The Heroics (Team Bio)

The Heroics were the first modern superhero team of the goldaverse, with this being the case for practically all it's many timelines.

The group formed in 1906 after a troubling discovery made by the heroic duo of the Madame Madcap Twins, Doris and Dorcas Darcan.

With the twins, after they tracked down the final member of their father's old gang, discovered he was now working for a truly dark cabal of the underworlds most putrid figures.

Amongst its ranks included such imposing figures as Zigomar, Fantomas, Lupin, an older H.H. Holmes, Doctor Moreau, a monstrous man later revealed to be Wilbur Whateley and at the head of this rounded table of revulsion a shadowed figure whose stench was rotten and aura overwhelming.

Needless to say, the sisters observing this nefarious group from a distance were intimidated and did not pursue any kind of attack, instead they retreated to their home and base of operations and began to ponder about what to do, they needed to deal with the situation but could not do it alone, And thus hatched the idea.

"If these villains had assembled into a group, then we should also have a group of heroes to fight against them".

The two quickly got to work researching, combing through countless newspapers, pamphlets and pulp books from all around the country and even the world for potential information on heroes who could be a part of this team, candidates for recruitment to what would later be referred to as the first group of superheroes ever assembled.

Eventually, after a week of near non-stop research, they found 6 individuals they thought to be perfect for this coalition of counter-conquest.

The two quickly got to work, going out and recruiting these heroes from across the world, them splitting up and under the guise of Madame Madcap, inspiring mystery and intrigue in each of these individuals while also giving each a letter.

This letter informing the candidate of a potential threat not only to themselves and their loved ones but to the world at large, and in order to stop it they'd need to head to a specific address in the US on a specific day.

And so the twins quickly reconvened at the address provided in the letter, and waited until the day came, hoping, praying that each of these heroes would heed their letter of warning and come to the address.

With their prayers thankfully being answered as each of them, one by one, began to arrive.

• Hugo Hercules: A Melungeon strongman and towering gentle giant, He caught the twins attention with the newspaper reports of his incredible displays of strength speed and overall power, ranging from out muscling an elephant to even kicking a house a half mile on accident, His apparent connections to the strongest cowboy to ever live also made him a individual of major interest to the two
• Sherlock Holmes: some call him the world's greatest detective, none more vocal about this claim than himself, the good detective Holmes at this point had just rejuvenated himself not more than a few years before after an adventure with his American counterpart, with them discovering a bottle containing water from the fountain of youth, giving both men more time on this mortal coil, however he spent these past few years in somewhat a miserable state soon regretting his decision to prolonged his life, but the twins being fans of the old detective of course invited him to the party
• Nick Carter: some call him the world's greatest detective, none more vocal about this claim than himself, the good detective Carter at this point had just rejuvenated himself not more than a few years before after an adventure with his English counterpart, with them discovering a bottle containing water from the fountain of youth, giving both men more time on this mortal coil, Carter using the last few years to his benefit, making the most of them, continuing his heroic exploits with much enthusiasm, although the twins weren't as familiar with Carter, they soon found themselves admiring the man and gave him a letter as well
• Astro: The Master of Mysteries name had gone far and wide, with him alongside his assistant and fiance Veleska, compiling and editing together his journal entries that dealt with some of his most notable cases, into a best selling memoir, him also at this point having just gone through a life-changing event which left the former fake magician with rediscovered and very real magical abilities, The Master of Mystery also being a master of marketing himself it seemed had won over the twins making him there go to magic man
• The Nyctalope: The night creature and first of a new kind of hero, one of flesh and metal, brought back from the brink not by magic but science, The Nyctalope had made a splash in France as well as across the world, with him going on plenty a fantastical adventures that would end up getting recorded in newspaper and cheap pulp adventure novels, and the twins wanting to cover their bases and seeing the Nyctalope as their man of science they invited him to the table as well
• Spring Heeled Jack: London's patron spirit of chaos had made quite a name for himself over the few hundred years he'd been active, however unbeknownst to the twins there were multiple individuals who had taken the Spring Heeled Jack persona over the years, Also little did the twins know that the one they recruited was none other than the original mad jumper, Knowing the chaotic mind of Jack and how the people they were going to deal with weren't exactly the sanest themselves, along with knowing that Jack more often than not fought for good according to the papers they had read, made him a no-brainer when it came to someone to add to the team, him having a real understanding of the mind of a madman

Now with all the players in the game and at the starting line so to speak, the twins made their presents known to The assembled Heroes, and after some bickering between the massive egos and old rivals/friends, Holmes and Carter the team learned of the threat and bore witness to photos taken by the Madcap Twins.

