[A/N: Got stuck on our finals... and I somehow survived it. I'm back!]
The pale brilliance of a new day broke over the horizon, casting a soft, white glow upon the ancient, majestic castle nestled in the northern suburbs of New York. T
he lush green grass shimmered like velvet beside the small, tranquil lake, dew clinging to the blades in the morning light.
In the flat open space of the grounds, many students were at play. If an ordinary citizen of New York were to stumble upon this scene, they would undoubtedly be terrified.
On the basketball court, a student suddenly split into a kinetic triad, three identical copies of himself coordinating perfectly to block a shot.
Elsewhere, a girl sprinted full speed toward a brick wall; instead of colliding, she dissolved into the masonry and phased right through as if the obstruction didn't exist.
Near the benches sat a tall young man whose skin rippled and hardened into gleaming organic steel.
This was Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a haven for mutants.
"Bobby, guess what I managed to buy?" John Allerdyce, known as Pyro, raised a manga magazine in his hand, grinning mischievously as he walked over to Bobby Drake, the Iceman.
"You bought the new Shonen Jump? The bookstores near me were completely sold out when I went this morning," Bobby said, looking at the comic with evident surprise.
Seeing his reaction, John smiled triumphantly. "I was prepared. I met a kid on the way who had one and snagged it off him for double the price."
Bobby frowned. "That doesn't seem like something to be proud of, John."
"Why do you care so much?!" John scowled, clearly displeased by the moral judgment. "Don't look at it then. If you're not interested, I'll take it back and read it myself."
Both John and Bobby were passionate teenagers. Comics were usually just a form of entertainment, but traditional American superhero comics often felt a bit offensive to them. The reason was simple: they were mutants.
In the stories they grew up with, they watched the righteous Captain America eradicate evil and save ordinary people. But in reality, those same "ordinary people" rejected mutants. It was difficult to enjoy a story about saving a world that hated you, even though they knew heroes like Cap were genuinely good people.
However, the character Saitama from One Punch Man was incredibly casual. He didn't use moral excuses or grand speeches; he just eliminated monsters because he was a hero "for fun." This resonated with both of them, and they instantly became fans.
"Hey, Saitama is still so powerful," John muttered, flipping the pages. "If only I had such power to protect everyone."
"Did you notice?" Bobby pointed at the page. "There is a presence in here stronger than Saitama."
John looked up, confused. "Who?"
He had been reading it with Bobby; how had he missed that?
Bobby smiled meaningfully and pointed to a specific panel.
It was a mosquito.
Saitama, the man who could defeat anything with one punch, failed to kill a mosquito despite a series of rapid slaps. The insect buzzed and fled unharmed.
"...A mosquito? Why can't Saitama hit it?"
With Saitama's terrifying speed and precision, how could he fail to track the movement of a mere insect? It was incredible.
John huffed, rolling his eyes. "How should I know?"
John originally wanted to make a joke, but seeing Bobby's thoughtful expression, he didn't dwell on it. He let the thought go.
"There are new comics in here too. They don't seem to be the standard superhero subjects."
Soon after, Bobby and John finished the entire magazine. John suddenly asked, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Do you think Kaneki actually wants to eat human flesh?"
They were discussing Tokyo Ghoul. Only three chapters had been serialized so far. It was different from the explosive, high-octane start of Attack on Titan. Tokyo Ghoul centered on human nature and internal conflict. It started slower, but the concept of "cannibalism" was strangely compelling.
"I don't think he wants to," Bobby replied after some thought. "The comic makes it clear. Are you stupid?"
"Yeah, he didn't want to eat, but he ate it in the end." John's face grew darker, his expression annoyed. "Don't you think Kaneki is in a similar situation to us mutants?"
"Mutants don't eat people, John."
"No, but we are regarded as guilty just for existing," John countered, his voice tightening. "We are marginalized, and finally, we have to gather with our own kind just to stay warm."
John had been sent to the school impulsively by his family. He didn't like the peaceful atmosphere here; he felt like a caged beast. He hadn't asked to be a mutant.
What he needed was relatives, kind parents who accepted him. He couldn't help but substitute himself into the story when he looked at Kaneki. Eating humans was a last resort for the Ghoul, just as using dangerous powers was often a survival instinct for a mutant.
It was all about survival.
Bobby was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected John to have such deep thoughts. To be honest, he hadn't made the connection himself, but it seemed to make frightening sense.
At this moment, a gentle voice came from behind them.
"John, do you really think so?"
The two teenagers looked back to see a beautiful redhead pushing an old man in a wheelchair slowly across the grass. It was Jean Grey and Professor Charles Xavier.
John was usually careless, sometimes violent and provocative, but in front of the mutant leader, he behaved like a well-mannered child.
