2023-05-02 By Yue Shang Xintou
"Hey, kid, hand over everything valuable you've got!"
In the comic, Superman received a 'warm' welcome as soon as he arrived in Gotham City.
A gun-wielding robber stopped him, stealing his camera and everything of value he had on him.
"What a chaotic city, just like the real New York."
Watching Superman's encounter in the comic, Little John couldn't help but sigh.
New York's crime rate had always been high, especially after the Great Depression. The Economic Recession had driven even more people to the desperate path of crime. Some homeless people with no way out even committed crimes just to get thrown in prison.
Because there, they could find walls to block the wind, food to fill their stomachs, and even brand-new clothes prepared for them.
Of course, in real life, most people could only swallow their anger when faced with a robber.
However, the Superman in the comic clearly didn't have to.
Soon, after being robbed, Clark changed into his costume, transformed into the omnipotent Superman, and caught the criminal who had robbed him.
Robber: "Who are you?"
Superman: "Superman!"
Standing his ground, Superman let the robber empty his gun before appearing in front of him in a flash.
Superman: "Do you know about the Mysterious Man who has appeared in Gotham City?"
Robber: "I don't know what you're talking about."
The robber was completely uncooperative with Superman's questioning. Seeing this, Superman grabbed his arm.
Superman: "Quite the tight-lipped one, aren't you! Let's see if you'll talk now!"
Robber: "Let go of my hand!"
The robber struggled and shouted as Superman gripped his arm.
Superman: "No problem. I can grab your leg instead."
At this, Superman 'understandingly' let go of the man's arm, grabbed his leg instead, and with a single leap, landed on a telephone line.
Seeing Superman walking on the wire while holding him, the robber screamed in terror.
Robber: "Stop! Stop! We're going to be electrocuted!"
Superman: "No, we won't!"
Superman: "Even little birds sitting on telephone lines don't get electrocuted."
Holding the robber, Superman walked along the telephone poles of Gotham City with a relaxed air, while the robber was already scared out of his wits.
Superman: "What's that, Wayne Enterprises? Let's go take a closer look."
Still holding the robber with one hand, Superman arrived in front of a tall building and, with a light leap, flew to the rooftop of Wayne Tower.
Superman: "What a great view!"
Robber: "Help! Help!"
Standing atop Wayne Tower, the tallest building in Gotham City, Superman gazed down at the city's nightscape and sighed in admiration. Then, he pointed to a tall building opposite them and asked the robber in his hand.
Superman: "I'm wondering if we can jump all the way over to that building."
Robber: "No! Don't!"
The robber protested frantically against Superman's proposal, but Superman paid him no mind and leaped anyway. In an instant, the night swallowed both their figures.
Superman: "Whoops, my mistake. Damn it!"
Then, in the final panel of the comic, only Superman's seemingly annoyed cry appeared.
"What happens next?!"
Watching this scene, Little John held his breath and flipped through the pages in his hands. But what appeared before him was the story about the Prankster King that he had already seen.
Seeing this, Little John couldn't help but blurt out.
"What happened to Superman and that robber? And who is the Mysterious Man in Gotham City?"
Countless questions swirled in Little John's mind, but the comic before him offered no answers.
"You'll have to ask Mr. Colin about what's next."
Jacob snatched the Comic Manuscript from Little John's hands and began to smooth out the creases as he spoke.
Colin had given him these manuscripts before he left. If Little John wanted to know the rest of the story, he would just have to wait for him to return.
"But..."
Faced with Jacob's explanation, Little John knew he was right, but as he stared at the comic in his hands, an indescribable feeling welled up inside him. The story of Superman had reached a critical turning point, only to stop right there. It was an unbearable, gnawing feeling, as if a hundred claws were scratching at his heart.
That night, Little John tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his mind consumed by the comic's plot.
The next day, which was Saturday morning, the long-suffering readers...
...finally saw the latest installment of the Superman Serialized Story in The Messenger Newspaper.
Unlike Little John, who had already gotten a sneak peek at the next part of the story.
What the readers saw in the newspaper was merely the content of the previous issue—the story of the Prankster King's debut.
Therefore, they were still a week away from experiencing the same sleepless torment as Little John.
Even so, when readers saw the part of the serial where the Prankster King tricked his way into obtaining the English Usage Rights and levied a tax on everyone who spoke English, they all gasped in amazement. They were shocked by the Prankster King's wild and imaginative crime.
Then, they began to worry whether such a method truly existed in reality, allowing someone to deceitfully acquire the rights to the English language.
At first, this was just a concern among the comic's readers.
But soon, as The Messenger Newspaper's Distribution continued, more people who saw this issue began to have the same thought. As the story spread, it became more and more exaggerated, until it eventually morphed into a rumor that "due to financial difficulties, Hoover has signed a new bill to levy a tax on all English speakers."
The emergence of this rumor plunged New York City and the surrounding areas into a panic. A report on a Radio Program that evening escalated the matter into a national event, and media outlets across the country began to report on the news. For a time, public outrage at Hoover and anxiety over the impending tax filled the pages of every newspaper the next day.
Tens of thousands of complaint letters flooded the mailboxes of New York City. Panicked citizens began to gather, planning to stage a Protest in front of the City Government to object to the decision on the English Tax.
...
"...At that time, many people believed the story in the comic, thinking the government was planning to levy an English Tax on its citizens. A crowd of over a thousand people started a protest in front of the New York City Government Building. The incident only subsided after the Mayor came out and denied the fact. This was a situation none of us had anticipated. It was from that moment that we truly realized Superman had become a well-known Cultural Icon. The Superman comic became even more popular after this incident. Everyone wanted to see what the guy who caused a nationwide panic actually looked like..." —Excerpt from *1931 Superman and Me*
Author: John Walker
(end of chapter)