Earth-617

An alternate universe slightly parallel to the mainstream universe of Marvel (Earth-616).

Mainly the timeline has been set in stone, not allowed to shift and slide like in the mainstream. Also the roles of the loyalties of certain heroes and villains have been shifted, while costumes have been updated for the modern era. This is a better version of the Ultimate reality, one that doesn't have to kill half the universe to sell comics!

Point of Alteration

This universe starts out similar to origins of the mainstream, with Captain America and various heroes facing the Nazis. But the point of deviation comes, when a soldier is brutally killed by an experimental HYDRA weapon, while aiding Cap in one of his final missions. This soldier, would have been known later in life as "Wolverine"!

Upon his death, NATO scientests discover he is not what can be described as "human", when they uncover his bone claws and regenrative abilities. The United States government begins to secretly investigate the phenomenon, 20 years ahead of schedule, soon discovering others like him, a entire worldwide whole race of beings they dub "mutants". The ramifications are limitless....

Given these alternate circumstances, the beginning of Earth-617 is officially set around 2009, instead of 1963, when the tensions seemed to have ceased between mutants and humans, to the point of a growing civil rights movement for mutants that's supported by infulential humans and major politicians, in the vein of recent LGBT rights. But upon Magneto's return, a chain of events unfolds that shatters this new found peace with anti-mutant histeria, the creation of the crimefighting team known as the "X-Men" to counter his terrorist activities, and an incident that would cause thousands of beings along the East Coast to be given superhuman abilities. These individuals range from average humans, police, lawyers, doctors, to hardened criminals, homeless vagrants, college students, and undercover extraterrestrials.

With these individuals and other mutant threats running rampant, the X-Men alone cannot contain the outbreak of criminals dubbed "supervillains". Soon human and mutant individuals alike decide to take action, and become costumed crimefighters, vigilantes devoted to protecting the innocent, using a variety of superpowers and abilities, or enhanced weaponry and armor. But escalation occurs, and soon more criminals become supervillains, with criminal or even terrorist organizations recruiting them as protection against law enforcement and the vigilantes.

The age of "superheroes" has begun.