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[indent][color=dimgray]Ever since man has been capable of hitting [i]other man[/i] with a rock, the world has been divided with power, between those who have it and those who do not. On this world, more than on ours, this division is more important than any other. Some secure power with the right mechanical gadgets and the years of study necessary to build them. Others seek out power at the bottom of a chemical vat, with the handshake of some otherworldly evil, or in the bite of a genetically unstable exotic pet. A few with enough money or federal funding simply strap six tons of bulletproof power over their chest and call it a day. All of these people, designated by their power, are known as [i]Supers[/i]. Some are heroes. Some are villains. Universally, they're all pretty dramatic.

We (That means you!) will be playing Supers brought together by luck, or rather, by being down on theirs. All of our characters, at least for those introduced early enough to be responding to this interest check, should be answering a call in the papers for Superheroes Level 4 and below -- a rare prospect in today's Super world of glitz and glam -- to join a revived Super group that has been retired since the 90's. Whether they are trying to relive their glory days, trying to seek vengeance, or are just superpowered and interested in the concept of sharing subsidized rent 10 ways, the players will all be members of the newly-reformed [i]Justice Squad[/i].[/color][/indent]

[hider=Supers]A Super is currently defined as someone employed by The Villain's International League of Evil or the Department of Registered Crimestoppers. They're known to strangers, their names are followed by gasps, and they operate on a much larger, more magnificent scale than everyday people. They settle their disputes by battling armadas of henchmen, or with battles that reshape the surface of the moon. They regularly steal or retrieve works of art priced in the billions, and are frequently on a first-name basis with world leaders and transdimensional octopi. Or at least, the good ones are.

Supers are classified by ten levels of power, with pitiful losers at the bottom and primordial god-kings at the top. As mentioned, The highest that any player-controlled Super can start out is level 4, so we're not exactly going to be reshaping the surface of the moon any time soon. Leave that for the big guys.

[b]Level 1[/b]
A Level 1 Super is someone worthy of pity. Statistically speaking, the majority of Level 1 Supers are children dying of disease, granted admission into the DRC or League through the actions of a foundation. Other than this category, Level 1 is the Level reserved for Supers who present a clear and present danger to themselves, either through an unfortunate power or complete lack of skill, who require secret monitoring by their respective organization. Such supers include super-affluent children, pugilist-themed heroes who sustained a great amount of head injuries, and those unfortunate enough to be born with human-torch style powers and no resistance to fire. Most Supers are told they have been promoted to Level 2 before their paperwork has been completed.
Eg: Humphry Dumpler, Flatman, Leatherboy, Mister Immortal, Ma-Ti, Dogwelder, Friendly Fire, Krypto

[b]Level 2[/b]
A Level 2 Super is essentially a LARPer, separated from a Level 1 Super through their capability of completing a fitness course. They have either completely mundane powers, such as those used by Backwards-Head-Harold, Quincy Quadruped, and Glowria, or use gimmicky weapons several grades below anything that can be considered lethal. Most Level 2 Supers fit into one of three groups; The first group are crazy people willing to shell out a thirty grand admission fee over their obsessive love of something like riddles or cats, and the second group is made up of walking billboards for companies, religions, charitable causes, and micronations, while those in the third group are superpowered persons with completely benign powers.
Eg: Jazz, Jubilee, The Riddler, Pepsi-Man, Calendar Man, Kick-Ass, Arm-Fall-Off Boy, Foreskin Man

[b]Level 3[/b]
Supers on Level 3 are generally serious members of their respective organizations, but the bottom of the barrel for whatever reason. Because of this, Level 3 is the second-largest categorization, as it includes powerless martial artists, gadgeteers with utility belts and arsenals of scientific tools, and legitimately superpowered individuals who are either too young, old, poor, or irresponsible to become "serious" Supers. The highest level that a sidekick can be is Level 3, leading many heroes to stay at the level intentionally until they can be picked up by a higher-ranking Super as a sidekick.
Eg: Iron Fist, Matter-Eater Lad, Blue Beetle, Hawkwoman, Nemesis Kid, The Goon, Bouncing Boy

[b]Level 4[/b]
A Super on Level 4 is the most common categorization, as it is generally the level many Supers make or break their career during. Level 4 is the first level a Super must attain to enlist a sidekick or recruit henchmen, and is a requirement to join a Super group larger than a temporary team-up, have a legally recognized personal logo, or use any weapon that cannot be considered a firearm. They are separated from Level 3 by an endorsement from three existing Level 4 Supers of their organization, and are generally deputized in their county to bring criminals to justice.
Eg: The Thing, Ant-Man, Storm, Taskmaster, Spiderman, She-Hulk, Bulletman, Hawkeye, Dick Tracy

