History Comicbook / TheNewUniverse

* ''The Draft'': A one shot special in which the American military responds to the destruction of Pittsburgh by reintroducing the draft for paranormals.

* DoWithHimAsYouWill: One issue of ''Kickers, Inc.'' has a mob boss hiring the heroes to investigate his son's suicide. The boss wants to avenge his son in the mob's ''vendetta'' way, but the Kickers' leader Jack Magniconte wants to follow the law. The Kickers find out the boy's [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] was driven by a dark occultist cult led by a professor researching hallucinogens. The team disbands the cult and saves other potential victims, but the professor can't be arrested because, despite his methods, his research is legal and funded by the government. Not wanting the guy to be a KarmaHoudini, Jack tells the mob boss the professor's name and where to find him.

[[AC:Back-up stories]]
These shorter stories were printed in ongoing New Universe titles.
[[folder: List of back-up stories and their protagonists]]
* Jack Magniconte (previously the protagonist of ''Kickers, Inc.''):
** ''Choices'', written by Howard Mackie with art by Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott and color bt Steve Buccellato. Published in ''D.P.7'' #21.

* The Medusa Web (antagonists and occasional allies of Psi-Force):
** ''The Weapons of Cowards'', written by Fabian Nicieza, with art by Hector Collazo and Donald Hudson, with color by Marc Siry. Published in ''Justice'' #24.
** ''The Pounding'', written by Fabian Nicieza, with art by Rodney Ramos and Mike & Val Gustovich, and color by Gregory Wright. Published in ''Justice'' #26
** ''The Travest Termination'', written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Don Hudson and Mike Gustovich, and color by Greg Wright. Published in ''Justice'' #28.
* Psi-Force (starring members or ex-members of the team):
** ‘'Healing Time'', written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Javier Saltares, Jeff Albrecht and Mark [=McKenna=], and color by Steve Buccellato. Published in ''Justice'' #23
** ''Powerplay'', written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Christopher Ivy and color by Gregory Wright. Published in ''Psi-Force'' #27.
** ''Passion Play'', written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Hector Collazo and color by Gregory Wright. Published in ''Psi-Force'' #28.
** ''Dirty Play'', written by Fabian Nicieza, with art by Hector Collazo and Christopher Ivy and color by Marc Siry. Published in "Psi-Force" #29.
[[/folder]]
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** "The Travest Termination", written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Don Hudson and Mike Gustovich, and color by Greg Wright. Published in ''Justice'' #28.

%%----
%%[[AC:Back-up stories]]
%%These shorter stories were printed in ongoing New Universe titles.

* ''ComicBook/KickersInc'': Pro football players form a superhero team. To be fair, only the quarterback has actual superpowers. Even then, he doesn't realize he's a paranormal at first; he thinks his SuperStrength is the result of a machine his brother invented. The title was not overly successful, and its tone (light-hearted adventure a la ''Series/TheATeam'') did not particularly fit with the premise of the New Universe.

* ''Kickers, Inc.'': Pro football players form a superhero team. To be fair, only the quarterback has actual superpowers. Even then, he doesn't realize he's a paranormal at first; he thinks his SuperStrength is the result of a machine his brother invented. The title was not overly successful, and its tone (light-hearted adventure a la ''Series/TheATeam'') did not particularly fit with the premise of the New Universe.

* AuthorAppeal: Writer Creator/MarkGruenwald apparently loved his home state Wisconsin -- which was the setting for much of ''D.P. 7''.

* SuddenlySignificantCity: After the battle between Psi-Hawk and Rodstvow trashes UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC in ''Psi-Force'', UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} becomes the American capital. Possibly a ShoutOut to a similar plot point in Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TheDoorIntoSummer''.
* SuperStrength: Several paranormals had some form of it, most notably David "Mastodon" Landers from ''D.P. 7''.
* TakeThat: Marvel Comics's "Whu-huh?!", a more comical version of their "What If...?" line. Apparently, the New Universe was created when Galactus ate a bad planet and promptly shat it out.

* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: ''The War'' plays this trope pretty straight--The Star Child stops the fighting by disabling every weapon on Earth.]]
* DoWithHimAsYouWill: One issue of ''Kickers, Inc.'' has a mob boss hiring the heroes to investigate his son's suicide. The boss wants to avenge his son in the mob's ''vendetta'' way, but the Kickers' leader Jack Magniconte wants to follow the law. The Kickers find out the boy's [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] was driven by a dark occultist cult led by a professor researching hallucinogens. The team disbands the cult and saves other potential victims, but the professor can't be arrested because, despite his methods, his research is legal and funded by the government. Not wanting the guy to be a KarmaHoudini, Jack tells the mob boss the professor's name and where to find him.
* FiveManBand: The Troubleshooters, until most of them were either crippled or killed.
* ForbiddenZone: "The Pitt", the huge crater which is all that's left of Pittsburgh after The Black Event.
* FullyAbsorbedFinale: Two of them -- ''The War'', intended to be the GrandFinale and, later, the ''ComicBook/{{Quasar}}'' storyline ''Starblast''.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Ken "Star Brand" Connell, Kathy Ling of ''Psi-Force'' and Stephanie Harrington of ''D.P. 7'' , among others.

