Department of Paranormal Affairs
Formed in 1947 as a means of incorporating superhumans into the Allied war effort, the Department of Paranormal Affairs has always been a regulatory agency for superhumans and their activities. Prior to this, cases involving superhumans were referred to the FBI, and often not treated with seriousness.
Taking on the FBI’s role of investigation in cases involving extraterrestrials, the occult, or other ostensibly paranormal activities, DPA agents were generally sent on fact-finding missions. Many of these, where superhumans weren’t involved, turned out to be little more than hoaxes. In a strange place jurisdictionally, the exact role of the department has fluctuated greatly over the decades.
The DPA of the 1940’s dealt with recruiting and directing superheroes against seditionist movements within the country, as well as trying to deal with superhumans who wished to head overseas and contribute to the war effort on either front.
This role as a sort of ‘super-spy’ agency would continue through the 1950’s and 1960’s, as the government saw superhumans as a sort of arms race between the United States and Soviet Union. However, the department saw increasing resistance from superpowered agents that did not wish to be used as weapons- especially those who had loved ones suffer under McCarthyism, or who had felt their duty to Uncle Sam ended with the war.
Due to hard lobbying, aided by the ACLU and galvanized by the growing civil rights movement, the DPA was stripped of much of its authority to regulate superhuman activity. Unwilling agents were considered war heroes, still embraced by the public, and the accidental nature of most superpowers presented a compelling case against automatic conscription. By 1968, the DPA was back to being in a role of investigation and research only. In 1969, Congress passed the Hooded Samaritan Act, codifying into law the kind of superhuman activity that had been active to this point.
However, with significant strides being made in what could be called ‘super-science’ manufacturing, the DPA would find itself taking on a new role. Without a powerful lobby such as the NRA, or any Constitutional basis protecting “death rays” and the like, the DPA gained fairly sweeping regulatory powers with regards to the technology involved in superhero activity.
Currently, in addition to research and investigation, the DPA serves to regulate super-weapons. Their relationship to superheroes varies on an individual basis, with agents unable to do much more than point heroes toward a problem and suggest something they could do about it. However, often in the aftermath of such a conflict, the DPA has authority to perform a clean sweep of an area, and full license to confiscate any weapon or tool used to commit a crime.
Taking on the FBI’s role of investigation in cases involving extraterrestrials, the occult, or other ostensibly paranormal activities, DPA agents were generally sent on fact-finding missions. Many of these, where superhumans weren’t involved, turned out to be little more than hoaxes. In a strange place jurisdictionally, the exact role of the department has fluctuated greatly over the decades.
The DPA of the 1940’s dealt with recruiting and directing superheroes against seditionist movements within the country, as well as trying to deal with superhumans who wished to head overseas and contribute to the war effort on either front.
This role as a sort of ‘super-spy’ agency would continue through the 1950’s and 1960’s, as the government saw superhumans as a sort of arms race between the United States and Soviet Union. However, the department saw increasing resistance from superpowered agents that did not wish to be used as weapons- especially those who had loved ones suffer under McCarthyism, or who had felt their duty to Uncle Sam ended with the war.
Due to hard lobbying, aided by the ACLU and galvanized by the growing civil rights movement, the DPA was stripped of much of its authority to regulate superhuman activity. Unwilling agents were considered war heroes, still embraced by the public, and the accidental nature of most superpowers presented a compelling case against automatic conscription. By 1968, the DPA was back to being in a role of investigation and research only. In 1969, Congress passed the Hooded Samaritan Act, codifying into law the kind of superhuman activity that had been active to this point.
However, with significant strides being made in what could be called ‘super-science’ manufacturing, the DPA would find itself taking on a new role. Without a powerful lobby such as the NRA, or any Constitutional basis protecting “death rays” and the like, the DPA gained fairly sweeping regulatory powers with regards to the technology involved in superhero activity.
Currently, in addition to research and investigation, the DPA serves to regulate super-weapons. Their relationship to superheroes varies on an individual basis, with agents unable to do much more than point heroes toward a problem and suggest something they could do about it. However, often in the aftermath of such a conflict, the DPA has authority to perform a clean sweep of an area, and full license to confiscate any weapon or tool used to commit a crime.
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