Photos showing the insidious individuals at the round table of evil, and as the heroes looked at these photos, Holmes took particular note of the cloaked head of this gruesome group, something seemed, familiar about him, but that would be impossible, right?...

However this thought was interrupted by a surprise attacked, Lupin alongside some goons rushed the group of heroes causing a brawl to break out, after which the heroes agreed to work together and quickly began to unravel this mystery and fight the forces of evil every step of the way.

And eventually using their various skills and talents, they successfully stopped this team of evil and ended up saving the world from a hollow apocalypse and prehistoric pandemonium.

Due to the success of the group, and how public the climax was to this inaugural adventure, they were known and dubbed by the papers as the fantastic team of "superheroes" The Heroics, and made into even bigger icons than they already were with parades, statues, the whole nine yards.

This first adventure would of course lead to the team all becoming friends who only grew closer as time went on, them all eventually going on a new adventure against evil every couple years.

Probably one of the most notable of these future adventures is the Case Of Caligari & The House Of Madness, in which they got their first and only major and permanent addition to the team, in the form of the young master of disguise, Judex, The Judge.

Eventually though, in 1922 the group would have their final proper adventure together, when they dealt with the bi universal Martian invasion, that little did they know was also happening simultaneously in the reflective universe of their sister multiverse, that being the Diamoverse.

With the Martians defeat coming with a foreboding warning, that in some way this invasion was done as an act of desperation by these martians, in order to help build an army for the coming of the grand destroyer, the embodiment of all encompassing negativity.

Most members present for the Martians dying words would end up going to the grave with them gnawing at the back of their minds, say for Hugo Hercules and Spring Heeled Jack, Hugo being the last surviving mortal member of The Heroics, saw what the Martian warned of come to pass, but also saw the generations of Heroes he and his team help inspire fight off and win against this grand evil, and Jack due to his immortal nature actually participated in the conflict.

And although their 1922 exploit was their last major huraw, the team would semi reunite during the final battle of World War II, where they alongside other elderly as well as young heroes, who were left behind to guard the homefront of the US, would end up fighting off an army of robots sent by the final surviving head of the Axis powers and living in bodyment of bigotry and hatred itself, The horrifying and ever evil, Claw.

But that is a story for another day and article.

They're notable adventures include

• The Heroics: The Fight for Good 
• The Heroics: The Klan that Hates 
• The Heroics: The Case Of Caligari & The House Of Madness
• The Heroics: The Martian Calamity
• Aciesers: The Golden Finale, The Home Front

Hugo "Hercules" Hill (character bio)

 

Art by William H.D. Koerner
Character originally created by 
William H.D. Koerner

"A savior thinks he is holy and should be admired for being so good, always looking for attaboys, a shield knows he is human and a part of that is being good to be good, cause being good, being helpful and kind to folks is its own reward".

Born abnormally strong as the first son of the Melungeon family the Hills, Hugo was always kind and gifted growing up, eventually being inspired by his uncle Bill who was born similarly abnormal to Hugo and also grew up to be a great hero, like his uncle Hugo would use his strength and creative mind to create solutions and effectively solve problems, although occasionally in blunt ways.

With this strength Hugo, for a time went into the business of being a circus strong man thanks to his paternal uncle Urso "Url" Hill who ran the Hill Family Circus, but found the life ultimately unfulfilling, although here he would meet Not only a small bear cub who he would come to know as his first son Zeb Zuse, but also his long time rival, friend and blood brother in Samson the strong man, a hot tempered strongman who turned out to be a descendant of the biblical Samson, as well as his other blood brother and close friend The Handy Man from Timbuktu and his pet Tiger.

The three forming a sort of strongman Trinity for the circus, amazing people with their skills and strength while also incorporating sometimes intentional sometimes not comedy into their act together, eventually though with what meager funds he managed to gain in this profession, he invested into a house and living situation so he could live comfortably for a while and do what he really loved.