* {{Jerkass}}: Kenneth Connell in ''Star Brand'', Dennis "Scuzz" Cuzinski in ''D.P. 7'', Wayne Tucker in ''Psi-Force''.
* MassSuperEmpoweringEvent: The White Event, the source of all the super powers.

* PresidentEvil: Philip Nolan Voigt, a [[TheSociopath sociopath]] hungry for power of any kind, [[Series/{{Heroes}} uses his ability to absorb other paranormals' powers to become President]].
* PresidentSuperhero: An attempt to assassinate UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan fails because the White Event has given him [[HealingFactor regenerative powers]].

[[folder:Tropes common to the New Universe concepts as a whole]]
* AllDeathsFinal: Played with. It's the default rule for the setting, but the Star Brand (and, seemingly, ''only'' the Star Brand) can break it in some circumstances.
** Even then, the exceptions are limited to reviving the Star Brand's own wielders and bringing back someone who's recently died and still has a body that can be repaired.
** The Star Brand does have much, ''much'' greater scope to stop death claiming people in the first place, if used in time, but that's not quite the same thing.

* RetCon: Used to explain away the MagicalLand in ''Justice'' and the aliens in ''Star Brand'', both of which were originally intended to be taken at face value.
* SelfReferentialHumor: When the last four New Universe titles were cancelled (''D.P.7'', ''Justice'', ''Psi-Force'' and ''The Star Brand''), a banner across final issues' covers joked that they'd been a limited series all along. A very ''long'' limited series.

* TheWatcher: The Witness, a character who dies as a result of the White Event, but continues to exist as an [[{{Intangibility}} intangible ghost]]. He is drawn to places where people are manifesting paranormal powers, but can only watch what happens, unable to intervene in any way.

* UsefulNotes/MountainClimbing: What Phillip Nolan Voigt is doing at the moment the White Event hits Earth.

* {{Irony}}: In ''Newuniversal'', Jenny Nolan is the engineer of the Spitfire armor, designed to hunt and kill superhumans... which she happens to be. And she's only able to complete it because of said superpowers.

* ''ComicBook/{{Justice|NewUniverse}}'': Tensen is a superhuman vigilante from a magic realm... or so he thinks. John Tensen is actually a powerful paranormal who's been telepathically brainwashed. And once he recovers his memories, he appoints himself judge, jury and executioner for paranormals who are misusing their gifts.
* ''ComicBook/PsiForce'': Five teenagers with PsychicPowers are brought together by a rogue [=CIA=] agent with telepathic powers of his own. After their mentor dies, the teens find that they can combine their abilities to summon a hugely powerful psychic being - the Psi-Hawk - that seems to contain part of his spirit.

* ''ComicBook/SpitfireAndTheTroubleshooters'': When her father is murdered, Jenny "Spitfire" Swensen steals the experimental PoweredArmor he'd developed and tries to avenge his death. She's assisted by five engineering students, the titular Troubleshooters. The series later changed direction and became ''Codename: Spitfire'', with Jenny joining the [=CIA=].

!!Titles that lasted until the end of the New Universe imprint:
* ''ComicBook/DP7'': Seven newly empowered paranormals seek help from the Clinic for Paranormal Research, but flee after discovering that the management have their own sinister agenda. The series lasted 32 issues.
* ''ComicBook/{{Justice|NewUniverse}}'': Tensen is a superhuman vigilante from a magic realm... or so he thinks. John Tensen is actually a powerful paranormal, a former DEA agent who's been telepathically brainwashed. And once he recovers his memories, he appoints himself judge, jury and executioner for paranormals who are misusing their gifts. The series lasted 32 issues.
* ''ComicBook/PsiForce'': Five teenagers with PsychicPowers are brought together by a rogue [=CIA=] agent with telepathic powers of his own. After their mentor dies, the teens find that they can combine their abilities to summon a hugely powerful psychic being - the Psi-Hawk - that seems to contain part of his spirit. The series lasted 32 issues.

