58-541: The Special Executive is a fictional group of time-traveling mercenaries appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The characters were decpicted in comic strips published by Marvel UK . The initial incarnation was created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd for Doctor Who Monthly ; Alan Davis later expanded the line-up when they appeared in Captain Britain . Alan Moore has said that members of
116-744: A 1990 series of short stories about the Vietnam War . Fictional works that explicitly involve supernatural, magical, or scientifically impossible elements are often classified under the genre of fantasy , including Lewis Carroll 's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings , and J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series. Creators of fantasy sometimes introduce imaginary creatures and beings such as dragons and fairies. Types of written fiction in prose are distinguished by relative length and include: Fiction writing
174-404: A certain point of view. The distinction between the two may be best defined from the viewpoint of the audience, according to whom a work is non-fiction if its people, settings, and plot are perceived entirely as historically or factually real, while a work is regarded as fiction if it deviates from reality in any of those areas. The distinction is further obscured by a philosophical understanding, on
232-545: A coincidence, 616 was discovered as a variant of 666 both with the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus and Papyrus 115 in 2005. In a 2019 interview with Rich Johnston , Thorpe confirmed that the number was derived from subtracting 50 from 666, but that the reference to the number of the beast was due to the fact that the designation was intended for the "Crooked World" of the Jaspers' Warp storyline. However, when Moore wrote
290-447: A completely imaginary way or been followed by major new events that are completely imaginary (the genre of alternative history ). Or, it depicts impossible technology or technology that defies current scientific understandings or capabilities (the genre of science fiction ). Contrarily, realistic fiction involves a story whose basic setting (time and location in the world) is, in fact, real and whose events could believably happen in
348-471: A figure from history, Bonnie Prince Charlie , and takes part in the Battle of Prestonpans . Some works of fiction are slightly or greatly re-imagined based on some originally true story, or a reconstructed biography. Often, even when the fictional story is based on fact, there may be additions and subtractions from the true story to make it more interesting. An example is Tim O'Brien 's The Things They Carried ,
406-695: A major impact on the creation and distribution of fiction, calling into question the feasibility of copyright as a means to ensure royalties are paid to copyright holders. Also, digital libraries such as Project Gutenberg make public domain texts more readily available. The combination of inexpensive home computers, the Internet, and the creativity of its users has also led to new forms of fiction, such as interactive computer games or computer-generated comics. Countless forums for fan fiction can be found online, where loyal followers of specific fictional realms create and distribute derivative stories. The Internet
464-623: A sequel strip, "Black Sun Rising", with Steve Dillon . However, Dillon's schedule meant that he was only able to contribute character designs for new additions Cobweb, Zeitgeist and Millennium, and when the story appeared in Doctor Who Monthly #57 the art was again by Lloyd. Millennium was again killed off very soon after being introduced. Moore would refuse to allow the characters to be used in future Doctor Who strips due to what he perceived to be poor treatment of his good friend Steve Moore (no relation). In 1983, Moore incorporated them into
522-518: A short strip called "The 4-D War" in Doctor Who Monthly #51 (April 1981), published by the UK arm of Marvel Comics . The story was a follow-up to a strip called "Star Death" that Moore and Lloyd had produced for Doctor Who Monthly #47. They were created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd , and the initial line-up consisted of Wardog and Viridian the Brainfeeler - who was almost immediately killed. Moore planned
580-570: A subset (written fiction that aligns to a particular genre ), or its opposite: an evaluative label for written fiction that comprises popular culture , as artistically or intellectually inferior to high culture . Regardless, fiction is commonly broken down into a variety of genres: categories of fiction, each differentiated by a particular unifying tone or style ; set of narrative techniques , archetypes , or other tropes; media content ; or other popularly defined criterion. Science fiction predicts or supposes technologies that are not realities at
638-501: A university or a similar institution, and with the continuation of such positions determined not by book sales but by critical acclaim by other established literary authors and critics. On the other hand, he suggests, genre fiction writers tend to support themselves by book sales. However, in an interview, John Updike lamented that "the category of 'literary fiction' has sprung up recently to torment people like me who just set out to write books, and if anybody wanted to read them, terrific,
