The following events are the historical differences between the real world and the current setting in Elseworlds.

1934 – The first recorded meta-human in history appears in the United States. His appearance causes panic among the U.S. Government, and immediately a project (N.O.W.H.E.R.E.) is begun to catalog and track any future occurrences. These meta-humans present the world with a unique mystery as to how or why they have such powers, and as such are called ‘Mystery Men’.

1940 – During World War II the German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, was dedicated to the acquisition of all artifacts that could grant or lead to additional power for the Reich. In 1940 he gained access to the Spear of Destiny, a mystical artifact. The Spear of Destiny is a roman spear that was used to pierce the heart of Christ during his long march to crucifix, it is imbued with great mystical energy on it’s own, but it’s true use is as a focusing rod for amplifying spells already in use. Fear that Hitler would use the spear against the whole of Europe kept many of the world’s meta-humans out of the war.

1941 – Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, gathers all known Mystery Men together. He sanctions the very first ‘Justice Battalion’, with the single assignment to help end the War as quickly and as cleanly as possible.

1945 – A mystery man known as the Unknown Soldier tracked and killed Adolf Hitler and his new bride Eva Braun. He assumed Hitler’s identity in order to stop the deployment and use of the Spear of Destiny. He then staged an apparent suicide by the German Chancellor and his wife. Immediately following the War the President of the United States sanctioned the forming of the ‘Justice Society of America’. For a time humans and meta-humans lived at peace with one another.

1951 – A series of events begins starting with the disappearance of Starman.

1952 – The Shadower executes Mid-Nite’s girlfriend in cold blood, Mid-Nite kills the Shadower but then retires from active heroics.

1953 – Eight Year-old Joshua Ray kills his mother when his meta-human powers triggers unexpectedly, the Ray retires from active heroics. The public begins to recognize the lethal force that Mystery Men represent.

1955 – As the Cold War begins the public opinion of heroes takes a dramatic turn, citing the events of the last half-decade the U.S. Senate begins to hold public hearings about the effects of mystery men upon the United States and the World.

1960 – Rick Flag Sr. dies fighting the ‘War Wheel’. The Justice Society is forced to disband as the U.S. Congress passes the Keene Act. The McCarthy Act denies all meta-humans the right to utilize their powers without legal authorization. In essence forcing meta-humans to join officially with a Law Enforcement agency or be considered Vigilantes and Outlaws.

1965 – Senator Keene attempts to recall the McCarthy Act, by presenting his own to Congress. The Keene Act is defeated in open Congress. Shortly there after the U.S. President sanctions the creation of a new branch of government Law Enforcement: Checkmate.

1977 – A meteor shower occurs over Smallville, Kansas, masking the crash landing of a space-ship. A farmer and his wife find the crashed ship, it holds a young boy. Soon after the mid-west is rocked with the worst snow storm they have seen for decades, this allows the farmer and his wife pass the baby off as their own child.

1995 – On the site of an archaeological dig the famed C.C. Bastson was believed to have found the remains of one of the sons of Ramses. Tragedy befell the dig site, with all members of the expedition being found dead by a roaming trader. Authorities believed that the group must have ran afoul of one of the nomadic para-military groups, “Sand Pirates,” however the truth was that they had uncovered the burial site of one Teth-Adam. Teth’s spirit was held in the Orb of Ra and was released in to Theo Adam, a member of the expedition. In a blind rage and confusion from his resurrection Theo Adam destroyed the expedition.

1996 – Having narrowly passed the “Trials of Shazam,” Billy Batson was named Captain Marvel by the Wizard Shazam some point prior to his parent’s expedition. Due to this he both escaped their fate and the opportunity to save them. As he investigated their deaths, he was approached by members of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. whom offered evidence of Meta-Human involvement in the death of his entire family. This resulted in Captain Marvel becoming an Agent of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.

1998 – Thomas and Martha Wayne are gunned down in the middle of the street, in Gotham City, by Joe Chill. Their death signals the ultimate loss of hope in Gotham, as the Waynes were considered the last great hope of a city losing it’s war with organized crime.

2001 – The Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen captures a blue-red blur in a picture. The ‘Blur’ is depicted as saving a Airplane from terrorist take over and crashing in to LexCorp Towers in Metropolis. Other planes are still taken over, crashing in to the Pentagon and World Trade Center. This is later recognized as the first sighting of the Superman.

2004 – The Batman first appears in Gotham, despite helping police to bring down a notorious mobster he is ultimately pronounced a vigilante Outlaw.

2007 – Rumblings in Egypt begin of an uprising against the government. These rumors are later substantiated by known Egyptian heroes and vigilantes encountering a strange robed figure. Pictures are captured of the figure swathed in black, with a white cloak, engaging in a battle in public with Heroes and Police alike.

2008 – Following the events of 9/11/01, Lex Luthor was elected President of the United States. Using the McCarthy Act in conjunction with the Patriot Act, Luthor is able to sanction project N.O.W.H.E.R.E. to not only catalog, but lawfully arrest meta-humans of a certain profile. During this same year, Kara Zor-El crash lands in Gotham Harbor, where she is found by Superman and Batman. This is not the first meeting of the two, but it is the first time they agree to work together toward a common goal ,against a common enemy: Keeping Kara out of the hands of Lex Luthor and the government.

2010 – One day before the ancient Egyptian “New Year,” a group of armed men and woman walked out of the Sinai Desert. Lead by a man draped all in black, white and gold, this group of former nomads took the country by storm. Literally and figuratively, shocking the world with their blitzkrieg offensive they were able to take over the country before Egypt or it’s allies could even mobilize a notable defense. On the final day, as the President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi surrendered the Capital the world was made aware of how this civil war began and ended so abruptly. A meta-human calling himself Black Adam declared himself Pharaoh and restored Egypt to it’s former name: “Kahndaq.”

Following the events in Egypt, as well as Lex Luthor’s reaction to those events in the press, a loose coalition of meta-humans centering around Batman and Superman come together. Armed with the idea that Luthor was using N.O.W.H.E.R.E.’s gathered intelligence for the purpose of exploiting or neutralizing actual heroic entities both in the U.S. and abroad, this small group of Heroes stage an elaborate infiltration of the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. facility in New Mexico. Their goal was to free meta-humans who had been taken there against their will and without trial. While the primary goal of the mission failed, the Batman was able to hack in to the facility systems in an effort to safe guard the identities of many known Heroes. As direct a result of this mission, Wally West was beaten to an unrecognizable pulp by Conner Luthor.

2012 – President Luthor is re-elected, despite what amounts to be growing concerns over his stance on “Super Heroes” and various Wars abroad. Superman, having been presented with information that some part of Krypton may yet still exist, leaves Earth on a quest to uncover the truth about his home world.

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– Thank you, Ben, for putting this together.