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108-465: The following is a list of fictional government agencies , comic book organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. The Agency is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The Agency was formed by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independent branch of Task Force X . It performed global operations which were vital to

216-524: A United Nations Security Council -affiliated agency. Checkmate's original hierarchy was modelled after the pieces of a chess game - one King, one Queen, and several Bishops. The Bishops oversaw the Rooks behind the scenes, while the Rooks planned missions and supervised the field agents, or Knights, and the Knights' support, Pawns. Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1696, Checkmate was reorganized as

324-760: A 1990 series of short stories about the Vietnam War . Fictional works that explicitly involve supernatural, magical, or scientifically impossible elements are often classified under the genre of fantasy , including Lewis Carroll 's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings , and J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series. Creators of fantasy sometimes introduce imaginary creatures and beings such as dragons and fairies. Types of written fiction in prose are distinguished by relative length and include: Fiction writing

432-404: A certain point of view. The distinction between the two may be best defined from the viewpoint of the audience, according to whom a work is non-fiction if its people, settings, and plot are perceived entirely as historically or factually real, while a work is regarded as fiction if it deviates from reality in any of those areas. The distinction is further obscured by a philosophical understanding, on

540-472: A child (which she never revealed to him). She confided only in the Atom, Al Pratt , who helped her give the child up for adoption. The hospital mistakenly listed Al as the father on the child's birth certificate. The child was named Walter Pratt and later became the father of Kate Spencer (the current vigilante Manhunter ). After the war, both Arn and Sandra started working for the U.S. Government as members of

648-447: A completely imaginary way or been followed by major new events that are completely imaginary (the genre of alternative history ). Or, it depicts impossible technology or technology that defies current scientific understandings or capabilities (the genre of science fiction ). Contrarily, realistic fiction involves a story whose basic setting (time and location in the world) is, in fact, real and whose events could believably happen in

756-503: A double agent within the Pact upon somehow finding out his true identity and learn their motives and stop them from stealing the vials containing the virus by threatening to reveal his secret identity if he does not cooperate. The showdown between the Agency and the Pact occurs at the hideout of SANCTUS which ended with Harley Quinn getting away with the virus and Mr. Freeze getting infected. In

864-475: A figure from history, Bonnie Prince Charlie , and takes part in the Battle of Prestonpans . Some works of fiction are slightly or greatly re-imagined based on some originally true story, or a reconstructed biography. Often, even when the fictional story is based on fact, there may be additions and subtractions from the true story to make it more interesting. An example is Tim O'Brien 's The Things They Carried ,

972-507: A follow-up series with new characters. He created Young All-Stars , featuring a new team of World War II-era superheroes. His concept was that the "displaced energy" of the removed superheroes generated analogs to replace them; as such, most of the new cast stood in for the heroes written out of the continuities. Iron Munro replaced Superman with similar powers and appearance; Flying Fox, Fury , and Neptune Perkins replaced Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman respectively. Thomas' Iron Munro

1080-700: A major impact on the creation and distribution of fiction, calling into question the feasibility of copyright as a means to ensure royalties are paid to copyright holders. Also, digital libraries such as Project Gutenberg make public domain texts more readily available. The combination of inexpensive home computers, the Internet, and the creativity of its users has also led to new forms of fiction, such as interactive computer games or computer-generated comics. Countless forums for fan fiction can be found online, where loyal followers of specific fictional realms create and distribute derivative stories. The Internet

1188-515: A man known only as Major Zastrow . Other Red Shadow operatives were: Pozhar (converts matter into energy), Bolshoi (martial artist), Molotov (explosives expert), Mrs. Gradenko (a were-bear), Yerosha (could alter a person's senses), Lamia (pheromone manipulation), the Blue Trinity (speedsters), and Schreck (metahuman vampire). RONOL (short for Research on the Nature of Light)

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1296-415: A network called Supermen of America after Superman learned that he cannot be everywhere at once. Along with other heroes, like Steel , Super-Chief, Supergirl and Superboy, he has a signal watch that can be used for summons in emergencies. Iron Munro also works closely with the rehabilitated super-being Livewire and S.T.A.R. Labs employee Serling Roquette. Livewire also is accepted into the team. Munro

1404-492: A replacement for International Operations. It is led by Ivana Baiul as seen in the pages of Stormwatch: Team Achilles . C.E.M.A. (short for Cosmic Emergency Management Agency) is an interstellar organization tasked to help the survivors of cosmic disasters such as planet-eating monsters. Checkmate is a covert operations agency within the DC Comics Universe . Created from the ashes of its predecessor group,

1512-476: A resistance that is secretly led by Chief Henderson. By the season three finale and after the Markovian invasion on Freeland, Carson Williams is killed by Lynn Stewart in self-defense, Sara Grey is killed by Technocrat during his and Gambi's shootout with her commandos, Gardner Grayle sides with the rebels, and Odell is wounded by Khalil and arrested. During the congressional hearing where Black Lightning exposed

