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Characters / The Black Dossier Volume II

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The massive amount of characters featured in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fanfic by Draco Orwell.

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The First American League/"The Cowboy League" (1875)

    General 
In response to the mysterious British 'Fogg League' of the 1870s, of which little is known (the British Government possibly destroyed the records of this group), Ulysses S. Grant's Administration commissioned the formation of its own 'League'.
  • Base on Wheels: The team makes use of the Wanderer train as their mobile base when on operations, carrying them wherever needed across the USA as long as there are railways.
  • Divided We Fall: Lulu and The Man both defect from the League after they refused to assassinate a Lakota Chief helping to delay US expansion into Indian territories with his undaunted resistance. West and the remaining cowboys were ordered to kill them in response, which caused Maverick to join them out of ethical principles. West would end up being the sole survivor of the group.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: As is customary for leagues in general, they are all strong personalities from various backgrounds and often differ in politics and methods.

    Captain J.T. West 
Source: The Wild Wild West
  • Action Hero: In keeping with the source material James T. West was basically the James Bond of the Wild West. He proves it by surviving the League’s shoot-out and killing Lulu and Maverick with a prototype hand grenade.
  • Fastest Gun in the West: He is. Tragically so.
  • The Leader: As a legendary Secret Service Agent, President Grant put him in charge of forming the League and keeping them in line.
  • Knight Templar: He's a dedicated agent of the U.S. military, which get his entire League killed when Lulu and The Man defect after the team goes too far.
  • Karma Houdini: Noted to have been completely unrepentant over his League tearing itself apart and personally putting down the last of them.
  • Sole Survivor: The defection of Lulu, The Man, and Maverick was settled in a brutal Showdown at High Noon that ended with everyone dying, except for him. He's completely unbothered by it.

    Joaquin Mason/"The Fox" 
Source: Zorro, The Mask of Zorro
  • Dashing Hispanic: He was noted to be the most amiable of the group, seemingly less brooding and grim than many of his cohorts as he was enthusiastic and gallant.
  • Idiot Hero: Also noted to be not the most effective Fox to ever don the cape and mask.
  • Legacy Hero: He was the latest in the line of Fox adventurers who fought injustice in California.
  • The Swashbuckler: Along with being the Loveable Rogue, he was an accomplished swordsman.

    Ethan Edwards 
Source: The Searchers

    Bartholomew Maverick 
Source: Maverick

    The 'Man with No Name' 
Source: The Dollars Trilogy

     Lulu Colt 
Source: Giarrettiera Colt
  • The Ace: A gambler and gunslinger on par with her teammates.
  • The Fashionista: As dangerous as she was well-dressed.
  • Ship Tease: She became very close with The Man, but whether it was romantic or platonic is left up to the reader's imagination.
  • Spicy Latina: Noted to have a fiery temper, a liberal sexuality, and a strong independent feminist streak.

The Celestial League (1899)

    General 
After his defeat at the hands of Mina Murray's 1898 League, the London Limehouse-based, Chinese terrorist known as The Devil Doctor decided to form his own League to assist him in his fight against European imperialism in Asia. The Doctor recruited his team from all over the Orient, barely needing an introduction to most of them considering his reputation (which was of a fanatical madman in Europe and America, but of a freedom fighter in much of his home region).
  • Apple of Discord: The Monkey King Stone proved too tempting for The Demon and he fought his comrades over its power.
  • Been There, Shaped History: They assisted the Militia and Qing Dynasty's forces in the Boxer Rebellion.
  • Holy Ground: They had an encounter with the Second American League in ShangriLa, but the battle ended with a stalemate when neither side wished to continue fighting in such a serenely peaceful place
  • Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: They were trying to stop Western imperialism in Asia, which is baaaaddd.

    The Doctor 
Source: The Fu Manchu series by Sax Rohmer.
  • Diabolical Mastermind: But of course. He’s such a master manipulator that he’s able to sway Zatoichi to his cause despite the swordsman’s opposition to gangsters.
  • Equal-Opportunity Evil: His desire to unite Asia to fight the West trumped any kind of reservation he had about recruiting non-Chinese, even Japanese to his team.
  • Start My Own: The Doctor created his own League to fight off Western imperialism.

    Pao The Invisible 
Source: Le Maitre De L'Invisible
  • Captain Ersatz: An in-universe version of Griffin from the British League.
  • The Smart Guy: He had an innate affinity for new technology despite his youth and personally designed much of the League’s weapons.
  • Take Over the World: Was noted for his megalomania and had his own designs for world domination.

    Zatoichi The Blind 
Source: Zatoichi

    Mola-Ram 
Source: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  • Evil Sorcerer: As a Thugee cultist he was skilled in dark magic, and knowledgeable on spells, potions, and other terming magical practices.

    The Demon’s Head 
Source: Batman

    Lady Oyuki 
Source: Lady Snowblood
  • Lady of War: Was noted to be both exceptionally beautiful and an unmatched swordmaster. She only signs up for the League so she can study under Zatoichi.

The Second American League (1901)

    General 
After the success of the First Murray League in defending the British Isles from the Martian Invasion in 1898, President William McKinley toyed with the idea that it may be necessary for the United States to revive its own League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.After McKinley's assassination, incumbent President and adventurer in his own right, Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt, fast-tracked these plans and within his first few months in office, had handpicked his own League of heroes and rogues to coincide with his expansion of the US Secret Service.
  • Guest-Star Party Member: The experimental robot, Boilerplate assisted them on some adventures, and the automaton almost overshadowed League in popularity.
  • Superior Successor: Marginally to the doomed Cowboy League, lacking most of the bickering, infighting, and eventual betrayal that ruined the so-called 'Cowboy League', due mainly to the good working relationship between the members. However, the carnage of WWI tore the team apart.

