“I’m Superman?”
Clark took the uniform with both hands, like an athlete who was holding a heavy championship trophy. His face was full of excitement.
Like a child praised by a teacher, he felt happy and at the same time at a loss.
For Clark, this wasn’t only a uniform to wear but also a symbol of recognition and honour.
‘Superman!’
‘Isn’t that what his Dad said? Some kind of symbol?’
“Do you think I have time to fly around and deal with endless crimes?”
Luke shrugged his shoulders and went back to his dark red cloak and metal armour.
His guest appearance as Superman was originally intended to divert the public’s attention, provide an internship job for his cousin, and promote the formation of the Justice League in advance.
Under his own name, Vought Enterprise would also make follow-up preparations for the follow-up publicity, packaging his image and sending out the news.
Striving to make Superman the hottest intellectual property in the world.
Now, it was just the first step; there was still a long way to go.
He believed that a 2-and-a-half-year internship was enough for Clark to finish his studies, leave the novice village, and step into the wider world.
“I thought everyone wanted to be a hero …”
His younger cousin was surprised.
Judging from Luke’s tone, his older cousin seemed to have no nostalgia for Superman’s identity.
This was the hottest darling of the media recently.
Even though Clark wasn’t interested in pursuing fame and fortune, he was still a little excited about being a superhero that everyone praised.
“Clark, a word to the wise, the bigger the pecs, the greater the responsibility … ah no… with great power comes great responsibility.”
Luke spoke at length and began to impart life lessons.
“With the attention you get, it also means shouldering expectations, responsibilities and unrealistic fantasies.”
“The public will regard you as a moral model and a perfect person, so any flaws and mistakes will lead you to abuse and malice …”
“As I said, this is a thorny road.”
Clark nodded, without the slightest hint of deterrence in his eyes.
“But no matter what? You’ll be part of the Superman family from now on.”
Luke patted his young cousin on the shoulder, wondering when the other Kryptonian cousin would be coming over.
Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, was Superman’s older cousin. But when she came to earth, it was much later than Clark, so she became Clark’s younger cousin.
“I’ll do it right!”
Clark changed into his Superman uniform and felt a sense of power in his body.
Luke just smiled at his cousin’s uncontrollable excitement.
Perhaps to an outsider, superheroes had a lot to live up to.
Everywhere they went, they were sought after, like the brightest star.
Actually, it was not as beautiful as they thought.
Not to mention that electricity wasn’t generated by love, and there was no life insurance, wages and benefits.
They alone were responsible for the reimbursement of uniforms and equipment, which could be quite costly.
If the crime rate in their city was as high as Gotham’s, that meant they had to work overtime every day. They had to rush to the scene when there was an emergency.
Not to mention the 9 to 5, they would have to do both on the same day.
It could be said that there were no holidays all year round.
Rolling in the sheet with your girlfriend? They had to quickly pull their guns out and go to the front lines.
Luke remembered very clearly that his cousin had been like this on several occasions.
He was kissing and getting intimate with his girlfriend, Lois Lane.
Then, there was a shooting somewhere in Metropolis. Regretfully, he could only ‘fight another day’, then turn around to leave.
Leaving his girlfriend alone in an empty room, unsatisfied.
It wasn’t unreasonable to say that Superman and Lois Lane, the exemplary couple, had relationship problems from time to time.
All in all, the profession of a superhero wasn’t attractive to Luke.
He preferred to be neutral, someone who jumped from side to side rather than a firefighter.
“From now on, Metropolis and this town will be your area, and in addition to your daily special training, you will have to clock in and sign in on time to start your duties.”
Luke put away his distractions as he handed the job over to his younger cousin.
Starting today, Superman would officially debut.
It probably wouldn’t be long before the fame spread around the world.
‘I wonder if Batman, at this time, has returned from his studies with the ninja master?’
“So, is there anything to look out for in being a superhero?”
Clark was a little nervous, harbouring the kind of apprehension that came with an intern’s first day on the job.