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#1732844511411696-434: A written work of fiction that: Literary fiction is often used as a synonym for literature , in the narrow sense of writings specifically considered to be an art form. While literary fiction is sometimes regarded as superior to genre fiction, the two are not mutually exclusive, and major literary figures have employed the genres of science fiction, crime fiction , romance , etc., to create works of literature. Furthermore,
754-508: Is a part of media studies. Examples of prominent fictionalization in the creative arts include those in the general context of World War II in popular culture and specifically Nazi German leaders such as Adolf Hitler in popular culture and Reinhard Heydrich in popular culture . For instance, American actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin portrayed the eccentric despot Adenoid Hynkel in the 1940 satirical film The Great Dictator . The unhinged, unintelligent figure fictionalized real events from
812-446: Is also used for the development of blog fiction , where a story is delivered through a blog either as flash fiction or serial blog, and collaborative fiction , where a story is written sequentially by different authors, or the entire text can be revised by anyone using a wiki . The definition of literary fiction is controversial. It may refer to any work of fiction in a written form. However, various other definitions exist, including
870-672: Is any creative work , chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals , events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history , fact , or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels , novellas , and short stories . More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium , including not just writings but also live theatrical performances , films , television programs , radio dramas , comics , role-playing games , and video games . Typically,
928-707: Is assumed to take place within the Earth-616 continuity. It is the "status quo" that all other universes diverge from and iterate on. Earth-616 is referred to by name numerous times over the decades, primarily in Marvel UK titles, in Excalibur, or in Marvel reference texts such as the guide to Alternate Universes (2005). In addition, there are a number of other references to Earth-616: The term has also appeared in Exiles (in, among others,
986-439: Is characterized by a lesser degree of adherence to realistic or plausible individuals, events, or places, while the umbrella genre of realistic fiction is characterized by a greater degree. For instance, speculative fiction may depict an entirely imaginary universe or one in which the laws of nature do not strictly apply (often, the sub-genre of fantasy ). Or, it depicts true historical moments, except that they have concluded in
1044-490: Is known as fictionalization . The opposite circumstance, in which the physical world or a real turn of events seem influenced by past fiction, is commonly described by the phrase " life imitating art ". The latter phrase is popularity associated with the Anglo-Irish fiction writer Oscar Wilde . The alteration of actual happenings into a fictional format, with this involving a dramatic representation of real events or people,
1102-446: Is known as both fictionalization , or, more narrowly for visual performance works like in theatre and film, dramatization . According to the academic publication Oxford Reference , a work set up this way will have a "narrative based partly or wholly on fact but written as if it were fiction" such that "[f]ilms and broadcast dramas of this kind often bear the label 'based on a true story'." In intellectual research, evaluating this process
1160-492: Is most long-established in the realm of literature (written narrative fiction), the broad study of the nature, function, and meaning of fiction is called literary theory , and the narrower interpretation of specific fictional texts is called literary criticism (with subsets like film criticism and theatre criticism also now long-established). Aside from real-world connections, some fictional works may depict characters and events within their own context, entirely separate from
1218-427: Is often described as "elegantly written, lyrical, and ... layered". The tone of literary fiction can be darker than genre fiction, while the pacing of literary fiction may be slower than popular fiction. As Terrence Rafferty notes, "literary fiction, by its nature, allows itself to dawdle, to linger on stray beauties even at the risk of losing its way". Based on how literary fiction is defined, genre fiction may be
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#17328445114111276-407: Is the process by which an author or creator produces a fictional work. Some elements of the writing process may be planned in advance, while others may come about spontaneously. Fiction writers use different writing styles and have distinct writers' voices when writing fictional stories. The use of real events or real individuals as direct inspiration for imaginary events or imaginary individuals
1334-600: The Excalibur title, which frequently referred to Captain Britain's early UK-published adventures. This comic was written by Chris Claremont , who had created Captain Britain, and pencilled by Alan Davis, the artist on the UK-published series. Davis later had a run as both writer and artist on the book. Any Marvel comic book since Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 that is not explicitly designated an alternate universe or timeline