1620-612: A secret underground complex on mythical Ferris Island in New York . Project Peacemaker is a U.S. government division that was tasked with handling Peacemaker 's interaction with other government agencies. After the so-called "Janus Directive", the Project became part of Checkmate and placed under the supervision of the CBI and Sarge Steel. The Quorum is the clandestine and apparently corrupt department of an unnamed government agency in

1728-713: A secret until he turned eighteen. As a baseball player at his high school in Indian Creek, Colorado, Munro earned the nickname "Iron". He was a senior there when, in April 1942, he saved the superheroes TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite from a burning car crash. TNT died but he managed to bring Dyna-Mite to a nearby hospital. Subsequently, Munro and other new "Young All-Stars" aided the All-Star Squadron in defeating Axis Amerika . President Roosevelt asked Munro and

1836-570: A subset (written fiction that aligns to a particular genre ), or its opposite: an evaluative label for written fiction that comprises popular culture , as artistically or intellectually inferior to high culture . Regardless, fiction is commonly broken down into a variety of genres: categories of fiction, each differentiated by a particular unifying tone or style ; set of narrative techniques , archetypes , or other tropes; media content ; or other popularly defined criterion. Science fiction predicts or supposes technologies that are not realities at

1944-558: A team of Earth-Two versions of characters like Superman , Batman , and Wonder Woman fighting in World War II. In 1985, DC launched the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover storyline, which ultimately eliminated the company's Multiverse of parallel worlds in favor of a new unified continuity. This removed Superman and others from the World War II setting, and DC cancelled All-Star Squadron in 1987. DC charged Thomas with writing

2052-704: A team of four super-powered covert operatives who act as a special division of the Mossad . Their first contact with the West came when Amanda Waller (see Suicide Squad) was contracted to capture Kobra . Waller was informed of the Hayoth's existence by an Egyptian operative named Nazair. In the DC Comics Universe, the Human Defense Corps is a branch of the military established by then President of

2160-537: A time, it appeared that Grant might be Arn and Sandra's lost child. Eventually they learned that Damage was actually the son of the Atom, Al Pratt, and his wife. Iron Munro continues to serve as an adventurer and apparently benefits from extended youth. During the massive war between Imperiex and Brainiac 13 , the Justice Society's Sand recruited an army of All-Stars, which Arn joined. Afterwards, he joined

2268-501: A university or a similar institution, and with the continuation of such positions determined not by book sales but by critical acclaim by other established literary authors and critics. On the other hand, he suggests, genre fiction writers tend to support themselves by book sales. However, in an interview, John Updike lamented that "the category of 'literary fiction' has sprung up recently to torment people like me who just set out to write books, and if anybody wanted to read them, terrific,

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2376-434: A written work of fiction that: Literary fiction is often used as a synonym for literature , in the narrow sense of writings specifically considered to be an art form. While literary fiction is sometimes regarded as superior to genre fiction, the two are not mutually exclusive, and major literary figures have employed the genres of science fiction, crime fiction , romance , etc., to create works of literature. Furthermore,

2484-503: A year, but in 2004, it was reestablished under the leadership of John Lynch. IO first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. #1 (August 1992) and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee . Knightwatch is the military arm of the D.E.O. Knightwatch operatives wore armor that resembled the suits worn by Checkmate agents. Knightwatch appears in the seventh season of the superhero television series Arrow . In flash-forwards set in 2040, Connor Hawke

2592-430: Is Antonio Giovanni. When International Operations was dissolved, Department PSI absorbed most of its assets, equipment, and personnel. The D.M.A. (short for Department of Metahuman Affairs) is a division within the D.E.O. Known operatives are Sarge Steel , Tom Tresser ( Nemesis ), and Diana Prince ( Wonder Woman ). The D.S.I. (short for Department of Scientific Investigation) is a government organization dedicated to

2700-478: Is a U.S. federal agency operating under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security . It is under the command of Col. Steve Trevor and Director Amanda Waller . The A.S.A. (short for American Security Agency) was a U.S. government organization that supervised the creation of the national team of super-agents called the Force of July . The chairman of the A.S.A. was B. Eric Blairman. Blairman was later replaced as head of

2808-508: Is a part of media studies. Examples of prominent fictionalization in the creative arts include those in the general context of World War II in popular culture and specifically Nazi German leaders such as Adolf Hitler in popular culture and Reinhard Heydrich in popular culture . For instance, American actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin portrayed the eccentric despot Adenoid Hynkel in the 1940 satirical film The Great Dictator . The unhinged, unintelligent figure fictionalized real events from

2916-520: Is a pre-World War II agency theorized that the light that originated millennia ago where Earth now orbits would eventually circumnavigate the universe and return as a dangerous, conscious entity. The project leader, Dr. Dayzl, tricked a reporter named Langford "Happy" Terrill into a ballooning accident where a "genetic light bomb" gave Terrill superpowers, abilities he would use to become the Ray . Eventually, Dayzl's unorthodox actions and beliefs came to light and

3024-428: Is a secret U.S. military black-ops facility commanded by General Sam Lane . Its existence was uncovered by investigative reporter James Olsen 's investigations. Like the Human Defense Corps , and Squad K, this project was created to defend humanity against extraterrestrial threats, including Kryptonians (the number of the project itself is a play on a "word" that can be created on most calculators by simply typing in

