1919-1946 [Supreme Updates]

Circa 1919

• Ethan Crane born. According to an account by Doctor Wells' lab assistant, "His father was the last of the big-time bible-thumpers..." Supreme himself noted, "You taught me my scripture well... FATHER! Yet for all your tent show talk of hellfire... you made precious little difference on that darkling plain known as the Dust Bowl! As a child, I carried your bibles into audiences and sold them to parched farmers and their brittle wives. To them, hellfire was very real! But come the rains, they would put aside the word of God, cast it off with their almanacs and divining rods. You didn't save a single soul, Father! You were nothing but a con man, a two-bit rainmaker! [Legend of Supreme #2, 1995-01]

1937

• St. Louis: Based on an account by Sophie Miles, she was fifteen years old when a group of local men plotted to take her virginity by force. This was overheard by Ethan Crane, likely eighteen at the time, but he failed to act before the rape had occurred the following day. In the aftermath a day later, Crane walked into a local bar and gunned the rapists down with an automatic pistol. Police were alerted, who demanded Crane drop the gun and raise his hands. Crane instead slightly raised the gun while saying, "Oh, this is empty, Offic--" and was gunned down by the pair of officers present. Crane survived, and was sentenced to life in prison. Miles felt that Crane blamed himself for what happened. Miles noted that she'd later entered into an intimate relationship with Crane, presumably after he had become Supreme. [Legend of Supreme #1, 1994-12]

1939

• Washington, D.C.: As part of the war effort, and as a way to get out of prison, Ethan Crane becomes the "lucky number seven" subject of Dr. Wells' battery of tests within a secret research laboratory beneath the Potomac. As with the previous six, Crane perished. [Legend of Supreme #1, 1994-12]
  
  This information derived from Dr. Wells's lab assistant, and the last surviving participant in the project, who gave a contemporary statement to reporter Maxine Winslow from his likely death bed. He was at the time dying from toxic exposures during the experiments. The project was overseen by a U.S. Army General, who was responsible for requisitioning the incarcerated subjects.
  
  It was noted that Crane had lasted three days, far longer than the other inmates, and late into the final day. The body was placed in overnight cold storage, so that Dr. Wells could start fresh for the autopsy. The next morning, thumping could be heard from inside the morgue drawer where Crane's cadaver had been placed, but the being inside the drawer no longer appeared to be Ethan Crane. Hair color, fingerprints, and other physical features no longer matched Crane's. This being did not regain consciousness, as Dr. Wells wished to kill him again, to see if further evolution would take place.
  
  After a week of torturous deaths and revivals, the being not only manifested further survival adaptations, but also slightly greater levels of consciousness. This continued on for months, until "we were pumping enough electricity, chemicals, and radiation into him to contaminate a continent!" But also, he was "barely conscious" for most of it, occasionally muttering scripture. Finally, one night, a guard slept through the being's escape from the facility. [Legend of Supreme #2, 1995-01]
  
  
• Per his own 1994 account in a televised interview, the "juvenile delinquent" (despite being taken from a self-described "promising career" at age eighteen) to become Supreme was developed by a team of U.S. Government scientists led by Dr. Wells through medical and technological breakthroughs. Over "grueling weeks," Supreme's intellect expanded with his physique, until he declared himself smarter than the scientists who had developed him, and disinterested in subjecting himself to further testing. Considered by some to have gone A.W.O.L. [Supreme #10, 1994-02 & #15, 1994-07]
  
  
• April: Supreme publicly identified and named by media after months of anonymous service as "the first of his super-powered generation to appear in this century." He would go on to make essential contributions to the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, most notably clashing with German forces (including Thor) in Africa, and later bombing Berlin by hand. [Supreme #10, 1994-02]
  
  In contrast, according to a written account given to Maxine Winslow by Supreme, he wandered nude into the snow-covered streets. Making his way to a Catholic church, he was given clothing, food, and long-term shelter by the attending priest. In return for this sanctuary, he used his extraordinary new powers for various tasks requested by the father. Presumably, the information in a news broadcast would be vetted for greater accuracy than a self-proclaimed "gospel," but further details in the account are consistent with a 1939-1940 timeline. [Legend of Supreme #3, 1995-02]

1940

• Again, per Supreme's personal written account, he was still living at the church and seemingly not publicly known as of June, when the fall of France was mentioned. This event increased the being's desire to use his powers for interventionism, and he privately also began a troubling pattern of associating himself with Christ's divinity, with indications that he believed he was communing directly with God. [Legend of Supreme #3, 1995-02]


• "Over the past year," Supreme proved himself a hero. However, when foreign spies created a hostage situation at the "G-Corp." chemical company, a feud lasting 54 years was begun. His business destroyed by a detonated bomb, and a satchel of vital atomic "heavy water" secrets taken into evidence by authorities, the rescued owner and principle chemist Zachariah Grizlock swore revenge. The illegal nature of the documents saw Grizlock incarcerated for "nearly fifteen years," although obviously interrupted by additional criminal activities. [Supreme #12, 1994-05]

1944

• Based on an account by a man called "Mister Simon," identified as Supreme's Army commanding officer or "control" circa 1944, "He could've ended the war... I tried to stop him because I realized he was deliberately prolonging it! Said it was all part of the natural weeding-out process... the evolution of man!" Simon gave additional context with, "He relished it! Reveled in the blood!" It was later implied that Supreme had ripped off Simon's right arm for the attempted interference. [Legend of Supreme #1, 1994-12]

1946

• While visiting Father Beam, who had sheltered him following his escape from Dr. Wells' lab, the priest excoriated him for his violent acts during the war. The farther repeatedly yelled, "Thou shalt not kill," until Supreme backhanded the priest, while demanding that he "Shut up!" The priest immediately fell to the ground, with a pool of blood forming about his head, presumably dead. Supreme screamed in protest as he flew out of Earths' atmosphere. [Legend of Supreme #3, 1995-02]


• Early February [sources conflicted- as early as 1945's V-J Day]: For the stated reason of being tired of constant conflict, Supreme departed Earth for a decades-long unaided exploration of outer space. "With the vast stretches of cosmos spread out before me, I found a new purpose. The universe became my school-- and my playground." He become a legend among the Katellans as he led them to victory on the planet Maxia, defeating the Torgan war machine alongside the Khrome Conclave. The Katellan Admiral K'hrk once noted that "He brought down the Too-Lan-Roo... He's charted more of this galaxy than we and the Acacians combined!"^{[Supreme #2]} Emperor Khrome would reign for a time on Maxia, destroying the Torgan home world before being forced into exile by a returned Supreme & the Katellans. ^{[Supreme #3 & 5, 1993; #10 & 15, 1994]} Supreme also saved the Creed homeworld from an extinction threatening meteor strike, becoming a hero to the Creed people. ^{[Supreme #18, 1994-9]}


• Within "days" of Supreme's absence, Zachariah Grizlock murders his girl friend Louise Masters, pal Billy Nelson, and the Junior Supreme Squad. [Supreme #2, 1993-03]