"Professor, I..."
"Your feelings are valid, John. This cannot be denied," Professor Charles smiled faintly. "But we will eventually find a way to coexist with humans."
Charles glanced at the comic magazine in John's hand and paused. "Can you let me have a look?"
John hurriedly handed it over. Under a silent signal from Jean, he grabbed Bobby and ran away like a frightened rabbit.
As they put some distance between themselves and the teachers, Bobby, who was being dragged away, said casually, "The Professor doesn't feel that scary. Why are you so excited?"
"Actually, I lied to you just now," John stopped and explained, panting slightly. "I didn't buy this comic at double the price. I snatched it from a kid, though I did throw the original price at him before I ran."
"John! I really didn't see you as the type to snatch children's things," Bobby said with disdain. "I read you wrong. And don't think the Professor couldn't read your mind."
Jean watched the two of them gradually move away, then leaned over to see Charles flipping through the pages. She asked curiously, "Professor, why are you interested in these comics?"
Comics were popular among teenagers and children. Usually, the older people got, the less sense they made of them, especially for a man of such profound intellect and experience as the Professor.
Regardless of the media reports on Shonen Jump, most adults viewed it as just an ordinary comic magazine. Social elites and celebrities simply skipped it, let alone a leader like Charles who dedicated his life to the mutant cause.
"It's nothing, just curiosity," Charles replied, his eyes scanning the panels. "I can feel the thoughts embedded in these stories by the author, Light Inksworth. I kind of want to meet him."
Jean was confused. What kind of philosophy could be found in a cartoon?
"In fact, Jean, please buy a copy for me every time a new issue is released," Charles added.
"Okay, Professor," Jean responded while pushing the wheelchair, thinking that she might need to read it herself to understand.
...
"God! Isn't this kind of thinking exactly mirroring the current situation in the United States?"
Elsewhere in the city, Edward sat before his computer, overwhelmed by the plot. He deeply felt the author's intention.
Compared to Bobby and John's superficial reading, Edward was a professional comic critic who had reviewed thousands of comics. The directionality of the two new stories was very obvious to him.
Edward's fingers clattered across the keyboard. At this time, Twitter was already arguing, and his followers were waiting for his take.
@EdwardV_Reviews: The second issue of Shonen Jump does not say much, yet it is far beyond my expectations. Do you understand the messages hidden within? Let me break it down one by one.
@EdwardV_Reviews: The first manga, One Punch Man, overturns the traditional concept of heroism and creates a new definition of heroes. The settings contained in it are satires of common superhero comics.
@EdwardV_Reviews: The second book, Attack on Titan, tells a story that is very straightforward on the surface. The origin of the giants, the construction of the city walls—these are set as suspenseful mysteries.
@EdwardV_Reviews: In the third story, Tokyo Ghoul, the protagonist is just an ordinary person who has suffered miserably from man-made disasters. Wandering on the line of "eating and not eating," he arouses the inner passion of most teenagers and evokes sympathy for the protagonist.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Among them, the concept of the "Ghoul" was mentioned. It shifts to hot-blooded battles, reaching a compelling standard similar to Superman. From a few lines, one can discover the reflections on humans and aliens revealed in the comics: when a creature can no longer be defined as a pure human species, what should they do?
@EdwardV_Reviews: Both new comics reveal one direction, and that is: Alienization!
When fans saw this analysis, the comments section flooded like a broken dam.
@GammaV: Why didn't I see anything? What is Edward saying?
@Calniuk: Alienization? Nonsense! We're not blind!
@Khali: What the hell? Why can Edward see so much from Tokyo Ghoul? I just feel that Tokyo Ghoul starts so well.
@Anne123: @Khali, you are not alone. Attack on Titan is much more beautiful visually than the Ghoul. But Kaneki is dying inside. What a man-eater!
@Austin: So many people discussing it early in the morning. Fuck, I haven't bought it yet.
@Fowkes: Edward makes a lot of sense. Whoever doesn't understand is brain-dead.
@TerranceS: Hehe, I found a fanboy. The two comics are shit. The protagonist is a chicken. Saitama is the only handsome one.
Suddenly, there were disturbances in the algorithm, and the topic's heat soared again, breaking into the top ten trending topics.
Edward smiled when he saw it. As the heat went up, his re-analysis would usher in a big explosion of engagement.
