Only Heroes - Editorial

METAHUMAN WEEKLY

Editorial

There has only been one story the last two weeks: where have they gone? Every major hero and big-name villain is simply gone, even those who shouldn't be. So far most of the now-major league villains are in hiding, quiet and still, expecting it to be a kind of trap or trick. But what if it's not? What if they really are gone? Loaded questions, with bullet answers.

• There have always been more villains than heroes. Some of that is because heroes retire more often, a lot is probably human nature. For the most part, the heroes were stronger and braver and held the world together, drew lines in the sand that no villain managed to cross. Do your crime, and you ended up in a MetaMax prison and almost no-one ever broke in or out of one of those.
• While officials won't answer, it seems likely that the major metahumans in them were subject to the Vanishing as well: which means they have an awful lot of room in cells now. That will keep the smarter villains in line, but as Morning Maid said in an interview years ago, the truly smart ones never become super villains. The rest may start breaking unwritten rules without anyone to hold them back.
• The government is looking into setting up the Superhuman Outreach Council again, with the goal being to find part-time superheroics to keep the number of villains down. Whether this will pass muster in Congress is anyone's guess.
• Those In The Know worry what Professor Green will do. No one seems to know if he really is a professor, but Green has been active since the 60s, shows no sign of getting older and has a staggering fortune at his disposal, all geared toward the destruction of humanity. It's estimated that over 70% of global-warming denial can be traced back to him and what he might fund or plan without superhumans to stop him is anyone's guess. (On a lighter note, when asked whether he had funded young-earth creationism, he reportedly said that he does have standards,)
• Another worry is an economic collapse owing to a certain number of large corporations being owned by superhumans: a Hall of Heroes must be funded somehow, after all, and a few titans of industry seem to have gone on 'vacation' shortly after the Vanishing, with no signs of returning to work.
• On the plus side, a lot of companies have lost their superhuman product endorsement and any hero wanting some decent pay on the side might be able to work out a deal with Nike shoes and the like. Not that the major heroes ever did that, but times might be changing ....