Destruction at Stockton a "sterling example of mutants fighting for territory," according to Graydon Creed, president of the Friends of Humanity. "Groups of mutants battle for dominance, and look what it does to our homes, our livelihoods, our future. Extraordinary beings destroying the hopes and dreams of ordinary people, men, women, children. We have an obligation to stand up for ourselves and protect our children's world from the threat these mutants pose." The Prosecutor's Office has already announced that it will seek death sentences for Death, Destruction and War, the three supervillains allegedly responsible not only for the devastation at Stockton but also the carnage at Chestertown, Maryland some weeks earlier.
X-Men praised by Federal and Canadian law enforcement agencies for "doing what was needed" to bring alleged operatives of the criminal organisation Factor Three to justice. Although it has been suggested that the X-Men may have breached international law by bringing the alleged mutant criminals to the United States from the North-West Territories of Canada, there seems little inclination on either side of the border to question the X-Men's actions.
A fourteen-year old youth, Danny Jell, has been beaten to death following a series of anti-mutant demonstrations at Jackson, Michigan. Police have taken two others youths, aged fourteen and fifteen, into custody as a result of their investigations. It is believed that the pair were classmates of Jell, an alleged mutant.
The best-known Elvis impersonator of them all, the King, has helped police capture the Wizard near Nashville, Tennessee. It took a lengthy chase across the skies over the outlying suburbs and a dramatic battle in the nearby town of Madison before the King told his foe that he would be doing the jailhouse rock one more time. Law enforcement officers had been looking for the Wizard following his escape from custody three weeks ago.
"Where are our heroes when we need them?" says the Mayor of New York, adding his voice to a rising volume of criticism directed at the Mighty Avengers, only recently returned from what they describe as "an outer space adventure". The Mayor was less than impressed by this explanation: "So, cavorting about in outer space is more important than protecting our city from the depredations of supervillains and mutants? Perhaps being a hero is something the Avengers do ... in their spare time!" The Avengers have responded with a statement affirming their commitment to protecting the community and defending anyone in need from villainy. The Mayor's office declined to comment further.
The City of Stockton, California, intends to commission a statue of the Uncanny X-Men to commemorate their bravery against the Horsemen of the Apocalypse last month. The statue will be part of a display proposed to remember the twenty-two killed and the scores injured by the attack, carried out by three of the most vicious supervillains of recent times.
Thirteen men dressed in Medieval armour have ridden up to Westminster Palace in the United Kingdom, and their leader has claimed to be King Arthur, the Once and Future King. This is the third time in twelve years that Arthur has returned to save England in its darkest hour: the first Arthur, one Jonathan Briggs, was exposed as a fraud by Captain Britain in 1980, and the second was found to be mentally disturbed and taken away for treatment in 1987. Authorities have declined to comment on "Arthur's" claims for the moment.
And finally, Arkon V has finally made it to the big screen. The sword'n'sorcery epic was delayed for over a month with editing problems, and there are rumours that large chunks of the film had to be re-shot after test audiences thought the story, featuring the return of Arkon's greatest enemy, played by Simon Williams, formerly Wonder Man of the Avengers, a little too laughable for the studio's liking. If you'd like a chance to see Arkon strut his stuff one more time, we have ten tickets for two to see the opening night screening. Just call this number and answer this question: Simon Williams was a member of which team of the world's mightiest heroes? Remember, call this number, and you and a friend could be brushing shoulders with the stars of Arkon V on opening night!
As the United Kingdom recovers from the recent assault on its churches and ancient buildings, vigorous and sometimes violent debate on the need for a stronger deterrent against super-powered crime fills the House of Commons. Conservative advocates for stronger police powers and greater resources for the war on crime are fighting an uphill battle against a cross-party movement with wide support in the community that does not support the transformation of Great Britain into a "police state".
