The sci-fi classic "Armageddon 2419 A.D.", written in 1928 by Philip Francis Nowlan and published in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories, centers on Anthony Rogers (Buck Rogers' original name), who, after he investigates a mysterious gas leak in an abandoned coal mine and gets trapped in a cave-in, falls into suspended animation for nearly 500 years (492, to be exact). He then awakens in 2419, where a "futuristic" Civil War is now being waged between what’s left of the United States and futuristic Soviets and Mongolians.

Armageddon 2419 A.D. was a bit of a prescient novel for the time. It predicted things like ray guns, drones, cell phones, night-vision goggles and even (in later stories) jetpacks. As Buck Rogers, Anthony Rogers became highly popular in the comics pages of the newspapers of the time. It later became an equally popular film serial, a radio program and a 1979 NBC series (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) starring Gil Gerard in the titular role that ran for only two seasons.