The Death Knell

While Captain America was on the front page of newspapers, the bombings that occurred in New York last night were only mentioned in the cracks of the newspapers, like advertisements for detective agencies and house rentals.

In order to prevent people from thinking it was a German bombing and causing panic, a hush-hush order was issued from above, saying that there was a methane explosion in the sewers under the street.

But Dr. Holloway didn't think so. When he drove to the scene, he saw with his own eyes a human-shaped fireball flying away from the sky.

Some people in the city didn't think so either, and some of them even knew more than the doctor.

But they all saw the same Captain America on the front page of the newspaper. He wore a blue helmet with an 'a' on it, covered his face, and appeared openly in front of everyone.

The government's original intention was to have the masked image of Captain America refer to tens of millions of U.S. soldiers, inspiring their fighting spirit, selling more war bonds, or fighting bravely on the battlefield.

A masked person with no specific image is perfect, becoming a spiritual totem and a vase ornament.

But all this, in the eyes of caring people, has gone in another direction.

The appearance of Captain America reminds them how they can do what they want to do without revealing their identities.

So almost the same night the newspaper was published, a large number of masked people appeared in New York.

Wearing homemade uniforms and crude masks, they went about their business.

Maybe they are punishing evil and promoting good, maybe they are doing bad things in a dark way, but they are wearing masks, who knows who they are?

Few of these people have superpowers. Dr. Holloway is already the best among these people with his fighting skills and detective talent.

Now codenamed 'Avenging Angel', he fights crime in the city day or night. Although it requires him to constantly travel between sanatoriums and secret bases, he likes this kind of life.

At this time, society's attitude towards masked people was very subtle.

The home front during the war was very depressing, and people could only get limited news at home, or obituaries from the front.

The appearance of these masked people provides New Yorkers with the best topic to talk about and allows them to escape reality.

It's like leaving the war and temporarily hiding in a world full of romanticism.

The masked people all have their own code names, some are good guys, some are bad guys, here black and white are clear, everything is so simple.

It has to be said that these first batch of villains and heroes are very immature, do not have super powers, and even appear to be very honest when facing the media.

For example, a man wearing a purple pointed hood openly told reporters that he planned to conduct a cult ritual in the sewer near the dock. He was very, very evil. He couldn't explain the evil method himself, but He specifically emphasized to reporters that he is a very, very bad villain.

Once the ritual is successful, he may turn all New Yorkers into frogs.

Newspapers published the interview, and New Yorkers prayed for a hero to stop this evil plan.

The answer is of course - yes, these newly emerged heroes were at their most energetic. They rushed to various docks one after another. Someone found the purple hood, beat him up and threw him in front of the police station.

What's the final result?

The police released the Purple Hood. After all, there is no law that makes it illegal to boil frogs in a large pot in the sewer.

His 'evil' ritual was just a prank, so the bored rich boy ended up paying a bail because he just wanted to participate in this crazy masked party.

It was all a carnival, like a stage play, he just played a bad guy, and he wanted to try being a good guy next time.

But the newspaper bosses don't like this result. It's too realistic and real, which is not conducive to newspaper sales. What New York citizens are looking forward to is a battle between good and evil, a fierce process and an exciting result!

It’s not the people who create the era, it’s the era that creates the people!

At this time, it's time for their editors to appear...

So when the newspaper was delivered to the newsstand the next day, the story with the scent of ink had changed and turned into a fantasy novel.

What a fierce battle, from the sewers of New York into the Atlantic Ocean, from the Atlantic Ocean to Mars, and back to the earth and through the center of the earth. In the end, the hero defeated the evil magician on the Red Square of the Bear, and by the way, he did it in front of the bearded man. Showing off his power, he trembled and said, "Americans are so awesome."

That's right. The people were very satisfied with the newspaper's answer, and at the same time sneered at the police station's announcement.

People only believe what they want to believe. They think the government is covering up the truth and only newspapers tell the truth.

During this period, the Daily Bugle, which was originally just a tabloid, saw its subscription numbers increase steadily and its business take off because of the strong writing skills of its editors and the most popular stories.

People also stared at the newspapers every day, looking forward to the emergence of new villains or heroes.

And this has also led to more and more masked people.

When people find that the new 'actors' are not enough, or no one can meet their expectations anyway, they will put on masks and ill-fitting uniforms to do things they did not dare to do before.

Almost all newspapers say that this is an era of heroes, and anyone can become a hero.

.............

Su Ming has been collecting intelligence these days, and watching the news by the way, the recent newspaper story is really a good show.

If what the Daily Bugle writes is true, then ten Thanos who have collected all the Infinity Stones are no match for this 'Mouse Man'.

But in this black and white photo, the man wearing tattered furs, dirty body, and wearing a helmet with a large mouse head is the Mouse Man? Are you sure he's not a villain?

He really has a bit of a sly look on his face...

Moreover, all the good codenames have been snatched up by the pioneers, and the heroes who have recently debuted can only use cockroach or flea as their codenames.

Bug Man, Body Odor Man, Snot Man...these names made Su Ming laugh from ear to ear every day.

At this time, Steve had already embarked on a journey around the United States with a large number of products from Wilson Enterprises.

Every time he followed a large group of showgirls, went on stage to read the lines on the back of his shield, and then pretended to beat up the actor dressed as Hitler, he received a lot of applause.

Facing the excited crowd and colorful lights, Steve felt like he was in a dream.

Then those girls would begin to introduce the products of Wilson Enterprises intentionally or unintentionally. Steve only had to wear Captain America's uniform in the back and show two thumbs up with a smile.

instant noodles? good!

Easy stew? good!

Powerful drink? good!

Nylon stockings? good! Wait, I don’t know about stockings, I haven’t worn them!

...........

Vodka and Senator Brandt looked at each other off the stage and smiled. They liked the win-win result.

Steve was quite satisfied with this arrangement. After all, this was considered a contribution to the country. There was nothing wrong with selling the war bonds and using the money to buy weapons to end the war.

Besides, there have never been so many fans coming to him for autographs before.

But who can say for sure what will happen in the future? He has only performed ten performances in places such as New York and Washington, and there are at least 400 more similar performances planned in the future.

So far, everything looks good, but deep in the ocean, a young man with a receding hairline doesn't think so.