanese scientists captured an immature Gappa and studied it until its 
        parents reclaimed it from them.
      • Willie Loomis released the vampire Barnabas Collins from his coffin.
    • May:
      • The U.N. began gathering various kaiju  and confining them in a facility called “Monsterland” in the Ogasawara Islands.
    • June:
      • Vic Sage began fighting crime as the Question.
    • July:
      • The Chinese government sponsored the criminal scientist Doctor Huu to mine a deposit of Element X. He built the robot Mechanikong to do it. When this failed, he captured a giant ape dubbed "King Kong III" after watching it 
        battle Gorosaurus. King Kong III escaped and destroyed Mechanikong.
    • August:
      • The monster Yongary attacked Korea but was destroyed using caustic chemicals.
    • September:
      •  Ray Randall began fighting crime as Birdman.
      • Upon Bruce Wayne’s retirement as Batman, Dick Grayson Senior became Batman II. His son, Dick Junior, became Robin II. 
      • Jim Phelps replaced Dan Briggs as head of the Impossible Missions 
        Force.
    • October:
      • Kusama Daisaku gained control of Giant Robo and joined Unicorn in their 
        battle against Emperor Guillotine and Big Fire.
    • December:
      • The Kree defector Mar-Vell began defending Earth as Captain Marvel II.
      • A U.N. weather control experiment in the South Pacific accidentally 
        “created” the monsters Kumonga and Kamacurus, as well as reviving an 
        immature Godzilla that they called “Minilla”. When Kumonga and Kamacurus attacked Minilla, Godzilla II responded to its distress and drove them off. The weather experiment went further awry and froze the island, putting Godzilla II and Minya into hibernation. 

 

  • A.D. 1968:
    • February:
      • Lieutenant Frank Columbo solved crimes for the LAPD.
      • The Second Doctor and Jamie MacCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield battled the Great Intelligence in London alongside Colonel Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
    • March:
      • Gamera defeated the alien monster Viras.
    • August:
      • Aliens called the Kilaaks attempted to conquer the Earth using King Ghidorah as well as the mind-controlled monsters from Monsterland. The Kilaaks were defeated through the combined efforts of Earth’s super-heroes and monsters. (54)
      • The storyteller Cain took up residence in the House of Mystery.
      • The android known as the Red Tornado II began fighting crime.  He sometimes used the alias “John Smith”.
    • September:
      • Jim Reed and Pete Malloy worked together as members of the LAPD.
      • Steve McGarrett commanded the Hawaiian police force known as Five-O.
      • The mutant animals Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky formed the musical group known as “the Banana Splits”.
      • The competition known as the Wacky Races was run for the first time.
      • Gary Gulliver, descendant of Lemuel, journeyed to Lilliput in search of his father.
      • Professor Irwin Hayden, his daughter and his assistant, Link Simmons traveled to Danger Island, where they met the shipwrecked sailors Morgan and Chongo, and battled pirates and the Skeleton People.
      • Scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips became lost in a time tunnel they built for the U.S. government.
    • October:
      • An unknown agency caused the recently dead to rise and attack western Pennsylvania. They were contained by the JLA.
      • The android known as the Vision was constructed.
    • November:
      • The Second Doctor, Jamie MacCrimmon and Zoe Herriott fought alongside U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) and the world’s super-heroes to repel an invasion by the Cybermen.

 

  • A.D. 1969:
    • March:
      • Aliens from the planet Terra captured two Earth boys. Gamera pursued them to their homeworld, where he battled their guardian monster Guiron, rescued the two boys, and returned them to Earth.
    • May:
      • Tom Turville awakened his ancestor, Sylvester Turville, the Spellbinder, who had been in suspended animation for centuries.
    • July:
      • Stephanie Trevor and Donna Troy began calling themselves Wonder Woman II and Wonder Woman III.
      • U.S. astronauts founded the first permanent human base on the Moon, Tranquility Base. (55)
    • September:
      • Freddy Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, and Scooby-Doo began solving mysteries together.
      • Sam Wilson began fighting crime as the Falcon.
      • The storyteller Abel took up residence in the House of Secrets.
    • October:
      • The android Beautie began fighting crime.
      • In England, a sheep named Harold learned how to fly.
      • F.G. Superman began operating as Bicycle Repairman.
    • November:
      • Earth was briefly invaded by intelligent, tennis-playing blancmanges from the planet Skyron in the Andromeda Galaxy..
      • John Henry Irons begins figthing racism as John Henry Junior,
    • December:
      • A young Tokyo boy who dreamed of travel to Monsterland helped capture two bank robbers.

 

  • A.D. 1970: 
    • January:
      • The Third Doctor, Elizabeth Shaw, and U.N.I.T. battled an Auton invasion in England. The Third Doctor became U.N.I.T.’s scientific advisor.
    • March:
      • Scott Summers married Jean Grey.
      • With some help from the world’s super-heroes, the Third Doctor convinced the newly revived Silurians and Sea Devils to live in peace with humanity.
      • Gamera defeated the monster Jiger.
    • June:
      • Clark Kent Junior married Lana Lang. (56)
    • September:
      • Recently divorced Felix Unger went to live with his friend, Oscar Madison.
      • Michael Doonesbury started college.
      • Members of the Partridge Family formed a musical group.
      • Marshal Sam McCloud went to New York City, where he spent time serving with the NYPD.

