The Origin
Some Facts
Places of Interest
When the Styf attacked Earth their primary weapons were asteroids targeted at major cities across the globe.Capitals were not targets; it is theorized that the aliens wished to use the already existing governments to run the planet for them so they were spared.Industrial complexes and other major metropolises were not so fortunate.Detroit Michigan was struck with an asteroid powerful enough to destroy the downtown district was sufficient to destroy many of the neighborhoods.In the end more than fifty percent of the city and its neighbors was destroyed by the initial impact as well as fire and flooding from wrecked sewer and water systems.
Initially it was believed that the city was not salvageable. Worse, companies like General Motors had their head offices in Detroit as well as manufacturing plants, and with the deaths of so many executives and a loss of confidence on the stock market it looked as if some of these companies would go under. Both the State and Federal governments understood that the loss of a company as large and as important as GM would send Michigan into a horrible recession that it could not hope to pull out of.In a move critics called “Socialist” the Federal government took control and froze all sales on the stock market, then set up special investigators to cooperate with what was left of those devastated companies to see what was left and how if it was possible to salvage them.
Meanwhile the question was what to do with Detroit itself?Devastation hadn’t been seen on this scale since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.The Federal government had an answer for this as well.Large state and Federal tax exemptions were set up for companies that would set up in Detroit.Companies damaged by the asteroid strike also received these exemptions as well as low interest government loans to get back on their feet again.Ambitious public housing projects rebuilt neighborhoods.
After a decade Detroit had practically
re-invented itself; companies previously not based in the Detroit area
moved here to take advantage of the decade long tax breaks.Workers flooded
into the city to help build it and housing was constructed to serve them.Stadiums
and theatres had been erected, fast food chains set up.Surrounding cities
slowly became integrated in the major new metropolis to take advantage
of the special tax exemptions and Federal aid.By ’77 Detroit was unrecognizable,
so much so that the city council placed a proposal on the ballot to have
the name changed.It passed and Motor City was born.
The Motor City area consists of 139 square miles, located on the Detroit River north of Windsor, Canada in southeastern Michigan.It covers eight counties: Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. Together, the population of these eight counties is roughly 5.8 million people, making Motor City the sixth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Wayne County is the most populated of the eight counties with a 1992 estimated population of 2,502,413. Motor city itself is located in Wayne County. Oakland County is the second most populated county in the Greater Detroit area. The 1992 estimated population for Oakland County is 1,411,894.
There are over 250 separate and distinct municipalities in the Motor City area. These cities, townships and villages range in size from tiny Emmett in rural St. Clair County (population: 306) to Motor City itself. Because of this diversity, the Motor City area offers something for everyone. Residents can choose between rural farming communities, quiet suburban neighborhoods, exclusive and chic urban areas, or the excitement of the big city. And, all of these living options are located within an easy commute of the region's major employment centers.
Beside automobile manufacturing, the area's primary industries include machine tool accessories, internal combustion and electric engines, iron and steel forging, plumbing fittings, metal cutting tools and distilled liquor. Motor City leads the nation or ranks among the top three manufacturing centers in these industries. It is also the potato chip capital of the world.
In support of its role as the "Automobile Capital of the World," Motor City is also a leader in research and development activities. Twenty-seven percent of the area's labor force is employed in the service sector, six percent in finance, insurance and real estate, and 23 percent in the wholesale and retail trades.
Motor City is served by four daily newspapers, eight television stations and 59 radio stations. Six freeways not only provide easy access to the entire region, but also link the city with the rest of the Midwest. There are two airports, with Motor City Metro (MCM) being one of Northwest airlines’ hubs.
There are nine universities, seven colleges, ten community college campuses and dozens of trade and vocational school located in the Motor City area. The area is served by 67 hospitals and over 12,000 physicians. State-of-the-art health care is available at either of the area's two teaching and research centers: Detroit Medical Center and The University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.
Recreational opportunities are limitless
in the Motor City area. There are 20 malls and shopping districts, each
with over 100 stores and shops. Fairlane Mall in Dearborn has over 200
stores. Five professional sports teams and 3 NCAA Division 1 college teams
play in Motor City’s numerous arenas and stadiums.
GATEWAY MEMORIAL: Located in Ford Plaza in downtown Motor City, the Gateway Memorial is a large statue dedicated to the paranormal who was instrumental in halting the Styf invasion and whose work on behalf of Amnesty International was responsible for saving so many lives. The statue is of the heroine as she was around the time of her death, in her late thirties, wearing a pair of slacks and a blouse. She is standing in a casual manner, her arms crossed over her belly, her expression somber. A quote is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the statue: “I have to because I can.”
