Timeline of Events

The Timeline of Events is a catalog of events that have taken place within the Ascendants universe.

1865

 * Erik Strauss is born.

1884

 * The Meteor lands in Georgia, the United States, where a man named Erik Strauss discovers and bonds with it.

1887

 * James Dayne is born on April 3rd, in London, England.

1890

 * Erik gets into a fight in the town he lives in, and is shot in the local bar. Before everyone's eyes, he dissolves into ichor, and reforms inside the meteor, experiencing his first death. Shortly thereafter, he is apprehended by government officials. They discover the strange properties of his bodily fluids, dubbing the substance "Ichor". Both he and the meteor are transported to a small laboratory in the Appalachian Mountains.
 * The Federal Office of the Abnormal is formed, an organization dedicated to researching the Meteor and its bond with Erik.

1899

 * I-1, the blood of Erik Strauss, is gifted to the first recipient, a man by the name of Arthur Van Der Linn. Unfortunately, the I-1 caused Van Der Lin to immediately develop powerful metahuman abilities, lose his mind, and absolutely level the lab and damage the nearby mountainside. Fortunately, Van Der Linn died a few minutes after recieving the I-1, and Strauss was reborn within the meteor, which was completely unharmed by the debris.

1905

 * I-2 Is first synthesized from I-1. All test subjects die, and experimentation is halted due to ethical concerns. Plans begin to develop a more stable alternative.


 * Thomas Draven is born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 5th.

1914

 * The First World War begins on July 28th.

1915

 * The United Kingdom and United States begin collaborating on a program in order to produce exceptional soldiers to fight in the First World War (known at the time as the Great War or the War to End All Wars). Thus begins Project Ares, as soldiers from the United States and United Kingdom are brought into the program.

1916

 * After eleven years of development, the I-3 formula is completed. No tests using it are conducted, but the data from its creation is used in developing a means to recreate the effects which resulted in Carter Maddis' powers.

1917

 * Experimentation begins using I-4, the blood of Carter Maddis, in an attempt to create an army of supersoldiers, known as Project Ares. Subjects are taken from various soldiers fighting for the Entente Powers. Unfortunately, the lethality rate of the I-4 proves high, and a full scale army unable to be produced. The nine surviving recipients of I-4 form into Blackout Squadron, which is lead by Carter Maddis, their progenitor and fellow program member.
 * The United States actively joins the Great War, and begins deploying Blackout Squadron in covert operations.

1918

 * Victor Flynn is born in Philadelphia on March 3rd.

1924
Robert Iger is born on May 29th.

1925

 * Given the success of Project Ares, attempts are made to increase the potency of the regenerative abilities conferred by I-4, in order to bring about a higher survival rate. Experiments on altering the I-4 begins.
 * Project Ares's success leads to the creation of I-5, which was successful in boosting regenerative abilities, but also conferred animalistic traits to surviving subjects. Unfortunately, all but one were rendered feral, requiring members of Blackout Squadron to terminate the rest. The laboratory where I-4 and I-5 were created are both damaged in the ensuing fight, resulting in much of the data on the formulas being lost.

1926

 * Attempts begin to eliminate the mental degradations caused by I-5 begin.
 * Aleksandr Menshikov is born on February 3rd, in Stalinrad, Russia.
 * After eight months of work, the I-5B is developed, and successfully applied on the first attempt. However, former police officer Donald McMannis, the recipient, though he remains mentally stable, undergoes drastic physical mutation, resulting in him transforming into a canine-like creature. The advancement of the I-5 line is subsequently discontinued.

1928

 * The desire to create a public team of superheroes to operate within the United States results in the beginning of Project Spotlight.
 * Amid some controversy, it is deemed that having female superheroes would be good for public image.
 * Volunteers are found for experimentation with the I-3 formula. The participants are given small doses of the I-3 formula, and testing for Project Spotlight begins.
 * Sergeant John Harrison, a wounded veteran of the Great War, receives I-3. His injuries are healed, and he steadily begins to grow more and more physically resilient. FOA scientists extract samples of his blood before his skin becomes too difficult to penetrate.
 * Lorenzo Mariano, a young reformed gangster, is recruited into Project Spotlight. He receives the I-3 formula, and becomes the very first speedster.

1929

 * Molly Fisher, is injected with I-3, and subsequently becomes the first telepath and the first successful female subject of Project Spotlight.
 * Tests of Fisher's abilities reveal that Sergeant Harrison is immune to her powers.



1930

 * The individuals enhanced by the I-3 experiments are introduced to the public as the Stupendous Seven. Their numbers include Justice Hound, Mistress Mind, Mr. 200, Professor Terrific , Lady Glamour, Laser Eye and Captain Invincible.
 * The government signs a marketing deal with the company CD Incorporated, granting them exclusive rights to produce comics and other merchandise about the heroes.

1934

 * Testing of the I-2 formula resumes. The survival rate for most of these experiments is still quite low, and most of them deteriorate rapidly after being made, meaning very few metahumans can be created with it. I-3 becomes the preferred formula, due to its higher survival rate

1937

 * It comes to the attention of the government that several illegitimate offspring, parented by various previously created metahumans, are being born with powers of their own.
 * Kuklov Andrei Makarovich is born in Siberia.
 * Antonio Mariano, the second successful speedster, is born to Lorenzo Mariano.

1939

 * The onset of the Second World War prompts the Federal Office of the Abnormal to resume I-4 experimentation for the purpose of enhancing Allied troops.