1392-515: The Captain Britain strip running in Marvel UK's The Daredevils , with artist Alan Davis. Moore and Davis devised additional members, including Legion, Fascination, Oxo and Lady Burning Fish, and the characters played a supporting role in the " Jaspers' Warp " storyline. The trilogy of Doctor Who Monthly strips were also reprinted in The Daredevils . In keeping with those stories, several of
1450-483: The House of M tie-in issues) and is in regular use by the writers of Marvel's Official Handbook s for the simplicity of the term. There has been at least one attempt within Marvel canon to change the designation of Earth-616. In the final story arc of X-Man (issues #71–74), writer Steven Grant began to refer to the planet as "Earth-611" due to the destruction of several other Earths (which were all apparently "higher on
1508-775: The alternate world Earth-239, which was caused by a version of Mad Jim Jaspers . The world was destroyed, including all evidence of Saturnyne's innocence. Captain Britain was enraged by the trial and found it a farce; he fought the Captain Britain Corps and the Special Executive, feeling responsible for him, helped the hero out. Together they freed Saturnyne and returned to Earth-616, home of Captain Britain. The team stayed with Captain Britain in Braddock Manor, but Zeitgeist disagreed with Wardog on this course of action; Wardog felt obligated to help Captain Britain, whose world
1566-422: The human condition . In general, it focuses on "introspective, in-depth character studies" of "interesting, complex and developed" characters. This contrasts with genre fiction where plot is the central concern. Usually in literary fiction the focus is on the "inner story" of the characters who drive the plot, with detailed motivations to elicit "emotional involvement" in the reader. The style of literary fiction
1624-521: The 18th and 19th centuries. They were often associated with Enlightenment ideas such as empiricism and agnosticism . Realism developed as a literary style at this time. New forms of mass media developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, including popular-fiction magazines and early film. Interactive fiction was developed in the late-20th century through video games. Certain basic elements define all works of narrative , including all works of narrative fiction. Namely, all narratives include
1682-462: The Fury escaped. With his team in ruins, Wardog apologised to Captain Britain and the Special Executive left Earth. Alan Moore wrote the Special Executive group similar to a superhero team. In a 1982 interview, Moore cited John Byrne's 1970s work on Uncanny X-Men as an inspiration. During a discussion with X-Men author Chris Claremont about the role of an artist in comics writing, Moore partly attributed
1740-625: The Special Executive, including Wardog, originate from a massive, unpublished, unfinished space opera script that he began in 1977. Moore shelved the project after Steve Moore offered guidance in selling shorter stories in the British comics industry. In 1981, the Special Executive debuted in Doctor Who Monthly . Moore would later bring them into the Marvel Universe during his work on Captain Britain for Marvel UK. The group first appeared in
1798-604: The audience's willing suspension of disbelief . The effects of experiencing fiction, and the way the audience is changed by the new information they discover, has been studied for centuries. Also, infinite fictional possibilities themselves signal the impossibility of fully knowing reality, provocatively demonstrating philosophical notions, such as there potentially being no criterion to measure constructs of reality. In contrast to fiction, creators of non-fiction assume responsibility for presenting information (and sometimes opinion) based only in historical and factual reality. Despite
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1856-415: The audience, including elements such as romance , piracy , and religious ceremonies . Heroic romance was developed in medieval Europe , incorporating elements associated with fantasy , including supernatural elements and chivalry . The structure of the modern novel was developed by Miguel de Cervantes with Don Quixote in the early-17th century. The novel became a primary medium of fiction in
1914-468: The characters were killed during the story. Following the conclusion of the storyline, Moore would leave Marvel UK on unhappy terms, and as a result he blocked any future use of the Special Executive. The team was subsequently reorganised into the similar Technet , which featured a mixture of the characters created by Davis (with some renamed and given different abilities) and new co-creations with Jamie Delano . Due to both being time-travelling bounty hunters
1972-581: The context of the real world. One realistic fiction sub-genre is historical fiction , centered around true major events and time periods in the past. The attempt to make stories feel faithful to reality or to more objectively describe details, and the 19th-century artistic movement that began to vigorously promote this approach, is called literary realism , which incorporates some works of both fiction and non-fiction. Storytelling has existed in all human cultures, and each culture incorporates different elements of truth and fiction into storytelling. Early fiction