    Irene Norton (née Adler) 
Source: Sherlock Holmes
  • Mythology Gag: Irene Adler was Alan Moore’s first choice to lead the first League, but he couldn’t remember her name, so he settled on Mina Murray.
  • Only in It for the Money: Initially, Irene was reluctant to do the League as she simply wanted to live a quiet life with her loving husband. Roosevelt won her over when he offered a considerable sum of money to act as his League's Wilhelmina Murray surrogate.
  • We Used to Be Friends: She was disgusted by Sawyer's actions and cut off all ties with him after their League disbanded.

    John Ried 
Source: The Lone Ranger
  • Boxed Crook: Downplayed. He agreed to join the American League when Roosevelt promised a presidential pardon for his activities as a costumed vigilante.
  • Twilight of the Old West: Reid’s retirement has shades of this–he was disturbed by the industrialized barbarity he witnessed during his WWI mission, as his mounted division he and T.T. led was torn apart by modern weaponry, nearly killing the two.

    Ton-Toh 
Source: The Lone Ranger
  • Undying Loyalty: Was noted to be fiercely loyal to his friend, and was known for his fearlessness, chivalry, and hard-working, unquestioning attitude.

    Tom Sawyer 
Source: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  • The All-American Boy: Tom was note to be an idealistic, if somewhat emissive and exploitative, spy. Due to his good looks, he was seen as the poster boy for the US Secret Service at the time.
  • The Atoner: When he was eventually given lead of the third incarnation of the American League he tried to make up for the mistakes he made during his time in the second incarnation.
  • General Failure: His actions as a captain of a Marine unit resulted in many of his men dying by enemy fire while he was safe far behind them. Sawyer was never punished for technically being a war criminal, but he was haunted by his actions and denounced by Irene Norton.
  • Lovable Rogue: He was both cocky and arrogant despite looking to Roosevelt and Reid as mentors.

    Professor Augustus Van Dusen 
Source: ''The Problem Of Cell 13'' and other stories
  • Amateur Sleuth: Van Dusen was a university professor who solved 'impossible' crimes brought to him by his journalist friend Hutchinson Hatch.
  • Good Counterpart: As a university professor who solves crimes, he was essentially a more lawful version of Professor Moriarty.
  • Prison Escape Artist: Famously escaped from the reportedly inescapable Chisholm Prison.

The First Archeologist's League (1907)

    General 
Organized by young Historian and Oxford University alumnus Marcus Brody during his brief tenure at the Jeffersonian Institution in Washington D.C. (the future headquarters of the celebrated forensic anthropology unit led by Dr. 'Bones' Brennan), The Archeologist's League may not have been a secret intelligence organization like the other League's recorded in The Black Dossier, but this team and its successors are still worth mentioning due to the nature of their adventures, and the notability of their members.

Brody set up this League with his good friend and colleague Dr. Harry Jones Sr., intending to create a troupe of Archeologists capable of dealing with the more supernatural elements of historical finds.

  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Subverted. While they tried to go on adventures, with every member of this League being career academics, their schedules never really lined up to get in on the action, and the few expeditions they could go on ended with them coming out empty-handed.

    Dr. Henry Jones Sr. 
Source: Indiana Jones
  • Nerd Action Hero: Noted that despite his reluctance to get into the same physical action his son became famous for, he was committed to his cause.
  • Socially Awkward Hero: He was a natural introvert and could become deeply engrossed in his studies, which made it difficult for him to be the leader of his League.

    Dr. Emily Sands 
Source: The Mummy
  • Brainy Brunette: She was a youthful and enthusiastic Egyptologist from England whose optimism and charisma were greater than her actual ability as an archeologist.
  • Lady of Adventure: Subverted. With the rest of the League, she tried to go on adventures, but they were largely unsuccessful.

    Prof. Marcus Scarman 
Source: Doctor Who
  • The Mentor: Dr. Sands was his protege and he specifically requested she be brought on.
  • The Smart Guy: He was an eminent lecturer and explorer, revered by others in the Archeological field, to the point that Brody and Jones were ecstatic they managed to bring him on board.

    Dr. Sven Nelson 
Source: Doctor Fate
  • Heroic Lineage: His son would become the legendary hero, Doctor Fate.

    Prof. Takeo Yamatone 
Source: Golden Bat
  • Insufferable Genius: Was known to be rather arrogant, but his expertise in early cultures, particularly in religions and mythologies made him a good fit for the supernatural aspects of the League.

The First Allied League (1914)

    General 
When the First World War broke out in 1914, and the Allied and Central Powers fought over Europe, those belligerent nations with Leagues (Britain, France, Germany, and by 1917, the United States) saw fit to deploy their talented individuals who made up these teams separately and employ them in different areas of the military needing of their skilled support (a good example of how this was done can be found in the entry for the Second American League). Although the main national Leagues had been temporarily disbanded, the Allied Nations decided (on the suggestion of the aging spymaster Mycroft Holmes) to create a new League for morale and propaganda purposes (Which is why the members of this League were mostly more conservative choices than most other Leagues usually contain), made up of fighting men and women from around their allied states.
  • Propaganda Hero: They were brought together mainly to illustrate the strength and unity of their respective nations. They could almost count as Fake Ultimate Hero as most of their missions didn't really accomplish much in the long run, with many of their "victories" only booting morale. The League participants also widely felt their considerable skills weren't put to better use, considering the government's restraint in putting them into the field.

    John Clayton, the Viscount of Greystoke 
Source: Tarzan
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: His Mangani-learned abilities made him a formidable fighter and explorer.
  • Experienced Protagonist: While he didn't particularly care for the British Empire, he never turned down any of the missions they gave him as he enjoyed the adventures.
  • Nature Hero: He was noted to have a barely-hidden contempt for the artificiality of civilization, and frequently returned with his wife to the wilderness.

