Armed with high-tech armor which electronicallly stimulated telekinetic abilities, a telekinetic sword, and a levitating mount, the Ivory Avenger was the most idealistic and best liked member of the Brotherhood of Justice. He fancied himself a modern day knight, though he knew much more about technology than he did about chivalry. In his civilian identity, Dexter Angstrom ran the Little Street Electronics Shop.
The Wraith
Stephen Royal was an extraterrestrial geologist who discovered a strange
alien crystal that had fallen to Earth. When he touched it, it merged with
his body, gave him the ability
to teleport and to transform his body into insubstantial energy, and began
a gradual transformation that eventually turned his body into a human-alien
hybrid. The Wraith was known
to be a bit pompous among his comrades,
but after he left Earth he seemed to become completely inhuman.
The
Archer
A wealthy industrialist and highly skilled combatant, Tom Ryan was among
the most formidable of Philadelphia's heroes as the Archer. Unfortunately,
his career was marred by misfortunes and misunderstandings.
Louis Ashe built the Doppelganger suit with the assistance of Professor Anthony Mosely. The suit transferred the body of its wearer into another dimension; its abilities included energy projection and a wide range of functions based on shapeshifting. In his early days as a hero, Louis led a triple life as a superhero, as a barmaid privy to street talk, and as a clerk at the Little Street Electronics Shop. He and his live-in girlfriend Mary Anne Jane had a young son named Kevin until his former colleague the Professor acted on an old grudge.
Mass
Master
As Mass Master, Tom Harper had the ability to alter his own size and
density. Mass Master operated briefly in Philadelphia, but later roamed
the world fighting crime.
Shock
John Thorne got his electrical powers when electrocuted in the course of
his job as a power line worker. Shock was a blue-collar, red-blooded
American with more opinions and ambitions than wisdom. Though never an
official member of the Brotherhood of Justice, he was among the most
active participants in most of their adventures.
Green Guardian
GG was an extraterrestrial with the rather surprising name of R'azz
MacDougal. His planet, Morlor, was a strange one, with immobile jousting beasts
called K-Pangs. As a Morlor, Raz could fly, project damaging
energy blasts, and generate a force field. However, he was somewhat
vulnerable to tightly focused attacks.
Though a little weird, GG was a pretty easy-going hero most of the time,
and got along well with most members of the Brotherhood even when they
teased him about his weaknesses and called him the Green Gardener.
Nemesis
After Dr. Paul Detrich, the creator of the Adversary android, was
extracted from Nazi Germany in 1944, he built a second android for the
Allies as part of Operation: NEMESIS. Unlike the Adversary, the Nemesis
android had its personality transferred from a human being: US Army pilot
Major Jack Davis. Davis's personality was slightly modified in the
android, however, to include an irrational hatred of the Adversary.
Nemesis kept up the fight against the Adversary for decades; long after
the Nazis fell, the Adversary stayed active as a criminal mastermind whom
only Nemesis could hope to stop.
This Native American hero was a rare male form of the legendary penanggalan, a creature which could separate its head and viscera from its body. Normally, he appeared as Tihuana Joe, a transient Iroquois. As the Penanggalan, he could drain an opponent's strength, fly, and inflict a damaging bite. . As Tihuana Joe, he was an unremarkable appearing homeless Native American with a bit of a problem with alcohol. Despite his horrific appearance, Penanggalan was a worthy member of the Brotherhood of Justice.
Ubermensch
This German hero worked briefly with the Brotherhood of Justice.
Aglovale
This centuries-old wizard came to Philadelphia seeking the
reincarnation of the king he had served long ago. His mystic senses led
him to suspect that the Ivory Avenger might be that king. The truth of the
situation was more complicated and more sinister.
The Brotherhood first met this hero as a homeless amnesiac who called himself "Nick." When Nick found an ecological cause for himself, he adopted the name Mr. Earth and an appropriate costume. Gradually, though, the Brotherhood realized there was something awfully familiar about this hero. When the alien invasion occurred, Mr. Earth brought about the redemption of Louis Ashe.
