As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm thinking of starting a Dieselpunk superhero game.  I know what the end result looks like:

1940's or 50's timeline.
Nazis and Hitler are still a thing.
Advanced tech gleaned from a crashed alien spacecraft.  Think lots of zeppelins and advanced aircraft, military battlesuits and such.
Lots of gritty, noir elements.
PC's are tough, two-fisted crime fighters
Lovecraft elements.

So that's the aesthetics.  Maybe you folks can help me flesh out the fine details?  Such as...

Who are the main movers and shakers of this world?
How are costumed crime fighters viewed?
Important NPC's and organizations

Fleshing out the fine details has always been my Achilles heel, so I thought - maybe try marshaling the rp community?

First thing that comes to my mind is the Allies efforts to counteract the growing celebrity of the Nazi "Ubermensch", set on a pedestal by Goebbels, Riefenstahl, etc.

These would be the Axis equivalent of Captain America types, in the field, causing havoc in a way that boosts moral and recruitment while terrorizing the Allied forces. Rumors of Alien tech, ancient secrets and and hybrids or DNA manipulation abound of course.

Cue the Allied efforts to compete, hence the costumes, public followings, media coverage, etc. The Allied forces don't just need more talented figures for the cause, they need heros that can restore some hope to a worried and anxious public.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:00, Sun 27 June 2021.

In reply to Anachronist (msg # 2):

Indeed - that's not a bad way to justify the emergence of costumed crime fighters.  For my own personal campaign, I need to decide if the man/organization behind the PC team is the government or a private institution.

Watching Hunters on Amazon last year, I feel as if I want to create a version of Al Pacino's character as the backer if the team

I think a lot is going to depend on your level of seriousness. If this were Cyberpunk, this would be the Black Trenchcoat vs Pink Mohawk crowd.

Same basic premise, very different writing styles.

We're you looking for catch phrases, characters plowing through crowds of of faceless mooks in feld grau, and explosions?

Or is this a world where the Axis powers are clearly winning, where the Allied populations are losing hope, and where your characters tragic death is a real possibility?

I'm not planning on applying, my plate is already full, just throwing ideas out there for your pitch and system.

In reply to Anachronist (msg # 2):

Even with the Nazis surviving, odds are this is going to be a three cornered cold war with Axis, Comintern and the West as the sides and with Japan hopping between Axis and the West while China hops between Comintern and the West and some minor states like Finland, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Turkey, play off against all three sides to try to find ways to survive.

It follows from that the interesting places to play are Helsinki, Vienna, Istanbul or Belgrade.