    Sâr Dubnotal 
Source: Sâr Dubnotal
  • Hypnotic Eyes: A master mesmerist who required direct eye contact.
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Was noted to be a powerful sorcerer capable of telepathy, levitation, and hypnotism.
  • Lovable Rogue: Dubnotal had a very independent streak that made the other Leaguers wary that he’d betray them if given the chance. He and Dunot frequently clashed due to their respective egos. However, Dubnotal proved time and again that he was an earnest, if very disagreeable, hero.
  • Mr. Vice Guy: Deconstructed. He was noted to be arrogant, womanizing, and hard-drinking, and only signed up to the League for the illusion of respectability given to him by the French propaganda specialists.
  • Noble Bigot: Despite clearly being a white Frenchman, he repeatedly claimed he was of Indian descent.

    Khlit Ubiytsa III 
Source: Khlit the Cossack
  • Heroic Lineage: A descendant of the infamous Manslayer, and while he was noted to be less badass than his ancestor, he was still a skilled horse rider and gunman.

    Baron Cesare Stromboli 
Source: L'Inedit
  • Fake Aristocrat: He was not nobility by birth, but was given the title of "Baron" after having blackmailed the Emperor.
  • Gentleman Thief: It's noted that his skills were on par with the famous Arsène Lupin.
  • Humble Hero: He possessed a special kind of cynicism that prevented him from being as arrogant as many in his mold were.

    Capt. Shunro Sakuragi 
Source: The Underwater Warship
  • Captain Nemo Copy: In-Universe example. A Japanese Naval tactician who helmed the mighty Gotengo submersible.
  • Propaganda Hero: While he was very skilled, his presence was mainly to build stronger ties with the European powers, and earn more respect for Japan

    Dr. Clark Savage Jr. 
Source: Doc Savage
  • Chaste Hero: Doc, by personal choice.
  • Genius Bruiser: Was both the muscle and the planner for the Third American League's missions.
  • Not So Stoic: He was very dedicated and stalwart, but he could be surprisingly amiable and humorous. He was basically The Heart of the Third American League.
  • Renaissance Man: Might as well call this "The Doc Savage." He was specifically raised to be the 'ideal specimen of human capabilities'.
  • Socially Awkward Hero: He was a bit reserved during his time with the First Allied League, but managed to open up when he signed up for the Third American League.

The League Of Horrors (1921)

    General 
After the disaster that occurred at the Opéra-Garnier in 1913, the mysterious, and highly dangerous former French League member known only as 'Fantômas', had seemingly disappeared. Fantômas had joined the First French League in 1909 for monetary reasons, which came despite the vastness of his criminal empire. Although he had been thought dead, French authorities had suspected his continuing existence after the check the phantasmal terrorist had been given by his League employers under one of his aliases, was cashed in at the Bank of France, and the almost one million francs Fantômas was entitled to were sent to an undisclosed location.

Fantômas then was not heard at all during the events of The Great War, indeed one could guess he was waiting it out in some safe location.

The disappearance may have been a relief to the French authorities, but this rest period could never last, and, after the conclusion of the war, Fantômas returned, being sighted visiting numerous locations in France and abroad, rebuilding his empire.

Fantômas had learned a great deal about the structure of League-type organizations during his service to the French, and as part of his new criminal syndicate, he devised his own, dubbed 'The League of Horrors' by the press after rumors of their existence began to circulate.

  • Card-Carrying Villain: They are all self-confessed criminals who Fantômas lead to spread havoc throughout the country. While Fantômas initially claimed to be an anarchist, their philosophy devolved into something resembling an extreme form of Illegalism–a type of (rather fittingly) French anarchism where crime itself is seen as the only true expression of anarchy and not simply a means to an end.
  • Legion of Doom: Their primary goal was to pool their various skill to commit perfect crimes, but in practice, they resembled a terrorist-cult with Fantômas as their "dark master."
  • Villain Team-Up: Brought together by Fantômas to begin a reign of terror in post-war France.

    Fantômas 
Source: Fantômas
  • Card-Carrying Villain: A proud criminal mastermind.
  • The Corrupter: He encouraged his teammates' worst habits to make them better criminals, while also being more subservient to him.
  • Cult of Personality: He stylized himself as the League's "dark master" and encouraged their anti-social and criminal tendancies.
  • Diabolical Mastermind: He was an accomplished arch-criminal who skirted the law for years in his career of crime.
  • The Leader: The Mastermind variant, naturally.
  • Improved Second Attempt: He was part of the ill-fated Les Hommes Mystérieux, but he tried to learn where they failed with his League.
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: In their climatic confrontation with the Allied League, it's revealed that the slain Fantômas was Dr. Kramm in disguise, leaving the arch-criminal's fate unknown.

    Erik Karim, 'The Phantom of the Opera' 
Source: The Phantom of the Opera
  • Evil Genius: Served as the chief saboteur of the League.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: All he wanted was to be loved, but under Fantômas' influence he was moved to wreak havoc on the French society that spurred him.

    Dr. Christian Coriolis 
Source: Balaoo
  • The Beastmaster: A mad naturalist who notoriously trained a rare ape to murder for his own nefarious aims back in 1911. Coriolis carried out schemes for his mad master that included training domesticated animals to turn on their owners.
  • The Pig-Pen: Was noted to be very unsanitary and repulsive.

    Ludivine Thérnadier, Le Masque Rouge (The Red Mask) 
Source: The Masque of the Red Death / Les Misérables

    Dr. Cornelius Kramm 
Source: Le Mystérieux Dr. Cornélius
  • Back-Alley Doctor: While it's unknown if he was an actual doctor, he was an accomplished surgeon specializing in altering people's likenesses through the science of "carnoplasty."
  • Diabolical Mastermind: Almost to the level of Fantômas, as he ran his own international crime syndicate called the "Red Hand."
  • Latex Perfection: He uses his expertise in crafting masks made from preserved human flesh to create disguises for his comrades.
  • Mad Doctor: He was given the nickname the "Sculptor of Human Flesh" and was rumored to be a cannibal.

