History Main / SuperheroPrevalenceStages

* ''{{Empowered}}'' starts right off as Late. Suprahumans are ubiquitous and derive their powers from a wide variety of sources, and a single organization regulates them all.

* 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 "[[CommissionerGordon 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 GovernmentConspiracy started a SuperSoldier project.

* {{Alphas}} falls here, no-one [[NotWearingTights wears costumes]] and the very exsistance of superhumans is kept secret by the government. The only thing that differs it from most Early settings is supervillians (albeit noncostumed ones) are numerous, and highly organised. Of course [[spoiler: given that at the end of Season One, Rosen reveals the exsistance of Alphas, it may become Middle stage soon]].

* 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 "[[CommissionerGordon 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 GovernmentConspiracy started a SuperSoldier project.

* ''Hero'' by Perry Moore, about a teen who ends up as a trainee with the League of superheroes. There are multiple other trainees, and his father is also a superhero.

* 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.)

* ''KimPossible'': The epynomous main character only has CharlesAtlasSuperpower, and the only persons with real superpowers are DarkActionGirl Shego and Team Go. Two other characters have powers that they got through magic. All other powers are technology-based.

* ''BatmanBegins'' falls here: no superpowers, relatively grounded tech, mob bosses instead of supervillains, etc. Fitting, since it was loosely based on BatmanYearOne.

* 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.)

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers' and beyond, every named character who matters is a superpowered mage, cyborg, clone, mutant, etc.

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'' and beyond, every named character who matters is a superpowered mage, cyborg, clone, mutant, etc.

* 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.

* 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 GovernmentConspiracy started a SuperSoldier project.

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaOriginal'', we have exactly one superhuman (the title character) and her pet/mentor at first. Half-way through, they are pitted against her superpowered rival and some superpowered SpacePolice joins the fray towards the end.

* In TheOriginalSeries of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', we have exactly one superhuman (the title character) and her pet/mentor at first. Half-way through, they are pitted against her superpowered rival and some superpowered SpacePolice joins the fray towards the end.

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha A's'', we have superpowered team vs. team action, but there is still a considerably Muggle presence (as in, there are some who are still relevant to the plot).

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=]'' and beyond, every named character who matters is a superpowered mage, cyborg, clone, mutant, etc.

** The whole DarkKnightTrilogy falls into the early stage - Nolan has stated that this is deliberate, to keep the films more grounded in realism.

** The whole DarkKnightSaga falls into the early stage - Nolan has stated that this is deliberate, to keep the films more grounded in realism.

* Early settings tend to contain as few as one or no powered superheroes. In a work centered around a superhero team, there may be five or six. Technological superpowers and gadgets will tend toward the hard side of [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Moh's 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 one another 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 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 their 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 GovernmentConspiracy started a SuperSoldier project.

* 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 [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Moh's Scale.]]

* More superheroes are likely to work directly with or for the authorities on a regular and/or formal basis. Some nations may "sponsor" one or more superheroes and/or hero teams, openly providing them with a headquarters, police cooperation, and/or possibly even the source of their powers (if technological).

* 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 [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Moh's Scale.]]
* There is likely to be one large, very organized superhero governing body with a shared headquarters. It may have the authority to sanction and/or reprimand individual heroes, divide up 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 U.N. as though it were a nation itself.

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 CosmicRetcon 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: ''BatmanBeyond'', while set in the Late Stage {{DCAU}}, falls squarely into the Middle Stage itself).

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* In TheOriginalSeries of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' we have exactly one superpowered individual (the title character) and her pet/mentor at first. Half-way through, they are pitted against her superpowered rival and some superpowered SpacePolice joins the fray towards the end.

[[AC: Comic Books]]

* Most if not all Golden Age comics belong here: typically characters like Superman and Wonder Woman were assumed to be the only superheroes in their universes, and it was only later that they were combined into publisher-specific, overarching universes encompassing many different heroes.

[[AC: Film]]
* BatmanBegins falls here: no superpowers, relatively grounded tech, mob bosses instead of supervillains, etc. Fitting, since it was loosely based on BatmanYearOne.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

[[AC: Film]]
* Nolan's TheDarkKnight arguably falls here: the sci-fi is starting to go a lot more soft, the existence of the Batman is an established fact of Gotham life, his cooperation with the police has gotten a lot more regular now that Gordon is promoted and once they bring Dent in, and the Joker is a bona fide supervillain (albeit ''sans'' superpowers).

[[AC: Tabletop Games]]
* FreedomCity and possibly the flagship settings of most {{Superhero}} TabletopGames are set in a mid-to-late scenario.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* The FreedomForce games start with early as Energy X creates heroes and villains, but quickly reaches middle period as more and more heroes join the Freedom Force.

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* The Bruce Timm BatmanTheAnimatedSeries and SupermanTheAnimatedSeries fall pretty squarely here. The existence of the heroes is well known, they fight powered villains, work directly with the police, team up frequently but are not yet part of an organized team, and the sci-fi is pretty soft.

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=]'' and beyond, every named character that matters is a superpowered mage, cyborg, clone, mutant, etc.

[[AC: Comics]]

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* The DCAU's JusticeLeague and JusticeLeagueUnlimited fit here, particularly the latter. Dozens of superheroes and villains operating in large, organized teams, working with (and occasionally against) the government on a large scale.
* The first scene of TheIncredibles takes place in the Middle period, but the setting quickly shifts to Late after the [[SuperRegistrationAct superhero ban]] is put into effect.