Superseeds
That's understandable, given most of the market for these businesses is in those countries. However, now and them some artist or writer decides to introduce a character from another country and more often than not we end up with a super-hero who is either alien to the society he is supposed to be from or that is so steeped in local culture he borders on the stereotypical and lacks the creative freedom American characters have.
Brazil's two main representatives in the super-hero genre are Beatriz da Costa, (DC's Green Fury/Green Flame/Fire) and Roberto da Costa (Marvel's Sunspot). Both display some of the misconceptions people have about us - namely, that Brazilians are dark-skinned sex-crazed individuals. Although there are dark-skinned sex-crazed Brazilians, we are not the majority down here.
Plus: we do have more than one surname available.
Given the above, I thought a Superseeds installment presenting a few Brazilian elements for use in your super-hero campaigns might be interesting. I've tried to keep things neutral powerwise, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you to "four-colorify" or "real-worldify" it for your campaign.
The basics
I'm not going to talk about statistics, population size and such here, you can find this information easily enough at Wikipedia. I'll just address certain details about the nature of my country.As I said above, there are a few misconceptions about Brazilians. I'll concentrate on one, though: we are ethnically diverse. Like the United States, Brazil is a country of immigrants, with representatives from every continent on the planet. You can find Brazilians of all hues: fair-haired, fair-skinned and blue-eyed; curly-haired, dark-skinned, brown-eyed; Asians; Native American (we call them Indians) and everything in-between.
Our culture's main influences come from the Portuguese colonists, the enslaved African people and the Indians, but all the other groups that migrated to the country left their mark in some way, such as the Italians and the Japanese. That is to say that despite our cultural identity, Brazil is, to a certain degree, a cosmopolitan nation.
Once, a friend of mine told me that what he found so cool about Spider-man, for example, was that there was nothing inherently American about him - Peter Parker could have been a kid from Rio, London, Nairobi or New Delhi.
So, what I'm saying is that a Brazilian super-hero can be a soccer-playing, samba-dancing person with superpowers that come from Indian or Afrobrazilian mysticism and whose codename is Membiritá (Stoneson), but he can also be the son of Italian immigrants who gained his powers when hit by lightning and decided to call himself Relâmpago (lightning).
Relâmpago, the first hero
I don't recall ever seeing a Golden Age hero from Brazil, but that is easily fixable. Let's use World War II, which is a focal point for that era. You may not know, but Brazil sent troops to fight in Italy during the war: the Brazilian Expeditionary and Air Forces (FEB and FAB, respectively).FEB fought alongside the US Fifth Army and IV Corps from September of 1944 to May of 1945. One of the Brazilian privates was Milton Morelli, from São Paulo. One night, while serving as a sentry during a particularly nasty storm, Milton was hit by lightning, but instead of dying, he ended up with electrical powers.
Initially, Milton was assigned missions in the Italian theater of operations (in a GODLIKE campaign, he could become part of a Talent Operation Group). However, it became clear to both the Brazilian and American brass that Milton belonged with the other Allied super-heroes. So he gained a codename and uniform, and was shipped to the group's base.
Milton fought with the team until it disbanded. Back in Brazil, he cooperated with the government until 1964, when, disenchanted with the military coup, he refused to work for the junta and was forbidden of ever using the Relâmpago identity again. That was the last time anyone heard of the first Brazilian super-hero.
Secretaria Especial de Assuntos Metahumanos
In most super-hero settings, countries have a government agency that regulates (either positively or negatively) superhuman activity. Brazil, in such a world, wouldn't be different. So here's a not-so-brief history of the Secretaria Especial de Assuntos Metahumanos (SEAM, the Special Secretary of Metahuman Affairs).Shortly after World War II, General Mascarenha de Moraes campaigned for an agency that would deal with the emerging superhuman issue. Then president Eurico Gaspar Dutra only acquiesced to Moraes' requests after Henry Truman's visit to the country in 1947, when he created the Departamento de Atividades Paranormais (DAP, the Department of Paranormal Activities).
The DAP was nothing more than an information-collating office. It would only grow during Getúlio Vargas' administration (1951-54). Gregório Fortunato, Vargas personal aide and bodyguard, recognized the agency as a valuable weapon and used his influence to increase the DAP's budget and personnel.