The Third American League (1925)

    General 
Now in his fifties, the Great War veteran and former military poster boy Captain Tom Sawyer had become quite a different man than the one he had been during his service with the Second American League. Sawyer's guilt at his ruined friendships, manipulation of others, and war crimes had caused him a bitter depression, and to turn to religion as a method of finding solace.

However when Sawyer was asked by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover on behalf of President Calvin Coolidge to help organize a new League, the former Marine captain saw an opportunity to use his leadership position as a way of writing his old wrongs and finding personal redemption.

President Coolidge felt a new League was required to combat the high crime rates driven by the Prohibition, and the many cartels and gangsters thriving off the decadent 'Roaring Twenties'. Captain Sawyer saw this cause as morale good he could strive to enforce.

    Captain Sawyer 
  • See above

    Richard Seaton 
Source: Skylark Series

    Dorothy Gale 
Source: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
  • Chummy Commies: Her experiences in Oz gave her some socialist leaning that put her at odds with Hoover.
  • Riddle for the Ages: After her League broke up and she was blacklisted for her socialist sympathies, she simply disappeared. Many believe she returned to Oz.
  • The Worm Guy: Because of her trips to Oz, she was specifically recruited as a consultant on supernatural phenomena.

    Dr. Clark Savage Jr. 
Source: Doc Savage
  • See above

    Lamont Cranston 
Source: The Shadow
  • The Cowl: As The Living Shadow, he was one of the orignals.
  • Flip Personality: Was noted to suffer from violent mood swings, almost as if he had multiple different personalities.
  • Hypnotic Eyes: A master of hypnosis using his jeweled ring.
  • Master of Disguise: Was rebound for his stealth and ability to take on almost any role required for his mission.

    Nicholas Carter 
Source: Nick Carter

The Second French League (1927)

    General 
As mentioned in the entry regarding 'The League of Horrors', in 1927 French government agent Léo Saint-Clair, aka Nyctalope, formed a new League out of necessity in order to defeat Fantômas and his cohorts and prevent them from beginning a new Black Death epidemic. This League may have been formed abruptly, but it included many legendary Frank heroes who stayed in service for their nation for many years after their recruitment.

    Madam Blanc-Sec 
Source: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
  • The Leader: Explicite comparisons were drawn between her and Mina Murray.
  • Lady of Adventure: Already known for her daring and often bizarre exploits.
  • Sole Survivor: With Doctor Omega gone, and Dubnotal and Dunot sacrificing themselves, Blanc-Sec becomes the sole surviving field agent of her League. She and Nyctalope would have yearly get-togethers to reminisce about their comrades until his death in 1969.

    Sâr Dubnotal 
Source: Sâr Dubnotal
  • See above

    Doctor Omega 
Source: Doctor Omega / Doctor Who
  • Doctor Whomage: A famous example that predated the character by sixty years. There's a reason.
  • Mythology Gag: He's revealed to literally be a form of The Doctor, and disappears in the Tardis at the end of the League's adventures. While the Doctor Omega character predates The Doctor by decades, they're so similar that recent reprints of the novel include references to Doctor Who canon, retroactively making them the same character.
  • Retro Rocket: How his personal ship, the Cosmos, is described. He leaves it behind for the League to use, which allows Madam Blanc-Sec to escape.

    Marcel Dunot 
Source: Marcel Dunot
  • Affably Evil: He displayed mildly sociopathic traits, but he was nontheless had the chivalry of a sportsman, treating his friends and foes alike with respect and dignity, but perhaps not true friendships with anyone.
  • Blood Knight: He loved to fight and was capable of beating the tar out of anyone in or outside the boxing ring.
  • Boxing Battler: He went on several adventures fighting various criminals during his time as the "King of Boxers,"
  • Mr. Vice Guy: He and Dubnotal sacrifice themselves to allow Blanc-Sec time to escape, only asking for a passionate kiss in return.

The Kane League (1938)

    General 
Multi-millionaire media mogul, private landowner, and serial manipulator of politics Charles Foster Kane had experimented with having a 'League' of sorts in 1925, which according to record ended disastrously for the three poor 'Science Heroes' he had employed. In 1938, the more elderly Kane, who was suffering from failing health and what modern doctors would have diagnosed as the early stages of depression, along with a deteriorating business empire, decided to form a more formal League, this time modeled specifically on the 1898 Murray League, which the aging tycoon viewed as the most successful incarnation of the team due to their incredible defeat of the first Martian Invasion. Kane hoped to use his recreation of that League to intervene in world events as his publications had once been able to.

Kane sent his star reporter, the daredevil journalist Jane Arden, to assemble the private team.

  • Failure Hero: Their one and only mission ended with nearly all of them dying save for Autry and Robur.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: They may have actually helped in the long-run as stopped the Nazis from conducting further experiments on the animal life of the Skull Archapeligo.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Explicitly designed to be a near-identical recreation of the British League.

    Gene Autry 
Source: Gene Autry
  • The Gunslinger: Was an accomplished gunman on par with Allan Quatermain.
  • Ideal Hero: Noted to be unfailingly ethical.
  • Money, Dear Boy: He signed onto Kane's League because the mogul promised him a lucrative film contract.
  • Real-Person Fic: Zig-Zagged. Gene Autry was a real singer/actor, but in the League world, he had a twin brother named Orvon who took credit for his brother's exploits.

    Ann Darrow 
Source: King Kong
  • Action Survivor: Darrow's survival physically, maturation, and courage gained from the incident mentally lent Darrow a Mina Murray quality which appealed to Kane.
  • Adaptation Distillation: A mix of the 1933 and 2005 versions.
  • Big Damn Heroes: She saves Robur, Autry, and Dunn from a Nazi firing squad using Robur's handheld artillery from their own camp.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She, next to Autry, was probably the kindest person on the team.

