Earth 4

**Population:** 6 billion

**Universal Designation:** 4

**Leading Powers:** United States of America, Soviet Union

## **History**

**1914**

In the Andromeda Galaxy, the planet Krypton exploded. Thanks to the teachings of Jor-El, however, many Kryptonians had by this time left and colonized a nearby planet, Daxam, and were thus spared the cataclysm.

**1924**

Thomas and Martha Wayne and their young son Bruce were mugged in Gotham one night after an outing to the theater. No one was harmed. With no incentive, Bruce Wayne never became Batman in this universe.

**1927**

WWI veteran Anthony “Buck” Rogers was lost in a mine collapse near Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Exposed to a strange, radioactive gas, he is put into a state of suspended animation.

**1933**

The planet Daxam faced a new disaster. The Kryptonians who had moved there discovered that they had developed a weakness to the element lead and were now being poisoned by it, a poisoning that was irreversibly fatal to them. Jor-El and his wife Lara were killed, and Jor-El’s 19-year-old son Kal-El (b. 1914) faced imminent death. Jor-El’s best friend Kel-Gand had also recently died, leaving behind a son named Lar-Gand. The youth was about 14 years old in Earth years (b. 1919) and still in good health, but Kal-El feared for his safety. Kal-El remembered that his father had built a one-person “back-up plan” rocket when Krypton had been in trouble years earlier, and that the rocket was still functional and programmed for a safe planet in another galaxy called “Earth.” Kal-El placed his friend Lar-Gand in the rocket and launched it. Before doing so, he told Lar-Gand that he considered him a brother and gave him the name Mon-El, which in Kryptonian means “Always, Hope.”

### **The Minutemen Era**

**1938**

Hooded Justice stopped a supermarket robbery and inspired Hollis Mason (b. 1916) to become the first Nite Owl.

**1939**

Orphaned as an infant in the closing days of World War I, scientist Gary Concord (b. 1918) had devoted his life to ending war. By 1939, he had become one of the world’s most knowledgeable military strategists, as well as a leading chemist. Sensing the coming conflict of World War II, he hid himself in a vast, underground research vault where he could continue his research into finding a scientific solution to ending war. He would remain there in isolation for over a decade.

Hollis Mason began to work as a police officer.

Edward Blake (b. 1924) debuted as the Comedian.

Sally Juspeczyk (a.k.a. Sally Jupiter, b. 1920) debuted as Silk Spectre.

The Minutemen “superhero” group was founded in New York City.

**1940**

In July, the rocket carrying Lar-Gand (a.k.a. Mon-El) from the planet Daxam arrived on Earth. Although he had traveled through space for almost seven years from the perspective of someone on Earth, he had traveled much of that time at near light speed, and so time had traveled more slowly for him, and only about one year had passed from his perspective. He was 14 Earth years old when he left Daxam and only about 15 when he landed. He had amnesia when he first landed and couldn’t speak English, although he learned the language quickly and eventually remembered who he was. He found himself living in an orphanage in Chicago, where he adopted the Earth name Robert Cobb. He soon began secretly using his Kryptonian powers to fight criminals and Nazi spies. He developed a love interest in teenager Sally Benson, who gave him the alias “Wonder Boy,” and joined forces with Sgt. Crane of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

The Comedian attempted to rape Silk Spectre, but was stopped by Hooded Justice.

**1943**

At age 11, Dick Grayson (b. 1932) saw his parents killed(2 years after the main Universe, due to the Wayne helping to clean up Gotham. The murder still occurs however, because The Court of Owls planned on training Dick Grayson before he was adopted by Bruce Wayne and had chosen now to act). He took to living on the street and became a self-styled vigilante. He was killed within a year.

Lt. Aldo Raine of the U.S. Army recruited eight Jewish American soldiers with specific instructions to get him 100 Nazi scalps each. Operating behind enemy lines in France, they soon became known as the “Basterds.”

**1944**

Adenoid Hynkel and several high ranking members of the Third Reich died in a cinema fire in Paris during a screening of the Nazi propaganda film *Nation's Pride.*

**1945**

The Red Skull briefly assumed control of Nazi Germany using the reality warping Cosmic Cube, but was stopped by Captain America and the Invaders, who all died in the final conflict. Germany surrendered. Japan surrendered later that year and WWII ended.