Evidence has come to hand that at least one, possibly two of the South African regime's superpowered stormtroopers were killed last month in race riots. Home video footage strongly suggests that Lasher and Shield were incinerated by a mutant who was then airlifted from the scene by people who appear to have been members of the Mutant Strikeforce, a pro-mutant terrorist organisation founded by the recently deceased supervillain, Magneto. South African authorities have responded to this evidence by parading someone who claims to be Shield to members of the media, but those in the know are doubtful that Shield today is the same man as a month ago.
Members of S.A.R.M., the Society for the Advancement of the Rights of Mutants, clashed with the National Guard overnight at a training camp near Elk Camp, Texas. No alleged member of S.A.R.M. has been taken into custody as a result, and local authorities are refusing to comment on allegations forwarded to the media that the National Guard unit assaulted were taking part in Nazi-style executions of suspected mutants in the north of Texas. Federal investigators have arrived at the scene to take charge of the investigation.
The famous, or should that be, infamous superhero business, Heroes for Hire, has re-opened for business after a hiatus of almost eight years. Luke Cage and Iron Fist have reconciled their differences and put on the skin-tight suits once again, but this time they plan to leave the administrative side of things to a highly experienced former hero, one of the oldest of them all: Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch. [soundbite by Jim Hammond:] "We hope to offer a range of services for interested members of the community, and we trust you all understand that not every superhero is a millionaire playboy or gets federal funding." Apparently Heroes for Hire will soon have several costumed adventurers on the books, but it looks as if the organisation is off to a rocky start with the authorities. The mayor's office refused to grant Heroes for Hire permission to open in New York City, so they've had to set up shop in Newark, New Jersey.
23 October: Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrive at Beijing for the first visit by a Japanese head of state to China. At a state dinner that night, the Emperor offered a guarded statement of regret for Japanese atrocities during the Second World War. "In the long history of relations between our two countries, there was an unfortunate period when our country inflicted profound suffering on the Chinese people," he said. "About this I feel great sadness."
25 October: The London Watch are unveiled to a rapturous welcome by the British media, anxious for heroes after the "hour of terror" early this month. Doctor Gold-Wing, renowned scientist and investigator, introduced Albion, Imperial Lion, Mole, Repulse, and Swift Swallow to the world at a BBC news interview. S.T.O.P. Chief Superintendant Hetherington has indicated that the London Watch has agreed to work closely with British authorities, assuaging the concerns of some critics.
Stardust and Lord Chaos battle for at least twenty minutes over the Russian city of Omsk before Lord Chaos flees the scene - the Latter-Day Saint and his youthful partner Deseret subdue Satan's Tool before he can destroy the Temple at Salt Lake City - Pride, formerly known as Sentinel, is sought for questioning by the authorities after failing to co-operate with an investigation into the gruesome deaths of three men accused of hate crimes against homosexuals - Choice of the Waitangi Rangers helps raise the Crimson Buccaneer's submarine from its resting place of nearly fifteen years off the coast of New Zealand - Shiki (the Four Seasons) disarm Kazeronin, the Wind Warrior, in an aerial battle over Kyoto - Chinese authorities release footage of several members of the Tiger Squad winning a battle against the Chosen People, and claim to have caused "significant casualties" to the mutant terrorist organisation - Les Heros de la Europeene Communaute welcome their newest members, Fleur-de-Lis and the Argonaut - NFL rookie Tyrone Flynn's pro career in doubt after medical tests come back positive for superhuman abilities.
20 November: Windsor Castle, a centuries-old residence for British monarchs, was severly damaged by a fire that took hundreds of fire fighters hours to extinguish. Structural damage in some areas is so severe that restoration of the castle will take years to complete.
22 November: Captain America, the Avenger's newest chairperson, announced a broad initiative to increase communication and cooperation between superteams on a global scale. "Over the last year, while Hawkeye was chairperson, we've developed strong links with and between other teams within the United States, such as the X-Men and the Guardians of Liberty, and with Alpha Flight in Canada. What we plan to do now is develop and cultivate links with other teams on a global scale: in Europe, in Asia, in India."
25 November: Czechoslovakia's Federal Assembly approves a constitutional amendment that will dissolve the federation without a national referendum. As a consequence, independent Czech and Slovak republics will come into existence on 1 January 1993.