    Tom Powers/Thomas Masters 
Source: The Public Enemy
  • Good Counterpart: Powers proved to be far more moral Invisible Man than his sociopathic British counterpart.
  • Invisibility Cloak: Kane gives him a belt invented by Dr. Stanley Stanfield that turns him invisible save for his shadow.
  • Redemption Quest: Powers had promised the family of a deceased friend of his to reform himself, and joined the League under the condition that Kane's media empire would help cover up his criminal past for good. Becomes Redeption Equals Death when he lures a pack of velociraptors away from Robur and Autry and was torn apart.

    Armand Robur 
Source: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen / Robur the Conqueror
  • Cool Air Ship: The Terror.
  • Expy Coexistence: An In-Universe one as Kane specifically sought him out to be his Captain Nemo Copy.
  • Overlord Jr.: The son of the infamous attempted-conqueror, but he was nonetheless a more heroic figure, and only agreed to Kane's League because the mogul promised to stir anti-fascist sentiment within his newspapers to subtly convince the American people to come to the aid of the French should war break out in Europe.

    William 'Bill' Dunn, the Super-Man 
Source: The Reign of the Superman
  • A Shared Suffering: Dunn and Darrow briefly bond over their similar Depression-era struggles.
  • Jekyll & Hyde: As a side-effect of the super-serum he was given his mind became fractured between the pacifistic Bill Dunn and the megalomaniacal Super-Man. He was deliberately sought out by Kane for his Jekyll and Hyde qualities.
  • Psychic Powers: As the Super-Man, he was a powerful telepath.

The First Japanese League (1941)

    General 
By the time of their entry into World War II in 1941, The Empire of Japan had very much become the European-style Imperial Power that The Devil Doctor had foreseen the rise of. Imperial Japan not only had vast amounts of occupied territory in Asia, but also a heavily industrialized military just as capable of war as any Colonial Power at the time.

As part of this German-Tomanian-backed push for war in the Pacific, the Japanese Diet under Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō commissioned another European-style military innovation: A League of 'Extraordinary Gentlemen'.

Newly ordained Secret Service agent, Taku 'Tiger' Tanaka, was employed to collate this Nipponese cell.

The Second Allied League (1942)

    General 
As the Second 'Great' War commenced, the Allied forces, led mainly in the early stages by the United Kingdom but then restructured significantly after the later addition of the United States and Soviet Union to the cause, again organized a 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' to assist in their efforts. More than anything, as it was in World War I, the presence of such a League was primarily to set examples of unity, courage, and values through highly publicized, and thinly-veiled, propaganda heroes.

This group was in the works for most of the early part of the war, with leaders Winston Churchill, Albert Lebrun (although due to France's surrender to the Teutonic fascists, not for terribly long), and the prime ministers of England's commonwealth territories playing key roles in the organization. But once the USSR joined the war under Joseph Stalin in 1941, and the USA under Franklin D. Roosevelt later that year, the increased political pressure fast-tracked the implementation of the League design.

    Matthew 'Mat' Selwood 
Source: The Flaming Avenger
  • Captain Patriotic: When joining the league, his suit was given a British redesign, red, white, and blue being added to the armor, and motifs involving the Union Jack, Royal Crown, and other items of traditional English iconography.
  • Power Armor: Of his own design. It was bulletproof and could shoot fire out of its fingertips.

    Britt Reid 
Source: The Green Hornet
  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: He would moonlight under the alias, "The Hornet."
  • The Cowl: He and Keito posed as supervillains full-time to infiltrate criminal gangs.
  • Heroic Lineage: He was the grandnephew of previous League alumni John Reid, The Lone Ranger.
  • Intrepid Reporter: He was an editor of the American (and globally syndicated) Daily Sentinel newspaper, which impressed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill shortly before the war after controversially printing anti-Hynkel material in a series of exposés.

    Keito 
Source: The Green Hornet
  • Battle Butler: Much like Ton-Toh before him, Keito was Britt's faithful sidekick, and was an impressive martial artist.

    Lt. Col. Rosa Klebb 
Source: From Russia with Love
  • The Baroness: Naturally. She was an iron-willed Soviet SMERSH agent, proficient in her use of covert gadgets, along with other 'cloak and dagger' tactics.
  • Token Evil Teammate: She did not get along with her more idealistic teammates.

    Alana North 
Source: Nelvana of the Northern Lights
  • Courteous Canadian: She was an all-around Nice Girl who just wanted to fight the Nazis and represent her people.
  • Foil: Noted to be Klebb's polar opposite–North was innately kind, and sensitive, lending her an unusual leniency to all people she encountered, ally or enemy, and a philosophy of forgiveness and understanding.
  • Magical Native American: A Canadian Inuit mystic whose spiritual link with the Arctic spirits gave her incredible powers and abilities.
  • Superhero: One of the first female examples.

    Nestor Burma 
Source: Nestor Burma
  • Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Zig-Zagged. Burma had formerly been active as an anarchist in the pre-war years but gained the respect, and later employment of (once he became milder in his views) the French Government, after successfully infiltrating and destroying a pro-fascist group active in Paris in 1936.
  • Hardboiled Detective: Burma was a grizzled, world-weary character, but with a friendly, if cynical, sense of humor that allowed him to bond with his British, American, Russian, and Canadian compatriots.

The First All-American League (1942)

    General 
As the United States entered the Second World War, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt realized early on that he would require a vast amount of help from the media, as he had during the Great Depression, in uniting the American people to his cause. To help him win the hearts and minds of the United States population, Roosevelt employed the temperamental, but highly successful Vinewood film producer Jack Woltz as his 'Propaganda Advisor'. Woltz, who was also head of the War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry (W.A.C.), made a number of suggestions to the President, which Roosevelt then implemented, such as the founding of the 'Vinewood Canteen' along with film and theatre star Margo Channing. The most ambitious of these propaganda choices though was inarguably the founding of the first 'All-American League' (Not to be confused with the similarly named team from the period, 'The All-Star Squadron').

