Hermit
Nov 9th, '03, 10:18 AM
Too Many Heroes?
November 9, 2003
By Dallas Kingsly
Eat your heart out New York. With no less than four confirmed super hero teams, the Big Apple has been long considered the dominant city when it comes to super hero population. Chicago and San Francisco have been the long term contenders, but suddenly there's a new kid in town gaining fast. The latest public reports released from the Department of Superhuman and Paranormal Affairs indicate that Millennium City may soon take top spot in sheer number of super heroes even if not organized teams.
The Champions first come to mind when most think of the City of the Future. They've been here pretty much since the name change, and let's face it, have already been through more in their first few years than some teams have been through in a decade. With such high profile heroes as Sapphire among their ranks, they never fail to get noticed. To their credit, they're good neighbors, seeming ready and eager to comply with the city's wishes and help out any chance they get. Oh sure, there are complaints about Ironclad leaving dents in the pavement, but already his contributions have made up for that in most folks opinions.
Nor are the Champions alone. Numerous solo heroes have always been here. Something of the spirit of old Detroit makes for rugged hard workers even among our costumed population. You won't catch the likes of Kinetik slouching, and even the corporate hero Binary, or the immensely comercial (but still popular) Cavalier take time to help the "little guys" out daily it seems. Some theorize that for every hero we see publically, there's one working in the shadows to protect us. That is an annoying thought for reporters like me who would love to scoop any crime fighters, but likely a comforting one for most walking alone at night.
Now the MC-8, who were mostly among those 'solo heroes' have pretty much taken the niche of 'Non-team team' , gathering at least twice on record to save the day. With Steadfast's charity causes, and Commando Rubberbando's participation in civil rights marches; it's pretty clear they aren't fading from the limelight any time soon either. Just how organized that group will eventually get is unknown, but already there are rumors that different companies are hoping to be the first to publish an "MC-8" comic book.
Not bad for a city beaten down in 92' and reforged anew only recently in the last decade or so, eh? It makes a Lennie proud.
Of course, after the initial "We rock" moment, a Lennie also has to pause and think to himself, Is this a GOOD thing?
When the latest 50 foot tall menace is testing our archetictural structures in its rampage, and neo-godlings in spandex hurl their own equivilents of thunderbolts at it in an effort to stop said menace- well, it's the common working joe (and jane) who has to deal with the fall out. What's more, heroes and villains seem to attract each other. In fact, another theory is villains actually out number the heroes on a scale of 3 to 2. Reasons vary from the sociological to the metaphysical, and I won't get into them here. The point is, somedays it seems you can't look up in this town without getting a glimpse of a costumed savior or neer do well.
Property damage moments are rarer than you'd think, thanks chiefly to a tendency by some super heroes to "take it outside" (or to a clearer area), but it can still add up. If not for the caps on "Super human" insurance in this town, one shudders to think where the rates would be. In the last year alone, over 23 injuries and one death could be attributed to falling debris and other fall out. This has caused some officials and special interest groups to demand greater restrictions and accountability for super humans in Millennium City, but dissenters point out that many of these people were the ones pursuing the super battles to "get a closer look", despite the obvious danger. Besides, they continue, many superheroes choose not to comply with the registration act, so how could anyone possibly enforce more restrictions without driving away our best defense against the villains?
Mayor Biselle, when asked about super heroes, particularly the ones who do not register, had this to say, "Like many, I have my doubts... and I will give the benifet of that doubt to these well known mysterymen and women until they have proven to no longer be a benifet themselves."
The city council may not agree with him. Already proposals and counter proposals are being brought to the table to vote on, regarding how much leeway should be granted to our staunch defenders in their zeal to defend us. Now's the time for every Lennie to make his or her voice known on these issues.
For myself, well, I think Super Humans are the Millennium City equivilent of L.A. earthquakes. They're dangerous, they're powerful, and you never know when they're going to hit. They're also a fact of life. Tieing the hands of super heroes will do nothing to restrict or hold back the villains they oppose. Pouring more tax dollars into enforcement of such isn't going to help do anything but drive some of our protectors away. Perhaps council member Lena Schroeder's proposal to set up a Superbattle aid and relief program would be a more productive and less antagonistic use of those funds.
As annoying as they can be sometimes, as frightening as they sometimes seem, and despite the fact we tell dirty jokes about them around the water cooler; the super heroes of Millennium City have given their support to us again and again. I think it's time we returned the favor.