27 November: Rudolf Seiters, Germany's interior minister, announced that he is outlawing several explicitly neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic organisations, most notably the National Front, which he describes as an "active fighting group whose goal is to destroy the democratic order." Les Heros de la Europeene Communaute have dispatched a team to assist Hauptmann Deutschland and other German authorities secure buildings owned or occupied by the now-illegal organisations.
29 November: Captain Britain and his partner, Darkstar, have been sighted for the first time since the "hour of terror" that engulfed the United Kingdom on the night of 8 October. A spokesperson for the Weird Happenings Organisation indicated that, although Captain Britain had discussed the reason for his seven-week absence with the W.H.O., he was not prepared to divulge that information to the general public. There is also much speculation that Captain Britain will be asked by parliament to lead the London Watch, the United Kingdom's newest superteam.
30 November: A federal court at Washington D.C. has ruled that "Alpha 2C", a synthetic automaton previously owned by the Federal government, is actually a living being and as such should be free to do as he pleases. In an historic decision, the court heard of the similarities between Alpha and other artificial beings like the Vision and Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch. Outside the courthouse, Alpha said that he was pleased to be accorded the legal position of a "free sentient", and that he would be applying for American citizenship.
6 December: Several thousand militant Hindus destroy the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state. Sectarian rioting between Hindus and Muslims follows, not only in India but also in the neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh, taxing the resources of government forces and the Defenders of India.
9 December: The first contingent of U.S. Marines, acting in the name of the United Nations, lands on the east coast of Somalia to begin Operation Restore Hope. Ten other countries also dispatch troops to serve as part of the U.N. mission, but the American contingent is the largest by far. The primary objective is to ensure the distribution of much-needed food and medicine throughout the war-torn African nation.
11 December: The former alleged mutant terrorist known as Havok was arrested by F.B.I. agents yesterday after a routine search of a militia group premises in Manhattan, Kansas. He has been charged with possesson of illegal firearms and remanded in custody without bail.
17 December: Actor Simon Williams, also known as Wonder Man, has died when the space satellite he was being held on exploded late this evening. Williams was kidnapped by several superpowered individuals allegedly employed by the wanted criminal Joshua of Factor 3. The Avengers have captured six individuals allegedly involved in the kidnapping, but were not able to rescue their prisoner in time. Williams was most famous for his recurring role in the Arkon series.
18 December: Ultron has attacked the X-Men and kidnapped several people, included Ms Leesa Romanowski, daughter of San Francisco Mayor Dan Romanowski. Strike, the X-Men leader, has stated that several of the hostages have been recovered but Ms Romanowski is still missing. Ultron has been taken into custody by the Avengers.
25 December: An explosion at Kenilworth Prison, Kansas, has killed Alex Summers, better known as Havok. It is believed that an explosive device caused the destruction: authorities are investigating.
30 December: Interpol has reported that a new terrorist group, previously known only as Image, may in fact be a mutant terrorist organisation with links to American mutant terrorist groups such as the Chosen People and the Brotherhood of Mutants. It is believed that Image is an acronym for Imminent Mutant Ascension and General Evolution. Les Heros de la Europeene Communaute are apparently closing in on the little-known organisation.
1 January: The twelve-nation European Community began implementing the first phase of its open internal market, the initial step towards full economic and monetary union. There is, however, still significant resistance to this process within several member states, including Denmark (where voters rejected the original Treaty on European Union in last June's referendum) and the United Kingdom.
13 January: Religious strife between Hindus and Muslims has resurfaced in India, this time in the southern city of Bombay. Firefighters, police and members of the Defenders of India have come under repeated attack as they attempt to control the violence and destruction: the army is now involved in bringing this crisis under control.
20 January: William J. Clinton is inaugurated as 42nd president of the United States of America.
24 January: Les Heros de la Europeene Communaute have moved a family of "trolls" from their temporary residence beneath a bridge on the outskirts of Hammerfest, Norway to the European Union's Containment Facility at the request of the Norwegian government. The move follows attacks on several residents and tourists by the creatures, and is the latest in a series of alleged hauntings and supernatural activities to take place in the country's north.
