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."