3132-504: Is a semi-independent U.S. governmental division within the D.E.O., possessing government IDs for multiple agencies ranging from the FBI to Scotland Yard and SMERSH; an agent has described the organisation as possessing more clearance than God. Donald Fite, father of the Empress , and Ishito Maad are their most well-known operatives. Their main headquarters is inside Mount Rushmore. Argent was

3240-453: Is a special response team tasked with apprehending Superman if he should ever turn rogue, and with the apprehension of other Kryptonian criminals. Perseus Hazard , the grandson of Ulysses Hazard , was the group's first commander; after his death, he was replaced by a Native American named Sergeant Cloud, possibly a descendant of Johnny Cloud from the Losers . Fiction Fiction

3348-446: Is also used for the development of blog fiction , where a story is delivered through a blog either as flash fiction or serial blog, and collaborative fiction , where a story is written sequentially by different authors, or the entire text can be revised by anyone using a wiki . The definition of literary fiction is controversial. It may refer to any work of fiction in a written form. However, various other definitions exist, including

List of government agencies in DC Comics - Misplaced Pages Continue

3456-473: Is an agent of Knightwatch, who are described as a "good version of A.R.G.U.S." This version appears to be more grounded than its comic book counterpart, having no connection to the "extranormal" and instead focusing on everyday threats. LexCorp is a government position run by President Lex Luthor. LuthorCorp is a corporation run by Lex Luthor's father Lionel Luthor in Smallville . One of its bases

3564-672: Is any creative work , chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals , events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history , fact , or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels , novellas , and short stories . More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium , including not just writings but also live theatrical performances , films , television programs , radio dramas , comics , role-playing games , and video games . Typically,

3672-534: Is based in Smallville, LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant No. 3 which has underground labs holding secret (and possibly illegal) research into genetically modifying living organisms using meteor rocks with the company's slogan being "We make things grow". Years later, Lex bought the company after he killed Lionel and inherited all of his money. Project Atom is a U.S. government initiative masterminded by General Wade Eiling and lead scientist Dr. Heinrich Megala with

3780-439: Is characterized by a lesser degree of adherence to realistic or plausible individuals, events, or places, while the umbrella genre of realistic fiction is characterized by a greater degree. For instance, speculative fiction may depict an entirely imaginary universe or one in which the laws of nature do not strictly apply (often, the sub-genre of fantasy ). Or, it depicts true historical moments, except that they have concluded in

3888-496: Is known as fictionalization . The opposite circumstance, in which the physical world or a real turn of events seem influenced by past fiction, is commonly described by the phrase " life imitating art ". The latter phrase is popularity associated with the Anglo-Irish fiction writer Oscar Wilde . The alteration of actual happenings into a fictional format, with this involving a dramatic representation of real events or people,

3996-446: Is known as both fictionalization , or, more narrowly for visual performance works like in theatre and film, dramatization . According to the academic publication Oxford Reference , a work set up this way will have a "narrative based partly or wholly on fact but written as if it were fiction" such that "[f]ilms and broadcast dramas of this kind often bear the label 'based on a true story'." In intellectual research, evaluating this process

4104-492: Is most long-established in the realm of literature (written narrative fiction), the broad study of the nature, function, and meaning of fiction is called literary theory , and the narrower interpretation of specific fictional texts is called literary criticism (with subsets like film criticism and theatre criticism also now long-established). Aside from real-world connections, some fictional works may depict characters and events within their own context, entirely separate from

4212-427: Is often described as "elegantly written, lyrical, and ... layered". The tone of literary fiction can be darker than genre fiction, while the pacing of literary fiction may be slower than popular fiction. As Terrence Rafferty notes, "literary fiction, by its nature, allows itself to dawdle, to linger on stray beauties even at the risk of losing its way". Based on how literary fiction is defined, genre fiction may be

4320-583: Is stated that Peter Gambi under his real name of Peter Esposito used to work for the A.S.A. as their spotter. When he left, they gained Vice-Principal Kara Fowdy (portrayed by Skye P. Marshall) as their new spotter. During season one, a faction of the A.S.A. led by Martin Proctor (portrayed by Gregg Henry ) has been abducting emerging metahumans and having them stored in pods so that he can build an army. He even planned to expand it by arranging for Black Lightning to be abducted so that they can harvest his DNA. By

4428-407: Is the process by which an author or creator produces a fictional work. Some elements of the writing process may be planned in advance, while others may come about spontaneously. Fiction writers use different writing styles and have distinct writers' voices when writing fictional stories. The use of real events or real individuals as direct inspiration for imaginary events or imaginary individuals

List of government agencies in DC Comics - Misplaced Pages Continue

4536-603: The Bombshell is still unknown. Heinrich Megala was also responsible for creating the X-Ionizer technology capable of cutting Captain Atom's skin and the skin of most invulnerable metahumans . Project Cadmus is a high tech genetic research facility responsible for the successful cloning of Jim Harper (the Guardian ), and Conner Kent (the second Superboy ), as well as a number of other heroes and villains. Project 7734

