Quality Universe

Quality Universe
Gallery
Aliases	Earth-Quality
First Appearance	Feature Funnies #1 (October, 1937)
Last Appearance	Blackhawk #107 (December, 1956)

History

• This is the parallel reality on which most of the stories published by Quality Comics took place.

• The Second World War went very differently on this Earth than was the case on Earth-Two, Earth-X, or our own Earth.
• The Doll Man never left this dimension; he was active during the 1940s and 1950s sharing adventures with Doll Girl. He has never joined to any team.
• In this parallel world the super-heroes were more individualists, and never formed a super-team, at contrary of their counterparts on Earth-Two.

WWII, Preliminary Bouts

In the Quality Universe, the Second World War, itself, was preceded by several large-scale international wars.

• In the late 1930s, the dictator Vlamir Koran conquered first Argentina then the entirety of South America, and then went to war against the USA, sending a fleet of bombers to destroy the locks of the Panama Canal, successfully. His agents also set off some destructive bombs in several east coast shipyards, but his naval forces were driven back by the U.S. Navy. Eventually a South American patriot leader emerged, Emanuel Hasana, and his pro-democracy rebels drove Koran’s forces back into Buenos Aires. By August of 1939 the Koranians were completely defeated. .
• In 1938, the Soviet Union reacted to Japan's invasion of China by also invading China. Several large-scale battles were fought.. This conflict may have continued throughout the remainder of WWII or it may have been resolved sooner; the chronicles are unclear.
• In 1940 a world-wide conspiracy among corrupt munitions makers, Morgan Crookes, et. al., spawned a multinational coalition of tribal peoples, including Aboriginal natives of Australia, Jivaros from Brazil, M’bangis from Africa, and other headhunters and cannibals from elsewhere, and forged them into a mercenary army of conquest. An unknown superhero and a company of French Foreign Legionnaires captured some of the unnamed coalition’s extremely-advanced long-range multi-purpose warplanes, and fought back on three widely-separated fronts, engaging them in North Africa, in Brazil, and over the Pacific Ocean near Australia. By July of 1940 the entire conspiracy was smashed..
• In late 1940, a gang of saboteurs, backed by an unnamed foreign power, blew up a bridge and a power plant in the New York City area, plus Fort Johnson, plus earlier took down a 20-story skyscraper, plus at least two other big buildings, plus a number of other military strongholds.

WWII, Alliances and Alignments

In the 1920s and 1930s, in the Quality Universe, the post-WWI hellscape of Europe spawned a significant number of Central European Dictatorships, including: Aryania, Barbaria, Bothnia, Darmania, Dunland, Govania, Jarmania, Kampfland, Latavia, Nordicha, North Germany, Tuvania, Wurtberg, and others. These countries were very similar in their national cultures, and the leadership cadres of their ruling parties all bore strong resemblances to their foreign counterparts. When the Second World War got well and truly rolling, all of these countries were not only admitted to the Axis Powers, but politically annexed and absorbed into Hitler's Nazi Germany. After WWII, none of these nations existed again.

In the Quality Universe, the United Nations included: Anglia, Anglica, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, British India, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, (Free) France, Greece, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, (Nygaardsvold) Norway, Parador, Poland, Solvonia, South Africa, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States, Vastavia, Yugoslavia, and others.

In the Quality Universe, the Axis Powers included: Aryania, Austria, Warak's Barbaria, Bothnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Darmania, Denmark, Radolf's Dunland, Finland, Petain's France, Hitler's Germany, Thalga's Govania, Hungary, Mussolini's Italy, Tojo's Japan, Holtz's Jarmania, Kampfland, Kioland, Latavia, (Japanese-controlled) Mailand, Nordicha, Quisling's Norway, Motler's North Germany, Romania, Tokoya, Tuvania, Rudolf's Wurtberg, and others. Not all of these countries were voluntarily part of this alliance.

In the Quality Universe, neutral countries included Andorra, Argentina, Cerania, Herma, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Moravia, Portugal, Quanalla, Ruina, San Marino, San Miguel, Slovia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Yadovnia.

In the Quality Universe, in 1939, the war-torn nation of Lithonia was adjacent to England, to the northeast.

In Quality Comics' comic books of 1940 and 1941, the Mongolians were a military threat rivaling that of Japan.