Two years later, Gregório recruited a powerful superhuman codenamed Açougueiro (Butcher), whom he planned to use in the murder of Carlos Lacerda, Vargas's main political enemy. The attempt never happened, being conducted by a regular assassin. When Vargas committed suicide, in 1954, Gregório burned all the documents that chronicled the DAP activities of the past three years.
During Juscelino Kubitschek's administration (1956-61), the DAP became the Grupo Executivo de Atividades Paranormais (GEAP, Executive Group of Paranormal Activities). The GEAP's only accomplishment was recruiting the Engenheiro (Engineer), the first public superhuman after Relâmpago.
In 1964, a military coup deposed president João Goulart. The Revolutionary High Command, as the junta called itself, kept the GEAP and Engenheiro active, believing they posed no threat. The civil unrest of the following years and the rising numbers of superhumans in Brazil made the "paranormal threat" a top priority for the junta.
The ruling generals delegated the GEAP activities to the Departamento de Ordem Política e Social (DOPS, Department of Political and Social Order). Its mandate to recruit any superhuman favorable to the government and violently repress the subversive ones. At the end of the 70s, the responsibility for paranormal activities was inherited by the Serviço Nacional de Informações (SNI, the National Information Service), the junta's intelligence agency.
Finally, in 1984, with the New Republic and the redemocratization of the country, the need for a dedicated superhuman agency was clear and so the SEAM was formed with Mário Guerra as director. Under his leadership, the agency became one of the most influential in the government. It coordinates paranormal agents and resources, as well as regulates metahuman activities in Brazil. It has an extensive record of Brazilian superhumans and commands Brazil's governmental supergroup, the Metaesquadrão Brasileiro (MEB, Brazilian Metasquadron)
Mário Guerra
All countries in a super-hero world need to have a big bad government officer in charge of metahumans, be it Amanda Waller, Henry Peter Gyrich or Cecil Stedman. Mário Guerra fills that role in Brazil.A young Army lieutenant in the 50s, Guerra impressed then Lieutenant Colonel Golbery do Couto e Silva, who would later be an important figure in the coup and head of the SNI. Golbery recognized a younger version of himself in Guerra and took him under his wing.
Guerra learned all of Golbery's tricks and followed him to the SNI, becoming the professional heir to the older officer. Although both men saw eye to eye in many issues, especially concerning the junta's actions against the armed resistance to the coup, Golbery didn't quite agree with Guerra's assessment of the superhumans' importance.
Although Golbery believed they were a valuable tactical asset - or threat --, he didn't see them as gamechangers like Guerra did. The younger man wasn't deterred by his mentor's doubts and dedicated himself to gather all the information he could on metahuman activity.
When the SNI became responsible for superhumans, Guerra convinced Golbery to appoint him head of operations. Guerra invested all his knowledge and experience in setting up a structure that would years later result in the creation of the SEAM. He orchestrated everything so that he would be the only possible choice for its director.
In this way, Guerra surpassed his old mentor. If people were afraid of Golbery, whose nickname was Bruxo (Warlock), Golbery himself directed a cautious eye towards his former pupil. With the creation of the SEAM, Guerra became one of the most powerful men in the Brazilian government.
Guerra doesn't consider himself evil, of course. He truly believes in furthering Brazil's cause in the world, but he has no qualms about using whatever method is at his disposal - the end justifies the means. Guerra is not above giving a show a force, but he learned from Golbery that manipulation and obfuscation are usually more efficient than violence.
For example, in the Marvel universe, Guerra would be buying refurbished Sentinels and black market versions of Iron Man's and Guardian's armors, so his technicians could back-engineer them, and running experiments on mutants to produce his own superpowered operatives, all the while denying rumors that the SEAM was dealing with criminals or conducting illegal experiments.
He would only smile when, a few days later, evidence would emerge that the reporters or politicians who accused him were themselves involved in criminal activities.
Super-heróis & supervilões
Here's a sample of heroes and villains you can use in your campaign. They are stat-free, but you can use the descriptions to adapt them to the power level of your campaign as needed.Metaesquadrão Brasileiro The MEB is the Brazilian government supergroup. They are employed in many functions, from public relations to territorial protection (Marvel fans may notice an Alpha Flight vibe).
