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Secret Goverment Agencies?
poptartmaniac
Posts: 246 Arc User
So, not sure if this is the right place, also sorry if this has been answered before as I coudn't find it, but are there any secret goverment agencies on champions earth? like spies, people that deal with specific meta-human threats, maybe something like stopping people from selling metas as weapons, etc. I'm actually curious if there's any secret agencies in general related or unrelated to what i said.
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Probably the purest "secret government agency" in Champions America would be Department 17. Since World War II, the United States government has researched ways to safely and reliably create superhumans, as well as to more effectively control them, with few successes. Their efforts have often resulted in severe, even fatal physical and mental side effects to their subjects, and produced nearly as many supervillains as superheroes. During WW II the US military set up the Haynesville Project, also code-named "Project Rainbow," for this purpose, at Fort McLaughlin (now McLaughlin Air Force Base) near the small town of Haynesville, Kansas. After the war the Project was declassified and officially shut down, and McLaughlin AFB appears nearly abandoned today.
That was a ruse. Project Rainbow was never shut down. Still secretly based at McLaughlin, what is now titled Department 17 is the Defense Department's hub for research into superpower generation and superhuman control. Under its current director, General Clarence Smith, it conducts a wide variety of research involving drugs and chemicals, radiation treatments, genetic engineering, and other exotic methods. Much of the Department's current research focuses on refining the Cyberline procedure used for PRIMUS's Avenger program. The Department's scientists are also very interested in investigating any reports of new manifestations of superpowers.
The PnP source book, Champions Universe, notes that General Smith might go to great lengths to keep D17's existence and activities secret. He's also used some "creative" accounting to keep his department funded.
Other government agencies who engage in covert activities may utilize superhumans in "black ops." For example, the American intelligence services covertly employ at least two supers, a clairvoyant psionic named Frederick Wilson, and the light-manipulating heroine code-named Brightmoon. The superhuman assets of the Defense Department, such as the team called Ameriforce One, have also participated in such operations.
The "rogue government agency" is a staple of fiction, and Champions America is not devoid of those. In 1994 a group of American "rogue generals" assigned over 200 volunteer soldiers to what they were told was a war game, code-named Project Sunburst. In fact the generals were experimenting to try to create superpowered soldiers resistant to radiation, by detonating a nuclear device near them while they wore protective suits. Most of the volunteers soon died of radiation poisoning, while a handful slipped into comas. Most of the comatose were placed into a secret holding facility, referred to as "The Crypt," while a few were stored at other sites.
In the intervening years, several of those survivors have developed superhuman physical and energy powers. A few, such as the master villain Sunburst, awakened spontaneously. Others, like Dr. Destroyer's security chief, Gigaton, were aroused with help from other villains. Some escaped the Crypt on their own, while others were "liberated." All the active survivors except Gigaton and the powered-armor villain, Armadillo, have joined Sunburst. However, the remaining comatose subjects are still being kept in secret in the Crypt, not just from the public but from the generals' own superiors. (Most of those villains are fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains, although Armadillo is in Vol. 3.)
Then there are supervillains or villainous groups who don't actually operate under government sanction, but have strong ties to the American government. Most notable among those is the Institute for Human Advancement, which publicly lobbies against the threat posed by superhuman mutants, and to a lesser extent all supers, to the safety and security of all "true humans." But the IHA's hidden agenda is to mobilize a paramilitary force to try to eradicate super mutants. Some American politicians are vocal supporters of the IHA, particularly Senator Phillip Glassman of Wyoming. Other politicians are secretly IHA members, fully aware of its actual goals.
The most prominent superhero-turned-politician is Representative David Sutherland of Maryland. Scion of a wealthy and influential political family, as Invictus he utilized his formidable solar powers to build a strong reputation as a hero before running for Congress himself. But Sutherland's goal was always to win the Presidency and ultimately turn the United States into a modern global Roman Empire with himself as its Emperor. To that end he's both cunning and ruthless in using his government influence, and even his powers, to remove any opposition to his rise, sometimes fatally.
Sutherland created the Century Corps, a foundation which identifies bright, motivated young people who couldn't normally afford a higher education, and pays for four years of college for them. But in exchange, the Century Corps students are taken to a private academy where they spend a year studying, socializing, and doing volunteer public service work together. This is an opportunity for Sutherland to indoctrinate young men and women who are likely to advance into positions of business and political power. He’s counting on the Corpsmen’s loyalty when he makes his own play. (Invictus is also written up in CV Vol. 1.)
DOSPA is organized into eight primary divisions, whose responsibilities are evident from their names: Alien Affairs; Diplomatic Affairs; Military Affairs; Mystic Affairs; National Security Affairs; Research & Development; Supertechnology Affairs; and World Security Affairs. An Undersecretary heads each division and reports to the Secretary, who in turn reports to the President as requested or required by law.
Of course each Division of DOSPA would have public staff, although when appropriate and necessary can call on the resources of other government branches. However, while it's not stated anywhere in the books, I would call it reasonable to suspect that any Division could have covert operatives of their own, with skills and abilities relevant to dealing with that Division's specialty. For example, I'd be surprised if Mystic Affairs didn't have a few accomplished occultists as field agents to counter supernatural threats.
The last mention certainly provides background for the toon I was thinking of when I asked.
But now I do wonder, is there any agencies in Japan? since you mentioned there's many across the world and that spiked my curiosity.
As for Japan, it most definitely has government agencies involved in superhuman and paranormal affairs, although none revealed who are primarily secret. Japan actually maintains three such agencies, each with a different focus, and all having the rather mundane designation, "Bureau [Number]." Bureau 17, the oldest of the three, is responsible for controlling and studying the creatures on Monster Island, which is barely one hundred miles off the coast of Japan; as well as dealing with monsters in general, plus any alien incursions. Bureau 18 is the largest and best-equipped agency, tasked with countering supervillains and most related menaces. It's often referred to as "Japan's UNTIL." Supernatural and mystical dangers are the province of Bureau 19, colloquially called "the occult police." It's the smallest of these groups, and its members are more likely to be scholars than combat troops. Obviously there's some overlap in their respective responsibilities, which sometimes sparks rivalry between them, but for the most part they cooperate well.
These groups are described as above in the Monster Island source book. Bureau 17 is understandably detailed to a far greater extent, but much of its organizational detail would probably apply to the others.
This is awesome, thanks a lot honestly, I figured M.I. would be near japan it makes quite a lot of sense.