Disillusioned with the Americans’ use of the atomic bomb against the Japanese, Wonder Boy (Mon-El, age 20) retired from crime fighting and went into hiding.

**1947**

Silk Spectre retired from crime fighting to marry her agent.

The costumed hero Dollar Bill died while stopping a bank robbery when his cape was caught in a revolving door, allowing criminals to gun him down while he was caught.

**1949**

The Minutemen disbanded.

**1950**

After more than a decade spent isolated in his secret, underground science enclave, Gary Concord believed himself to be on the verge of producing a solution to end all future war. Then his laboratory was impacted by the shock wave of an underground nuclear bomb test, causing his chemical solutions to mix in unexpected ways. Instead of killing him, the fumes invigorated him, making him taller, stronger and smarter, but they also created a foam that overwhelmed him and locked him in suspended animation for centuries.

**1955**

Wonder Boy (Mon-El, age 30) came out of retirement briefly to fight crime once again. However, he soon realized that he was now suffering from a lethal dose of lead poisoning, a condition that is irreversibly lethal to Daxam Kryptonians. He managed to save himself by projecting himself into the Phantom Zone, where he would stay trapped for a thousand years, the poison arrested from progressing any further. (The lead poisoning did make him immune to Kryptonite from that point on, however.)

### **The Watchmen Era**

**1958**

Adrian Veidt (b. 1939) debuted as the crime fighter Ozymandias.

**1959**

Research physicist Jon Osterman (b. 1929) was transformed in the superhuman being known as Dr. Manhattan.

Biff Tannen approached Richard Monkton, his future self had left behind writing within the Almanac alluding to future events. Tannen warned Monkton he would lose the election and predicted by how many votes. Monkton dismissed him until he was proven correct in 1960. Monkton and Tannen then agreed to work together. Monkton recruited Edward Blake as a bodyguard and assassin.

**1960**

With its economy continuing to falter since WWII and terrorism on the rise, the U.K. started to curtail civil liberties. Costumed heroes were outlawed and strict limitations were placed on many other personal freedoms.

**1962**

Hollis Mason (now age 46) retired as Nite Owl and revealed his identity to the public. Dan Dreiberg (b. 1945) contacted Mason about becoming his successor and debuted as the second Nite Owl.

**1963**

Professor Charles Xavier organized his first class of mutant superheroes, known as the X-Men, at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters near Salem Center in Westchester County, New York.

**1965**

Walter Kovacs (b. 1940) debuted as Rorschach and teamed up with Nite Owl to fight crime.

**1966**

Laurie Juspeczyk (b. 1950 on Earth-M/950 in our universe), Sally’s daughter, debuted as the second Silk Spectre and teamed up with Dr. Manhattan.

**1968**

Richard Monkton was elected U.S. President by promising to send Dr. Manhattan to Vietnam.

**1969**

Soon afterward, President Richard Monkton asked Dr. Manhattan to eliminate the global “mutant pandemic.” Dr. Manhattan had soon de-powered not just the X-Men, but also other superheroes with mutation-like superpowers, including Barry Allen (The Flash), Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Bruce Banner (The Hulk). Peter Parker continues to fight crime with just his web slingers and fighting skills.

French War Hero Paul Renault dies. student riots break out in Paris, which led to a civil war and a French Commune being established.

**1970**

After the Sarkhan War escalated, Richard Monkton implemented the McCarran Internal Security Act, which authorized federal authorities to detain persons deemed a risk to internal security without referring to Congress. Anti-war protesters, civil rights activists, feminists, black militants, and conscientious objectors are tried by special tribunals, then given a choice: either spend their time in a federal prison or spend three days in punishment park. There, they would have to travel across 53 miles of the hot California desert in three days, without water or food, while being chased by National Guardsmen and police as part of training. If they succeeded and reached the American flag at the end of the course, they'd be free to go. If they failed and got "arrested", they'd be sent to prison anyway.

**1971**

Thanks to Dr. Manhattan, the U.S. quickly won the Sarkhan War.

