The Freedom League
Among the various super-teams of the Romverse, one sits nearly undisputed as the #1 Super-team in all of the popularity charts, and that team is the Freedom League. Founded in the 1960s to oppose the threat of the Rogue Olympian deity Hades, and uniting some of the era's greatest heroes, the League restored the spark of superheroism after the “Hidden Age” caused by McCarthyism's persecution of costumed supers.
The original membership, consisting of Daedalus, Centurion, Raven, Lady Liberty II, Pseudo and Bowmoose, based themselves out of Freedom City and fought a variety of menaces and villains, and soon became known as the world's greatest heroes. This lasted until the mid-70s, when some members began departing for various reasons: Raven retired due to injuries (and to raise his daughter), Lady Liberty's powers began to fade, Black Avenger quit to pursue more political causes, and a few more new members died, such as Scarab, Halogen and Tectonic. Daedalus left Earth to explore the stars, and by 1980, Centurion disbanded the Freedom League and went on to work for the newly formed U.N. Organisation, the International Super-Teams.
When Omegaès forces invaded Freedom City in 1993, many former Freedom League members helped battle the outer-dimensional invasion force. After Centurion's sacrifice to defeat Omega, many of them decided to revive the Freedom League in his honor alongside new members: Captain Thundercat, Daedalus, Dr. Metropomouse, Johnny Rocket II, Lady Liberty III, Raven II, and Siren became the founding members of the second incarnation of the League, eventually recruiting the likes of Pseudo, Bowmoose and Star-Knight into their ranks.
The recruitment of Pseudo and Star-Knight came just in time to help stop an invasion by Pseudo's race, the shapeshifting Grue. A difficult battle, it inspired the League to expand their operations worldwide, working in association with both the IST and UNISON to form a global network for Superhero cooperation, which came in just time to help stop the rogue vigilante team, the Justicars (or Psycho Seven) from destroying the White House in the Battle of Washington.
The League has since been at the forefront of the Superhero Community, preaching by example and setting the standard for heroics, bravery, community and helping the world, from their new base the Lighthouse, built in Earth orbit with approval of the United Nation and UNISON. The Team's membership remains in Flux to this day, with Captain Thundercat and Raven II having retired, and new members joining into what is now the biggest League team yet.
Current Members:
Bowmoose II: Technically the fourth hero to carry the mantle, the others being his grandfather and namesake, afollowed by Bowmoose's sidekick Arrow, who would become Bowmouse, taking on a sidekick who would become the second Bowmouse, before adopting the identity of Archer and leading the 90s vigilante team FORCE Ops before eventually retiring. Fletcher Beaumont III graduated from Claremont Academy 7 years ago, after a successful stint as Next-Gen's leader. Still technically a rookie hero, he's more then earned the respect of his teammates.
Centuria: Sometimes, History does repeat itself. Katherine Leeds crashlanded on Earth a few years ago, an escapee from an alternate Earth being ravaged by Omega's forces. An alternate Earth where the superhero Centurion started a family, and had a daughter. A Daughter he placed in an escape pod, sending her across the dimensional barrier to safety, much as his own family had done when his original Earth was destroyed by the Terminus. Though Kate was not born with powers, the dimensional shift transformed her much as it did her father, bleaching her mane and granting her the same powers it had given him. After a heady transition period, Kate has risen to the challenge of taking on her father's legacy on this world, becoming Centuria, a hero who may yet surpass her illustrious father.
Daedalus: Most people know Daedalus as one of the world's most brilliant scientists and inventors. Few people realize he's not just named after the mythological Daedalus... he IS that man. Granted immortality by the gods of Olympus after the death of his son, he has spent centuries wandering the world, learning from various historical figures (and teaching others), and has dedicated himself to spreading Enlightement across the world, and keeping Technology out of the wrong hands. He is currently dedicated towards helping the refugees from the fallen Stellar Republic, both on Star Island and the newly restored Preserver habitat on Europa now called “Starhaven.”