“Well, for you, reducing casualties in battle is the most noteworthy thing.”
Luke hesitated for a moment, holding back the words.
He didn’t want his cousin to become a demolition man, which would affect the public’s impression of Superman.
Fortunately, criminals in Metropolis were still in a relatively simple stage for the time being.
Gang leaders, smugglers, street gangs, armed bank robbers… These people couldn’t do much damage.
“In addition, before the official appointment, you should learn to fly.”
After these days of training, Clark was much better at controlling power than before.
It’s time to consider using his body to fight gravity and soar in the sky.
And as an older cousin, Luke had to teach some special methods of time management.
Otherwise, Clark went to school during the day and trained.
On duty at night, clocking in.
Without enough rest, it was likely to affect the growth and development of his younger cousin.
In the following days, Clark lived a very fulfilling life.
He spent his days at school, training for the football team, wiggling his way between Lana and her boyfriend in a teenage love story.
At night, he would fly from Kansas to Metropolis, handle several cases and occupy the front page of the Daily Planet.
In the words of Batman in the future, even if Superman saved a cat from a tree…
They all had to talk about it at length and boast about it.
Compared with Marvel next door, the Daily Bugle was Spider-Man’s eternal anti-fan.
The Daily Planet could be regarded as Superman’s fan group base camp.
A little fanboy cameraman in the front and a girlfriend journalist in the back.
…
…
In the small town.
In a villa.
“Uncle, have you seen the latest news?”
Lex placed his legs on the table, crumpled up the newspaper in his hand and threw it into the nearby fireplace.
“Superman, Superman … Every day I see that guy in the red cape, flying about and clowning around!”
“Isn’t there a newspaper that’s willing to take some time to report some other news?”
“For example, Lex Luthor, a young and promising entrepreneur, has created thousands of jobs for a small town.”
Luke, holding a lead box and looking at it carefully, automatically blocked out Lex’s complaints.
These days, the news and public opinion about Superman was overwhelming.
With the increase of fans, hater groups gradually formed.
Human beings were complex creatures, and sometimes the reason why they hated someone or something was very simple.
For example, Lex didn’t like Superman.
There was no reason; it was an inexplicable dislike.
“Lex, if you want people to notice you, either learn to create hype or … just spend some money yourself.”
He opened the box and picked up candy-sized kryptonite with tweezers. It was the latest discovery of the archaeological team.
“Publicity… Well, it’s not too hard. Pay for posted content, pay your way into the hot search list … I don’t need to teach you these kinds of things.”
Lex curled his lips and ignored the strange futuristic-like words from his godfather.
He finally made a little achievement, but in the end, no one noticed it, and everyone was talking about Superman.
This irritated the ever-proud and conceited Lex and subconsciously developed a deeper dislike for the red cloak.
“I just think the world is stupid. He’s a person of unknown origin, a person who shows great strength … everyone actually regards him as a superhero because he did a few insignificant good deeds.”
Lex couldn’t stop sneering and spoke in a deep voice, “What we should do is to be vigilant, to prevent this ticking time bomb from being detonated, instead of pursuing and worshipping him.”
“Well, that’s really thought-provoking.”
Luke symbolically nodded. Lex Luthor had always been a staunch human supremacist.
In this respect, he was somewhat similar to Batman, Ozymandias and others.
Of course, Batman thought that human beings had a certain indestructible spiritual quality and a moral base.
Lex thought that a wise man like him should be the ruler and supreme leader of the world.
To put it bluntly, his human supremacy was more like playing God himself.
“Instead of complaining to me, you might as well think of a way to steal the limelight from Superman.”
Luke closed the box of kryptonite and spoke with a smile.
It was interesting to think about the contest between his godson and his younger cousin.
“Humph, I will.”
Lex held his head high and confidently said so.
“But there’s no time for that now. I need to help Clark out with his singleness.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. Lex hated Superman but became friends with his little cousin.
‘Such a brotherhood-bloody-drama!’
