At 4:22 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on July 22, 1986, a world was forever changed. At this exact moment in time, the White Event occured, a strange astronomical phenomenon that bathed the earth in alien energies for a few seconds. After this Event, roughly two people out of one million were changed, and began to develop strange and wonderful powers.
These people are the paranormals, altered humans of a sort that changed the world with their actions. Hundreds of paranormals, both good, evil, and in-between, were chronicled in the New Universe family of books from Marvel Comics in the late eighties. There were eight titles in the New Universe family, though some lasted longer than others. They were:
After her father's mysterious death, Professor Jenny Swensen steals back the suit of experimental armor he'd developed, and uses it to battle the forces of evil (and increasing technological proliferation) for the United States government!
Though he at first believed he was some sort of extraplanar being, John Tensen was in fact another paranormal, one who uses his parabilities to mete out punishment to the world's criminal paranormals. He is... Justice! Not Yet In Progress.
This is the story of several paranormals who, after journeying to a mysterious Clinic to help rid themselves of their freakish abilities, band together for mutual protection and friendship. They are the New Universe's Displaced Paranormals! In Progress.
After he manifests impressive physical abilities, paranormal Jack Magnicote continues to play for his professional football team, fighting crime and ending threats to freedom all the while - though not alone, as he adventures with... Kickers, Inc.!
Awakening from a coma with impressive dream-walking powers, youthful Keith Remsen decides to use his new abilities to help solve the problems of others. However, his Nightmask winds up getting Keith into more trouble than it's probably worth...!
Long-time mercenary Marc Hazzard was unaffected by the White Event that gave other folks paranormal abilities. Instead of relying on 'powers' to fight the forces of darkness, he utilized skills and training gained through a lifetime of combat.
Armed with dangerous psionic powers, this group of runaway teenagers is constantly hounded by various government and corporate interests who want to exploit their powers - hounded, that is, until the group gets tired of it and fights back!
New! This (not even) complete reference is intended to cover the various one-shots and limited series that showcased various major events in the New Universe, such as the Pitt disaster, the Draft, the War, and eventually, that Starblast thing. Is in progress...!
After a fateful encounter with a supposedly dying alien, shiftless auto mechanic Ken Connell walked away with the single most powerful weapon in the universe - but would he have the judgment to wield his vast new capabilities properly, or would his carelessness doom his entire world?
News! If you're looking for the latest news and/or developments in the New Universe (or surrounding continuities) this is the place for you. Whether large or small, the goal is to document all major New Universe events occuring here. Enjoy!
New! This is a small, but ever-growing list of sites that offer some manner of material relating to the New Universe. While I never saw any when I first started this whole New Universe handbook, a few have started springing up lately... go take a look!
This resource is a detailed accounting of every major (and most minor) appearance every New Universe character has made in comics, whether said appearances occur in their own timeline, or in the Marvel Universe proper. Check it out today!
In addition to providing mere game statistics for all of the relevant characters that appear in each title, I will be providing detailed histories and personal information for each, as well as a comprehensive issue guide for every issue of every New Universe title, so you can a) get a better feel for what each character was doing in the books, and b) so you can stage adventures in the New Universe.
Should you want to, of course. And, even though in 'official' Marvel continuity, the New Universe earth has been brought into an orbit around the Stranger's world, kicking and screaming across the dimensions (and later blocked from the rest of the universe by the Living Tribunal), it is still possible to go adventuring there, if you desire - though it may not be a pleasant experience, given our last glimpse into that world.
For instance, time travel is a definite possibility for reaching the New Universe, at any point in its continuity. Alternately, it possible that the New Universe brought to the mainstream Marvel Universe in the StarBlast story wasn't the 'true' New Universe, instead being perhaps an earth from one of many variant timelines generated by the New Universe's existence. You never know, these days.
So, in the spirit of telling, this is the New Universe, gift-wrapped for your general amusement (once I get the bloody thing done, that is). I hope you enjoy reading about all of these interesting characters, and more, I hope you can use some of these jokers in your game, whether it be Marvel Super Heroes or some other super hero system altogether - this should be enough material for conversions and such.
Enjoy!
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