Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Lost Legion

The Lost Legion are a group of heroes that existed before the 21st century as a super-team in the world of the The Canadian Legion. Victor MacDonald, head of the CSIS Super-Human Division worked briefly with the team on their only active missions during the 80's. The goal of the Lost Legion was to protect humanity from outside influences; primarily evil beings that might use mankind for their own purposes or supernatural devices that could alter the course of human development. All of them were refered to in modern literature as a cover story, by using their personalities and stories to entertain the masses, they were able to remain men of myth and legend. This allowed them to operate in secret for decades.

The members of the team are:

Ebenezer Scrooge

Gifted with the ability to see the dead, Ebenezer used this ability to make himself incredibly wealthy. His greedy, selfish ways indirectly lead to the death of his business partner Jacob Marley. Marley cursed Scrooge, forever denying him an end to his lift until all the wrongs he had done were made right. For over a century Scrooge has tried to break this curse, financing the Lost Legion and doing his best to make right the evils of his past.

The Martian Machinist

On Halloween, 1938, the Martians attempted to invade the Earth. Unfortunately they were not prepared for Earth's atmosphere and died from disease right before their moment of victory. The Lost Legion covered up the invasion to protect humanity from the knowledge that Martians existed, a fact the world was not ready for. One lone Martian survived and was given a chance to help repair the damage the Martians cost. Although his body is small and weak, the technogy at his disposal is incredibly powerful.

The Yankee Fighter

Bruce Carter III obtained his superhuman powers when the ghost of his ancestor Bruce Carter I, a hero from the American War of Independence, appeared to him and showed him the location of a magical cloak that could give the wearer the ability to become intangible, teleport and immortality as a living spirit. He also carries a Civil War era rifle that fires mystical, explosive shells.

The Terror

In 1941 Chemist Robert Benton discovered a chemical known as "Dark Ether", an almost living substance of great power. The Ether grants him invulnerability and great strength, but it taints his soul every time he uses it. The evil within has changed him, but has so far not corrupted him.

The Sphinx

For centuries Ramses the Immortal ruled Egypt, fighting for his people and protecting Africa from supernatural threats. But immortality proved a great weight for Ramses to carry and he made many mistakes, including the famous battle between himself and Moses. Ramses was granted his powers by The Sphinx and when Cleopatra betrayed him to the Greeks, he became known only as The Sphinx and did not return to Egypt for many, many years. Ramses is incredibly strong, fast and invulnerable. He can predict the future moves of his opponents as well as see major world events. His loneliness has been a great weakness to him, one that has often caused him to make grave errors in judgement.

The Jungle King

His name remains a mystery, but he has lived in the jungles of Africa for over two hundred years. The King was born with a unique gift; any animals he encounters will see him as one of them and he can communicate with them when needed. It is believed he was raised to manhood by animals, until he discovered the Fountain of Youth and became an immortal. He does not speak, but he does not need to. He is strong, fast, an almost superhuman hunter and tracker and a wildman in combat. He uses a knife like an extension of his hand and can do things no mortal man could do. His only flaw is his lack of respect for human law, to the King, the law of the jungle reigns.

2 comments:

Noah said...

Very interesting back stories all very much in keeping with the "golden age". It should be interesting to hear how the majority of supers end up in Canada...even in the past. I'm wondering what the cause is? Please do NOT answer this question. I am keen to find out as the story unfolds! Keep up the good work!

Richard Evans said...

I really wanted to avoid doing a knock-off of Marvel and DC during the "Golden Age". I needed there to be heroes in the past, just as a foundation to build upon, but I was really tired of rip-off Invaders and JSA characters.

Also, I think WWII specifically was a great time for heroes, but real heroes, men and women who fought for our freedom. Making a superhero and placing him in that time takes away from the glory of mankinds victory over evil and I did not want to tarnish a real, heroic moment in history just so I could be like everybody else. It was different when Lee and Kirby did it, they lived during the war. But now, we're just exploiting it for our stories and I didn't want to do that.