Woltz was inspired to have Roosevelt commission a secondary American League, to represent the patriotic, public side of the military the Government needed to promote, which came from his observations of American Football, as the Jewish entrepreneur witnessed how civilians embraced the All-American Team players such as Jay Garrick and Steven Gordon. Woltz then attempted to recreate this passionate public following in the form of a military team, by intentionally choosing members based on appeal, attractiveness, and embodiment of 'American values'. On a related sidenote, Woltz wanted to recruit 'super-soldier' Capt. Steve Rogers to this League, but commitments to 'The Invaders' kept him from Woltz's team.

  • Breaking the Fellowship: Discovering that one of their last missions helped facilitate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved to be too traumatic for any of them to cope with, and they all went their separate ways.

    Anthony Rogers 
Source: Buck Rogers
  • Science Hero: Woltz recruited him largely for his engineering talents, but also for his classical, square-jawed handsomeness.
  • Stable Time Loop: Being brought back to his time by The Time Traveller he promised not to introduce any too futuristic technology that could mess with the timeline.

    Steven 'Speed' Gordon 
Source: Flash Gordon
  • Action Survivor: He was already famous for his battles with Ming the Merciless on Mogo.
  • The All-American Boy: His chisled WASPy good looks made perfect for his League.
  • Captain Patriotic: Gordon accepted the invitation to the All-American League due to his staunch anti-fascism, and clear patriotism, which made him ideal for Woltz's cause.

    Cliff Secord 
Source: The Rocketeer

    Dr. Harry Jones Jr. 
Source: Indiana Jones

    Ellen Patrick 
Source: Domino Lady
  • Action Girl: With her skills as a crack-shot and University-educated chemist as well as an accomplished moonlighting vigilante, she was on-par with her male teammates.
  • Ethical Slut: She was an unapologetic liberated woman, which conflicted with Woltz's attempt to mold her into a more conservative "girl next door" archetype.
  • The Smurfette Principle: She was specifically selected out of the necessity for a female presence to even the overwhelmingly male presence within the group.

The Nazi League (1942)

    General 
The third League to be formed in 1942, though this time from the opposite side of the World War II conflict, The Nazi League was formed by German-Tomanian leader Adenoid Hynkel after the defeat of the 'Twilight Heroes', aka the First German League, at the hands of Janni Nemo and her family in a 1941 incident which also brought down the great Berlin Metropolis. Although this massive setback was devastating for the German-Tomanian war effort, Hynkel and his ministers were quickly able to patch the hole in public morale both in Germany and Tomania, but also in the other Axis states in Italy (called 'Bacteria' in Tomanian), Japan, Freedonia, Moronika, Romania, Finland, Borduria and Meccania. The fascist leaders did this by stepping up on propaganda, and the creation of a new 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' was part of this. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels was tasked with developing this League, and the club-footed Hynkel confidant immediately saw this as an opportunity to encourage the prioritizing of science and technology as Germany-Tomania's core strength and advantage over the Allies, and a rational foil to that enemy nations reliance on 'Masked Heroes' to provide dynamic reinforcement to their military.

It was by this philosophy that Goebbels chose the members of his League, as they were primarily scientists, or in the case of Capt. Krieger, was created with the aid of advanced science. It is worth noting that Goebbels was recorded saying that The Nazi League was not as strong as he had hoped it to be, as key Nazi science figures like Johann Schmidt and Karl Ruprecht Kroenen were unavailable due to their own commitments to other aspects of the Third Reich's eclectic research programs.

  • Legion of Doom: A far straighter example than most cases as the team was populated by ardent Nazis.

The Canadian League (1948)

    General 
As World War II ended, with the first use of Nuclear Weapons forever altering the world, the so-called 'Atomic Age' began. This historical era, at least in its immediate post-war climate, could be characterized by a number of new factors present in the world. These included the increased number of radiation-derived mutations occurring in organic life across the world, giving rise to generations of so-called 'Mutants' such as, most famously, the many tutored by the telepathic Prof. Charles Xavier, and, on an even larger scale, countless 'Atomic Monsters', such as the colossal, bipedal saurian which terrorized Japan in this period. This era also gave birth to new technologies like the television (initially developed by Carl Rotwang in the German Metropolis) and other such communication devices. Ultimately though, the post-war fantasies of many intellectuals led to the Atomic Age playing home to many failed utopias, including those of deranged visionaries like Andrew Ryan, and similarly, the religious cults of those figures like Lancaster Dodd. England under Big Brother, aka Harold Wharton, seemed very much like a terrible combination of many of these Atomic Era trends, with modern communication technology used to oppress and unrelentingly spy on the people of 'Airstrip One', and a misled idea of a socialist utopia fuelling the INGSOC government to continue with their authoritarian state. The British Royal Family was so uncomfortable in this new, machine-like United Kingdom post-1945 elections, that King George VI relocated the monarchy to Canada, as had been the official plan laid by the previous government in the event of a successful German-Tomanian invasion of the British mainland. This proved a wise decision on behalf of the King, as the INGSOC party had planned to assassinate the Royals and erase them from history as 'un-persons' while they were still in their jurisdiction. After the successful shift to Canada, the British Commonwealth of Nations (the former colonies of the British Empire, excluding the USA) chose to sever ties with what they saw as a fascist new English government, and instead redefine their loyalty as being first and foremost to the crown. After the 'Big Brother' administration began a campaign of lies, torture, and intimidation toward King George's former British subjects, with help from 'heroes' like Mat Selwood, and to a lesser extent, Hugo Drummond, the horrified Monarch called a meeting between the leaders of the Commonwealth states in Ottawa. This summit was designed to determine how best to restore England and rid the British Isles of the totalitarian INGSOC party, with the gathering ending with the decision to wage a covert war through spies against Big Brother, with the goal being to accomplish England's freedom before Wharton brainwashed it's civilians beyond repair. At the forefront of this 'secret war', government agent Captain James Bigglesworth, having left Britain with the King, owing him an unwavering loyalty, proposed that nations in the Commonwealth should all establish their own 'Leagues' modeled off the former Murray group, which would be used to wage this campaign against INGSOC. Canada was able to comply with this order, with the other Commonwealth states unable to organize enough suitable figures, but instead offering resources and intelligence useful to the cause. It is worth noting that mutant and biological experiment James 'Logan' Howlett was almost recruited for the group, but he was unavailable.