That of course being helping people however he could, while also being a representative for his people, a loud and proud Melungeon with a haint tree on his porch and everything, (around this time period is where his original comic strip adventures would happen) however getting to this point wouldn't be easy.

For a little while Hugo was a bit of a wanderer, a man with no home who would sleep at various different places every night, while by day he'd be doing his best to fight for good, however his hobo status would soon end when he met one of his first proper mentors, Everett True, who taught him about various things, From how to use a strength to even the dangers of bad investment, Eventually thanks to Everett's guidance Hugo was able to afford his own home and would end up going to the older, easily angered gentleman for advice from time to time, Hugo being able to bring out the softer side of the man and treating him like a son would a father.

Now Hugo's younger brother on the other hand pursued a life of full fledged business and ended up distancing himself from Hugo, but Hugo still visited His brother and his growing family, with there being no ill will between them and Hugo even unexpectedly helping his brother with business contacts most notably with help from Everett True.

Eventually his strength was noticed by the Madam Madcap twins and he was called upon to be a part of this world's oldest publicly known superhero team, The Heroics, and not only was he the muscle of the team but he was the voice of reason between the two massive egos that were leading it, those being Nick Carter and Sherlock Holmes.

And through both his own adventures in tracing his family lineage and discovering the truth of his heritage, as well as his adventures with The Heroics, he discovered a great deal about his extended family and made a tremendous amount of friends, who were to him new family members, there bonds lasting for years to come. 

Including an adopted son and apprentice he met during World War 1, Hugo Danner, The Gladiator, our Hugo helped the young man go in the right direction and become a great hero, teaching him how to use his immense strength and giving him outlets to use it.

With this he developed further his heroic ideals as being not just a hero but a shield to his family and people using both his influence as a well-known hero and kind strong man, on top of his actual physical strength to protect all of his family from evil, whether this evil comes in the form of bigotry, greed or what have you.

Eventually though The Heroics had their last horaw in fighting against the bi universal Martians in the Martian Invasion of 1922, after the fact Hugo would discover that his two nephews were orphaned in a trip to Australia, with the children and their parents being brutally attacked by some wannabe gangsters.

This leaving Hugo's brother and sister in-law dead, and the kids left for dead in the outback, only surviving thanks to the kindness of the local indigenous population, He also discovered that in his brother's will he was given his brother's, well, everything, until his younger brother's two sons were of the age where they could take their share of it, So now Hugo was a millionaire and head of a massive company.

Hugo quickly took up this position alongside adopting his two nephews as if they were his own sons, and as such teaching them all he knows about fighting and being good, alongside introducing them to his extended family, with many of The Heroics members being introduced to the two children as aunts and uncles alongside his other friends and family that he'd discovered and met throughout his life.

In this education he told them about his philosophy of being a shield, making it clear the difference between what he does as a shield and what others do as a savior.

Savior's are self-righteous and lack empathy, they do not understand or refuse to truly empathize and bring themselves to the level of the ones they try to "protect", while a shield understands the strife of another due to their empathy and/or experience, they protect from a place that is not self-righteous or selfish but instead selfless and loving, they protect not for glory But simply to do what is right, not just right by themselves but right by the people they protect, treating others the way they want to be treated and respecting everyone as family.

This ideal being taught in conjunction with the ideal that no man is an island, the belief that all life is and always will be a sacred gift, and that only in rare cases should that gift be taken away.

His lessons truly impacted All of his adopted children, from his first adopted son, to his two biological nephews, to even his distant nephew and even his Four adopted nephews, and these teachings of what it really means to be a hero, inspired these children to take on the identities of THE heroes for their generation.

These kids of course becoming all blood brothers, them being the aforementioned Hugo Danner aka The Gladiator, also Hugo Hercules's close biological nephews, Bart Hill (the future Dreaddevil) and Dave Hill (the future Dynamo Hill), as well as his distant nephew Andrew Henry (later known as Ace Harlem), and finally his adopted nephews Chuck Chan (The Green Turtle), Jeff Dixon although his real name was Strong Coyote (The Bronze Terror), Dan Garret (Hercules Beetle the Cheyenne Coleoptera) and finally Jeb T Charlton (The Skeleton).