4644-559: The Bureau of Oddities , is an organization dedicated to the weaponization or eradication of entities they deem to be odd. It was introduced in Doom Patrol and based on Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. from the Doom Patrol comics. The C.B.I. ( Central Bureau of Intelligence ) was formerly led by Sarge Steel and also included Danny Chase (and his parents), King Faraday , Richard Dragon , and Ben Turner in its stable of agents. Steel

4752-661: The Confession storyline they are seen hunting down, and capturing, various superheroes. After the storyline, it is implied that they returned to their normal duties. Introduced in issue #1 of The American Way , the FDAA (short for Federal Disaster Assistance Administration) handles a U.S. government superhero team called the Civil Defense Corps . The FDAA is responsible for using gene therapy to create many of America's heroes as well as "villains" who they have fight

4860-595: The O.S.S. offshoot called Argent . Arn took the code name "Gladiator One". The couple eventually married and on numerous missions came up against his WWII Nazi nemesis, Baron Blitzkrieg (calling himself simply The Baron and working for the Soviets). When the couple bore a second child, it was kidnapped by the Baron when Sandra was on a mission in Communist Poland. The child was (and still is) assumed killed at

4968-459: The Riddler and the villainous group he was formerly associated with known as the Pact (consisting of Harley Quinn , Bane , Mr. Freeze , "John Doe" and Catwoman ), trying to hunt down the former to stop his criminal activities and the latter in order to stop them from stealing vials related to a plan called "Project Lotus" that can threaten Gotham and the world with a virus. The vials came from

5076-615: The Suicide Squad and Knightwatch. Other divisions include an agency for training 'gifted' youngsters whose powers manifest at a difficult age, and numerous surveillance and data-collection operations. The current Regional Director for the Eastern Seaboard is a former costumed villain named Mister Bones . One of its highest-profile agents is Cameron Chase . Département Gamma is the main French covert ops organization in

5184-474: The domestic branch of Task Force X. It was a sister organization to the Suicide Squad . Argent was led by Control and consisted mainly of former OSS ( Office of Strategic Services ) agents. Argent was a powerful agency during most of the Cold War. After confronting and killing a government official responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, Control ordered all records of Argent destroyed and pulled

5292-422: The human condition . In general, it focuses on "introspective, in-depth character studies" of "interesting, complex and developed" characters. This contrasts with genre fiction where plot is the central concern. Usually in literary fiction the focus is on the "inner story" of the characters who drive the plot, with detailed motivations to elicit "emotional involvement" in the reader. The style of literary fiction

5400-521: The 18th and 19th centuries. They were often associated with Enlightenment ideas such as empiricism and agnosticism . Realism developed as a literary style at this time. New forms of mass media developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, including popular-fiction magazines and early film. Interactive fiction was developed in the late-20th century through video games. Certain basic elements define all works of narrative , including all works of narrative fiction. Namely, all narratives include

5508-633: The A.S.A. by the even more corrupt Abraham Lincoln Carlyle, who made an attempt to use the Psycho Pirate's Medusa Mask to get himself elected president. During an internecine war within the U.S. Government called the Janus Directive , Carlyle and most of the Force of July were killed in battle. The American Security Agency was made defunct shortly afterwards. A variation of the A.S.A. appears in Black Lightning . In this show, it

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5616-572: The A.S.A.'s experiments as well as Markovia's experiments using the decrypted briefcase they have, Representative Nagar states that Odell will be prosecuted and the A.S.A. will be disbanded. The B.A.A. (short for Bureau of Amplified Animals) is a U.S. government agency that monitors and deploys enhanced animal super-operatives. Currently known operatives of the Bureau are Rex the Wonder Dog and Detective Chimp . The Bureau of Normalcy , formerly

5724-489: The Agency, it was originally set up by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independent branch of Task Force X under the command of Colonel Valentina Vostok (formerly Negative Woman of the Doom Patrol ) to perform operations worldwide considered vital to the security of American interests. In the wake of events depicted in the miniseries The OMAC Project and Infinite Crisis , Checkmate has been re-chartered as

5832-654: The DC Comics Universe. Former operatives are Major Force , Mace Gardner (brother of Guy Gardner), Loria a New Blood , the metahuman known as Sledge , and an army of armored men known as Sweepers . The Quorum sponsored and funded the Blood Pack , a superhero team made up of "New Bloods", in a failed attempt to create a superhuman army based on their DNA . Red Shadow is the Russian version of Task Force X . Just as they copied Checkmate, they also mirrored

5940-650: The DC Comics universe. Known operatives are Andre Chevard ( Boy Commandos ) founder and leader, Fleur-de-Lis ( Global Guardians ), Belphegor (Global Guardians), Tin, the Captain, the Professor, and Halfwolf. Department PSI (short for Department for Paranormal Science Investigations) is a rival organization to the International Operations and employer of the superhero team Wildcore . Its director

6048-748: The Group for Extermination of Organizations of Revenge, Greed, and Evil) debuted in Blackhawk #228, during that title's attempt to mainstream the Blackhawks as superheroes. G.E.O.R.G.E. opposed the International Crime Combine , a supraorganization made up of operatives from various other criminal organizations some based in the DC Comics Universe, like CYCLOPS and O.G.R.E. , and other fictional organizations such as THRUSH and SPECTRE . Known G.E.O.R.G.E. operatives were their leader

