When Captain America appeared on the front page of the newspapers, last night's explosion in New York was only briefly mentioned in the newspaper's crevices, much like the detective agency and apartment rental advertisements.
To prevent people from thinking it was a German bombing and causing panic, the authorities issued a gag order, uniformly claiming it was a sewer gas explosion.
But Dr. Holloway thought differently. 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 also thought differently, some even knew more than the doctor.
But they were all the same, they all saw Captain America on the newspaper's front page, wearing a blue helmet with the letter 'A', covering his face, boldly appearing before everyone.
The government's intention was to make Captain America's masked image symbolize the millions of US soldiers, to inspire their fighting spirit, sell more war bonds, or to bravely kill the enemy on the battlefield.
A masked person with no specific image was perfect for becoming a spiritual totem, a decorative vase.
But all of this, in the eyes of the observant, was heading in another direction.
Captain America's appearance reminded them how they could accomplish what they wanted without exposing their identity.
So almost on the evening of the newspaper's publication, a bunch of masked individuals sprang up in New York.
They wore homemade uniforms, donned crude masks, doing what they set out to do.
Perhaps they were punishing evil and promoting good, or perhaps committing untold dark deeds, but with the mask on, who knows who they are?
Almost none of these people possessed superpowers, yet thanks to his combat skills and detective aptitude, Dr. Holloway was already one of the best among them.
His current codename is 'Avenging Angels', striking against crime in the city regardless of day or night. Despite constantly shuttling between the sanatorium and secret bases, he enjoys this lifestyle.
Meanwhile, society's attitude towards masked people was extremely nuanced.
The home front during wartime was very oppressive, with people only receiving limited information or obituaries from the front lines.
The appearance of these masked people provided New Yorkers with the best topic, allowing them to escape reality.
It's like leaving the war and temporarily hiding in a world full of romanticism.
Each masked person has their own codename, some are good, some bad, everything clearly black and white, everything so simple.
It must be said that these earliest villains and heroes were very immature, not possessing superpowers and even behaving very honestly when faced with the media.
For example, a person wearing a purple pointed hood openly told reporters he planned to hold a cult ritual in the sewer near the docks, claiming he was very, very evil, yet couldn't explain how, emphasizing he was the kind of big villain that was very, very bad.
If the ritual succeeds, he might turn all New Yorkers into frogs.
The newspaper published the interview, prompting the citizens of New York to pray for a hero to stop this evil plan.
And the answer, of course, is—there were. These newly emerged heroes were full of vigor, rushing towards various docks, someone found the Purple Hood, beat him up, and tossed him at the police station door.
What was the end result?
The police released the Purple Hood, as there was no law stating cooking frogs with a big pot in the sewer was illegal.
His 'evil' ritual was merely a prank, thus this bored-rich kid eventually paid bail; he just wanted to join this masked revelry.
Overall, it's all a carnival, like a stage play, where he played the villain, and next time he wants to try playing the good guy.
However, newspaper owners disliked this outcome, too real and too honest, which wasn't conducive to newspaper sales. New Yorkers longed for epic battles between good and evil, intense processes, and inspiring results!
It's not people who create the era, but the era that creates people!
This is when it's time for their editors to step up...
So, when the newspaper was delivered to the newsstands the next day, the ink-smelling stories transformed, completely turned into a fantasy novel.
What intense battles from New York's sewers fought into the Atlantic Ocean, then from the Atlantic Ocean fought to Mars, back to Earth, piercing through the Earth's core, finally the hero defeated the evil mage on Fur Bear's Red Square, incidentally showing off in front of a bearded figure, causing him to shiver, exclaiming 'Americans are amazing.'
This was fitting, the citizens were very satisfied with the newspaper's answer, while sneering at the police's announcement.
People only believe what they want to believe, thinking the government was covering the truth, only the newspaper spoke the truth.
During this period, the Horn Daily, originally a gossip tabloid, soared because of their skilled editors' writing prowess, making their stories most popular, causing subscriptions to rise steadily.
The citizens watched the newspapers daily, eagerly awaiting new villains or heroes to emerge.
And this also made the number of masked individuals multiply.
When people found the newly appeared 'actors' insufficient, or regardless went unfit for their desires, they would themselves put on masks, don ill-fitting uniforms, to do things they'd never dared to do before.
Almost every newspaper claimed this is an era where heroes are born, anyone can become a hero.
.........
Su Ming these days was gathering intelligence, coincidentally eating popcorn and watching the show unfold; recent newspaper stories were indeed a great performance.
If everything Horn Daily wrote were true, then even ten Thanoses wielding Infinity Stones wouldn't be a match for the so-called 'Rat Hero.'
Yet this black-and-white photo shows someone wearing patchy fur, looking filthy, sporting a giant rat head helmet—is this Rat Hero? Are we sure this isn't a villain role?
He really does have a sneaky rat-like appearance....
Moreover, all the catchy codenames were snatched by earlier actors, leaving heroes debuting recently with nicknames like cockroach or flea.
Stink Bug Hero, Fox Odor Hero, Snot Hero... these names make Su Ming laugh until his sides hurt daily.
Meanwhile, Steve was already embarking on an American tour with a large assortment of products from Wilson Enterprises.
Every time he went on stage with a large group of song-and-dance girls, recited the lines stuck on the back of his shield, and then pretended to beat up an actor dressed as Hitler, he'd receive copious applause.
Amidst the bustling crowd, colorful lights, Steve felt as if he were in a dream.
The girls would then deliberately or inadvertently introduce Wilson Enterprises' products, Steve only needs to grin and give two thumbs up in the background while wearing Captain America's uniform.
Instant noodles? Great!
Instant stew? Great!
Powerful Beverage? Great!
Nylon stockings? Great! Wait a second, stockings, I don't know, I haven't worn them!
........
Vodka and Senator Brandt shared a knowing smile from beneath the stage, they enjoyed this win-win outcome.
Steve was quite satisfied with this arrangement after all, as it was counted as contributing to the country, selling war bonds, exchanging money for weapons, weapons ending the war, no fault at all.
Moreover, he never had so many fans come asking for autographs before.
Of course, who can predict the future? He's only performed ten shows in New York and Washington so far, with plans for at least 400 more identical performances.
Everything seems to be going well for now, but deep in the ocean, a young man with receding hairline isn't thinking this way.