Terra Obscura (Earth-ABC)

Gallery

Official Name

Earth

Aliases

Terra Obscura

Location Details

Characteristics

Dimensions

Diameter:

Equatorial 12,756.270 km

Polar 12,713.500 km

Mean 12,745.591 km

Circumference:

Equatorial: 40,075.004 km

Meridional: 40,007.849 km

Mean: 40,041.455 km

Surface area:

Land: 148,939,063.133 km² (29.2 %)

Water: 361,126,221.569 km² (70.8 %)

Volume: 1.0832×1012 km

Mass: 5.9736×1024 kg

Density:5,515 kg/m³

Equatorial surface: 9.7801 m/s²

Gravity: (0.997 32 g)

First Appearance
Tom Strong #11 (January, 2001)

Terra Obscura is the name given to another Earth by Tom Strong. It is not in a parallel Universe, but rather on the far side of the Galaxy from Tom's own Earth.

History

Overview

Tom Strange is revealed to have run across the Milky Way for 30 years to reach Tom Strong for help in stopping an alien menace which killed or imprisoned most of the science heroes of Terra Obscura.^[1] Strong himself theorized that the duplicate Earth "must be due to some near-inconceivable fluke of mathematics, of statistical probability".

The parallel Earth, it is revealed by Strange, was formed much as his own, except that once Earth had completely formed, something large collided and combined with it - a vast spacecraft. The pilot of the spacecraft survived in the Moon, until awakened by astronauts on July 20, 1969. It apparently followed them back to Earth, where it began construction of a ship to return home - by converting the entire Earth into a spaceship. In the process, it was engaged in battle by the members of SMASH. It killed some members, and trapped others in suspended animation for 30 years, until freed by the combined efforts of Tom Strong and Tom Strange.

1940s

Nedor Heroes — l. to r.: American Crusader, Doc Strange, Grim Reaper, Black Terror

1940

Dr. Thomas Hugo Strange discovers Alusun, a powerful distillate of sun atoms which when taken in elixer form allows him to store nuclear solar energy as mass, has first public case as "Doc" Strange in the city of New Lancaster.^[2]

Dr. John Thesson, an American archaeologist, finds the ring of Poseidon while on a dig in Greece. Revealed as the reincarnation of Theseus, he pledges himself to "endless combat against tyranny, crime and destruction" as the Modern Theseus/Son of the Gods. ^[3]

Andrew Bryant discovers that by crossing gamma and infrared light rays he acquires super abilities and becomes Captain Future.^[4]

Dr. X astrally projects his niece Cynthia and her fiance Robert Stone to the distant world of Inus.^[5]

An ancient Egyptian mummy is revived by a vita-ray and becomes Mystico the Wonder Man.^[6]

1941

Robert Benton is exposed to formic ether vapors which grant him extraordinary physical strength and he becomes The Black Terror in Invertica City. ^[7]

Archibald Masters, exposed to the rays of an atom-smasher designed by a colleague, becomes the American Crusader.^[8]

Bruce Carter III finds a cloak which belonged to his American Revolutionary War hero ancestor, Bruce Carter I, and is assisted by the ghost of his ancestor to become The Fighting Yank I. ^[9]

Nelson Drew finds a long-lost formula for the compound Lamesis, known to the ancient Egyptians, and imbibes it to gain super strength and become The Liberator.^[10]

1942

Richard Martin, former student of Andrew Bryant at Central Tech whose experiments with high voltage electricity rendered him immune to electrical charge, is wrongly accused of arson and sentenced to the electric chair; he survives to find his body charged with electricity and becomes Pyroman.^[11]

1943

Robert Paxton becomes The Oracle, with the ability to predict future events.^[12]

1944

Bill Norris becomes The Grim Reaper.

1960s

1969

SMASH attacks the Moon alien. Tom Strange leaves for Earth-ABC - on foot.

During SMASH's imprisonment, the lack of Science Heroes meant that organized crime was able to spread virtually unchecked.

2000s

2000

Tom Strong and Tom Strange free the trapped members of SMASH and they (mainly The Terror) defeat the alien. Although back together, the stresses of adapting to the new world causes friction, and SMASH disbands.

The Terror's crime fighting program is instituted in Invertica City, Boston, and Los Angeles, reducing crime levels dramatically.

2003

SMASH reforms to investigate an anomaly emanating from the Grand Canyon.^[13]

2004

SMASH investigate time anomalies.^[14]

2100s

At some point in the 22nd Century, Lance Lewis travels back in time to WWII.

Points of Interest

New Lancaster- evidently, the War of the Roses turned out differently here, as New Lancaster replaces New York.
Invertica City - Invertica was first settled in the 1700's when Pennslyvanian settlers discovered a large canyon and used its natural defences as a base against the native population. Becoming an urban centre in the 19th Century, it built downwards and outwards.

Residents

SMASH:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Black Satan
The Blitz
Dr. Voodoo
Dr. X
The Voice

Notes

Not considered a part of the Post-Infinite Crisis Multiverse (yet).
The heroes of Terra Obscura have been known to the people of Earth-ABC since the 1940s, where they somehow appeared as comics book characters. Now that it is known that the comics depict real people, the books have become quite popular with Earth-ABC citizens.^[15]

Trivia

Characters in Terra Obscura are based on public domain superheroes of the 1940s, published by Nedor Comics.