**1972**

Richard Monkton wins the US Presidential Election with Charlton Heston as his running mate.

**1973**

Two reporters, Mark Forman and Joseph Turner, were found dead while investigating the Watergate scandal.

**1975**

Adrian Veidt retired from crime fighting and founded Veidt Enterprises.

Richard Monkton proposed a Constitutional Amendment to allow him to run for a third term.

**1976**

Richard Monkton was elected to his third term.

**1977**

The U.S. Congress enacted the Keene Act, which outlawed costumed heroes that were not sanctioned by the government.

**1980**

The Comedian rescued U.S. hostages in Asran during the Asran Hostage Crisis

Richard Monkton was elected to a fourth term as U.S. President.

The government of Britain withdrew from the European Community and threatened to withdraw from NATO over what they saw as irreconcilable differences on economic policy with West Germany and others.

**1984**

Richard Monkton was elected to a fifth term as U.S. President.

In September, the Soviet Bloc launched operation “Red Dawn” and invaded the U.S. with ground troops north across the Bering Strait, and south from Latin America. The states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas became occupied territory, as did much of western Canada. A limited number of strategic targets, including Washington, D.C., were also crippled by nuclear weapons. However, the communists could advance no further and soon ran into pockets of resistance from guerrilla fighters.

**1985**

The Soviet Union conducted a bomb test in the Bering Sea, heightening the tension of the Cold War.

Edward Blake, a.k.a. the Comedian, was murdered in his apartment leading the Watchmen to uncover a complex plot. Toward the end of the year, an “alien” creature was teleported into New York City and killed millions of people. The band Pale Horse was playing in Madison Square Garden when the attack occurred. Peter Parker and his family survived due to his Spider-Sense going off.

Dr. Manhattan decided to leave Earth.

### **The World War III Era**

**1986**

Rorschach’s journal was published, and the world became split over the official story about what happened in New York. Was it an alien attack or had America’s own heroes betrayed it?

**1987**

Monkton died and was succeeded by Samuel Baker.

**1988**

Crime in the U.S. had increased 400% since the “alien attack” on New York. The entire, now abandoned island of Manhattan was converted into a giant, maximum-security prison.

On May 1, the Soviet Union declared war on the United States and its allies, citing information its spies had recovered regarding a U.S. plot to destroy Moscow. The Warsaw Pact soon invaded West Germany, and warfare erupted throughout continental Europe and Africa. With the exception of the U.K., the European nations all began withdrawing from NATO to preserve the peace.

In the U.K., social unrest and food shortages led to a greatly destabilized government.

In the fall, Major Vance Astro (b. Vance Astrovik) was placed into suspended animation and launched toward the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, some 4.2 light years away. As his ship, *Odysseus I*, was not equipped for faster-than-light speed, the journey was scheduled to take nearly 10 centuries. To protect him from aging, Astro was covered with a skin-preserving metal alloy body-suit, and his blood was transfused with a kind of preservative fluid. This was to be the last significant launch of the U.S. space program before NASA was dissolved and its funding diverted into military spending.

Biff Tannen won the Presidential Election

**1989**

A civil war began in Mexico, as communist rebels supported by Tropico and Nicaragua, began to gain popular support due to food shortages and the perceived failures of the free market.

**1990**

Max Rockatansky (b. 1970) of the Main Force Police in Australia was on duty as Australian society was quickly breaking down and certain inland areas had been designated “forbidden zones.” Rockatansky’s wife and child were killed by gang activity this year.

The civil war in Mexico ended with a victory for the communists, moving Mexico behind the Iron Curtain. Similar revolutions followed throughout most of Latin America. Meanwhile, Havana rose in prominence as the cultural and political center of communism in the Western Hemisphere.

**1991**

The U.S. invaded the Persian Gulf, ostensibly to drive a Soviet-bolstered Quraqi force out of Kuwait and protect Kuwait’s national sovereignty. The situation quickly spiraled out of control, however. The oil fields of the Middle East to became terrorist targets and oil production was destroyed. Civil unrest and open warfare soon began all over the world. Countries began choosing their sides. (Most of western Europe and Africa, embroiled in their own disputes, remained isolated.) World War III had officially begun. The first nuclear weapons were soon used. The United States refrained from using their arsenal and managed to stop all such weapons aimed at them using their Strategic Missile Defense system. Nuclear weapon use by other nations was surprisingly limited and nuclear fallout was mild (such as in the U.K.) to moderate, but still had an effect on food production and the world economy.