• In Crack Comics (#12), and in (#18), the Red Torpedo fought "Mongolese" submariners, aviators, and soldiers, in the western Pacific Ocean.
• In National Comics (#1, etc.), Wonder Boy fought a vast army of invading Mongolians on the eastern frontier of Europe.

After 1941-12, plus a time lag for publishing and distribution, only the non-fictional European countries appeared, and the Mongolians had been replaced by the Japanese.

WWII, Multiple Beginnings

In the Quality Universe, the Second World War was marked by several false starts and false finishes:

• In Smash Comics #5 (Dec 1939), the USA became so well-armed and powerful that all the nations in Europe decided to make peace rather than risk war with America. "The United States could wipe Europe off the map in a year. We must sign the peace pacts offered by their president, and disarm at once."
• In Smash Comics #7 (Feb 1940), after several Axis armadas had failed to fight their way past the Pan-American Caldwell Line, from Europe to the Western Atlantic, "the dictators capitulate and an armistice is signed in Geneva. World peace is now a reality."
• In Smash Comics #9 (April 1940), upon Motler's death, world peace was declared, and Poland was restored.
• In National Comics #1 (July 1940), Merlin wrestled the god Mars until he cried for mercy, at which time: "The peace is signed. ... In every city, great joy fills the streets as mothers, wives, and sweethearts greet their loved ones."
• In Hit Comics #2 (Aug 1940), the European part of the war, and the career of Dictator Radolf, were brought to an end with a written declaration. "The world rejoices as the tyrant's signature ends the war, and news of his retirement from public affairs reaches the people."
• In Hit Comics #4 (Oct 1940), the Kampflandic invasion of North America was brought to an end with a non-aggression pact and a peaceful trade agreement, negotiated between the U.S.President and the surviving leaders of the Kampflandic army. “The soldiers and tourists join hands in a firm understanding of peace and brotherhood. Instead of the roar of guns, the lilting strains of dance music mingle with the chatter all along the ramp.”

The historical sequence of these events is not known with certainty, and it is possible that some, but not all, of them occurred simultaneously.

WWII, American Entry

In the Quality Universe the Second World War began for the United States, in late 1941, when the Germans and Japanese coordinated their initial attacks on the U.S., as seen in National Comics #18 (Dec 1941).

Pre-War and Wartime Catastrophic Events:

In this parallel world, the Axis and its agents inflicted many more severe setbacks, to the United States and its allies, than was the case in "nearby" universes. Domestic criminals and terrorists were also an extremely grave problem during to the run-up to WWII, and during the war itself. These events had no close parallels on Earth-Two, Earth-One, or Earth-S. Most or all of these events were never mentioned again in any subsequent story. These included:

• In early 1940 a pirate zeppelin bombed and destroyed the Great Tennessee Valley Dam.
• In 1940 an unidentified foreign power aerially attacked New York City, with a dusting of madness-inducing microscopic insanity spores, causing the deaths of several hundred citizens, and madness of thousands, along with untold amounts of property damage, over several days.
• In mid-1940, thousands were killed when Wonder Boy's flaming spacecraft crashed in Chicago.
• In early 1941, a gang of domestic terrorists built an advanced electronic device, set in a large tower in the northern woods, that could and did drain the power from every dynamo in North America. This went on for several weeks, during which time the U.S. Army sent planes and troops to attack the tower. These were repulsed, with heavy casualties inflicted. Some time later, a citizen's committee came to the tower, to plead for a deal; the conspirators not only didn't relent, they lowered their ray guns and fried the gathered throng.
• In 1941 the Capitol Building was set on fire by a raging mob of misled citizens, under the influence of a traitorous demogogue.
• In late 1941 New York City was invaded a very large army of very large manlike giants, who paralyzed the entire population of the city with a gas attack. One vigilante with a bow and arrow was able to kill the leader of this Green Horde, and because their brains were all directly linked to their leader's brain, the entire army (claimed by their leader to be one hundred million strong) all died.
• For a brief period in early 1942, the Luftwaffe was able to execute several small-scale bombing raids on New York City. They also made one large scale bombing raid, that summer.

Cold War, Alliances and Alignments

After the end of the Second World War, in the Quality Universe, the famous and popular Blackhawk Squadron enjoyed an incredible latitude of operational freedom, and functioned almost as a law unto themselves. This arrangement was formalized in 1948, in a secret meeting in Washington DC, in which a high-ranking official told Blackhawk: "We will invest you with complete power and authority to take immediate action! We'll back you to the hilt with all the concentrated power of the International Security Force."

