A Fresh Start - [City Voice editorial - comments open on the paper's website]
by J. Jonah Jameson, Executive Editor
You can find almost anything you want in this melting pot we call the City. Spaceships, castles, dark forests, and the best corner deli in any dimension. (I'd tell you where it is, but it probably won't be there if you try to find it.) Whatever controls this City has gone to great lengths to draw in a diverse population, as well. And unfortunately, that diversity includes criminals.
In the New York City I came from (which, as I understand, may be different from other New Yorks), we had a particular breed of criminal that masqueraded as heroes. "Superheroes," they called themselves - ordinary humans who, because of weird mutant powers or a common vendetta, felt the need to dress up in garish outfits and take the institution of the law into their own gloved hands. There were "supervillains" with whom the so-called heroes contended, but they were no more than ordinary thugs and deviants who shopped at the same store as the heroes. All too often, it was impossible to tell the difference between hero and villain, particularly when the heroes would have one of their property-destroying "misunderstandings." And where were these supposedly upright citizens when it came time to pay for the damages they've caused? Hiding away in some cave, or lurking under a bridge? Or perhaps walking amongst the innocent civilians, anonymous and carefree?
Imagine my disappointment, then, when a green, glowing man zooms over my head as I make my way to work yesterday morning. I though I had escaped the reign of the supermen, but alas, they have made their way to this City as well.
We were brought here against our will, but it's an opportunity to make a fresh start of things. We can't let an old menace follow us here, or let it cast its shadow on those who have not lived in its shade before. I call on my fellow citizens to make it clear that, unless they are willing to make their identities known publicly, costumed heroes are not welcome in our City.