**1992**

Robert Redford wins the Presidency.

Steven Spielberg's *Pale Horse* is released as a Historical Drama about the Squid Attack.

**1994**

In Great Britain, the government collapsed. After a brief civil war with various factions fighting for control, the Norsefire government came to power and restored order. They began rounding up illegal immigrants and minorities and sending them to concentration camps, ostensibly to avoid the refugee overcrowding crisis that was happening in America.

**1995**

After receiving an experimental hormone, a prisoner (who will later be known as V) escaped from the Larkhill Resettlment Camp in the U.K.

**1996**

Australia had become a war zone filled with roving bands of marauders. Max Rockatansky (age 26) helped one community, later known as the Great Northern Tribe, break through one such barbaric gang and get to relative safety on the coast.

Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 saved Earth from an alien invasion in July of this year.

**1997**

V blew up the House of Parliament in the U.K. and was joined by Evey Hammond in his work.

Due to nuclear fallout in Europe, the Ukrainian wheat harvest failed, causing food shortages in the Soviet Union. This opened the door to a three-way peace summit between the U.S., USSR and China, ostensibly to end World War III. While traveling to this summit, however, Air Force One was hijacked by terrorists and crashed in Manhattan. Former special forces soldier turned criminal “Snake” Plissken was sent into Manhattan and rescued the President; in return, he was given a full pardon for his crimes. However, the peace talks failed.

**1998**

The original V died, and Evey Hammond became the new V, completing his mission to destroy the Norsefire government.

A large asteroid narrowly missed hitting the Earth.

**1999**

On “Black Friday,” January 1, the Volgan Republic of Asia invaded Western Europe, drawing the last neutral nations into World War III.

**2000**

On August 23, an earthquake struck Los Santos, causing the San Fernando Valley to flood and turning a portion of California into an island, from Malibu to Anaheim.

**2001**

The Inheritor Morlun kills a powerless Peter Parker. Ezekiel kills Morlun in revenge and becomes Spider-Man in Peter's memory.

**2011**

By this time, a new civilization had arisen in Australia, and Max Rockatansky (age 41) came to a place called the Thunderdome.

**2019**

Dr.Manhattan is killed in a conspiracy to recreate his powers. Adrian Veidt is arrested.

### **The Mega-City Era**

**2023**

Work began on a vast Mega-City extending from Boston to Charlotte to host the soaring population of the eastern states. This first Mega-City would eventually hold almost 800 million people.

**2031**

At this time, Mega-City One was nearing completion. The U.S. government introduced a special new form of government to handle the problems imposed by such population density: the single-person justice system known as “Judges,” authorized to act as police, judge, jury and executioner.

**2039**

The success of Mega-City One inspired other areas to build their own Mega-Cities. In the U.S., construction began on Mega-City Two (on the western seaboard) and Mega-City Three (in Texas and the South), each designed to hold around 200 million citizens.

**2047**

Mega-Cities Two and Three were completed by this time, and the Judges had completed supplanted all other forms of law in all of the Mega-Cities.

**2066**

A new process of accelerated cloning was invented. Joseph Dredd, future legendary Judge, and his brother Rico were among the first clones created with the new technique.

**2070**

U.S. President Robert L. Booth abused the powers of his office, bungling diplomacy and starting the Atomic Wars by launching the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Other nations soon followed, and Earth-M was rapidly devastated. The Mega-Cities escaped direct nuclear attack, however, because of elaborate laser defense systems. Refugees from the “Cursed Earth” (as the area outside of the Mega-Cities is now called) swelled the population of the cities even more.

**2079**

Joseph and Rico Dredd graduated with honors to become Judges in Mega-City One. A few months later, Joseph arrested Rico for taking bribes, vice and murder. Rico was sentenced to 20 years on the penal colony of Titan.

**2083**

Mega-Cities One and Three went to war.