Since her death Gateway has become a symbol for the Feminist movement even though her involvement with NOW was peripheral at best. In interviews she had stated her admiration for the group but she herself had always been to busy as Gateway to contribute her time to them. Still every year NOW stages a rally at the Gateway Memorial.
GATEWAY GENERAL HOSPITAL: This is a unique facility in that an entire wing is devoted to the study and care of paranormals. The model for other hospitals in other cities with potentially large paranormal populations, it holds a large variety of labs and operating theatres designed so almost anyone or anything could be treated. The wing is also designed to be locked down like a maximum security prison at a moment's notice and a special contingent of FBI agents are always on duty there.
HAMTRAMCK: Hamtramck is quite literally a city within a city. Roughly two square miles in area, the community had been surrounded by Detroit even back in ’67 before the Styf invasion. When both Federal and State governments began offering major tax incentives other communities succumbed to the temptation and became part of Detroit, later Motor City. But Hamtramck is home to a stubborn Polish folk and they felt that their independence was more important. The city prospered despite not having these incentives, as they had not been seriously damaged by the Styf meteor attacks and this community was instrumental in helping rebuild their large neighbor.
Today Hamtramck has seen its share of financial troubles, but it is still a viable community and is proud that it is still its own city.
HERO’S HANGOUT: After the success of the Planet Hollywood chain it was inevitable that a restaurant chain using super heroes as a theme would be born. Hero’s Hangout is brainchild of Denise Kimes, the grand-daughter of Jonathan Kimes, The Falcon. She had been facing bankruptcy and her restaurant was going to be taken when her mother showed her her grandfather’s old costume. Getting verification from several sources for legal reasons, Denise displayed the costume as well as newspaper articles of his exploits. The restaurant bounded back and Denise was able to get ahold of several other pieces of heroic memorabilia. Soon She was opening a second restaurant, then a third…The rest is history.
Motor City’s Hero’s Hangout sports some nice items, among them Noir’s entire outfit (complete with 45’s, tommy gun and gask mask), three pairs of Mustaphah’s size fourteen Nike’s from the days he was known as Adam Smasher, and Gateway’s first costume before she just started wearing civilian clothes. Many items are rotated so different HH’s can host new and original stuff for their patrons, although some items-such as Cavalier’s armor and the Falcon display, stays in its original place.
Super Hero memorabilia is not as common as say rock and roll memorabilia so there are far fewer HH’s than there are Hard Rock Café’s. Currently there are eight; NYC, Los Angeles CA, Motor City MI, London UK, Paris France, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, and Miami FL. There are currently no plans to open any more at this time, although with new heroes showing up it is hard to tell.
Another chain of restaurants tried to go for a similar theme. Unfortunately Planet Villainy was not very successful and they had to declare bankruptcy.
ROGER'S COSTUMES: Stephan Rogers had the apparent misfortune early in life to develop an interest in the clothing industry. His designs were considered at times too strange or too pedestrian depending on the critic or fashion designer. He realized early on that he would never be able to make it in the fashion industry, so he then decided to try something new. He created a costume shop catering to the rich. His costumes were accurate recreation of super villain and super heroic costumes as well as other more "mundane" outfits like vampires and zombies. After a few years his business began to turn a steady profit, so much so he had several stores located in different cities. In Motor City Stephen had scored quite a coup getting the Maximum Justice, then later on Vindicators contract to make their costumes.
Stephan's store was more like a large studio, his more impressive designs kept behind glass cases. There was his Captain Savage costume from his Classic Heroes line, a perfect replica of Lor Dredd's armor from his Infamy Unbound collection, and a beautiful Phantom of The Opera outfit complete with a make up kit from the Showbiz group.
Stephan is not gay, although everyone around him-including his parents and sometimes his wife-thought so. An effiminate man, Stephan himself is very slender with a long brown pony tail and goatee. He prefers silk shirts. He had once tried to alter his look to appear more "manly" but nothing really worked.
Teflex: Over the past thirty years the military and law enforcement agencies of the world had attempted to develop new fabrics to protect soldiers and police officers. Teflex had been the lightest, most versatile fabric, but it's cost had proven prohibitive. Still, many prominent politicians had suits of teflex tailored, and super heroes like Optimum Impact also had their costumes made of the material.