6156-767: The Human Bomb and Damage in the Freedom Fighters . This group was doomed and Arn lost his good friend Roy when several of the F.F. were slaughtered by the Society. Recently, Sandra Knight also learned the fate of the child she gave up for adoption, Walter Pratt. Pratt became a homicidal maniac. His daughter Katherine Spencer has now become Los Angeles' Manhunter. Pratt died when he was cut in half midstream in teleportation. Sandra met Kate Spencer, and months later brought Arn to Kate for an introduction to her and Ramsey, his great grandson. Iron Munro became part of

6264-779: The Long L, Mister Delta, and the Champ, a trenchcoat -wearing robot. The Global Peace Agency is an organization that first appeared outside the DC Universe in the original OMAC series, but which became part of the DCU proper in Final Crisis #7. G.O.O.D. (short for Global Organization of Organized Defense) is an international organization where the only known operatives are Barney Ling (the organization's director) and field operatives Ben Turner and Richard Dragon . The Hayoth are

6372-634: The Mechanical Bastard ordering their deaths at the hands of First Strike (see Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters ). After Father Time turned on the psychotic Gonzo, he and his troops vanished into the timestream; Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters were then made the leaders of S.H.A.D.E. Spyral (also known as " Second Hand ") is a U.N sanctioned international agency, was founded by the German superspy Otto Netz, currently known under

6480-503: The Pawns in the current incarnation serve similar roles. The Russian version of Checkmate was introduced in the last issues of the original series run. They were admittedly underfunded but wore armor similar to their U.S. counterparts. The D.E.O. (short for Department of Extranormal Operations ) is a branch of the U.S. government concerned with the magical, the alien, and the superhuman and having connections with such organizations as

6588-639: The Suicide Squad under the old Soviet government (implying that they worked directly for the KGB ). The organization originally consisted of ex-members of the People's Heroes and the Blue Trinity . Later on, other original Russian characters were introduced such as Stainoivolk , Russia's World War II version of Superman. The Red Shadow operatives were all organized under Amanda Waller 's opposite number,

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6696-528: The UN's chartered metahuman monitoring force. The organization was restructured, utilizing the "Rule of Two". Each super-powered or otherwise enhanced member in the "Royal Family" must have an un-powered counterpart in a corresponding position of power. In addition, there are an indeterminate number of "Pawns". In the original incarnation of Checkmate, they were low-level field agents that provided intelligence-gathering, logistical and operational support; it appears that

6804-587: The United States Lex Luthor to reduce government dependency on superhumans when a major alien crisis breaks out, act as back-up to Earth's superheroes, and specifically counter any alien threat to Earth. Membership of the Corps is open to 'Decorated veterans of alien campaigns only'. Internal Operations (I.O., IO or I/O) is a fictional U.S. intelligence agency in WildStorm comics . It

6912-549: The Yucatán Peninsula and went into hiding. He briefly returned to Colorado and had a one-night stand with his high school sweetheart, Anna Blake, who became pregnant. When Hugo disappeared for good, Blake married a young businessman named John Munro, who never realized the child she bore was not his own. Their son, Arnold, began exhibiting superhuman powers of strength and invulnerability at age ten. Remembering Hugo's troubles, Anna made her son promise to keep his abilities

7020-462: The aim of creating a superhero answerable only to the military. The project used a combination of nuclear physics and a unique alloy called Dilustel with quantum properties that was cut from the skin of a captured alien known as the Silver Shield using X-Ionizer technology. The project had only two recorded successes, Captain Atom and Major Force . The origin of the woman calling herself

7128-604: The audience's willing suspension of disbelief . The effects of experiencing fiction, and the way the audience is changed by the new information they discover, has been studied for centuries. Also, infinite fictional possibilities themselves signal the impossibility of fully knowing reality, provocatively demonstrating philosophical notions, such as there potentially being no criterion to measure constructs of reality. In contrast to fiction, creators of non-fiction assume responsibility for presenting information (and sometimes opinion) based only in historical and factual reality. Despite

7236-415: The audience, including elements such as romance , piracy , and religious ceremonies . Heroic romance was developed in medieval Europe , incorporating elements associated with fantasy , including supernatural elements and chivalry . The structure of the modern novel was developed by Miguel de Cervantes with Don Quixote in the early-17th century. The novel became a primary medium of fiction in

7344-577: The changes done that eliminated the original multiverse and replaced it with a single earth and universe,he created a follow-up series with a new superhero team, Young All-Stars . Iron Munro was one of several new characters Thomas created as analogues for popular superheroes written out of the continuity; he stood in for Superman, with comparable powers and appearance. He was inspired by two 1930s pulp fiction characters who in turn prefigured Superman: John W. Campbell 's science fiction hero Aarn Munro , who appeared in comics as "Iron Munro", and Hugo Danner ,