Hugo used the fortune he inherited wisely as well, not only supporting social causes and helping to improve the lives of his greater family, but also investing greatly into the education of the next generation of heroes, including helping fund the Carter and Holmes's school for young detectives and a grandiose personal library with all the books, artifacts and what have you needed to teach his kids and others all they needed to know that he didn't know by default, and/or didn't have access to himself while growing up, on top of investing in the rare tutor that wasn't a family member working as a solid for him.

Eventually when his two bio nephews came of age, he gave them most of the fortune intended for them by there father as per his will, this on top of the Fortune he gained including the fancy house to the eldest of the two Bart Hill, with him offering half of this wealth to the younger of the two, Dave, again as per the will, but Dave instead insisted he make his fortune himself, make himself his own man ya know.

Bart eventually went on to use this wealth among other things to become the Deftdevil at first, and soon after the Dreaddevil, and Dave, after getting a terrible prognosis from a doctor took up his own superhero identity as Dynamo Hill, super detective, a truly self-made hero.

Hugo in most timelines lives to be somewhere in his hundreds, and sees the birth of his first generation of great grandchildren, before passing away peacefully in his sleep, but on his feet cigar in his mouth, his trusty cane Ybrikeel (a cane her carved from the World tree years prior) in hand, wrapped in leaf (a shape-shifting leaf from the branch that would become Ybrikeel), surrounded by the people he loves, has helped and saved one last time, standing tall even in his death, and living on eternally as an icon of kindness, generosity and a true shield of his people. 

Some of his notable adventures include

• Hugo Hercules: The Original Comics
• Hugo Hercules: The Early Days
• The 3 Super Strongmen
• Hugo Hercules: The Walk About Years
• The Heroics: The Fight for Good 
• The Heroics: The Klan that Hates 
• The Heroics: The Case Of Caligari & The House Of Madness
• The Heroics: The Martian Calamity
• Aciesers: The Golden Finale, The Home Front
• Aciesers: The Silver Generation
• The Masteroid Calamity 

(DISCLAIMER, THE VERSION OF HUGO HERCULES IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ADDED DETAILS NOT PRESENT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN INCARNATION OF THE CHARACTER)

SUPERSTUCK (story idea and brief synopsis)

 

A long time ago there was a world under siege by oblivion, And hoping to save their first child this world's greatest hero and his teammates decide to send this newborn on a spaceship towards a whole in the fabric of reality, This fissure from brief investigation seems to lead not only to a place outside their universe but to an existence beyond their multiverse.

Setting up automated systems the team of heroes leave the newborn in a rocket and go to try and fight this oblivion and hopes of winning and reclaiming their slowly disappearing universe, only to end up failing, with only one of the team's members escaping alive and being able to retreat to the spaceship before it launches into the fissure and they go beyond what they know to be beyond.

However after they enter this new multiverse's temporal stream and begin adapting to this existence our last hero is met by their now dead world's greatest villain, who surprisingly had nothing to do with the death of their reality and was also seeking to leave their plane of existence.

Needless to say an epic fight breaks out resulting in both villain and hero falling into the new universal timestream and being spit out at random points in both time and space, with the ship adapting to the new multiverse that finds itself in, and finding the perfect time and place to land within this new universe, 

The series of events leaves the child all alone as it crash lands on this new existence's equivalent to Earth sometime in the '90s, where this child would grow up and be unknowingly mostly raised by artificial hard hologram projections of his now long dead family, electronic ghosts if you will.

This is until April 13th 2009, 10 days after his birthday, and The date just so happens to be his cousin's birthday, as well as the release date of the newest big game that him, his cousin and their shared friend group have all been excited for, although come to find upon booting up his copy been trying to play with his cousin that his copy appears to be corrupted, Little did any of them know that This action and that this day would also mark the end of the world as they knew it in the beginning of an epic journey.

So yeah that's basically the synopsis of this idea I've had for a while for a Homestuck fan fiction type story thing, of course I don't own or created Homestuck but I really come to enjoy this idea and if and when I get around to make me the story a reality it would be strange but hopefully enjoyable with the protagonist being from a traditional comic universe I feel like some interesting elements could be added to the Homestuck story, hopefully one day I'll get around to town this story but till then this will have to suffice.

Think it goes without saying by the way, I don't own home stuck or anything like that This is just me posting an idea for a fanfiction alongside a mockup of the fan fictions potential logo which is made up of half of the official Homestuck logo which I also don't own