1941

 * The Stupendous Seven, as America's official team of superheroes, participate in the Second World War. Mistress Mind uses her telepathic abilities to assist in interrogating prisoners in the European Theatre, whilst Laser Eye and Justice Hound are unleashed upon its battlefields. Lady Glamour travels around the world, bolstering the morale of Allied troops, while Captain Invincible and Mr. 200 fight in the Pacific Theatre. Professor Terrific uses his enhanced intellect to assist in the Manhattan Project and in I-4 research.

1942

 * Mr. 200 is killed while fighting in the Battle of Bataan, and his corpse his taken by the Japanese for study.

1945

 * Testing with the I-2 formula begins, with the subject chosen for the experiment being US army soldier Victor Flynn. Flynn is administered an extremely potent dose of I-2, and shortly after having it introduced to his system, Flynn let out a massive burst of radiation which destroyed the laboratory he was in. Flynn did survive, however, and went on to become the hero known as Supreme.
 * Professor Terrific sabotages his own I-4 research and the bombs developed by the Manhattan Project, unwilling to allow such power to be unleashed.
 * Supreme is employed by the United States military to use his powers to cause a nuclear explosion in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the Second World War.
 * Professor Terrific is secretly imprisoned for acts of treason against the US government.
 * The surviving members of the Stupendous Seven disband, and continue operating separately. Creation of more American superhero teams begins.

1948
Robert Iger is injected with a dosage of I-3, turning him into the superhero Shellback.

1950

 * A group of disgruntled FOA scientists steal a large supply of ichor, releasing it into the water of the Great Lakes, causing a massive spike in the metahuman population. Several of them are captured, but a few defect to the USSR with their remaining supply, resulting in the Soviet Union beginning their own metahuman projects.
 * FOA security increases massively.
 * Alexander Caine is born in Baltimore on February 3rd.

1952

 * The Soviet Union introduces its first team of superheroes, known as the Red Stars. In response, the United States forms the American Superhero Society, which is composed of all American superheroes, both independent and team based.
 * Superhero production is increased by the FOA.

1955

 * The first use of I-6, ichor which bestows superhuman strength, is documented with a metahuman gangster from New York City. Said gangster, Sean Hanny, was possessed of inhuman prowess, and shared a measure of his abilities with his cohorts by giving them transfusions of his blood.
 * Knowledge of this incident resulted in the FOA increasing superhero production to attempt to stamp out street ichor usage.

1956

 * Argus, a government organization charged with monitoring metahumans, and capturing or eliminating those who become a threat, is formed as a subdivision of the Federal Office of the Abnormal.
 * Construction begins of Fort McLeod in the Appalachian Mountains.

1958

 * The first recorded use of I-7 is documented in Chicago, as a pair of thugs involved with a police shootout were able to withstand multiple gunshots, ending up killing five police officers and wounding seven more before finally being brought down.



1959

 * Construction of Fort McLeod is completed.
 * Dr. Kuklov Andrei Makarovich first synthesizes what the FOA will later classify as I-12 formula, which allows for subjects to be imbued with temporary telepathic abilities.

1960

 * As so called "street ichor" begins becoming more and more common, a new crime wave begins as criminals begin employing it more and more often.

1972

 * A less potent but more stable version of the old I-4 (now dubbed I-4A) formula, the I-4B, is developed. It gives provides a weaker version of the I-4A's abilities, but without the low survival rate.
 * A new brigade of US soldiers is formed, gifted with I-4B injection.

1973

 * Politicians in the United States Congress are blackmailed and bribed by the FOA into voting against the Case-Church Amendment.
 * The Dry Season Offensive prompts the first deployment of the (insert name) Brigade, (later known as the Thunderguard) a unit of metahumans enhanced by I-4B, and lead by Brigadier General (insert name).
 * The deployment of (insert name) Brigade turns the tide of the Dry Season Offensive, completely turning the tide and allowing for the American forces to march into North Vietnam, take Hanoi, and capture Ho Chi Minh himself by the end of the year.

1974

 * Corpses of I-4B enhanced American soldiers from Vietnam are recovered by the Chinese, who are able to extract some of the I-4B formula from them. China subsequently increases its efforts of trying to acquire other ichor formula, focusing mostly on stealing the dwindling stores of the nearby Russians.
 * China successfully manages to steal ichor formula from Russia. Subsequently, they rapidly begin their own superhero program. Their first success is a metahuman named Golden Warrior. Russia sends some of their own metahumans to recover the stolen formula, but Golden Warrior is powerful enough to repel them.

1975
President Mao Zedong of China unveils the Great Heroes of the People, China's own personal team of metahuman heroes.

1976
??The United States gifts shipments of ichor to Great Britain, France, West Germany, Canada, and Australia, allowing them to create superheroes of their own.??

1985
Argus's funding is increased dramatically due to growing threats of newly made metahumans.

Across the United States, second responders such as SWAT teams begin to be equipped with Mortalizer.

1986
Police forces in the US begin massive crackdowns on ichor enhanced criminals.

1989
Protests begin regarding the use of metahumans in military campaigns around the world. Pressure on politicians to remove them from military use mounts.

1990
The UN signs an accord that states all participating nations will ban the use of metahumans for military activities, restricting them solely to policing.

1991
The Soviet Union falls.

The International Superhero Association is formed.

1997
Daniel Seeklaw is born on July 27th.

2001
The Metahuman Registration Act is passed, following the September 11th terrorists attacks. .

2014
Diablo appears in El Paso, decimating both it and Ciudad Juarez. He is engaged by a team of metahumans, led by Supreme, ending up killing most of them. He is eventually brought down by a psychic attack by one of the last members, before having several nuclear bombs detonated on him. Supreme himself was beaten unconscious by Diablo and flung miles away, demonstrating that he was no longer the most powerful being on Earth. This event prompted the government to begin Project Horus, which would bring the production of more powerful metahumans should such a threat ever arise again.