[b]Level 5[/b]
A Level 5 Super is one of the lesser populated groups -- Bad candidates for Level 5 stay at Level 4, and good level 5's usually have a work ethic that makes them yearn to become Level 6's, who have considerably more Super-related rights. Supers at Level 5 can found Super groups, and have access to otherworldly materials, typically meaning alien technology, magical artifacts, or use of an item from brought from the future.
Eg: Mr. Fantastic, Zatanna, Booster Gold, Starfire, Cyclops, Aquaman, Bishop, The Flash, Green Lantern

[b]Level 6[/b]
A Level 6 Super is given the right to bear arms, creating a large power gap between Levels 5 and 6. Because of this allowance, Level 6 Supers are allowed to kill their nemesis, or members of their nemesis' super group. Level 6 Supers are given deputizations for their state, allowed to bring criminals to justice at a larger scale, or be more easily forgiven for the deaths of bystanders during large-scale raids and attacks. Level 6 Supers are the third largest group for both the League and DRC, as many retire quickly upon receiving their Level out of fear for their lives, and the greater pension offered at this level.
Eg: The Punisher, Wolverine, Deathstroke, Red Hood, Hellboy, Cable, Bullseye, The Joker, Bane

[b]Level 7[/b]
A Super at Level 7 is powerful -- not extremely powerful like a Level 8 or reasonably powerful like a Level 6, but simply, powerful. Level 7's can hold their own against entire local police forces or supervillain groups, and are usually famous enough to live in affluence. Level 7's are separated from Level 6's by successfully killing at least one arch-rival, as well as a secondary payment of their membership fee (A hefty thirty thousand dollars) to cover the yearly payments of their deceased ex-rival. Because Supers do not receive additional benefits at Level 7, the Level is stereotyped as being a wealthier version of the previous level.
Eg: Batman, Ironman, Lex Luthor, Black Panther, Professor X, Emma Frost, The Green Goblin, Kingpin

[b]Level 8[/b]
A Level 8 Super is the most powerful a Super can be without being considered one of the most powerful Supers. It is the last Level where a Super gains benefits, such as a country-wide legal jurisdiction. Superheroes at this level are usually entangled in federal affairs, whereas Supervillains at Level 8 lead and fund global crime syndicates. Where a Level 6 can effectively fight a town's police department, a Level 8 can effectively battle an army.
Eg: Captain America, Thor, Apocalypse, Scarlet Witch, Red Skull, Cobra Commander, Doomsday, Dr. Doom

[b]Level 9[/b]
A Level 9 Super is nearly equal in power to their respective organizations, and are thereby under the most monitoring. Because they are effectively the highest ranking of Supers, Level 9's are typically working towards retirement, or are powerful enough to continue Super-ing forever, granted they do not make themselves a worldwide target by attempting to proclaim the title of a Level 10 Super. Fortunately, most that reach this point are smart enough to [i]not[/i] want to announce that they are the most powerful being alive.
Eg: Iceman, Shazam, Magneto, Martian Manhunter, Doctor Strange, Braniac, Mister Mxyzptlk

[b]Level 10[/b]
In both the League and the DRC, Level 10 is explicitly [i]never[/i] granted -- it is only used by those so powerful that their respective organizations could not possibly hope to restrain them with rules, who can proclaim that they are a Level 10 Super without repercussion. Fortunately, they're kind of hard to find and tend to keep to themselves. There are currently three Level 10's; Captain Cosmos, Olympian, and X, who respectively live in the core of the Sun, a fortress on the North Pole, and an entirely separate dimension.
Eg: Doctor Manhattan, Galactus, The Silver Surfer, Superman, Goku, The Mask, Spectre

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[hider=The World]The Super world is much like our own, but with superheroes. History is identical to ours up until 1948, the year Trent Harks discovered the Girdle of Zeus and became Captain Titan. Since then, societal shifts have been the same as our universe, though they have also been reflected by Supers. The first Supers in the late 40's and 50's were largely tools of patriotic American propaganda, who donned golden age costumes and battled campy villains such as "Yellow Peril" and "Captain Catastrophe". Crimefighting Supers were officially regulated in 1952 with the founding of the Department of Regulated Crimefighters. A year later, a criminal Super known as Black Mask founded the Brotherhood of Evildoing in order to similarly organize villainy, though theirs is at a unionized level. Since then, the two regulatory organizations have worked within an alliance of sort, right down to their similarly-organized rulebooks.