**2086**

The war ended between Mega-Cities One and Three. Mega-City Three changed its name to “Texas City.” Mega-Cities One and Two formed closer ties as “The Union.”

**2088**

All three Mega-Cities in the former United States cooperated to establish a moon base, called Luna-1.

**2099**

Judge Dredd’s brother Rico was released from the penal colony on Titan and returned to Mega-City One seeking revenge on his brother; instead, he was killed by Judge Dredd.

**2102**

The supernatural being known as Judge Death arrived in Mega-City One and decalred all life a crime.

**2104**

The Apocalypse War was fought this year, beginning with a nuclear strike against Mega-City One by East-Meg One. Prolonged fighting devastated both sides, obliterating East-Meg One and killing over 400 million in Mega-City One.

**2114**

The Judgment Day War (a.k.a. World War IV) was fought this year. Billions died as several Mega-Cities (including Mega-City Two) were overrun by zombies and then obliterated by nuclear bombs.

**2134**

Mega-City One’s population was reduced from 400 million to 50 million by a biological agent known as the Chaos Bug.

### **The Concord Era**

**2174**

An earthquake caused Gary Concord’s secret underground laboratory to shift, causing the foam that had kept him in suspended animation since 1950 to drain away. He awoke and soon began calling himself “The Ultra-Man” and used his newfound super-human strength and intelligence to work his way into power, conquering the tyrant Rebborizon. He soon established a new “United States of North America,” with himself as its supreme leader, or “High Moderator.”

During Concord’s reign, North America would experience a surge of innovation, and new adventurers and heroes would emerge, including space ranger Rick Starr, space detective Lance Lewis and the Star Rovers.

**2214**

Gary Concord, Jr. was born to Gary Sr. (“The Ultra-Man”) and his wife Leandra, daughter of the former tyrant Rebborizon. However, Rebborizon would soon return and kill his own daughter before being killed in turn by Gary Sr.

**2239**

After his father’s death (of natural causes), Gary Concord, Jr. (age 25) succeeded him as the High Moderator of the United States of North America. Although his father’s chemical and political solutions had been intended to eliminate war, Gary Jr. soon found himself plagued by uprisings and embroiled in terrible conflicts with the warlord Tor and others.

**2240**

The new Ultra-Man (Gary Concord, Jr.) was put into a device intended to keep him in suspended animation until the 100th century. Without his leadership, first North America and then the world devolved into chaos. For the next half century, the planet was dominated by the Great Wars of the 23rd Century (a.k.a. World War V).

### **The Panem Era**

**2300**

By this time, the political landscape was quite different than the world that had existed before. In North America, a new nation had risen from the ashes of the old. Known as Panem, it consisted of a Capitol and 13 Districts.

**2319**

A rebellion in the Districts of Panem was crushed by the totalitarian central government. One of the 13 Districts was obliterated. The annual “Hunger Games” event was founded.

**2394**

The 74th Hunger Games event was held.

**2395**

A second rebellion in the Districts of Panem resulted in the overthrow of the Capitol and the installation of a new government. The Hunger Games were ended. Gradually, civilization started to rebound and people looked to their history again for knowledge.

### **The Niagara Era**

**2452**

Just as civilization started to recover, the aliens known as the Khund invaded. The United Planet Alliance came to Earth’s aid, giving it weapons and technology, but not soldiers. The United Planet Alliance had determined that Earth was too immature to yet be admitted as a member planet of the Alliance, and so this was a war that Earthlings would have to fight for themselves.

**2454**

By this time, the Khunds had captured most of the planet. An underground base built by rebels from Panem District 13 in Niagara had become the secret headquarters for the human resistance movement. Bombs dropped during fighting in what used to be Keystone caused Anthony “Buck” Rogers to be dislodged from suspended animation, where he had spent the past 527 years. He emerged from the cave and found Lt. Wilma Deering and her company being attacked by an alien gang. He sprang to their aid against the attackers, and then was taken to their camp. Eventually, he accompanied Deering back to Niagara where he would become one of the leaders of the human resistance.