NOTES

  1. This is a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000, Show 506: “Eegah” (August 28, 1993). Due to poor sound editing, there’s a scene where a disembodied voice yells “Watch out for snakes!” This became one of the program’s popular catchphrases. A while back, I attempted to create a timeline of all of the movies featured in the program over the years, and it occurred to me that this phrase might be what the God of such a universe would say to start it off.                                                               
  2. There is a great deal of uncertainty regarding the true nature and origins of the being that calls themselves “The Doctor”. For many years, they were believed to be one of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. Recently uncovered evidence indicates that this may not be the case.
  3. This was the avatar of the end to which we all must come, taking the form of a Goth girl. First appearance: The Sandman, vol. 2, #8 (August 1989)
  4. A cosmic being that possessed the power “re-set” reality when it had taken a wrong direction. From the anime Excel Saga (October 7, 1999 – March 30, 2000)
  5. A bird-like being of vast power that guided the development of the human race. Drinking its blood was said to grant immortality. From the Phoenix saga by Osamu Tezuka.
  6. A mystical being who served as an advocate for springs. From the short film A Case of Spring Fever (1940) as featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000, Show 1012 “Squirm”. (August 1, 1999)
  7. This is a riff on the Ussher Chronology, in which James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, who worked out that the Earth was created in 4,004 B.C. I just changed the date to 4,000,000,0004 B.C.
  8.   I’m reasonably certain that the idea that the Ice Warriors are related to the Silurians is not original with me, but I can’t remember where I picked it up.

  9. Derived from the TV series Dinosaurs (April 26, 1991 – October 19, 1994). For my purposes, I’m assuming that their actual society was not as “comedic” as the one presented in the program.

  10. This was my attempt to explain how the Bedrock people had a civilization that so strongly resembled that of late 1950’s North America. My solution was heavily influenced by the Doctor Who story “Invasion of the Dinosaurs”. (January 12 – February 16, 1974)

