Superheroes are elements of a new mythology, a modern projection of the world's mysteries that neither science, religion nor common sense can explain. In their Golden Age, this absurdly powerful lot was mainly dedicated to solving the inequities of real life. The first things Superman did were to stop a wrongful execution, teach a wife beater a lesson and thwart a kidnapping. Batman's initial acts were capturing two murderers and preventing another. Whether they were busting fraud or bedeviling thieves, they were answering the call for real-life situations demanding the kind of truth and justice rarely seen in the real world. With these icons nearly a century old, things have grown fantastical and largely detached from real world concerns. With supervillains matching their powers, superhero stories typically devolve into slug fests devoid of topical content that's relevant to contemporary life. But resorting to ongoing grudge matches between super people underestimates the true complexity of superheroing in the ordinary world. Even a "super" man is only one man. And even the richest vigilante can only do so much in a costume with gadgets. In this story I explore the alternate reality of a superhuman whose first public appearance was in 1938, and of a millionaire orphan who reaches maturity in 1939 to avenge the murder of his parents. I bring everything closer to home, keeping their adventures intertwined with historic events - including bizarre moments that are real despite seeming made up, like the KKK's 1948 Christmas attempt at good will. Readers may be surprised as they go along to google the stranger things for reality verification. For example: the 1947 creation of S.H.A.P.E. - the inspiration for Marvel's fictional S.H.I.E.L.D. In my desire to explore the past comprehensively, I found it helpful to make my superman black. Full disclosure, I am the product of a white mother and a black father, so I know what I'm writing about. I grew up in one of America's whitest cities and forged a career in its blackest. How would the world deal with a black superman? How would that black superman respond to Jim Crow America? As for vigilante millionaires, they have a lot to lose. Is keeping a secret identity as easy as keeping your activities secret? How would a rich vigilante actually apply his fortune in the quest for vengeance and justice? Will you keep sparing the insane homicidal maniacs you encounter, or will you make sure there are no more victims - ever? These "heroes" grow and age with their times, dealing with the same real-life villains and mysteries we all encounter - from then to now. And when they die - they're gone. But hope lives on in this generational adventure that visits history through the eyes of extraordinary participants.