7452-540: The contents in the briefcase, Tobias Whale's latest ally Todd Green cracked the code contained in it which revealed that the A.S.A. was developing metahumans for Project Masters of Disaster . At the same time, Agent Odell secretly has the Pierce family under surveillance when he gets suspicious of them. By the end of season two, Agent Odell visits the Pierce family with his knowledge on Jefferson, Anissa, and Jennifer being Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning. He mentions that

7560-581: The context of the real world. One realistic fiction sub-genre is historical fiction , centered around true major events and time periods in the past. The attempt to make stories feel faithful to reality or to more objectively describe details, and the 19th-century artistic movement that began to vigorously promote this approach, is called literary realism , which incorporates some works of both fiction and non-fiction. Storytelling has existed in all human cultures, and each culture incorporates different elements of truth and fiction into storytelling. Early fiction

7668-611: The creators of the villain Übermensch had also stolen that formula. Arn was forced to oppose his father when Danner ordered the Sons of Dawn to attack a Brazilian city. The combined might of the All-Star Squadron defeated the Sons of Dawn and Danner was killed. During the war, Iron Munro also met his future wife, the Squadron member known as Phantom Lady , Sandra Knight. Before the two of them were married, Sandra conceived

7776-411: The direct sales only market(comic book stores) when it began,thereby affecting overall sales of the new book. Iron Munro continued to make occasional appearances in DC Comics. From 1981 to 1987, Roy Thomas wrote DC Comics ' popular series All-Star Squadron , set on Earth-Two , a parallel universe based on the company's characters of the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books . All-Star Squadron depicts

7884-442: The elements of character , conflict , narrative mode , plot , setting , and theme . Characters are individuals inside a work of story, conflicts are the tension or problem that drives characters' thoughts and actions, narrative modes are the ways in which a story is communicated, plots are the sequence of events in a story, settings are the story's locations in time and space, and themes are deeper messages or interpretations about

7992-529: The end if the player chooses the path where Doe becomes the vigilante Joker, Waller will feel betrayed and the Agency begins attacking both Batman and the Joker with Waller even having Bane, Quinn, and Catwoman under her control and forcing them to fight Batman and the Joker, during which the Agency suffers losses and many members are killed. Regardless, Waller will later pull the Agency operatives out of Gotham City. A.P.E.S. (short for All-Purpose Enforcement Squad)

8100-494: The escalating war between Batman Incorporated and the Leviathan terrorist organization, the UN decided to reform Spyral, recruited Doctor Dedalus' long-thought-dead daughter, Kathy Webb-Kane , as its leader. Using her personal resources, she recruited enough of a force to convince Batman, Inc. to disband as soon as the conflict was done Throughout " The New 52 ", Dick Grayson later joined it with Helena Bertinelli . Squad K

8208-474: The fictionality of a work is publicly expressed, so the audience expects the work to deviate to a greater or lesser degree from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood as not adhering to the real world, the themes and context of a work, such as if and how it relates to real-world issues or events, are open to interpretation . Since fiction

8316-455: The government terminated the RONOL program. S.H.A.D.E. (short for Super Human Advanced Defense Executive) is a fictional U.S. military organization that investigates, assesses, and contains paranormal and superhuman activity. Father Time and his S.H.A.D.E. agency exercise martial law over the devastated city of Blüdhaven . Father Time used this posting to carry out S.H.A.D.E.'s other mandate,

8424-483: The government's secret Project M, demanding to know the location of the " Dinosaur Island " mentioned in his father's diary. There he met Georgia Challenger, who led him instead to Maple White Land in South America. Surprisingly they found Arn's father, Hugo Danner, who had spawned a new band of "offspring", the Sons of Dawn. Danner used his father's formula to bestow powers on these Sons of Dawn and mentioned that

8532-627: The group SANCTUS who later had their partnership dissolved from the Agency. They later encase the Riddler's deceased body in a container after learning he survived the virus. Their interference causes a clash with Commissioner James Gordon and the GCPD; depending on the player's choice, Batman can either come to trust and ally with Waller and the Agency, straining his relationship with Gordon or continue being at odds with them, stand with Gordon and prefer his help. Regardless, Waller blackmails Batman to act as

8640-595: The hands of the Markovians. Odell is assisted by Commander Carson Williams (portrayed by Christopher B. Duncan ), Major Sara Grey (portrayed by Katy M. O'Brian ), and Sergeant Gardner Grayle (portrayed by Boone Platt). It was also revealed by Tobias Whale to Issa Williams that Martin Proctor worked for Odell and Odell works for the President of the United States . The A.S.A.'s motives have often clashed with

8748-489: The harvesting and creation of new metahuman talent. S.H.A.D.E. uses its specially trained metahuman talent to carry out black ops assassinations of threats to the United States and its policies. Several S.H.A.D.E. operatives defect from the organization to form a new version of the Freedom Fighters under the guidance of Uncle Sam , resulting in Sam and his team being declared enemies of S.H.A.D.E., and Father Time and his ally Gonzo

8856-503: The heroes in publicly staged battles. The FDAA periodically unleashes Hellbent , a homicidal and sociopathic supervillain, to assassinate enemies of the United States. The Finger (secret police), the Eye (CCTV monitoring), and the Ear (phone surveillance) were the three branches of overt government surveillance depicted in the dystopian Britain of V for Vendetta . G.E.O.R.G.E. (short for