27 January: The Avengers have subdued a man calling himself the Punisher who is allegedly responsible for the shooting of former Mafia leader turned police informant Guilio Marchesi. Whether this is the same man who terrorised New York city under that name in the 1980s is yet to be established: police have refused to comment at this stage. The Mayor's office has released a statement thanking the Avengers for capturing "this costumed terrorist" but criticising them for failing to prevent the death of Marchesi, a "key witness in the war against organised crime".
29 January: F.B.I. Director William Sessions continues to defend himself and his actions against the accusations made in the Office of Professional Responsibility's 161 page report on his activities. The report identifies numerous instances of petty corruption and other ethics violations on the part of Sessions and his wife Alice, such as claiming his limo was a tax-exempt police vehicle, using the F.B.I. plane to visit his daughter in California and using government funds to install a $9,890 fence. However, Sessions denies that he has acted improperly and suggests that William Barr, the Department of Justice officer responsible for preparing the report, may have a hidden political agenda.
31 January: Dallas and Buffalo contest Superbowl XXVII at Pasadena, California.
5 February: Ruslan Khasbulatov, the Speaker of Russia's Congress of People's Deputies, has accused President Boris Yeltsin of "failing to cope with his duties". Khasbulatov has previously accused Yeltsin of acting as a dictator and trying to ignore the wishes of the congress, where hard-line Communists who had been elected before the collapse of the Soviet Union still held the balance of power and sought to impede Yeltsin's economic reforms..
12 February: The era of apartheid in South Africa drew closer to a close with an agreement between the South African government and the African National Congress (A.N.C.) to form a government of national unity that would hold a election with universal suffrage for all races by April 1994, thus ending white-minority rule.
22 February: The United Nations Security Council unanimously sanctioned the formation of an international court to try those accused of war crimes in the barbarous civil conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. has indicated that his agency will not be responsible for identifying and apprehending those accused of war crimes.
26 February: Terrorists detonated an explosive device beneath one of the twin World Trade Centre buildings in lower Manhattan, killing at least five people. The number of deaths could have been much higher without the intervention of the Avengers, who assisted in the evacuation of an estimated 50 000 people from the damaged building. The F.B.I. are leading the investigation into the attack, which has been attributed by parts of the media to unknown mutant terrorists.
4 March: F.B.I. agents and the Avengers arrested Mohammad Salameh, a Jordanian-born Palestinian, in relation to the bombing of the World Trade Centre. The F.B.I. have firmly ruled out the possibility of a known or unknown mutant terrorist organisation being responsible for the bombing, attributing it instead to Islamic fundamentalists.
6 March: The Champions have exposed Los Angeles' other superteam, the Gemstones, as agents of Superia, the feminist supervillain. The all-woman Gemstones have evaded the authorities and gone into hiding rather than assist police with their inquiries.
7 March: A tentative peace plan designed to end the Afghanistan civil war was signed by eight of the rival military factions currently struggling for control of that troubled country. Elections are scheduled for the latter half of 1994.
12 March: A series of bombings in Bombay have damaged the Bombay Stock Exchange, banks, movie theatres and a shopping complex, killing at least fifty people. No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which are being investigated by the authorities and the Defenders of India. It is possible that the terrorists act are an attempt to destabilise the government, which is struggling with heightened tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
15 March: The "Blizzard of 93" has broken after four days of tremendous snowfalls and freezing winds in the north and tornados and coastal flooding in the south of the United States. Over 240 people have died in the destructive conditions, and damage estimates are as high as $1 billion.
28 March: President Yeltsin of Russia has survived an impeachment vote in a special session of the Congress of People's Deputies. However, this has done little to restore confidence and stability to the country, which is in turmoil as the legislature struggles to gain power over the presidency.
31 March: China's National People's Congress has confirmed Jiang Zemin as President and Li Peng as Premier. Although former President Deng Xiaoping now holds no party or government posts, he continues to exercise unchallenged power to set policy ad make appointments.