Herocopia, the officially sanctioned, fan-developed website for all things relating to the award winning comic series, Astro City. Biographies of heroes and villains, information on special places, insights on supporting cast, ordinary citizens and events, background details on weapons, headquarters, gadgets and gear. Along with histories, issue summaries, annotations, time-lines, and fan speculation galore. It's all here and we welcome you to join in the fun.
Its history has been its namesake. It is indeed a nightmare, living an existence that is parasitic in nature, deriving its energy from the fear around it. Brief periods of time have been peaceful, emotionally controlled by a strong host able to calm its ravenous desire for raw, cold, primitive, horrific, and unbridled fright.
The man who is arguably the greatest hero of the modern era is in fact not from this era at all. Samaritan was a time-traveler from the 35th century sent back to 1986 to prevent the wasteland Earth he was born into from coming about. The transit suffused him with "empyrean fire," giving him enormous physical power as well as the ability to project an "empyrean web."
Samaritan has been a member of the elite superhero team Honor Guard since at least 1991. He is in a romantic relationship with Winged Victory and yes, it is complicated.
He has a cavalier, almost careless attitude towards crime-fighting. He doesn't strike one as being strongly passionate, or driven by some kind of mission. Yet he is somehow, almost surprisingly, one of the most effective, popular and enduring of Astro City's superheroes. So what motivates him? Why does he do what he does? Risking so much for what would seem to be just the fun of catching crooks. Is it the excitement, the attention, the sense of being center stage? Most intriguing of all, what has kept him doing it for so long?
An iconic Super-hero, with a shadowy past. The Confessor, long suspected and now confirmed as a vampire, has patrolled the streets of Astro City for decades, nearly nonstop. Thought killed and destroyed at the climax of the eNelsian alien invasion, he has nonetheless(as most vampires will do) returned from the grave to continue his nightly patrols of Astro City's dark and seedy districts. His hunting remains focused on criminals. His methodologies now seem more sophisticated, relying on advanced technology and arcane mystical powers sourcing from remote and ancient tribal customs.
The name suggests hope. It also hints at a youthful, fresh vibrant kind of energy. Starbright is certainly all of that and more.
But hope, youth, and the feeling of being invincible are sometime accompanied with disappointment. Starbright's story also contains those bits of bitterness. And yet above its emotional pain, a sweetness emerges. It rises above the sadness of the moment and becomes something more precious, long-lasting and endearing. Starbright, his closest friends, and his deepest enemy are all about to experience life's highs and lows. How they handle it will surprise and delight.
One of the most incredible, absolutely amazing, stunningly beautiful battles of all time occurred on a cold winter's night over 100 years ago. Astro City was still called Romeyn Falls in those days. Along with trolley cars and horses, a rarely seen heroine by the name of Dame Progress wandered the city. Her weaponry and vehicles are finely crafted, state of the art instruments. Her battle that particular night centered on a specific target. A target that was interfering with a special mission...