  11. First appearance: The Eternals #1 (July 1976) As you’ll see, I kind of used the Celestials as a tool to shoehorn in a bunch of different concepts.
  12. From A Centaur’s Life, by Kei Murayama. (February 2011 - Present) Draconids have non-functional bat-like wings, pointed ears and barbed tails. Angel-folk have non-functional bird-like wings and halo-shaped hair formations. Goat-folk resemble satyrs.
  13. From Interviews With Monster Girls, by Petos. (September 5, 2014 - Present) Demi-humans, or “Demis”, are random mutations that occur in humans. Haemophages (In the manga, these are called “vampires”, but I changed the name to “haemophages” to distinguish them from supernatural vampires.) are sensitive to light and have fangs.  They are naturally anemic and can make up this deficiency by periodically drinking blood, although it is possible for a haemophage to survive without blood through careful dietary management.  They were frequently confused with supernatural vampires and suffered much persecution over the course of history. Snow-women have low body temperatures and can produce ice from their bodies. They were frequently confused with the supernatural beings known as “yuki-onna”. Succubi are women who have super-human ability to produce sexual arousal in others. Dullahans’ heads are separate from their bodies, but they are connected by what we would call “wormholes”. Dullahans are extremely rare. I don’t know if it’s a little confusing to have natural and supernatural versions of the same creatures around, but I really wanted to get them all in.
  14. For my purposes, most human who develop super-powers are mutants, including those who are born with their “powers”, those whose “powers” manifest during adolescence, and those whose potential “powers” manifest only after the application of some external “catalyst”.
  15. Derived from My Girlfriend is a T-Rex, by Sanzo (October 27, 2014 – December 2015)
  16. This is derived from concepts hinted at in the original Star Trek. Essentially, it’s a sort of “cheat”, to allow for the inclusion of characters and concepts that otherwise might not be easily reconciled with the bulk of the timeline.
  17. From Mononoke Sharing, by coolkyousinnjya (March 2018 – May 2019). Among the beings that Momi created were kitsune, kappa, yuki-onna and rokurokubi.
  18. First appearance: Darkstalkers 3 (June 1997)
  19. In point of fact, the Doctor has interfered in Terran (and indeed, universal) history to such an extent that they are, in effect, one of the linchpins of reality itself.
  20. From Orion, by Masamune Shirow (1992)
  21. Generally, I’ve tried to follow the idea that all humans originated on Earth. I’m assuming that as they traveled through space, subgroups of these pioneers settled on various habitable worlds they found along the way.
  22. This is my personal alteration of events portrayed in Doctor Who “The Tenth Planet” (October 8 – 26, 1966). In the original, Mondas was a sort of “Counter-Earth”. I felt that having it be a vast colony-ship was more plausible.
  23. From Fire Emblem Fates (June 25, 2015)
  24. From Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (September 27, 1992)
  25. From Slayers, by Hajime Kanzaka (1995)
  26. I find the idea that the Vulcans and Romulans were actually elves to be amusing.
  27. I don’t know enough Star Wars mythos to be sure whether it’s canon that Coruscant was the human homeworld or not. If I’m wrong, feel free to mock my insufficient knowledge.
  28. From Valiant and TV21 (May 13,1972)
  29. From Hetalia: Axis Powers, by Hidekaz Himaruya. (2010- Present) They’re not actually called “Hetalians” in the story, I just invented the term because I needed some handle to hold them by. In-story, they are essentially living national stereotypes as manga/anime characters acting out the events of history as though they were anime scenarios.  No explanation of their origins is given.
  30. First seen in Soul Edge (December 1995), a video game series which featured warriors from various time periods fighting for control of a magical sword.
  31. Based on the story from the Gesta Danorum, by Saxo Grammaticus (ca. 12th Century) and Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, ca. 1599-1602).
  32. From Monty Python’s Flying Circus Episode 27 “Whicker’s World” (October 19, 1972)
  33. From The High Crusade, by Poul Anderson (November 18, 1960)
  34. First seen in Thunder #1 (October 17, 1970)
  35. From Monty Python’s Flying Circus Episode 37 “Dennis Moore” (January 4, 1973)
  36. From The Curious Casebook of Inspector Hanshichi, by Okamoto Kidō (ca. 1916 – 1937)
  37. First seen in The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
  38. When I was a child, the death of Beth March really bummed me out. Now I just think it would be funny if we found out that if she’d survived, she’d have grown up to be one of history’s greatest monsters.
  39. While her character is basically similar. Agatha’s adventures are radically different in this timeline from those in her original storylines.
  40. From Young Miss Holmes, by Kaoru Shintani (2007 -2011)
  41. From The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells. (1895)
  42. For the purposes of this timeline, the Three Stooges were Moe, Larry and Curley, and they more closely resembled their stage personae than they did in “real life”.
  43. From War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells. (1897) For this timeline’s premises, the tripod-riders were not native to Mars.
  44. From The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (1904)
  45. From Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by L. Frank Baum (1908)
  46. From The Emerald City of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (1910)
  47. From Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (September 13, 1969 – January 3, 1970) For my purposes, I’m positing slightly more “realistic” versions of these characters.
  48. I thought it would be appropriate that McCay (ca. 1866 – July 26, 1934), as one of the earliest animators, would be the one to open the way to the “Toon Realm”, which would be the home of the characters that I really wouldn’t want to try to turn into “realistic versions”.
  49. From Cromartie High School, by Eiji Nonaka (August 2, 2000 – May 24, 2006)
  50. From The Timid Soul, by H.T. Webster (ca. 1925 – April 4, 1953)
  51. From The Saga of Tanya the Evil, by Carlo Zen (October 31, 2013)
  52. From Superman & Batman: Generations II #1 (August 2001)
  53. From Up the Down Staircase, by Bel Kaufman
  54. I realize that in the film Destroy All Monsters, these events were said to have taken place in the 1990’s. For my purposes, I prefer to place them here.
  55. I’m positing that since the Belgians already landed on the Moon, the U.S. would feel a need to one-up them by establishing a permanent base there.
  56. In this timeline, Lana Lang is one of the characters who is not tied to her “real-world” debut.

 

Continued in Part Two

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Replies

  • Updated through A.D. 1600.

  • What about Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect being trapped on prehistoric Earth with our middle management ancestors?

  • As I noted above, I'm " leaving only characters that I know well and am enthusiastic about.". This is probably nerdboy heresy, but as I get older I find myself less enthusiastic about Douglas Adams as a writer.  My tastes have changed a lot over the years.

    Philip Portelli said:

    What about Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect being trapped on prehistoric Earth with our middle management ancestors?

  • Fair enough! Good thing it's not Thursday!

    The Baron said:

    As I noted above, I'm " leaving only characters that I know well and am enthusiastic about.". This is probably nerdboy heresy, but as I get older I find myself less enthusiastic about Douglas Adams as a writer.  My tastes have changed a lot over the years.

    Philip Portelli said:

    What about Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect being trapped on prehistoric Earth with our middle management ancestors?

  • Updated for the years 1601 - 1913.

  • What about Tarzan, John Carter, Doc Savage and the Lone Ranger?

  • Not a big Burroughs fan. (On a side note, not really why I left him off, but I can't imagine that Tarzan will ever be considered politically correct again.)

    Doc Savage comes later.

    Didn't think of the Lone Ranger, I've never actually seen/heard a Lone Ranger TV show/movie/radio show.

  • Updated for the years 1914-1937.

  • Just curious, Bob: have you ever read the Philip Jose Farmer books Tarzan Alive! or Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life

  • I've heard of them  but never seen a copy of them.

    Jeff of Earth-J said:

    Just curious, Bob: have you ever read the Philip Jose Farmer books Tarzan Alive! or Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life

This reply was deleted.