By 1951, the United World (UW), led by its World Council, in its unnamed capital city, acted in the combined roles of the early UN and NATO and SEATO. Seemingly no dictatorships were members of UW. UW had its own armed forces. UW had, or seemed to have, direct authority over the Blackhawks.

In the Quality Universe, the United World included, or at least defended: Badarstan, Balvania, Bargovia, Belgium, Bolania, Borovar, Brez, Brosnia, Bulgania, Bulvania, Carabas, (Nationalist) China, Costa Marca, Denmark, Drozh, France, Galvia, Grelhara, Italy, (Post-1951) Jinnestan, Kahara, Karlovna, Khartoor, Kimrouk, Kondida, Lashore, Liberra, Lorphah, Luonia, Luxembourg, Malkaria, Malvania, Marlanx, Monclova, Netherlands, Nurvania, Ontavia*, Otero, Pangoy, Porvay, Ramastan, Ramonia, Ranagia, Samanthia, South Korea, South Vietnam, Tacna, Ulma, West Germany, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Valnadia, Voldania, Yugovia and others.

• It must be noted that the only known instance of the Blackhawk Squadron ignoring a call for help from a beleaguered government was Ontavia in 1951, at a time when the team's leader was preoccupied on a case in Ramastan and the team itself was on the verge of breaking up.

In the Quality Universe, the Communist Bloc included: Albania, Azaria, Bulgaria, (Red) China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, (Pre-1951) Jinnestan, North Korea, North Vietnam, Poland, Romania, Rugaria, Transvania, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and others.

In the Quality Universe, as elsewhere, the post-World War II "Cold War" kept Europe divided for decades, between the (mostly) democracies in the west and the (mostly) communist dictatorships in the east. During that time, several nations were able to remain independent and unaligned with either of the two world superpowers. Among these unaligned nations, a few were Fascist dictatorships, such as Portugal, Russlo, Spain, Valga, and Viglandt. Others were principalities or sultanates or other traditional monarchies, such as Andorra, and Ghanpat. Parliamentary and other republics included Austria, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, and others.

Cold War, Catastrophic Events

• Azaria, 1951: At the World Council's direction, the Blackhawks dropped a nuclear weapon on the populated capital of Azaria, and destroyed it.
• In 1951, the West German Autobahn, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, London Bridge, the Pyramid at Giza, Hawaii's Diamondhead, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Canadian Parliament Building all caught fire on the same day. Hundreds of lives were lost. Stone and steel burned like timber, for hours, and extensive rebuilding and repair was required afterward for each of these structures.
• Rugaria, 1952: An armaments factory and its surrounding region were destroyed with a "horror bomb".
• Brosnia, 1953: The largest and second-largest cities in Brosnia were set on fire with an orbiting solar weapon.
• unnamed European democracy, 1953: a secret city, concealed in a vast cavern, was destroyed with a hydrogen bomb.
• The Headquarters city of the United World organization, 1953: A Red scientist impersonating an extraterrestrial alien used a tidal-wave-generating weapon to smash a tsunami into the downtown area of the city, destroying many buildings and killing thousands.
• Switzerland, 1954: An isolated tribe of Asian swordsmen, living in the Alps, atop Mt. Merciless, was destroyed in a volcanic eruption.
• France, 1955: The town of Vichye was destroyed by a renegade Russian scientist's atomic explosive formula. The town was evacuated shortly beforehand.
• Russia, 1956: A missile base in the Ural Mountains was destroyed by five Russian ICBMs.

Other Forgotten Catastrophes

In the Quality Universe, in addition to the Second World War and the Cold War, there were a number of Other Catastrophic Events, including successful terrorist attacks and large-scale criminality, perpetrated by renegade scientists, criminal masterminds, international terrorists, and other non-governmental entities. These events also had no close parallels in "nearby" universes, and most or all of them were never mentioned again in any subsequent story. These included:

• In 1940, four coastal fortresses, a U.S.Naval task force, a squadron of U.S. bombers, and a regiment of U.S. troops were destroyed by an American mad scientist's explosives-detonating "invisible ray."
• In 1941, ten tall buildings in Washington, D.C. were knocked down by an American renegade general's remote-control bombs, presumably killing and injuring hundreds or thousands of local people.
• One week in 1954, the Pacific Island of Katung, and a remote stretch of the Chilean Andes, were both destroyed in the testing phase of a renegade scientist's advanced atomic explosive.