**2458**

Wilma Deering had by this time been promoted to Colonel. Under the leadership of Deering, Buck Rogers and others, the humans reclaimed Earth from the Khunds, who then retreated and abandoned the invasion. Deering and Rogers soon found another nemesis, however. One of their fellow freedom fighters, Kane (or “Killer Kane” as many had come to call him based on his treatment of the Khunds), consolidated his power base among his followers and tried to fill the power vacuum left by the Khunds by becoming dictator over all the world.

**2500**

Around this time, Earth’s Niagara-led government was headed by King Kurt and defended by the likes of “Skyrocket” Steele Dodge, Sari Marston and Invex the Invisible Man against enemies like Vance Roy.

**2600**

With finally peace restored on Earth, attention turned to exploring and colonizing other worlds. Over the next century, however, the government of the Terran Federation (still based in Niagara) became increasingly totalitarian in nature.

### **The Space-Tech Era**

**2700**

Thanks to freedom fighters like Roj Blake, the totalitarian Terran Federation disintegrated into several smaller nations. Once again, Earth went through a century of devastating global wars, known as the Great Wars of  the 28th Century (also known as World War VI). This era produced many technological advances, including anti-matter fusion power, nega-shielding, gamma-energy blasters and warping mists, but overall the devastation of the wars caused society to be set back significantly.

**2800**

The Great Wars over Earth began a period of extended peace and rebuilding. Previously devastated areas were reclaimed: sunken parts of California were raised from the ocean, etc. And new heroes like Spacehawk kept the Solar System safe.

### **The Legionnaire Era**

**2900**

Earth-M was finally admitted as a full member of the United Planet Alliance. The city of Metropolis was refounded and became the headquarters of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion was founded after Mon-El was re-discovered in his Phantom Zone stasis chamber, and records were uncovered of his heroic deeds from a millennium earlier. Originally founded as a “club” for Earth’s teenage superheroes, word soon spread and the Legion attracted young, gifted heroes from all over the galaxy.

**2927**

Using a bio-metal suit of his own design, 16-year-old Nathaniel Richards joined the Legion of Super-Heroes under the alias “Iron Lad.”

**2929**

Nathaniel Richards (now age 18 and going by the alias “Kid Immortus”) discovered the means of traveling between parallel realities.

**2934**

The Legion of Super-Heroes discovered that Nathaniel Richards (age 23) had been traveling to other, parallel Earths and conducting villainous behavior. They tried to arrest him, but he escaped to our Earth, leaving this Earth behind.

**2957**

Recreating the experiments of Nathaniel Richards from more than two decades prior, Brainiac 5, the newest member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, rediscovered a way to cross between parallel universes. The Legion of Super-Heroes followed Richards to our universe, but found no trace of him there and realized that the trail had gone cold. While there, Brainiac 5 collected as much data for analysis as he could.

**2958**

The Legion of Super-Heroes again crossed over into our universe. This time, they made contact with the Superman of our universe, having made the connection that this was an alternate universe version of the same Kal-El who had saved the life of Mon-El. They would have many adventures with Superman over the coming years.

**2961**

The Legion of Super-Heroes made Superman's cousin Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) an honorary member and began having cross-universe adventures with her as well.

**2967**

The Legionnaire known as Ferro Lad sacrificed his life to kill the Sun-Eater, a sinister force that threatened to consume every star in the Milky Way.

**2969**

The Guardians of the Galaxy accepted Vance Astro, a.k.a. “Major Victory,” into their ranks, after he was revived following a thousand-year voyage in suspended animation between the Solar System and Alpha Centauri.

**2974**

While fighting the Badoon, the Guardians of the Galaxy from the Earth-M universe crossed over to our own universe and recruited heroes from our Earth to assist them, including Captain America and the Thing.

**2977**

The Guardians of the Galaxy from the Earth-M universe followed Korvac to our own universe, where they defeated him with the help of the Avengers.

**2978**

The United Planets fought a bitter war against the Khunds.

**2982**

The Legion of Super-Heroes battled Darkseid.

**2984**

The Legionnaire known as the Karate Kid was killed.

Presidents:

Richard Monkton 1969-1987(died in office)

Sam Baker 1987-1989

Biff Tannen 1989-1993

Robert Redford 1993-