Artemis
Granddaughter to Jack (Nemesis) Davis, Tanya Anderson brought the
Brotherhood of Justice not only her skills as an archer, but also her
diverse technical skills, her wealth, and her initiative. Though only an
active member of the Brotherhood for a short time, she established the
group's official headquarters, hired their staff, and established a
greater public presence for the heroes of Philadelphia than they had
previously known.
Vendetta
After Mr.Earth's noble self-sacrifice, the disembodied consciousness of
Louis Ashe possessed another of the Professor's creations, an android
body. Appropriating a high tech car also engineered by the Professor,
Louis adopted the name Vendetta and set out to balance the scales of
justice once again.
Col. Chuck Taine
Col. Taine was the Director of the
Philadelphia branch of S.L.E.U.T.H., the Scientific Law Enforcement
Tactical Hierarchy. A decorated Viet Nam war hero, he blamed the advent of
super-heroes for the public disregard for U.S. veterans. He also
considered these alleged heroes a threat to American values with their
strange customs and vigilante actions. He harassed the members of the
Brotherhood of Justice for years, but he gradually learned to respect at
least a few of them.
Floyd Hunter
This savvy businessman saw great profit potential in the area of
private law enforcement against superhuman threats. His unethical
practices, though, made him more of a threat than the menaces he fought
for profit.
When he wasn't fighting crime, Dexter (Ivory Avenger) Angstrom ran the Little Street Electronics Shop. For years, the shop never made much money, so Dexter had to support himself, the shop, and his growing list of employees off of his inheritance. The staff included Dexter's buddy Harvey, Louis (Doppelganger) Ashe, and Stephen (the Wraith) Royal. Business turned around at the shop when it became known as the place where all the super-heroes shop. Green Guardian and other heroes frequently lingered around the shop, and drew in a lot of paying customers.
Guardian and Nemesis often discussed crime-fighting and other concerns at their favorite restaurant, Chèz Guido’s. Guido and his staff appreciated the patronage of the heroes and the curious crowds who followed them in; they named a number of menu items in honor of the heroes of Philadelphia, including the Green Guardian Salad, the Nemesis Burger, and the Ivory Avenger Shake. For the listening pleasure of their hero-curious lunch crowd, Chèz Guido’s also played transmissions from the public frequencies of the Brotherhood of Justice communicators. This disrupted lunches quite a bit the day the Brotherhood used their open channel to discuss the nuclear bomb threatening Philadelphia.
Col. Chuck Taine had his own favorite luncheonette, the Stars & Stripes Café. This patriotically themed diner drew in many veterans and other patriots among its customers, and Nemesis regularly joined Col. Taine for lunch there.
On the site in Fairmount Park where Mr. Earth nobly sacrificed himself to defend the Earth against alien invasion, the grateful people of Philadelphia erected the The Invasion Memorial, which some called the Mr. Earth Monument. This large stone globe commemorated the sacrifices of the many who sacrificed their lives to fend off the alien invasion. The Brotherhood of Justice had often gathered in the park before, and this statue became one of their favorite rendezvous points.
Controversy erupted when Philadelphia was first considered as the location for this new institution for the containment of superhuman criminals. When the superprison was built, it did indeed increase the activity of supervillains around the city. A number of escapes occured, despite the presence of Strongarm, a superhuman Santar who made the transition from alien invader to U.S. government employee.
Artemis used her wealth and arranged other sponsorship to construct a headquarters for the Brotherhood of Justice. Previously Philadelphia's heroes had been forced to meet at parks, restaurants, and the Little Street Electronics shop. The HQ adjoined Tanya Anderson's Victorian home, but extended many levels underground. In the deepest sub-basements were facilities none of the Brotherhood ever suspected: a secret Adversary base.