As a result of the race to create nuclear-powered Supers in the 40s and 50s, many heroes of the golden age -- Comrade Red, Atomic Man, and the Nuclear Family, in particular -- died of radiation cancer in the early 60's. Along with the controversial use of Supers in Vietnam and society embracing pacifism as a whole, the role of Supers shifted to fighting (or abetting) low-scale crimes such as drug trafficking and extortion rather than aiding international conflicts. Heroes like Groovemaster and [/hider]
[hider=Major Organizations][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/WQbzXUe.png[/img]

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The Villain's International League of Evil, more commonly abbreviated simply as [i]The League[/i], was founded in 1953 as The Brotherhood of Evildoing, though this was changed to "The League of Evildoing" in 1967 in the infamous "Electricia v. Brotherhood of Evildoing" case, and once more to the current name in 1971 as part of a rebranding effort. It is essentially a global trade union for villains, serving as the authority over every facet of supervillainy, be it dealing with a villain’s legal recourse, supplying henchmen, screening offensive alter-egos and gimmicks, creating suitable nemesis pairings for heroes, and so on. The League’s rulebook is bound in human flesh, and is extensive, strict, and notoriously bulletproof -- There are no loopholes to be exploited, or any matter it does not cover in [i]great[/i] detail. The League’s legal team is one of the best in the world, and when matters can no longer be settled in courtrooms, they rely on their equally-skilled assassins.

VILE employees -- entirely separate from villains -- are somewhere between Imperial Stormtroopers and the DMV. They handle the massive amount of paperwork generated by the League, as well as public relations and administration. They are all identical, wearing black uniforms likened to pajamas and plastic skull masks resembling their logo, which has a considerably thin mouth grate, muffling their speech at all times and making it impossible for employees to take lunch breaks. The League is led by its founder, the aging and increasingly senile [i]Black Phantom[/i]. His current decline in health and subsequent need for replacement is an unspoken issue and the subject of constant gossip within the League, as there is no known replacement lined up.

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[hr][hr][h2][b]The Department of Registered Crimestoppers[/b][/h2][hr][hr][/center]
The Department of Registered Crimestoppers is a federally owned bureau of management for heroes, founded in 1944 after the infamous [i]Mighty Man Incident[/i], wherein Sam J. Reynolds, AKA Mighty Man, was found guilty of Destruction of Property by a prosecutor seeking payment for a barn damaged by Mighty Man's flight. After breaking the handcuffs he was placed in, Mighty Man incinerated the courthouse with his heat-vision and flew to Nicaragua, where he remains in hiding to this day. The proceeding national outcry lead to the DRC's establishment, and federal funding for devices and training to handle Supers. Due to the passive role heroes take defending themselves from villains, the DRC has significantly fewer rules than their counterpart organization, though this is not to say that the rules are not enforced as strictly as VILE’s. Most of the DRC’S rules focus on acceptable levels of force and permitted scenarios for the escalation of conflict -- As an organization, the DRC is more focused on capturing unregistered heroes and villains and threats to global safety. They typically only involve themselves in the affairs of higher level villains, such as those capable of purchasing nuclear weapons or summoning world-devouring creatures. They are also in charge of assigning appropriate “Units”, which are essentially sets of preapproved dynamics such as “Lone Hero”, “Hero Family” or “Hero/Sidekick”. When a single man in a cave applies for a young, spandex-wrapped male sidekick, it is the DRC's screenings they have to pass. When Super families routinely risk their child's safety crawling into tombs to press secret buttons, it is the DRC who investigates. When a [i]hero[/i] breaks the rules, it is the DRC who hunts them down.[/hider]
[hider=Style]Most Supers have a secret ID. After all, these are superheroes in a world relatively analogous to ours, and alter egos are the best way of keeping away those John-Lennon-Assassin types who have shrines to you in their spare bathroom. Alter egos are easy to imitate, however, and there's money to be made in endorsements and public appearances, so basically any Super who's anybody is registered with DHR or the League. Some supers don't have secret identities because their lives are tied to their work, though those supers typically have nicknames -- Think 007, Indiana Jones, Flash Gordon, or Buck Rogers. While the 1960's Mod Scene is the dominant motif, your ultra [i]does not[/i] have to follow it; There's room for gymnast assassins in black vinyl bodysuits, super-nerds loaded with spherical white plastic gadgets, Victorian or Edwardian throwbacks, fantastically-colored ethnic costumes, archetypal heroes like cowboys and detectives, shadowy figures of dark magic, etc. Create a style, but seriously, [i]own it[/i].

Not all supers are super-wealthy, but most have enough to live a life of leisure punctuated with battles against tentacled horrors or the brain-washed militia of self-proclaimed messiahs. The money for these wealthy supers comes from a complex array of endorsement deals, action figures, fashion labels, and other investment schemes driven primarily by the worth of celebrity status and the occasional cash reward. To maintain this cash flow, supers are frequently fashionably larger than life. Villains spend months planning the dramatic entrance that will crash Royal Weddings, and heroes spend their inheritances commissioning bulletproof wingsuits.

The player characters are not nearly this wealthy. In fact, they should all be relatively down on their luck. For the purposes of worldbuilding, I'll describe two accepted characters; An elderly Chinese martial artist who could only find work in his youth as a racist caricature who was eventually [i]replaced[/i] for being a racist caricature, and an out-of-work DHR agent still reeling from the psychological effects of failed experimental super-serum.
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