Future History

• Late in the 21st century, Vrak the Invincible will lead a vast array of Eurasian armed forces against the nations of the Western Hemisphere, single-handedly causing a world-wide war.

• In the 31st century, the Earth's orbit will decay, causing the planet to approach the sun. This planetwide catastrophe compels all surviving Earth humans to retreat to the specially-built Solis City. It also results in cracking and quaking in the Earth's crust, and an invasion from a heretofore-unknown, extremely aggressive, race of "Core Men".

Unusual Geography:

A significant number of alien outposts, secret kingdoms, lost civilizations, and populations of extinct species existed uniquely in the Quality Universe, and many of these had no direct counterparts on "nearby" parallel worlds such as Earth-Two or Earth-S. Examples include:

Africa:

• In M'Bangi country, in Northern Africa, a phosphorescent oasis, where tigers live. Its waters had unique properties, and transformed one dying Foreign Legionnaire into an extremely powerful superhero.
• In Ethiopia, on the side of the volcano Ras Dashin, was the impregnable fortress city of the M'Bujies, a race of superbeings. The city was destroyed in a volcanic event.

Arctic:

The evidence suggests that the Quality Universe version of Earth has no Arctic Ocean, or at most a greatly reduced Arctic Ocean, and that the magnetic and true North Poles are situated on a land mass, and that this region has hot springs, gold ore, silver ore, uranium ore, and a small-scale tropical ecosystem, all north of the Arctic Circle.

• A Lost Tropical Valley, within a few miles of the magnetic north pole, under tons of ice, with primitive humans and non-dinosaur giant animals.
• Polar City, in a valley under tons of ice, and warmed by hot spring geysers, with mine shafts for gold, silver, and pitchblende. Polar City was destroyed when its insane ruler uncapped the hot geysers and allowed them to soften the overhead ice.

Atlantic

• In 1940 a Transatlantic Bridge was completed, from Europe to America. Later that year the bridge was severed by an unknown superhero, and shortly later was repaired.

Europe:

• In the Pyrenees, a deceptively small cave was the entrance to a modern-style underground Atomic City, hidden under Andorra until 1953, when it was evacuated and destroyed with a nuclear weapon.
• Castle Galwain: a lost settlement of medieval fake-Crusaders, in a blockaded narrow valley in a steep mountain range, undisturbed for 800 years, between Bulgania and (President Valga’s country). Castle Galwain was destroyed in 1951, in an avalanche resulting from the blasting from a road-building project.
• Karlovna's Underworld was, for many generations, literally a subterranean settlement of dwarfish primitive "Dragon People".
• In Greece, the lost city of Vespis, the five ancient cities buried beneath Vespis, and the futuristic city buried beneath those, rediscovered in 1951.

Latin America:

• South America's unnamed isolated Inca city, with a helium mine nearby.

North America:

• In an unexplored corner of a tropical jungle in Florida is concealed the dangerous Fountain of Age.

Undisclosed Locations:

• Lost Island of Atlantis, under a glassoid dome, on the bottom of one of the oceans.

Residents

• 711
• Ace of Space
• The Black Condor
• The Black X
• Blackhawk
• Bozo the Iron Man
• Captain Triumph
• The Clock
• Death Patrol
• Destiny
• Doll Girl
• Doll Man
• Firebrand
• The Ghost of Flanders
• The Great Defender
• Hugh Hazzard
• The Human Bomb
• The Invisible Hood
• The Jester
• Joe Hercules
• Madame Fatal
• Magno
• Manhunter
• The Marksman
• Merlin
• Midnight
• Miss America
• The Mouthpiece
• Neon the Unknown
• Phantom Lady
• Plastic Man
• Quicksilver
• The Raven
• The Ray
• The Red Bee
• The Red Torpedo
• The Spider
• The Spider Widow
• Tor, the Magic Master
• Uncle Sam
• USA
• The Voice
• The Whistler
• Wildfire
• Wizard Wells
• Wonder Boy
• Zero, Ghost Detective