When the popularity reached the top five on Twitter, Edward clicked the enter key on the deeper analysis he had compiled and sent it out.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Perhaps no one realizes the meaning of the 'aliens' I mentioned. As we all know, fantasy depends on reality, and so do comics.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Just yesterday at the New York Carnival, the Green Goblin, a super criminal, appeared and caused a massacre. He was an outlier—an alien to normal society. At a critical moment, the superhero Spider-Man appeared. He, too, is an 'alien' to us.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Then, substituting this into the comics, it is not difficult to find that New Yorkers, or ordinary people, are just the civilians surrounded by walls! Living in naivety and helplessness with no real power within them.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Civilians can only be slaughtered by Titans. Only the Survey Corps can resist, the only individuals that can truly protect the civilians! Yet what did the civilians think of them? The Survey Corps were turned into a joke, when in reality, they're the only individuals who had the courage to go outside the wall, to go beyond even when they were asked not to. I can boldly guess that Eren and the rest of the Survey Corps represent Spider-Man. Someone who we didn't ask for, someone who doesn't have a responsibility to protect us, yet, he still did so.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Let's talk about the third book. The Alien here represents the Ghouls. Kaneki Ken is half-human and half-ghoul. He is kind to people but has to eat meat to survive. This meat is just the flesh of corpses, and the manager of Anteiku just wants peace; he does not want to hurt mankind.
@EdwardV_Reviews: So in reality, who has malicious intent toward humans, and who also has good intentions toward humans at the same time? That is: The Mutant!
@EdwardV_Reviews: In 1973, when the President was attacked, Magneto was the alleged murderer, but there were also other mutants who tried to prevent him.
@EdwardV_Reviews: Mutants are a large group. According to the latest research, they are actually a branch of humans. Mutants are heterogeneous, but being heterogeneous does not mean they are all villains. Like humans, they are capable of both good and evil.
@EdwardV_Reviews: It is not difficult to see from this that the third comic is the progressive thought of the second comic. That is, in this extremely chaotic era, human beings need to form an institution similar to the Survey Corps to protect us, and they need to coexist peacefully with the 'aliens' who are friendly to humans.
@EdwardV_Reviews: The new issue of the weekly shows that friendly mutants are important to mankind, and it acts as a subtle accusation against the Mutant Registration Act. The context above is my personal guess and does not represent the standpoint of the comics.
After Edward published this long thread, the comment area fell into an unprecedented tranquility.
Edward was originally full of confidence, but seeing that no one was responding, he felt a sudden panic in his heart. He thought to himself, Is it possible that I am really a little foolish? After all, the comics didn't explicitly say any of this.
Relying on his many years of speculation and association as a comic critic, maybe he really thought too much?
In the next second, countless comments scrolled under the tweet, pouring out like a geyser.
@Nickson: Shit, it makes me horrified just to read that. Goosebumps are all over my arms.
@Kai: Ain't no way... you thinkin too much cuh...
@OldBlood: Huh?! Why am I so confused?
@UgoH: Me too, my mind is a little messy. Does this mean the cartoonist is an anti-registration pro? Is that why he drew the comics?
@SayLess: I want to say something, but I don't know what to say.
@Sarratuga: Is the author referencing the struggle of the mutants in our current society?
@Austin: Edward, do you believe this yourself?
@Fowkes: That Survey Corps and Spider-Man comparison is a little scary to think, but yeah, it fits.
@Auzzo: Someone at Marvel Entertainment has stolen the manuscript! Call the police!
The fans were incredibly excited, their hearts throbbing through Edward's explanation. The current landscape of comics had never mirrored reality so closely.
At most, there was a similar ability, a similar name, or perhaps Captain America was drawn to look like a famous actor. But the three books now appearing were all vaguely related to reality.
One directly broke the inherent concept of heroes, and the other two went around the circle to express that it was time for human beings to reflect on their own definitions of humanity.
Obviously, there was only one issue released, and the general background of the world was not fully understood, so Edward had fired a shocking bullet by linking it to reality. It looked like nonsense, but they didn't know how to refute it.
At a time when opinions were divergent, Edward's next notification on Twitter popped up.
@LightInksworth_Official: Comics that have been written for the past twelve years are not as entertaining as your tweets. Keep up the good work, @EdwardV_Reviews.
The hot comments exploded even further.
@GammaV: Is it true?
@JefStein: Now I have a confirmation, so I don't need to read it later. Fuck the muties! Fuck the author for being Pro-Mutant.
@KittyCute: Shut the fuck up, racist, you're literally the problem being talked about here, scum!
This comment even kicked the original post down the rankings.
If the previous analysis was a shock bomb, Light Inksworth's comment was the explosion of a nuclear bomb. More and more netizens poured in.
Anything concerning mutants was a massive topic.
Then, Twitter crashed.
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Word count: 2695
Comment below on what you think so far.
If anyone of you is interested in reading some advanced chapters, you can check out my p@ tr*on.
p@tr*on.co m/Rai_jin
Thanks for reading guys!