Dr Metropomouse: This mysterious being first appeared in the aftermath of the Terminus Invasion, appearing to help with the rescue effort and reconstruction. His origins are a mystery, and if knows them, he's not sharing. A strange constructed being with the ability to reshape urban landscapes around him, Metropomouse regards Freedom City as his charge, working not only to protect and repair the city, but to preserve its character and history, and advance its best qualities.
Johnny Rocket II: John Wade is the grandson of the original Johnny Rocket (the powers skipped a generation), and eagerly took up the heroic legacy. When both his identity and orientation were outed by an angry ex-boyffriend, the support of his grandfather and teammates (including the otherwise conservative Captain Thundercat) lead John to not only continue his heroic activities openly, but also became an outspoken advocate of equal rights. Now happily married to paramedic Chris Penny, they are also raising a teenage daughter, Jonni, a clone created by Dr Simian as part of a plot (and who's now a student at Claremont Academy)
Lady Liberty V: The latest heir to the heroic identity, Sonia Gutierrez is a second-generation Mexican-American transgender woman, who's courage and dedication to helping others made her an ideal candidate for the Spirit of Liberty. Currently a probationary member of the League, Sonia is very enthusiastic about living up to her predecessor's example, even if it means dealing with harsh critics and conspiracy theorists convinced she somehow “Stole” the Spirit of Liberty\s power.
Raven III: The man currently known as “Elliot Allen” doesn't know the name he was born with, or which Earth he was born on before he was taken as a baby and raised by the dimension-hopping Murder League to become an expert assassin named “Elite”. Fortunately, a chance encounter with a mentalist target broke his conditoning, and he escaped with the help of travellers from another dimension, finally ending up at Claremont Academy on Earth Prime. Graduating with honors, he was chosen by Callie Summers to take on the mantle of Raven. He now divides his time between crime-fighting in New York and his activities in the Freedom League as an associate member.
Siren: Cassandra Vale became the living vessel of the Loa Goddess of the Sea, Siren, becoming her champion in the cause of protecting anthro-kind and thwarting the plots of Baron Samedi, the two Loas locked in an ideological conflict concerning the freedom or enslavement of anthro-kind to the will of the Loas. Siren now serves as a major heroine across the Carribean region, as well as a general protector of the Oceans in general, and acts as one of the major heroic protectors of the Voudou community.
Star-Knight: Maria Montoya was a Police officer from California who came to the attention of the Order of the Star Knights after helping aiding one of their own, the Star-Knight Gan and the Freedom Leaguer Pseudo, in defeating a Grue infiltration plot. Recruited into the Star-Knights, Sri Montoya has since served with distinction, having to divide her attention with protecting people on Earth and out deeper in space. This has only become more difficult as now the Order has to deal with multiple new enemies, such as the cosmic menace Collapsar the Devourrer, the rogue Knight Blackstar forming his own Blackguard order, and the chaos caused by the destruction of Magna-Lor, the former capital of the Lor Republic (now become the Stellar Imperium).
Thunderbolt: Ray Gardener Jr, the son of Captain Thundercat, always admired his father, and hoped to one day follow in his footsteps. So when his own inherited electrical powers manifested, he eagerly signed up for Claremont Academy. His first forerays into adult superheroics on his own ended poorly, however, when he was caught in a trap by his father's old nemesis Dr Stratos. A trap intended to drain Captain Thunder's powers into his son's body, to turn the young cat into a living bomb, Ray Jr was fortunately able to retain enough control to hold on to the energy and become part of it, becoming a “living thunderbolt”. Now unable to exist outside of the advanced containment suit Daedalus and Dr Atom built for him, the newly named Thunderbolt has become a more serious figure, doing his best to fill in his father's role on the Freeom League, all too aware he's responsible for his father retiring in the first place.
Miracle: Cale Knight was a humble Freedom City cab driver until the day he saved the life of the superhero Divinos during the Terminus Invasion. He fully expected to be sacrificing his life to stop the Omegadrone using some device to drain the Mithran hero's power. He certainly didn't expect that breaking the device with a pipe would cause it to explode, bathing him in the cosmic energies that granted him powers similar to the alien hero's. After years of training as Divinos' sidekick and a short solo career, the newly dubbed Miracle has joined with the Freedom League to inspire a new generation.
All characters save for Miracle are ©Green Ronin.