* ''ComicBook/StarBrand'': Ken Connell, a Pittsburgh mechanic, is given vast cosmic powers and attempts to become a superhero, finding that it's more complicated than he expected. A later attempt to rid himself of the powers has horrible consequences for the wider world, after which the series pivots to focus on his successors. The series lasted for 19 issues, reducing to a bimonthly frequency for the last part of the run.

!!Titles cancelled prior to the Black Event:

* ''ComicBook/MarkHazzardMerc'': Hazzard's not a paranormal, he's just a highly-skilled mercenary with a conscience. His series doesn't actually contain ''any'' references to paranormal characters or hi-tech gadgets, so purely tells 'real world' war and action stories. It was cancelled with issue #12, at which point there had been no crossovers with the other New Universe books.
* ''ComicBook/{{Nightmask}}'': The White Event wakes Keith Remsen from a coma, completely healing him and granting him the paranormal power to enter other people's dreams. It was cancelled with issue #12, but Nightmask became a major recurring character in the remaining New Universe titles.
* ''ComicBook/SpitfireAndTheTroubleshooters'': When her father is murdered, Jenny "Spitfire" Swensen steals the experimental PoweredArmor he'd developed and tries to avenge his death. She's assisted by five engineering students, the titular Troubleshooters. The series later changed direction and became ''Codename: Spitfire'', with Jenny joining the [=CIA=] and the Troubleshooters no longer involved. It was cancelled with issue #13, after which Jenny became a recurring character in other New Universe titles.

!!One-shots and miniseries:

!!Ongoing New Universe titles:

* ''ComicBook/DP7'': Seven newly empowered paranormals seek help from the Clinic for Paranormal Research, but flee after discovering that the management have their own sinister agenda. The series lasted for 32 issues.
* ''ComicBook/{{Justice|NewUniverse}}'': Tensen is a superhuman vigilante from a magic realm... or so he thinks. John Tensen is actually a powerful paranormal, a former DEA agent who's been telepathically brainwashed. And once he recovers his memories, he appoints himself judge, jury and executioner for paranormals who are misusing their gifts. The series lasted 32 issues.
* ''Kickers, Inc.'': Pro football players form a superhero team. To be fair, only the quarterback has actual superpowers. Even then, he doesn't realize he's a paranormal at first; he thinks his SuperStrength is the result of a machine his brother invented. The title was not overly successful, and its tone (light-hearted adventure a la ''Series/TheATeam'') did not particularly fit with the premise of the New Universe. It lasted for 12 issues, from November, 1986 to October, 1987.
* ''ComicBook/MarkHazzardMerc'': Hazzard's not a paranormal, he's just a highly-skilled mercenary with a conscience. His series doesn't actually contain ''any'' references to paranormal characters or hi-tech gadgets, so purely tells 'real world' war and action stories. It was cancelled with issue #12, at which point there had been no crossovers with the other New Universe books.
* ''ComicBook/{{Nightmask}}'': The White Event wakes Keith Remsen from a coma, completely healing him and granting him the paranormal power to enter other people's dreams. It was cancelled with issue #12, but Nightmask became a major recurring character in the remaining New Universe titles.
* ''ComicBook/PsiForce'': Five teenagers with PsychicPowers are brought together by a rogue [=CIA=] agent with telepathic powers of his own. After their mentor dies, the teens find that they can combine their abilities to summon a hugely powerful psychic being - the Psi-Hawk - that seems to contain part of his spirit.

As noted, disappointing sales resulted in the cancellation of four titles (''Kickers, Inc.'', ''Marc Hazzard: Merc'', ''Nightmask'' and ''Code Name: Spitfire''). The other titles continued, and Marvel also published some one-shots and mini-series set in the New Universe, post-Black Event:

* ''The War'': The final story published under the New Universe imprint, after the cancellation of the other titles. Blaming the destruction of Pittsburgh on a known group of Soviet paranormals, the United States and the USSR spiral into World War III.

!!Titles in The New Universe include:
* ''ComicBook/StarBrand'': Kenneth Connell, a Pittsburgh mechanic, is given vast cosmic powers by the titular ArtifactOfDoom. He initially attempts to use them as a superhero, swiftly finding that this more complicated than expected. Later, he attempts to [[IJustWantToBeNormal get rid of his powers]] and lead a normal life, with tragic consequences. Storylines eventually explored other wielders of the Star Brand. The series lasted for 19 issues, reducing to a bimonthly frequency for the last part of the run.
* ''ComicBook/SpitfireAndTheTroubleshooters'': When her father is murdered by his employers, Jenny "Spitfire" Swensen steals the experimental PoweredArmor he'd developed and tries to avenge his death. She's assisted by five of her engineering students, the titular Troubleshooters. The series later changed direction and became ''Codename: Spitfire'', with Jenny joining the [=CIA=] and the Troubleshooters no longer involved. It was cancelled with issue #13, after which Jenny became a recurring character in other New Universe titles.