2030-467: The early 1980s and can be attributed to both Dave Thorpe and Alan Moore . The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis published in July 1983 by Marvel UK in the seventh issue of the anthology comic The Daredevils (and was later reprinted in the Captain Britain trade paperback). Due to this, it is often credited to Moore, though Davis said in 2007 that
2088-442: The elements of character , conflict , narrative mode , plot , setting , and theme . Characters are individuals inside a work of story, conflicts are the tension or problem that drives characters' thoughts and actions, narrative modes are the ways in which a story is communicated, plots are the sequence of events in a story, settings are the story's locations in time and space, and themes are deeper messages or interpretations about
2146-474: The fictionality of a work is publicly expressed, so the audience expects the work to deviate to a greater or lesser degree from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood as not adhering to the real world, the themes and context of a work, such as if and how it relates to real-world issues or events, are open to interpretation . Since fiction
2204-567: The imperial period. Plasmatic narrative, following entirely invented characters and events, was developed through ancient drama and New Comedy . One common structure among early fiction is a series of strange and fantastic adventures as early writers test the limits of fiction writing. Milesian tales were an early example of fiction writing in Ancient Greece and Italy. As fiction writing developed in Ancient Greece, relatable characters and plausible scenarios were emphasized to better connect with
2262-441: The known physical universe: an independent fictional universe . The creative art of constructing such an imaginary world is known as worldbuilding . Literary critic James Wood argues that "fiction is both artifice and verisimilitude ", meaning that it requires both creative inventions as well as some acceptable degree of believability among its audience, a notion often encapsulated in the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's idea of
2320-593: The late 20th century to recruit the Technet, now known as the N-Men . Cobweb told the N-Men that Earth was about to be destroyed and Wardog offered the N-men a place on the team. The N-men accepted and left with the team. The Special Executive was hired to capture Captain Britain so that he could testify on Saturnyne 's behalf in a cosmic trial. Saturnyne was accused of causing the chaos on
2378-581: The list" of the Multiverse than the Marvel Earth) by a godlike entity. This change, an allusion to the events of DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths , was not adopted by other writers. Former Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort have each stated their dislike for the term Earth-616. I can tell you for sure that those of us actually working on the books virtually never use
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2436-508: The more the merrier. ... I'm a genre writer of a sort. I write literary fiction, which is like spy fiction or chick lit". Likewise, on The Charlie Rose Show , he argued that this term, when applied to his work, greatly limited him and his expectations of what might come of his writing, so he does not really like it. He suggested that all his works are literary, simply because "they are written in words". Literary fiction often involves social commentary , political criticism , or reflection on
2494-466: The most part. I think the term really came into vogue when the Ultimate Universe came into prominence, but in my world, the language and distinctions are simple, there is the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. Anything other than that reeks of all that DC Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth Prime stuff which I've never really taken to, but then again, I got into DC when they got rid of all that stuff so it
2552-493: The one hand, that the truth can be presented through imaginary channels and constructions, while, on the other hand, works of the imagination can just as well bring about significant new perspectives on, or conclusions about, truth and reality. All types of fiction invite their audience to explore real ideas, issues, or possibilities using an otherwise imaginary setting or using something similar to reality, though still distinct from it. The umbrella genre of speculative fiction
2610-502: The overlap in membership was used as a plot point, with their exploits being out-of-sequence for both the reader and the main protagonists of the Captain Britain and Excalibur stories. Centuries before the Technet was founded, there was the Special Executive, another group of time-traveling bounty hunters. Due to time travel though the Special Executive returned in time and tried to disband the Technet. The Special Executive at this time
2668-486: The scope of the team to artist Alan Davis. Before Moore began writing for Captain Britain , Davis had already done scripts and continued to have plotting input. Moore said they expanded the team to improve the artwork. [Alan Davis] liked the idea of bringing in the Special Executive and adding about six more members to them, and he liked the idea of having lots of characters around because it gave him new characters to design, new characters to draw. Fiction Fiction