8964-574: The imperial period. Plasmatic narrative, following entirely invented characters and events, was developed through ancient drama and New Comedy . One common structure among early fiction is a series of strange and fantastic adventures as early writers test the limits of fiction writing. Milesian tales were an early example of fiction writing in Ancient Greece and Italy. As fiction writing developed in Ancient Greece, relatable characters and plausible scenarios were emphasized to better connect with

9072-482: The information that exposed Proctor's rogue operation. As for the briefcase, it falls into the hands of Tobias Whale following his, Syonide, and Painkiller 's raid on an A.S.A. base where he had Proctor's thumbs salvaged by his coroner ally. In season two, Lynn Stewart works with the A.S.A. agents that work for Agent Percy Odell (portrayed by Bill Duke ) in preserving the pods to the point where they even enlisted convicted scientist Helga Jace to assist in it. As one of

9180-627: The investigation of strange phenomena. Known operatives were Darwin Jones , the chief of staff, and Tommy Dane, one of the Young Scienceers. E.A.G.L.E. (short for Extranormal Activities Garrison for Law Enforcement) is a government agency within the Astro City universe. They are described to normally function as a sort of "clean up crew" for the superheroes ("taking supervillains into custody, guarding damaged property, etc."), but during

9288-441: The known physical universe: an independent fictional universe . The creative art of constructing such an imaginary world is known as worldbuilding . Literary critic James Wood argues that "fiction is both artifice and verisimilitude ", meaning that it requires both creative inventions as well as some acceptable degree of believability among its audience, a notion often encapsulated in the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's idea of

9396-416: The metahuman pods have attracted the attention of the Markovians who have reclaimed Helga Jace and would like Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning to help the A.S.A. when the Markovians turn Freeland into a battleground. In the third season, Agent Odell starts having the A.S.A. soldiers round up any young metahumans and have Deputy Chief Henderson impose a curfew to keep the young metahumans from falling into

9504-508: The more the merrier. ... I'm a genre writer of a sort. I write literary fiction, which is like spy fiction or chick lit". Likewise, on The Charlie Rose Show , he argued that this term, when applied to his work, greatly limited him and his expectations of what might come of his writing, so he does not really like it. He suggested that all his works are literary, simply because "they are written in words". Literary fiction often involves social commentary , political criticism , or reflection on

9612-580: The number 7734 - turned upside down, it reads as "Hell"). Project M was a secret government organization which operated during World War II and specialized in experimental biotechnology and necromancy. Known creations of the Project include the Creature Commandos, Miss America , and the G.I. Robot . The Project's main scientist is one Professor Mazursky. He was aided by Robotman . As told in Young All-Stars #12, they operated from

9720-493: The one hand, that the truth can be presented through imaginary channels and constructions, while, on the other hand, works of the imagination can just as well bring about significant new perspectives on, or conclusions about, truth and reality. All types of fiction invite their audience to explore real ideas, issues, or possibilities using an otherwise imaginary setting or using something similar to reality, though still distinct from it. The umbrella genre of speculative fiction

9828-585: The organisation undercover. For years, the Argent continued their work in secret, but shrunk considerably in size. Eventually, Control died, but his granddaughter, Anne-Marie Vere, maintained the pretense that he was still alive to keep the group operating. In recent times, a confrontation with the Suicide Squad exposed the deception and Argent disbanded. Known agents of the Argent included Control, Falcon, Fleur, Iron Munro , Phantom Lady and Anne-Marie Vere. Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans ( A.R.G.U.S. )

9936-429: The others to join the Squadron, about which Munro was reluctant, but he accompanied them on a cross-country War Bond promotion. Soon thereafter, Arn received a mysterious diary written by Hugo Danner, his father. He learned about his father's troubled life as one of the 20th century's first metahumans. This led the young hero on a quest to learn of his father's fate. After having read his father's diary, Arn turned to

10044-464: The protagonist of Philip Wylie 's 1930 novel Gladiator , who had powers similar to Superman's and is sometimes seen as an inspiration. Young All-Stars did not achieve the popularity of All-Star Squadron , which had featured better known characters from the Golden Age of Comic Books . The series was cancelled in 1989 due to low sales,since the replacement series to All Star Squadron moved to

10152-411: The pseudonym of "Doctor Dedalus". Thought Netz, Spyral specializes in mind erosion, brainwashing, and misdirection, with a heavy "spider's web" theme prevalent throughout and using Hypnos implant though Netz created this and Leviathan . His reasoning was that the two organizations to oppose each other in a never-ending cycle of vendetta, and grooming his children to manage the two agencies In response to

10260-531: The season finale, A.S.A. agents assault the Pierce family and Peter Gambi at a house in North Freeland which led to where Black Lightning, Thunder , and Peter fought some of them which ended with most of the agents dead or retreating when Deputy Chief Henderson and the police were approaching. During a confrontation at one of the warehouses storing the metahuman stasis pods, Martin is briefly attacked by Jennifer and shot by Gambi. The news media broadcasts

