The People's Paradise of Africa is a nation in the heart of Africa bordering Niger, Chad, and the Caliphate of Arabia to the north, Kenya and Tanzania to the east, Zambia and Angola to the south. The capital city is Kongoville (formerly known as Kinshasa) on the Congo river.
History[]
The People's Paradise of Africa formed in the early 21st century after Dr. Kitengi Nshombo made an alliance with Tom Weathers and started conquering land in the middle of Africa. Dr. Nshombo sought to control an African state, and with his power-hungry sister Alicia at his side and Weathers as his primary enforcer they quickly became a dominant force in Africa, soon transforming an impoverished African people into a rapidly growing economy.
Consolidating their power base, the Nshombos built a force of elite soldiers called the Leopard Society. These soldiers were instrumental in capturing and holding new territory, and their expansionist movements soon saw the PPA marked as a threat to various other groups with interests in the region. Open hostilities between the PPA and the Caliphate saw many innocent lives lost in the conflict, which in turn drew the attention of the United Nations' Committee on Extraordinary Interventions. The Order of the Silver Helix also took opportunities to interfere with PPA troop movements, going so far as to obliterate an army division.
Another phase in the Nshombo's quest for power was to build a force of aces loyal to the PPA. To this end Alicia had scientists cultivate the wild card virus, which was then distributed to facilities scattered throughout the region. Children in conquered lands were taken to these labs and injected with the wild card. Those who drew the black queen were promptly buried, but deuces, or useless jokers were also exterminated and dumped with the bodies of the children that had already died.
With mounting evidence of atrocities being committed by the PPA, and the Radical's increasingly volatile actions, several members of the Committee took action in unsanctioned trips to the African state. Wally "Rustbelt" Gunderson and Jerusha "Gardener" Carter uncovered one of the wild card labs at Nyunzu, and Wally made the decision to continue on alone to stop the project entirely. Bubbles, with Hoodoo Mama, went to Kisengani in search of a girl who had haunted Michelle's dreams, and found more dead children there.
While these discoveries were being made, Noel Matthews, formerly of the Silver Helix, took a personal interest in the Radical, and hatched a plan to destroy the PPA power structure from within. His machinations caused the Radical to murder the President-for-Life, and then Noel sought out the Committee to gain help in dealing with Weathers.
The leadership of the PPA crumbled entirely when Alicia Nshombo confronted Bubbles and forced her to kill one of the child aces. Nshombo followed with an attack of her own, and was immediately cut down by the American's power as well. The passing of Alicia Nshombo saw the Leopard Men all lose the transformation power that she had bestowed upon them, and when the Radical fell to the combined efforts of the Committee aces and their allies, the rest of the PPA's military power broke. The remaining allies of the PPA also withdrew their support, leaving the People's Paradise in precarious position facing a number of hostile nations on many fronts.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume XIX: Busted Flush
- Wild Cards Volume XX: Suicide Kings