Cruzeiro do Sul (Southern Cross): Paulo Alves Parise was a medal-winning Air Force captain who was recruited to wear Brazil's first superpowered suit. Parise was a natural at wielding the suit's capabilities - supersonic flight, force field and the ability to emit blasts of electromagnetic energy. There were rumors that the suit's technology was back-engineered from an American super-hero's armor or even from an alien spacecraft that crashed in the state of Minas Gerais. Nothing was proved and after all tests were complete, Parise gained a codename and became the leader of the fledgling Brazilian supergroup. Cruzeiro do Sul is a patriot and although he is aware that some of MEB's missions are less than lily-white, he believes the group works towards Brazil's greater good. He doesn't like all of his teammates, but respects them.
Caiman: Rogério Cruz was a biochemist at the State University of Campinas who, together with fellow scientist Sérgio Bastos, had a grant from SEAM to develop a supersoldier serum. Success eluded both researchers and Mário Guerra threatened to shut down the program. Desperate for results, Cruz and Bastos tested two serum prototypes, based on alligator and jaguar biochemistries, on themselves. After injecting himself with the first formula, Cruz developed superhuman strength and resiliency, as well as a reptilian-like skin armor. The transformation sent him berserk and, together with the transformed Bastos, they thrashed the lab. Cruz woke up several hours later in a SEAM holding cell. With the scientists suffering from "memory problems" and their notes destroyed, Guerra thought more productive to induct both into the MEB. Caiman has a very analytical mind and tends to rationalize everything, despite being the team's brick. Politically, he leans towards the right, which puts him at odds with Bastos.
Iara: Iara, the Indian river deity/spirit was known for taking her male suitors to a watery, but pleasurable death. However, about 20 years ago, the goddess fell in love with a mortal and from that union was born another Iara, the beautiful, green-haired water manipulator of the MEB. The half-blood Iara spent her childhood with her mother, but as a teenager she desired to know her father's world. She tracked her father, now a government officer, who introduced her to Mário Guerra. The SEAM director immediately recognized Iara as one of the most powerful superhumans he had ever met and convinced her that becoming part of the MEB was the best way to know the mortal world. Iara is a bit naïve, but that is changing fast. Like her mother, she has great influence over men and likes to play with them once in a while. She controls and can change into fresh water. Iara can also command rivers and river life to do her bidding. She is highly resistant to damage and regenerates when in contact with fresh water.
Jaguar: Sérgio Bastos, Rogério Cruz's lab partner, injected the jaguar serum and developed superagility and senses. Unlike Cruz, his memory problems were false. Bastos remembered enough of his work to secretly produce another batch of the serum a couple of years later. He again injected the serum on himself, becoming a human-jaguar hybrid with even higher agility and senses. Bastos retained part of his mind, but his scientific skills were gone, much to the chagrin of Guerra. Jaguar's new feral nature has exacerbated his critical mind and his leftwing inclinations often make him clash with Cruzeiro do Sul and Caiman, whom he considers a borderline fascist and a conservative puppet, respectively. He is friends with Uira and Iara, being in love with the latter.
Uira: Madalena Souza Neves was an ornithologist who specialized in Amazonian birds. One day, on a filed trip, Neves surprised some poachers and was attacked by them. Neves escaped, but got lost in the jungle. Famished and dehydrated, Neves was found by a pajé (medicine man), who nourished her back to health. He told her she had been chosen by the spirits to protect the jungle and gave the woman a mystical feather from an uirapuru, the legendary bird who could calm beats with its song. When Neves took the feather, she was changed: wings grew under her arms, she could sense as well as block magical energy and her voice allowed her to control or calm others. Neves started her career as a champion of Amazonia and a few months later was contacted by Cruzeiro do Sul, who invited her to be part of MEB. She accepted, as long as her missions with the team didn't interfere with her role as protector of the jungle. Uira is on good terms with everybody on the team, but has a special fondness for Iara and Jaguar. She is also highly critical of Cruzeiro do Sul's and Caiman's position about development being more important than sustainability.
Os Caçadores (The Hunters) The Caçadores can be a mercenary or criminal group, depending on their mission. They sell their services to anyone who has need of a superhuman team. The group has often clashed with MEB and independent heroes. They operate all over Brazil, but have also been spotted in other South American countries, like Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina.