* ''ComicBook/{{Justice|NewUniverse}}'': John Tensen is a VigilanteMan who fights evil ruthlessly. He comes from a MagicalLand and was brought to Earth when the White Event opened a dimensional rift... or so he thinks. In later issues, a {{Retcon}} reveals that he's actually a DEA agent who's been under the influence of a delusion induced by one of his enemies. He then takes it upon himself to judge his fellow paranormals: "If they are [using their powers properly], he leaves them in peace. If they are not, he leaves them in pieces." With his right hand ("sword hand") able to generate energy blasts of high intensity and heat and his left hand ("shield hand") generating [[DeflectorShields Deflector Shields]], Tensen is typically able to best his opponents. His series lasted 32 issues, from November, 1986 to June, 1989. Through a dimension-traveling adventure, Justice was later added to the world of ''ComicBook/Marvel2099''.

* ''ComicBook/MarkHazzardMerc'': Hazzard's a not a paranormal, just a highly-skilled mercenary with a conscience. The series doesn't actually contain ''any'' references to paranormal characters or hi-tech gadgets, so purely tells 'real world' war and action stories. It was cancelled with issue #12, at which point there had been no crossovers with the other New Universe books.

* ''ComicBook/PsiForce'': Five teenagers with PsychicPowers are brought together by a [[MagicalNativeAmerican Native American]] UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} agent who has telepathic powers of his own. After their mentor's death, the teens can [[AllYourPowersCombined combine their mental energy]] to create a powerful "gestalt entity" called Psi-Hawk. There were several changes in line-up and complex storylines. The series included an Annual and 32 regular issues, lasting from November, 1986 to June, 1989.

* ''ComicBook/ThePitt'': (March, 1988) -- A one shot detailing the destruction of Pittsburgh and its immediate aftermath.
* ''The Draft'': (November, 1988) -- Another one shot, in which the American military responds to the Black Event by creating an all-paranormal fighting force. There are efforts to have all available paranormals registered, accounted for, and used for military purposes. The one-shot mostly reveals the fate of some familiar faces and introduces new protagonists. Repercussions were explored in the still ongoing series.
* ''The War'' (October, 1989-March, 1990): A mini-series in which the New Universe [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin goes to war]]. Will this lead to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt? Blaming the destruction of Pittsburgh on a known group of Soviet paranormals, the United States prepare for war against the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]]. The first battle of WorldWarIII takes place in Africa. American paranormals are sent to assist South Africa against Cuba, in a conflict based on the historical South African Border War (1966-1989).

* UsefulNotes/ColdWar: A factor in some of the stories.

Concepts from ''newuniversal'' and the original New Universe were later also reused in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'' with a Nightmask and a Starbrand appearing in that title as part of the 2013 storyline ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}'', where a new White Event happens on Earth-616[[note]]The 'main' earth of the shared Marvel Universe[[/note]]. They eventually got their own title, ''ComicBook/StarbrandAndNightmask''. Several reimagined New Universe characters also appeared as supporting case and antagonists in Al Ewing's ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2015''.

* {{Capepunk}}: The New U was an attempt at this genre, since it was intended to be more realistic than the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent:
** Star Brand's more-than-passing resemblance to Franchise/GreenLantern was noted almost immediately, and became the topic of several parodies and critiques of the New Universe. After its cancellation, Jim Shooter admitted in an interview that the earliest concept behind the New Universe was to do the DC universe "Marvel-style", but it mutated along the way; by the time the books reached the stands only Star Brand -- the Green Lantern {{expy}} -- remained from that original idea.
** In the series ''Legends,'' ComicBook/GreenLantern Guy Gardner battles a character called Sun Spot, who looks suspiciously similar to Ken Connell. Sunspot exclaims, "I wield the ultimate power...the power to create a New Universe!" and ends up shooting himself in the foot. This is a jab by Creator/JohnByrne at Creator/JimShooter (see AuthorAvatar, below). Byrne ended up writing the end of the ''Star Brand'' comic.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Star Brand.

* AuthorAvatar[=/=]SelfInsertFic:
** It is widely believed that Creator/JimShooter based Ken Connell on himself, making the first seven issues of ''Star Brand'' (written by Shooter) one big SelfInsertFic. Among the similarities between Shooter and Connell were their physical appearances (except for hair color), a hometown of Pittsburgh, and a self-centered ego. Shooter himself even admits Ken's girlfriend Debbie "the Duck" was based on an old girlfriend of his.
** John Byrne inserted himself in an issue, when Starbrand attended a comic-con Byrne was in. Check GenreSavvy and TakeThat entries below for details.