Counterparts

• Many Quality Comics characters had counterparts on Earth-Two, who migrated, in three groups, from that world to Earth-X. Their adventures diverged, (in Summer 1941, on 23 February 1942, and on 1 April 1942), from those of the Quality Universe versions of these characters.
  • Pearl Harbor migration, Summer 1941:
    • Hourman (later returned to Earth-Two)
    • Invisible Hood
    • Magno
    • Miss America
    • Neon
    • Red Torpedo
    • Uncle Sam (later returned to Earth-Two)
  • Santa Barbara migration, February 1942:
    • Black Condor
    • Doll Man
    • Human Bomb
    • Phantom Lady
    • The Ray
    • Red Bee
    • Uncle Sam (later returned to Earth-Two)
  • Final migration, April 1942:
    • Black Condor (again)
    • Blackhawk Squadron
    • Doll Man (again)
    • Firebrand
    • Human Bomb (again)
    • Jester
    • Manhunter
    • Midnight
    • Phantom Lady (again)
    • Plastic Man
    • Quicksilver
    • Ray (again)
    • Spider
    • Uncle Sam (again)

Science & Technology:

The properties of matter, laws of physics, and principles of chemistry were very different in the Quality Universe from those of our own world, or of "nearby" parallel universes such as Earth-Two or Earth-S.

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Extreme Chemistry

• 1940, Van Dorn's phosphorescent-chemical Invisibility Formula,
• 1951, Merit's "Adamas" Formula, for Synthetic Diamonds.
• 1951, Vulcanar's Flame Crystals, look like ordinary salt, but could make stone or steel burn like lumber, and are activated with radio waves.
• 1954, Baroc's new element, "Zonium".

Mad Medicine

• 1939, Professor Dwyer transplants the human brain of a mail-plane pilot into an enormous ape. This is the first recorded interspecies brain transplant in the Quality Universe.
• 1951, Dane's therapeutic ray treatment imbued health, size, strength, and intelligence, in an ordinary dog.

Mad Pharmacology

• 1939, Dane's "Doll Man" Formula, enabled user to shrink and imbued him with super strength. It was soon improved into injectable form, then into pill form.
• 1942, Wacky's Super Speed Formula, wears off after a few hours.
• 1951, Robdeau's Werewolf Formula,

Mad Psychiatry

• 1951, Dubois' Hypnotic Goggles,

Mad Metallurgy

• 1939, Livingston's "Livstong Steel",

Monster Biology

• 1939, Prof. Dwyer's ape, with transplanted human brain,

Monster Botany

• 1951, Kornlee's Atomically-mutated Burdock Weed Spores,

Unorthodox Engineering

Climate Changing Technology

• 1949, Cloud's Cloud-Positioning Equipment,
• 1950, Pluvius' Rain-Making Equipment,

Robots

• 1939, Von Thorp's Iron Monster,

Sensors, Computers, Communications

• 1939, Hazzard's teleradio,
• 1939, Hazzard's super-seper-iconoscope,

Vehicles

• 1940, Lockhart's Red Torpedo,
• 1940, Rodent's harbor-bottom-crawling armored tank, with windows,
• 1941, Dunn's Blue Tracer,
• 1950, Mr. Revenge's Jet Suit,

Weapons

• 1939, Cravin's aircraft-engine-disabling X-Beam,
• 1939, Dwyer's Incandescent Death Ray,
• 1939, His Excellency's aircraft-engine-disabling ultra-sonic weapon, This may be the same weapon that the late Ellis Cravin developed, earlier that same year.
• 1949, Thrawn's electricity-amplifying, meteor weapon
• 1951, Elquist's Paralyzing Ray
• 1951, Palfe's Knockout Ray.
• 1954, Eric C. Barok was able to fuse Zonium together with plutonium and krypton, to create a nuclear explosive that was vastly more powerful than a hydrogen bomb.

Notes

• Earth-Quality is the formal name given to this reality by The Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Index.
• Earth-Quality is DC's oldest officially recognized alternate reality.
• Although Kid Eternity was originally published by Quality, his stories also take place on the parallel Earth-S (as revealed in Shazam #27). The same is true for Her Highness and Silk, who were started in Kid Eternity stories before getting their own feature.
• Although Spirit was originally published by Quality, his stories take place on the unofficial, parallel world, Earth-Spirit.
• Quality's "funny animal" stories take place in the Quality Funny Animal Universe.

See Also

• Characters from Quality Universe
• Other things related to Quality Universe
• Quality Universe's Comic Appearances
• Reality Gallery: Quality Universe