2726-524: The story for The Daredevils , the Crooked World was designated Earth 238, and Earth 616 was used by Saturnyne to differentiate Brian Braddock, the Captain Britain of the regular Marvel Comics universe, from the other members of the Captain Britain Corps , each of which inhabit different universes. After its use in The Daredevils , the designation was later used by the American branch of Marvel Comics in
2784-541: The story that its audience is left to discuss and reflect upon. Traditionally, fiction includes novels, short stories, fables , legends , myths , fairy tales , epic and narrative poetry , plays (including operas , musicals , dramas, puppet plays , and various kinds of theatrical dances ). However, fiction may also encompass comic books , and many animated cartoons , stop motions , anime , manga , films , video games , radio programs , television programs ( comedies and dramas ), etc. The Internet has had
2842-448: The study of genre fiction has developed within academia in recent decades. The term is sometimes used such as to equate literary fiction to literature. The accuracy of this is debated. Neal Stephenson has suggested that, while any definition will be simplistic, there is today a general cultural difference between literary and genre fiction. On the one hand literary authors nowadays are frequently supported by patronage, with employment at
2900-415: The term had been internally established earlier by Thorpe, who was the previous writer for Captain Britain , as part of the "Captain Britain folklore". He said that it came from a variation on the number of the beast , picked because Thorpe disliked the modern superhero genre and expressed this in various ways in his stories, including recording his opinion of the Marvel Universe with the 616 designation. As
2958-404: The term—and I kind of wince inside whenever I hear somebody use it. It just sounds so stupid to my ear, and so counter to the kind of mindset we try to foster in regard to the stories we create and the thinking we try to employ. I never use it, I hate the term pure and simple and agree with Tom's assessment of it. I can't remember ever hearing it in the office and only really see it used online for
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#17328445114113016-492: The then ongoing Second World War in a way that presented fascist individuals as humorously irrational and pathetic. Many other villains take direct inspiration from real people while having fictional accents, appearances, backgrounds, names, and so on. Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse , Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. The designation "Earth-616" has its origins in Captain Britain comics from
3074-501: The time of the work's creation: Jules Verne 's novel From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, but only in 1969 did astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to land on the Moon. Historical fiction places imaginary characters into real historical events. In the 1814 historical novel Waverley , Sir Walter Scott 's fictional character Edward Waverley meets
3132-535: The traditional view that fiction and non-fiction are opposites, some works (particularly in the modern era) blur this boundary, particularly works that fall under certain experimental storytelling genres—including some postmodern fiction , autofiction , or creative nonfiction like non-fiction novels and docudramas —as well as the deliberate literary fraud of falsely marketing fiction as nonfiction. Furthermore, even most works of fiction usually have elements of, or grounding in, truth of some kind, or truth from
3190-465: Was closely associated with history and myth . Greek poets such as Homer , Hesiod , and Aesop developed fictional stories that were told first through oral storytelling and then in writing. Prose fiction was developed in Ancient Greece , influenced by the storytelling traditions of Asia and Egypt. Distinctly fictional work was not recognized as separate from historical or mythological stories until
3248-493: Was led by an unnamed humanoid and members included Cobweb, Zeitgeist, Legion and several unnamed members. Despite the warnings of Cobweb that his plans would fail, the leader hoped to kill the Technet's leader Gatecrasher and recruit the powerful Fascination 300 years before she would join the Special Executive. The plan failed, and the Special Executive retreated. At least a century later, the Special Executive's leader had died, and several members had been replaced. The new leader
3306-518: Was menaced by another Mad Jim Jaspers. However Zeitgeist felt that they were mercenaries and had no obligation to anybody. Shortly after, the Fury attacked the manor, as the Wardog led his group to attack the creature. Oxo and a future incarnation of Legion died in the battle, and Wardog himself was badly injured. In the end, it was Zeitgeist who blinded the Fury long enough for the group to retaliate against it, but
3364-609: Was named Wardog and they now worked for the Gallifreyans against the Order of the Black Sun. A member called Viridian the Brainfeeler was killed by the Order and Wardog lost his arm. Ten years later another member - Millennium - was mind-controlled by the Order against her team and Wardog was forced to kill her. Later, the Special Executive had recruited several members to its line-up, including Lady Burning Fish and Oxo, and went to Earth-616 in
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