The Fourth American League (1956)

    General 
After the conclusion of World War II, the United States entered an almost 'golden age' of prosperity, optimism, and national cohesion, ushered in by the arrival of the post-war 'baby boom', and the resulting birth of suburbia throughout the nation. Aside from the presidency of communist Mike Thingmaker from 1945 to 1953 the immediate post-war world in the USA was also one of high consumerist extravagance, with the growth and success of Television, fast-food chains like McDowells, and the cultural and technological milestone of Charles Dingo's aforementioned 'Dingoland' amusement parks. Just as strongly in the US, the post-war period played home to a gigantic push into outer space, with the American space program building on the footsteps of trailblazers like Sewlyn Cavor and Dick Seaton to explore and colonize the heavens in ways man had once merely dreamed of.

Back on Earth however, the US President and former military chief Dwight D. Eisenhower, along with his trusted servant and head of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover, began to feel the growing relevance in their plans for American domestic and foreign strategy for a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, following the Third US League's retirement. To best construct this new organization, Hoover acquired the help of his star G-man and perhaps America's most trusted lawman: Det. Richard 'Plainclothes' Tracy, a Central City police officer. Tracy was perpetually occupied with policing matters, and his persistently busy schedule made it impractical for him to lead the new League himself, but his expertise in handpicking his own allies on the force allowed him to be of great assistance in tracking down and securing the partnerships of its members.

The Drifter's League (1958)

    General 
One especially notable development of the post-war era was the birth of the concept of the 'Teenager', particularly in America. The idea of adolescent culture first began to evolve in the 1930s, when the recognition of young adults subsequent to childhood but prior to college age first appeared to emerge. In the '30s the 'Teenager' concept seemed like only a mild one, applying to such model figures as famous young detectives Nancy Drew, and Frank and Joe Hardy, as well as vaudevillians like Patsy Barton and Mickey Moran, but by the early 1950s, when the western media began to first describe upon the idea of 'Juvenile Delinquency', and the conservative, post-WW2 adult public panicked over their baby-boomer children manifesting a 'lost generation', the idea of the Young Adult evolved to embody a rebellious, volatile age-group, seen by their elders as rejecting parental control and values, and preoccupying over such new and revolutionary trends as Rock-and-Roll (Pioneered of course by musician mega-stars like Conrad Birdie) and automotive culture. A great deal of this counter-cultural movement was embodied by the so-called 'Beat Generation', a literary clique encompassing authors and poets like Sal Paradyse, author of 'On The Road' and 'The Crazy Wide Forever', and his close friends Dean Moriarty (a member of the influential Moriarty family), 'Old Bull' Lee and Carlo Marx. Despite predating the baby-boomers in age by sometimes several decades, Paradyse and his menagerie still encapsulated the feelings and frustrations of the post-war generation so intimately, that it is not at all surprising that they would lead the League that would come to symbolize the youth of the 50s and early 60s, a period of course ended by the horrors of the Sarkhan War (1964 – 1975), in which millions of these American youths would be either be terminated or traumatized.

The seeds of the League were first sewn when the beatniks Paradyse and Moriarty assisted League regulars Allan Quatermain Jr. and Mina Murray in 1956 during their battle against supernatural gangster (and grandson of The Devil Doctor) 'Dr. Sax', and his associates The Nova Mob in San Francisco. After the defeat of these counter-cultural criminals, Paradyse and Moriarty, inspired by their association with the United Kingdom's finest, felt that there needed to be a 'League' of some sort in order to battle the threats facing the world from within these subculture circles. To organize this group, seasoned travelers Paradyse and Moriarty went 'on the road' again in a coast-to-coast trip over the United States, searching for ideal recruits for their 'Drifters League'.

The Neo-Celestial League (1960)

    General 
At the end of World War II, the hugely influential Chinese crime lord and philanthropist known by names such as 'The Devil Doctor' and 'The Celestial' had reached his mid-80s, though he was still in surprising physical condition due to a carefully regulated diet and usage of traditional Chinese herbs. This elderly, but enormously powerful underworld figure had dominated international crime, sponsored insurgencies across European-controlled and aligned Asia since the 1890s, and remained as far-reaching, feared by his enemies, and celebrated by his followers as much as he had ever been even in his significantly old age. After playing a large role in sponsoring Asian resistance to Imperial Japan during the war, The Doctor's unceasing quest against Imperialism in the Eastern world continued as he refocused his resources on sponsoring the growing Communist rebellions within states like Sarkhan (led primarily by the same groups The Doctor had sponsored to fight Japan previously), after growing to believe that the nationalistic rhetoric offered by socialism to be an effective method in which Asia could resist Western influence.

