Harbingers
In the lead-up to World War II, a cabal of villains saw plans centuries in the making come to fruition. This cabal called themselves The Harbingers-- a callout to their leader's ancient scheme to whip humanity along the road to survival at any cost. They were opposed by the Justice Defenders, a group of heroes possessed of extraordinary-- even superhuman-- abilities and noble intent to save the world.
The ancient immortal Vandal Savage was the first of the Harbingers. Obsessed with the idea of 'enhancing' humanity, his personal mission is to usher humanity into the next stage of their evolution, with him at the helm of a global society.
Savage concocted plans into place that stretched for decades or even centuries. The cause of the fall of more than one civilization, he played a direct role in the downfall of Atlantis. His manipulation of the Italian nation-states in the 1450s prevented the Ottoman Empire under En Sabah Nur from conquering Europe. Savage also aided and stabilizing forces such as Alexander the Great, Harun Al-Rashid, and Genghis Khan.
In the late 1800s, Savage began a campaign to destabilize Europe. Encouraging social and ethnic conflicts he successfully engineered the first World War.
Banding together with many allies, the Harbingers began a more ambitious campaign culminating in World War II. Their goals were complex and multifaceted. Savage's initial plan called for social overthrow in Europe, destabilization of Russia through economic means, increasing the flow of opium into China, and fragmenting the colonial influences present in the Middle East.
Vandal Savage's list of allies grew. To his infinite frustration, his carefully-laid plans were foiled by the Justice Defenders, a band of heroes who fought back against the Harbingers.
- Adolph Hitler -- Leader of the Third Reich
- Lord Helstrom -- a Daemonite High Lord
- Hiraoka Kotaro -- leader of The Hand
- Nathaniel Essex -- Expert on metagenes
- Morgan le Fay -- The Last Witch of Atlantis