| abstract
| - When it comes to settings that contain superheroes (or superpowered individuals by any other name), each setting or work can be ranked according to how common and well-known superpowers and superpowered beings are in it. For ease of categorization, we can divide this spectrum into three categories: Early, Middle, and Late stage. This refers not to the date of publication-- an Early setting could be published very recently or a Late setting very long ago-- but to the setting's progression from "relatively down-to-Earth with a few Acceptable Breaks From Reality" to "wacky crazy crossover land where anything goes." These three stages roughly correspond to the first three of The Ages of Super Hero Comics:
* The Early Stage roughly coincides with The Golden Age of Comic Books
* The Middle Stage roughly coincides with The Silver Age of Comic Books
* The Late Stage roughly coincides with The Bronze Age of Comic Books and its subsequent Ages. This correlation shows itself clearest in newly created superhero universes of each era: the Charlton Universe (1960) and the Lee-Kirby-Ditko Marvel Universe (1961) both began in the Early Stage, but progressed to the Middle Stage within a year or so of publishing. Similarly, the Image Universe (1992) began as a Middle Stage universe and rapidly progressed to Late Stage. (Arguably, the only reason Image took any time at all to progress from Middle to Late was the necessary time to introduce a sufficiently large number of characters.) Early Stage:
* Early settings tend to contain as few as one or no powered superheroes. In a work centered on a superhero team, there may be five or six. Technological superpowers and gadgets will tend toward the hard side of Mohs' Scale.
* Due to the relative lack of other superheroes beside the main character(s), there will be few to no crossovers. Those that do occur will typically concern two superheroes meeting for the first time; they are likely to be antagonistic toward each other at first.
* Antagonists are likely to be garden-variety crooks and mobsters as opposed to supervillains and will generally lack superpowers, with the possible exception of one main archnemesis. Any villains with powers are likely to derive them from the same source as the hero(es). (Magical heroes will have magical villains; alien heroes, alien villains; mutant heroes, mutant villains; etc.)
* The existence of the superhero(es) and other superpowered individuals is likely to be unknown to Muggles, or at most an urban legend. If there are a number of superpowered individuals, there is likely to be a Masquerade to conceal their existence.
* The superhero is unlikely to work directly with/for the authorities. If aware of their existence, the authorities are likely to either deny it or call for his arrest as a vigilante. Any cooperation that does exist is likely to take the form of one or two "inside men" who cooperate with the superhero on a strictly informal basis. If the government is the source of the hero's or villain's powers, it's because a shadowy Government Conspiracy started a Super Soldier project. Middle Stage:
* Middle settings may include more than one major superhero, most with superpowers and each with a rogue's gallery of villains both powered and unpowered. Technological superpowers and gadgets will begin to trend toward the softer side of Mohs' Scale.
* In settings with more than one hero, crossovers and team-ups will be relatively common and relations between superheroes generally friendly, with several small, organized superhero teams forming. Villains will still be largely disorganized, with only the occasional team-up.
* The existence of superheroes and supervillains is likely to be public knowledge. In the best case, some of them may be considered celebrities; in the worst case, it may take the form of Fantastic Racism.
* More superheroes are likely to work directly with or for the authorities on a regular or formal basis. Some nations may "sponsor" one or more superheroes or hero teams, openly providing them with a headquarters, police cooperation and possibly even the source of their powers (if technological). Late Stage:
* Late settings tend to include dozens if not hundreds of superpowered individuals. They may be considered a minority group (likely if they are mutants or aliens) or even form one or more small nations. Technological powers and gadgets will represent the entire spectrum of Mohs' Scale.
* There is likely to be one large, very organized superhero governing body with a shared headquarters. It may have the authority to sanction or reprimand individual heroes, divide regional territories as the responsibility of individual heroes or smaller teams, dispatch heroes where they are needed in times of crisis, etc. This organization may be considered a military (pardon the pun) superpower and have diplomatic relations with governments or the United Nations as though it were a nation itself.
* Supervillain team-ups will be common; they may organize into one or more large teams as a counter to the heroic governing body.
* The authorities are likely to have formal legislation in place to govern the activities of superpowered individuals. Most positively, this may take the form of guidelines for what they may and may not do within the law to protect them from charges of vigilantism; in the worst case, it may be a Super Registration Act. If the government is directly involved in the creation of superheroes, they are likely to have moved on to mass-producing Super Soldiers by now. Any setting that persists for any length of time will find itself naturally sliding toward the Later end of the spectrum as more characters and plot elements are added. Almost nothing short of a Cosmic Retcon can shift a setting the other way. On the other hand, individual works set in an established setting may very well display earlier stages, if the author chooses not to borrow too many superhuman elements from the overall setting for that particular work. Case in point: Batman Beyond, while set in the Late Stage DCAU, falls squarely into the Middle Stage itself. See also Standard Superhero Setting. Examples of Superhero Prevalence Stages include:
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