When the Communist Red Army under Mao Zedong took power in The Doctor's homeland of China following the Chinese Civil War (1946 – 1950), a conflict that despite his emerging support for Communism, The Celestial chose to remain neutral throughout, the 'People's Republic of China' was established, and a great deal of stability returned to a nation heavily divided in bitter conflict since the end of the last Imperial Dynasty in 1911. The Doctor was impressed and relieved by Zedong's achievement, and felt strongly enough that his beloved realm was in safe hands, that he chose to ally with the Communist Leader, and return to China as his main base of operations (having had his forces purged out of the London Limehouse by INGSOC in 1948, and with Chinatown in San Francisco considered too visible).

Relations between Zedong and The Doctor initiated positively, despite Chairman Mao's misgivings about associating with a figure that was effectively a terrorist and gangster.

Zedong praised The Celestial for his aid of the Chinese Resistance in WWII, and The Doctor similarly praised the Chairman for his reconstruction of Chinese society.

From this point on, The Doctor acted as an agent of the Ministry of Public Security, assisting in carrying out assignments against the nation's enemies like Chinese-Nationalist-controlled Taiwan, Japan, and eventually the United Kingdom, and United States following the collapse of the socialist regimes under Wharton and Thingmaker in 1953, and the Soviet Union. The Celestial and his vast network also assisted Zedong in his sponsorship of the Communist factions fighting in the Civil Wars in Korea, Malaysia, and, again, Sarkhan. 'Doctor Sax', a young relative potential heir to The Doctor's empire (his own daughter had defected to the Allies in WW2 after becoming disillusioned with her father's cause) joined his fellow Asiatic crime lord in many of these outings, until Sax's untimely 1958 death.

By the end of the 50s, as China began to find itself at odds with the USSR, the other largest Communist nation in the world, as well as its Western enemies, Zedong encouraged The Doctor to revive his legendary turn-of-the-century 'Celestial League' in order to maximize his capabilities in both defending the People's Republic, and providing a viable Propaganda vehicle as so many state-controlled Leagues had done previously. The Celestial complied with Zedong's suggestion, sensing a similar necessity for a group to represent China against the 'superheroes' and secret agents of its rivals, and spent the 1958-1959 period recruiting for what would be christened the 'Neo-Celestial League' out of prominent criminals and other rogue figures active across East Asia. This would be in addition to The Doctor's own, albeit aging 'Si-Fan' assassins' guild.

When The Celestial was ready to compile this new team in early 1960, he was aged 94, but had complete faith that his Second Celestial League would offer the physical presence he may have begun to lack in spite of his herbs and concoctions.

The First Magic League (1963)

    General 
After the dissolution of the Fourth American League in 1962, President Timothy Keegan, along with the Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover (with whom Keegan had a difficult working relationship) their star agent Detective Richard Tracy, and a number of other U.S. government officials such as Director of the CIA James Christopher, swiftly became organized in forming a replacement group that was to be the Fifth American League. Det. Tracy had already profiled and screened a handful of possible candidates for this group operating within the United States; these included prolific con man Daniel Ocean (perhaps as a substitute for Thomas Ripley), former mistaken fugitive Roger O. Thornhill, and the Harry Jones Jr. inspired treasure hunter Harry Steele.

However, one of this committee's advisors, Gomez Adams, made a suggestion in November 1962 that proposed this new League be recruited in a significantly different area, that of the strong but mysterious subculture of 'magi' present throughout the United States. Adams had held the position of 'Supernatural Advisor' to the American government since 1954, after first offering his services just prior to World War II, providing it infrequently before receiving the official role. The Midwestern lawyer came from a long line of warlocks and other such 'magic' folk that had lived throughout the British Isles, before subsequently journeying to the Americas in a mass exodus after becoming forced into secrecy by the purges of King Jacob I in the early 1600s. Bizarre in his tastes, but forever optimistic, Adams had chosen to lend his services to the federal government out of a sense of patriotism, and an equated concern over whether the nation's enemies would begin to use similar forces as the ones Adams had at his disposal.

Mutually wishing for some form of unique advantage over the Soviets, Keegan, Hoover and Tracy agreed to Adams' proposal, while Christopher of the CIA gave the move his blessing. The Fifth American League would eventually come into being in 1977, but by the beginning of 1963, The First 'Magic' League was the American troupe of choice.

The Third French League (1966)

    General 
Since the disbanding of the Second French League at the end of World War II, the nation of France had been through a turbulent period, due to the failures of costly colonial wars in Algeria and Sarkhan, which had even led to a threat of a military coup d'état in the country in 1958. That same year, the former leader of the Free French in WWII, and of the nation's brief provisional government from 1944 to 1946, Charles De Gaulle, was elected President. Still highly popular in France, and with an eye to the country's future, De Gaulle withdrew France from its colonial conflicts, and brought in a new constitution, initiating the Fifth French Republic, in the hope it would revitalize the nation.

Though France's problems were not completely resolved by De Gaulle's reforms, the confidence he brought to the national economy rejuvenated the country, leading to a long boom period filled with social and cultural prosperity. While this occurred however, De Gaulle turned his sights abroad, hoping to secure France's place in the Cold War world, independent of the nuclear powerhouses in the East and West, both of which saw France as a potential ally.

As part of his effort to ensure France's international strength, De Gaulle was keen to implement a new League to inspire the nation's police and military as had been done twice previously as Les Hommes Mystérieux in 1909, and the Second French League in 1927. To De Gaulle, this was made even more of an imperative following the two assassination attempts on his life in 1961 and 1962 (notably, the notorious English hit man known as 'The Jackal' was credited with the latter of these) in retaliation for his granting of independence to Algeria. 1960s France was not as populated with the sort of 'mystery men' that had been the source of operatives for the earlier French Leagues as it had been in the belle époque and interwar era when they were formed, so De Gaulle tasked his most trusted spymaster, René Mathis of the SDECE, with the screening of possible candidates for the group in 1964. By January 1966, Mathis had organized a League that De Gaulle was reportedly enormously impressed with.

The Second Japanese League (1967)

    General 

The CIA Spy League (1968)

    General 

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