10368-818: The security of American interests. Valentina Vostok brought former NYPD Lieutenant Harry Stein into the Agency as an operative. Adrian Chase and Peacemaker were contract operatives for the Agency. The Agency appears in Batman: The Enemy Within . Led by Amanda Waller, its known members include Iman Avesta (voiced by Emily O'Brien ), Vernon Blake (voiced by Christian Lanz), Mario Fernandez (voiced by Robert Clotworthy ), Roger Harrison (voiced by John Eric Bentley), and an assortment of other unnamed agents (variously voiced by Mark Barbolak, John Eric Bentley, J.B. Blanc , Matthew Mercer , Emily O'Brien , Laura Post , Kirk Thornton , Kari Wahlgren , Debra Wilson , and Wally Wingert ). The Agency seeks to stop

10476-489: The smaller planet of Mars. Aarn Munro appeared in Shadow Comics as "Iron Munro" in the 1940s. Additionally, Iron Munro is based on Hugo Danner , the protagonist of Philip Wylie 's 1930 novel Gladiator . Often viewed as a precursor to and possible inspiration for Superman, Hugo Danner likewise had otherworldly strength, speed, and impervious skin. In a nod to Superman's debt to Gladiator , Thomas made Iron Munro

10584-431: The son of Hugo Danner. Loosely following Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator , the comics establish that in 1894, scientist Abednego Danner injected his pregnant wife with an experimental serum. Their son Hugo was born with super-human strength, speed, and nigh-invulnerability. Hugo's powers led him through a number of adventures, but set him apart from mortal humans, bringing him grief. Eventually, Hugo staged his own death in

10692-541: The story that its audience is left to discuss and reflect upon. Traditionally, fiction includes novels, short stories, fables , legends , myths , fairy tales , epic and narrative poetry , plays (including operas , musicals , dramas, puppet plays , and various kinds of theatrical dances ). However, fiction may also encompass comic books , and many animated cartoons , stop motions , anime , manga , films , video games , radio programs , television programs ( comedies and dramas ), etc. The Internet has had

10800-448: The study of genre fiction has developed within academia in recent decades. The term is sometimes used such as to equate literary fiction to literature. The accuracy of this is debated. Neal Stephenson has suggested that, while any definition will be simplistic, there is today a general cultural difference between literary and genre fiction. On the one hand literary authors nowadays are frequently supported by patronage, with employment at

10908-421: The then ongoing Second World War in a way that presented fascist individuals as humorously irrational and pathetic. Many other villains take direct inspiration from real people while having fictional accents, appearances, backgrounds, names, and so on. Iron Munro After Roy Thomas decided to cancel his World War II-set comic All-Star Squadron in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths ,because of all

11016-509: The time of the work's creation: Jules Verne 's novel From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, but only in 1969 did astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to land on the Moon. Historical fiction places imaginary characters into real historical events. In the 1814 historical novel Waverley , Sir Walter Scott 's fictional character Edward Waverley meets

11124-539: The time. The couple gradually grew apart and sometime in the 1960s, Phantom Lady disappeared while on a covert mission for Argent. Though Munro later discovered she was alive, the two were never reunited. Munro settled in Florida with his friend, Roy Lincoln (the Human Bomb ). There he eventually met the young hero Grant Emerson ( Damage ). Munro helped Emerson search for the identity of his biological parents. For

11232-535: The traditional view that fiction and non-fiction are opposites, some works (particularly in the modern era) blur this boundary, particularly works that fall under certain experimental storytelling genres—including some postmodern fiction , autofiction , or creative nonfiction like non-fiction novels and docudramas —as well as the deliberate literary fraud of falsely marketing fiction as nonfiction. Furthermore, even most works of fiction usually have elements of, or grounding in, truth of some kind, or truth from

11340-472: Was closely associated with history and myth . Greek poets such as Homer , Hesiod , and Aesop developed fictional stories that were told first through oral storytelling and then in writing. Prose fiction was developed in Ancient Greece , influenced by the storytelling traditions of Asia and Egypt. Distinctly fictional work was not recognized as separate from historical or mythological stories until

11448-408: Was eventually depicted as a Federal Cabinet Secretary of Metahuman Affairs (giving him control of agencies such as the Suicide Squad ), until the election of Lex Luthor as president. Luthor then appointed Amanda Waller as his replacement until he was exposed as a criminal in the events of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies . The Civil Defense Administration is a U.S. intelligence agency created as

11556-493: Was inspired by two characters from 1930s pulp fiction . His name comes from Aarn Munro, the hero of John W. Campbell 's 1934 science fiction novel The Mightiest Machine and some subsequent works. Campbell's character had incredible strength and agility from growing up on a high-gravity planet, the same explanation for Superman's powers in early stories. Notably, this is an inversion of Edgar Rice Burroughs ' earlier character John Carter , an earthling whose strength increased on

11664-516: Was originally called International Operations. I.O. (International Operations) was founded in 1964 as a branch of the CIA with the mission to safeguard the United States' interests and safety abroad. It quickly became an independent agency under the leadership of Director Miles Craven. Following the Divine Right incident, the agency was severely weakened. It was shut down by the U.S. government within

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