For those of us who seem to thrive in such analyses, the fate of the world, in all its natural unfoldings, has presented humanity with an extraordinary display of social paradoxes and moral ambiguities that up til now have been seen with a blind eye or from an indifferent standpoint. Call it what you want, Ragnarok, Armageddon, but the clash of opposites is true in a domestic sense as well as a broader, global one. But the sad and unfortunate reality is, we cannot have peace in the world without war. It’s an age-old irony, the matter of course, that is. We fear war yet we live within one everyday of our lives.

Currently, there isn’t a country on the planet that isn’t experiencing a form of struggle, whether it be with neighbors or internal forces. We war with others to ultimately stop war. In fact, governments invest astronomical amounts of capital in the development of super-weapons or staged conflicts in order to bring ever-lasting peace and prosperity to their people. But such projects siphon our economies of funds needed towards the necessary requirements, such as maintaining a civilized society. This economic stagnation evidently creates unkempt cities soiled over in depression where only crime blossoms. And soon our concern with national security blinds us from the personal security needed to stop our friends from being mugged and our daughters from being raped. The places we try to keep safe only reek more of danger.

Are these hints of Armageddon?

It’s quite possible that the majorities of the world are indifferent towards religious prophesies of apocalyptic outcomes because as much as they believe in the fatalistic words of religious text, they have faith in an almighty power. It’s no lie that so many people pray to a higher being for salvation, it’s no coincidence that so many religious sermons mention the struggles between good and evil. It’s an intrinsic part of human nature. While out in the real world there is serious strife, we place our hopes in dreams and fancies -- we all do. Such faith may be as minute as mending the severed ties of a sour friendship, but it’s nevertheless foreseeing the betterment of a tomorrow. Everyone has faith in improving the world. Governments not only devise weapons, but they also mask strife with talented spin-doctoring or candy-coated terminologies, hoping to turn monstrous worries into petty diffidence. They title soldiers as peace-keepers or freedom-fighters and tag police as peace officers. It almost helps us forget what they do, that they’re part of the archetypal pattern, the Great War.

Granted, I used to consider myself the agnostic. I used to consider myself so secular that the Armageddon was a superstition, a faerie’s tale. The only great clash between two opposing forces I ever paid notice to was the Superbowl. To submissively accept that the world was going to end from the divine clash between good and evil was downright ludicrous. And to say that such a fate is eminent because some silly bible says it’s so was borderline insane. I ignored such claims, and laughed to myself at the sheer stupidity of it. Surely such believers read the farmer’s almanac or the tabloid newspapers as well, I would tell to myself. But my views have changed considerably since those days. When I first noticed that the gods walked amongst us, I saw everything in a new light.

Today we live in a world where beings of great power roam the cities, figures in garish outfits fly through the skies and mingle with common civilians. I’m not entirely sure when the proliferation of metahumanity first broke out of the veils of mankind’s corporeal veils, revealing their might and grandeur, but today one cannot go far without seeing one of these gaudy gods. Our societies have had to conform to the presence of individuals that are more than human, and we’ve witnessed the results of this. The facts are around us, in our daily lives and expressed through the mediums of the press. But while these beings surpass the normality of humanity, they’re still part of the natural order of things. They represent an extension of fate’s ritualistic battle between hero and villain, the archetypal conflict between good and evil. War is a phenomenon that we must live with, but there is more to it than fellow humans fighting fellow humans.

Just last week, what was believed to be a female jogger single-handedly stopped a gang from mugging an elderly woman. The gang-bangers didn't even see the blonde runner coming -- she was a blinding flurry of strikes. The armed hoodlums were armless in just a heartbeat, and were left unconscious for the authorities. If you see a young lady in a sprinter's bodysuit and racing glasses, you may have just seen Blur. But chances are you won't get another look for she's likely on her way to stop a crime in progress. Like some descendant of Hermes, she’s able to move her body at hyper-speeds. This youngster obviously gave herself a pseudonym that best describes herself in action. Blur is a newcomer to the crimefighting scene teenager has a penchant for upholding goodness. Her brand of heroism is fresh, full of tenacity and high in octane. She is one of many metahumans in the pantheon of good.

But if there is a pantheon of good, there has to be a pantheon of evil as well. One villain that surely comes from these ranks is Mastiff. The mad-man is a freak of nature that personifies everything brutal. Standing a stocky 6½ feet tall with thick, dark body hair, he appears like a human beast. It's no wonder he calls himself Mastiff. Just recently the powerful man challenged an armored car on 4^th Avenue in Manhattan and forced it to stop. He boarded the vehicle by ripping one its plated doors off with his bare hands. Minutes later, he ran from the scene with several bags of money, leaving behind him three dead guards and a ravaged truck. What is truly frightening about this individual is that he isn’t a being of reduced intelligence; he isn’t some sort of humanoid animal. Mastiff actually possesses a mind, a mind that is easily provoked and that obviously loves the macabre. He is only one of many villainous forces to be reckoned with.

Are these signs of Armageddon?

The gods roam our home and native lands, affecting the lives of every man, woman and child in a direct way rather than through mythology and the reassurances of religious faith. The safety of the human race rests in the hands of beings far greater than what we consider the pinnacles of human accomplishment. They have the power and potential to stop humanity from killing itself. But dark times are indeed coming. While we continue to war with ourselves, the metahumans join in on the Great War. In our near future, the gods will collide with one another. A cynical legion of deified vigilantes who have perverted their abilities and forsworn their responsibilities wage war with villainous deities, fighting each other with reckless abandon. The metahumans will erupt, unleashing a devastating cataclysm upon the Earth. They are the messengers of fate.

Armageddon is coming.