* TheBabyTrap: In ''Star Brand'', Ken clearly ''wrongly'' accuses his girlfriend Debbie of this.
* BettyAndVeronica: Star Brand had this, with {{Jerkass}} Ken Connell mainly concerned with who he was attracted to more; mom Barbara and TheDitz Debbie "Duck" Fix. He eventually goes with the Duck, because she seems to be blindly devoted to him due to apparent self-esteem issues whereas Barbara and her kids would be in danger from the Star Brand (one of which seems to already have been altered by a Star-Brand powered MindScrew). To be fair, Connell cements his {{Jerkass}} status by being temporarily attracted to Barbara's 15-year-old babysitter and sleeping with AnythingThatMoves.

* GenreSavvy: Demonstrated by a [[Creator/JohnByrne comic book writer]] [[SelfInsertFic attending a convention]] along with Star Brand (who was at the time attempting to be a masked hero in the traditional mold). The writer methodically dismantled all the comic book tropes that Connell was depending on to demonstrate why comic book-style heroes were unrealistic and unworkable. In particular, he showed just how much identifying information he could get from physically seeing the cowled Star Brand (height, build, eye color, skin color, and the approximate size and shape of Connell's nose, among other details), which he pointed out could then be used to significantly narrow down a search of, say, driver's license records.

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Ken Connell in ''Star Brand''. He accidentally vaporizes Pittsburgh.

* {{Precursors}}: The source of the superpowers in ''Newuniversal'', later retconned to be the source of all similar such powers. They straddle the line between BenevolentPrecursors and NeglectfulPrecursors. The glyphs are meant to help mankind in periods of transition... but they never give anyone an instruction manual, and oftentimes their choices aren't terribly thought out, such as giving the Justice glyph to a man in a coma, who comes to the conclusion he's now in Hell, or giving the Starbrand to a drunken redneck, causing it to incinerate the guy's girlfriend.

* SecretIdentity: Attempted briefly by Ken Connell as Star Brand, until a comic book writer he met at an SF convention demonstrated how unrealistic the standard comic book version was.
** Said comic book writer was Creator/JohnByrne, [[CreatorCameo who wrote that story]] and the title's final story-arc.
* SphereOfDestruction: What Ken Connell made when he tried to get rid of the Star Brand. It was ''The SOD That Ate Pittsburgh''.

* SuperEmpowering: Anyone that the possessor of the Star Brand touches can get the Brand, too.
* SuperPowerMeltdown: One of the Star Brands depowers Philip Nolan Voigt by overloading him with ''all'' the paranormal abilities on Earth.

* TakeThat:
** After Creator/JimShooter left Marvel Comics, Ken Connell was depicted as an unrepentant JerkAss, a trend taken UpToEleven in the ''Star Brand'' issues written by longtime critic John Byrne. With Ken being an AuthorAvatar of Shooter, this was obviously the remaining Marvel creators getting some licks in on their former boss.
** Then, ''Byrne's'' AuthorAvatar (as himself) in the comic-con criticized Starbrand face-to-face.
** Even after the title's finale it continued in a comic book of ''another company'': In the Creator/DCComics mini ComicBook/{{Legends|DCComics}}, drawn by Byrne, Guy Gardner beats a villain named Sunspot, who is a transparent {{Expy}} of Star Brand. Guy doesn't even break a sweat, and Sunspot ends the fight by shooting himself in the foot while ranting about why the New Universes he tries to create keep exploding.
** Marvel Comics's "Whu-huh?!", a more comical version of their "What If...?" line. Apparently, the New Universe was created when Galactus ate a bad planet and promptly shat it out.

* ThereAreNoTherapists:
** Also averted in ''Star Brand'' because the {{Jerkass}} is friends with a therapist, but constantly ignores or runs away from his sound advice.

* UpToEleven: Philip Nolan Voigt (aka "Overshadow") can duplicate any paranormal's powers, but ''amplified''. One of the Star Brands eventually depowers him by overloading him and causing a SuperPowerMeltdown.

* WhamEpisode:
** ''Justice'' #15, containing the {{Retcon}} that reveals John Tensen's true origin.
** ''Star Brand'' #12, which ends with the destruction of Pittsburgh.

* DreamWalker: Nightmask's power.

* ParentalAbandonment: Happened--violently--to the main character and his sister at the start of ''Nightmask''.

* ThereAreNoTherapists
** Averted in ''Nightmask'' as the main character IS a therapist.