November 9, 2003
By Dallas Kingsly
Eat your heart out New York. With no less than four confirmed super hero teams, the Big Apple has been long considered the dominant city when it comes to super hero population. Chicago and San Francisco have been the long term contenders, but suddenly there's a new kid in town gaining fast. The latest public reports released from the Department of Superhuman and Paranormal Affairs indicate that Millennium City may soon take top spot in sheer number of super heroes even if not organized teams.
The Champions first come to mind when most think of the City of the Future. They've been here pretty much since the name change, and let's face it, have already been through more in their first few years than some teams have been through in a decade. With such high profile heroes as Sapphire among their ranks, they never fail to get noticed. To their credit, they're good neighbors, seeming ready and eager to comply with the city's wishes and help out any chance they get. Oh sure, there are complaints about Ironclad leaving dents in the pavement, but already his contributions have made up for that in most folks opinions.
Nor are the Champions alone. Numerous solo heroes have always been here. Something of the spirit of old Detroit makes for rugged hard workers even among our costumed population. You won't catch the likes of Kinetik slouching, and even the corporate hero Binary, or the immensely comercial (but still popular) Cavalier take time to help the "little guys" out daily it seems. Some theorize that for every hero we see publically, there's one working in the shadows to protect us. That is an annoying thought for reporters like me who would love to scoop any crime fighters, but likely a comforting one for most walking alone at night.
Now the MC-8, who were mostly among those 'solo heroes' have pretty much taken the niche of 'Non-team team' , gathering at least twice on record to save the day. With Steadfast's charity causes, and Commando Rubberbando's participation in civil rights marches; it's pretty clear they aren't fading from the limelight any time soon either. Just how organized that group will eventually get is unknown, but already there are rumors that different companies are hoping to be the first to publish an "MC-8" comic book.
Not bad for a city beaten down in 92' and reforged anew only recently in the last decade or so, eh? It makes a Lennie proud.
Of course, after the initial "We rock" moment, a Lennie also has to pause and think to himself, Is this a GOOD thing?
When the latest 50 foot tall menace is testing our archetictural structures in its rampage, and neo-godlings in spandex hurl their own equivilents of thunderbolts at it in an effort to stop said menace- well, it's the common working joe (and jane) who has to deal with the fall out. What's more, heroes and villains seem to attract each other. In fact, another theory is villains actually out number the heroes on a scale of 3 to 2. Reasons vary from the sociological to the metaphysical, and I won't get into them here. The point is, somedays it seems you can't look up in this town without getting a glimpse of a costumed savior or neer do well.
Property damage moments are rarer than you'd think, thanks chiefly to a tendency by some super heroes to "take it outside" (or to a clearer area), but it can still add up. If not for the caps on "Super human" insurance in this town, one shudders to think where the rates would be. In the last year alone, over 23 injuries and one death could be attributed to falling debris and other fall out. This has caused some officials and special interest groups to demand greater restrictions and accountability for super humans in Millennium City, but dissenters point out that many of these people were the ones pursuing the super battles to "get a closer look", despite the obvious danger. Besides, they continue, many superheroes choose not to comply with the registration act, so how could anyone possibly enforce more restrictions without driving away our best defense against the villains?
Mayor Biselle, when asked about super heroes, particularly the ones who do not register, had this to say, "Like many, I have my doubts... and I will give the benifet of that doubt to these well known mysterymen and women until they have proven to no longer be a benifet themselves."
The city council may not agree with him. Already proposals and counter proposals are being brought to the table to vote on, regarding how much leeway should be granted to our staunch defenders in their zeal to defend us. Now's the time for every Lennie to make his or her voice known on these issues.
For myself, well, I think Super Humans are the Millennium City equivilent of L.A. earthquakes. They're dangerous, they're powerful, and you never know when they're going to hit. They're also a fact of life. Tieing the hands of super heroes will do nothing to restrict or hold back the villains they oppose. Pouring more tax dollars into enforcement of such isn't going to help do anything but drive some of our protectors away. Perhaps council member Lena Schroeder's proposal to set up a Superbattle aid and relief program would be a more productive and less antagonistic use of those funds.
As annoying as they can be sometimes, as frightening as they sometimes seem, and despite the fact we tell dirty jokes about them around the water cooler; the super heroes of Millennium City have given their support to us again and again. I think it's time we returned the favor.