Chapter 31: Luthor Appears
May 2, 2023 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Clang—
After delivering his harsh words, the representative of World Daily turned and left the Newspaper Agency without looking back.
"..."
Witnessing an acrimonious acquisition, Old John and Little John both had complex expressions.
After a moment of hesitation, Old John spoke, addressing Colin: "Boss, I think what World Daily said was serious."
"My refusal is just as serious."
Colin raised an eyebrow at Old John and replied casually.
"No, I mean..."
Shaking his head, Old John weighed his words and said, "As far as I know, World Daily's reputation in the industry is generally poor, and many in the newspaper industry dislike their methods... However, even if they're dissatisfied, it doesn't change the fact that World Daily is the newspaper with the largest distribution in New York."
One could easily tell from Old John's words that he was subtly reminding Colin.
World Daily rose to prominence by relying on 'Yellow Journalism', using highly inflammatory and sensational methods to embellish facts and exaggerate shocking news events like pornography, violence, crime, and natural disasters, thereby earning enormous profits. This had a profound impact on the journalism industry at the time and was the fundamental reason for World Daily's rise to its current colossal status.
Given the immense size of World Daily, if they decided to act against the Newspaper Agency, they would be powerless to resist.
Colin listened intently to Old John's concerns, his expression unchanged.
Truth be told, he didn't take the warnings from World Daily much to heart.
Just as they said, there wasn't only one Newspaper Agency in the world that could create superheroes, but there was only one Superman.
...
The retaliation from World Daily came even faster than Colin had originally expected.
Just three days after the acquisition negotiations failed, the day before *Superman*'s serialization was set to begin.
World Daily launched its own superhero in their newspaper—Flameman (Human Flame).
The main plot of the comic described a creature made by a scientist in a giant test tube, which would burst into roaring flames upon contact with oxygen, burning everything it touched.
People, for their own safety, sealed him in concrete; but a single crack gave him oxygen and a chance to escape.
Flameman burst out of his cage, unleashing angry flames; thugs tried to use him, but he refused to be controlled.
The final installment of the series showed Flameman destroying the scientist who created him and arriving in modern society.
Putting aside the current rivalry between Colin and World Daily.
Simply looking at *Flameman*'s serialization, it was undoubtedly a very excellent comic.
Clearly, World Daily had not been lazy with its artists and writers.
They genuinely wanted to suppress The Messenger.
However, excellent plot and artwork could not cover up the inherent problem with *Flameman* itself.
That is, this was not a hero story at all; rather, it was more like a horror story.
It was a Frankensteinian-themed comic, similar to "the dangers of science" and "destroying the creator."
Of course, it was no wonder that the artists and writers World Daily found would create something like this.
After all, apart from Colin, superhero-themed comics were a completely unfamiliar genre to anyone else in this era.
Even if they wanted to cautiously explore and create new superheroes.
They would need a 'stone' to guide them, unlike now, where they had to create a brand-new superhero out of thin air based on only a few issues of *Superman*'s comic plot.
...
Messenger Newspaper.
Little John put down the World Daily in his hand, which was serializing *Flameman*.
Ever since the acquisition negotiations broke down, he had been closely monitoring World Daily's actions. Now, having finished reading *Flameman* serialized in the newspaper, Little John felt somewhat uneasy.
Although he could sense that there were some differences between *Flameman* serialized in World Daily and the *Superman* comic created by Colin, it was undeniable that the plot of *Flameman* was already extremely excellent and appealing. Especially considering World Daily's distribution, Little John's uneasiness intensified by a few points.
While Little John was feeling apprehensive because of the 'superhero'-themed comic serialized in World Daily.
On the other side, Colin remained calm and composed, 'creating' the latest installment of *Superman*'s serialization.
"Finally finished."
Colin put down his paintbrush and let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the content of the latest comic completed on the manuscript paper.
"Boss, can I..."
Little John had been silently observing Colin's actions in the Newspaper Agency since earlier. Seeing him stop, he immediately spoke impatiently.
With Colin's permission, Little John carefully stepped forward, picked up the manuscript paper from the table, and held it in his hands. Looking at the freshly finished comic content, a look of excitement appeared on his usually impassive face.
"Flight! Superman's flying ability!"
Especially when he saw Superman flying up from an explosion, Little John couldn't help but let out an excited gasp.
Although Colin had mentioned in the first issue of the *Superman* comic that Superman had the ability to leap over a twenty-story building in a single bound, Little John still felt a surge of emotion when he saw him take flight in the comic with his own eyes.
This feeling was something he had never experienced while reading *Flameman* serialized in World Daily.
The next day, Wednesday morning, the long-awaiting readers.
Also saw the latest *Superman* serialization in The Messenger.
In this installment, an evil genius who called himself Luthor appeared in the comic. He had a bald head, possessed wealth rivaling a nation's and absolute power, and controlled a spaceship, attempting to instigate a war between two European countries to profit from it.
Clark and Lois went to investigate, but in the chaos, Lois was kidnapped by Luthor. To rescue Lois, Clark used invisibility to sneak into Luthor's secret base, then transformed into Superman and engaged Luthor in a fierce battle. Ultimately, Luthor was defeated by Superman, and Superman also displayed his powers of flight in the spaceship's explosion, rescuing Lois at the last moment.
Colin initially hesitated regarding Luthor's appearance, wondering whether to use his classic bald look or continue with the comic's original setting, that of a middle-aged man with red hair. Later, considering that The Messenger's printing couldn't adequately depict Luthor's red hair, Colin ultimately chose a compromise.
That is, the bald look readers now saw in the serialization.
As for how long that bit of hair would last on Luthor's head, that would depend on the character's popularity.
Once readers showed acceptance of Luthor, Colin would continue to arrange for his appearance in subsequent plots until he lost the last bit of hair on his head, completely transforming into the bald image Colin had in mind.
(end of chapter)