Praetorian Universe
The Praetorian Universe is the designation for the Praetorian version of Paragon City.
Here Marcus Cole rules as emperor over the world, for what little there is of it.
The Portal Corporation designates this universe as Upsilon Beta 9-6.
Universe History
Much of the Praetorian Universe history has not been discovered, so it is not known how much of it is similar to the main "Primal" universe prior to the 1950's, but there are a few distinctions:
- In this universe, only Marcus Cole returned from the Well of the Furies. His friend Stefan Ricter was reportedly killed and would not become that universe's equivalent to Lord Recluse.
- There is also no word as to whether Cole would call himself "Statesman" when he returns to Paragon City, or if he chose another codename. Some have speculated that he called himself "The Praetorian", which would explain the use of Roman references and the remaking of his subordinates as "Praetors".
Another distinct difference is that General MacArthur was allowed to use nuclear weapons against North Korea and China in the 1950's, which almost killed Marcus Cole. The removal of Cole from the world arena also hastened the advance of the Devouring Earth, which ended up destroying much of this world instead of the Rikti.
It is said that the Rikti did try to invade the Praetorian Universe, but that the world was so devastated at this point that they saw no need to do anything more. They quickly left. The Praetorians then claimed that they "easily defeated" the Rikti.
Praetoria
(See also Praetoria.)
Praetoria is considered to be the shining jewel of the Empire. Built after the Hamidon Wars and the failed Rikti incursion, the best and the brightest from around the world were gathered here to survive, leaving the rest of the world to fend for themselves.
Based on Emperor Cole's vision of how society should be, Praetoria established itself as a meritocracy, with his own lieutenants serving as Praetors in charge of various functions for the city-state.
Other References
The Freedom Phalanx vistied the Praetorian Universe in Issue 16 of the Top Cow Comics incarnation of the "City of Heroes" series. There the team ended up in a devastated version of Atlas Park. There was no mention of Praetoria, which only suggests that it was either not completed at the time or that the Phalanx had no idea that it existed given their past history with their counterparts.
The Praetorian Universe was also highlighted in "The Guardian Powers" #12-14 and "Tales from Paragon City" #2.