Azagaia: Nobody knows the true identity of the leader of the Caçadores, but rumor is that he was a mercenary that was left for dead in the jungle. Instead of dying, Azagaia found a secret Indian village and lived among them for many years, until the local pajé showed him the artifact the mercenary had been searching for all these years: a mystical azagaia (a spear for hunting jaguars) that could pierce any soul. Azagaia killed the medicine man, stole the spear and the pajé's special herbs that could increase a man's strength and reflexes. A few months later, Azagaia formed the Caçadores, whom he commands with ruthless efficiency.
Espinho (Thorn): Espinho is another unknown. She has a clearly feminine body, but instead of flesh, it is made of plant tissue. She has no discernible mouth and is mute. Her hair is a tangled mass of thorn-covered vines that can be wielded as a whip, work as a strong tentacle and shoot thorns. Espinho can also produce a nauseating stench capable of intoxicating anyone close to her. Espinho is aloof and indifferent to everyone except Azagaia, who found her in the jungle, and Rocha. In fact, she seems to be devoid of any emotion at all.
Pororoca: Carlos Dias escaped the State Penitentiary at Bangu, Rio de Janeiro, and invaded an abandoned metallurgical plant to evade the police officers pursuing him. Dias was found and shot, falling into the sludge reservoir. Exposed to the toxic chemicals, his body changed, absorbing all the water around to recompose itself. Dias emerged from the pool with water-manipulation powers and killed the officers. After a few jobs in which he was defeated by different super-heroes, Dias realized he needed support and applied for a position in the newly-formed Caçadores, taking the codename Pororoca, after a tidal bore from the north of Brazil. Pororoca has no scruples against killing and saving his own skin in detriment of his fellow villains. Azagaia knows this but considers the water-manipulator a useful addition to the group. Because of this, he keeps Pororoca on a short leash.
Tatarana: Otávio Lira was an unemployed actor whose dream was to become a star. One day, while returning from another failed audition, Otávio witnessed a mugging. Without thinking about the risk, he intervened and his mutant powers emerged. The actor was engulfed in a fiery aura and became superstrong. After saving the victim, Otávio decided the best way to use his newfound abilities was a criminal career - it would provide the money he needed to keep on auditioning without having to daylight as a waiter. Soon after he initiated his career as Tatarana (a venomous caterpillar, whose name translates as "similar to fire"), Azagaia found him. Outgoing and friendly, Tatarana sees his villain career as another daylighting job - a way to make ends meet and achieve his dream.
Rocha (Rock): Rocha is an earth elemental that was summoned by a wizard and them became free, but still imprisoned in the material plane. He wandered aimlessly through the jungle until he met Espinho and the two recognized each other as kindred spirits. When Azagaia brought Espinho to the group, Rocha followed her. Ten-feet tall and made of solid rock, Rocha is an almost unstoppable force. His thought process are mostly alien, but he has developed certain human-like traits, like being overprotective of Espinho.
Adventures
A couple of seeds for Brazil-related adventures.Child of the Nile: A master villain has found out the next life of the reincarnating hero Ramses is a Brazilian kid named Daniel. He hires the Caçadores to kidnap the child, hoping to use the untapped energies of the Egyptian hero. The PCs must stop the kidnapping or, failing that, rescue Daniel and find out why he is so important.
My granddaughter Livia: Relâmpago is on his death bed. While watching the news, he recognizes recently-discovered Italian metahuman Livia del Lampo as his granddaughter. It seems the Brazilian hero had a love affair while fighting in Italy and Livia is his descendant. Brazil's military asks the PCs to go to Italy and bring Livia to Brazil. Problem is she is leading a secret group of superhumans who lived in an underground complex beneath Rome, Subroma, in resisting the Italian government. Right now, Livia and her followers are fighting Italian supers and power-armored troops. The PCs must find a way into Subroma, convince Livia to follow them and bring her back to Brazil before Relâmpago dies.
Inspiration
There are several Brazilian super-heroes, but all of them have their adventures chronicled in Portuguese. And even if you speak the language, it might be difficult to get a hold of them.Besides the main article, Wikipedia is chock full of pages about Brazil.
There are a lot of things I didn't address here, so I may do a couple more installments of Superseeds about Brazil in the future. The next one will probably deal with setting a Wild Cards campaign in Rio de Janeiro.
I hope you liked. Feel free to share any comments, suggestion and criticisms on the forum. If you ever run this, let me know too.
