American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

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Whether it's printing the Superan quarterly or producing a CBS radio series, it takes time to prepare.

Therefore, the introduction of Superman-related works to readers still comes from the latest issue of the Messenger series.

The King of Pranks is back on this series of issues.

Previously, Superman had sent him to prison for tax evasion in the United States, but even in prison, the prankster was a troublesome fellow. He successfully instigated a riot within the prison by corrupting the radio and broadcasting false information.

And through this opportunity, he successfully escaped from prison.

After escaping from prison, the King of Pranks vows to take revenge on Superman with another great prank.

However, he needs allies before he can do that.

It was in this episode that a group appearing as supervillains was born, one of the earliest supervillain groups to appear in superhero comics, if not before.

The first person the King of Delusions found after escaping from prison was Toy Man. It was clear this man hadn't died in the previous explosion, but Toy Man shared the same hatred for Superman, who had destroyed his toy army, so the two villains decided to join forces upon meeting.

Prankster: "You have an adversary, and I have an adversary. Why don't we team up to deal with him?"

Toy Man: "My opponent is not easy to deal with!"

The prankster: "Coincidentally, my opponent is one of them too."

Toy Man: "He's Superman."

Prankster: "Isn't it funny that just because they're Superman, they're worth teaming up with?"

Of course, the pranksters and the toymen knew very well that the two of them were no match for Superman. So they found another person who had frequently caused Superman trouble in the past, Luthor.

Luther also showed great interest in Naughty King's proposal, although he clearly disagreed with Naughty King becoming the leader of their group. A dispute even arose between them over leadership, but ultimately, due to his status as the proposer and the support of the Toy People, Naughty King successfully became the leader of their criminal gang.

This also laid the foundation for their later failure.

"Luthor was clearly unhappy that the Mischief King had become the leader of the team, but he reluctantly joined in and defeated Superman."

Readers can clearly understand Luther's inner dissatisfaction from the appendix.

Luther resolved to unite them and suggested they give the group a name, which they eventually decided to call the "Metropolitan Society".

Prankster: "Metropolitan Association, great name, I like it!"

Toyman: "Superman, he's the key."

Luther: "A stupid name, just like you can't wait for people to know your position."

The newspaper, the last edition of the cartoons.

The story revolves around three villains: the prankster, the toy man, and Luther, who sit around a table.

At Xu Fu's request, the background of this shot was filled with a lot of black to create a sense of realism for a secret crime.

In particular, the faces of Luthor's three villains who had fought against Superman, emerging from the shadows, give the reader a sense of presence and draw them into the villains' schemes.

...

Unsurprisingly, the new questions in the series have generated considerable excitement among readers.

Especially after seeing the prankster, Toyman, and Luthor team up in the comics, they began to worry about what Superman and this criminal gang should look like.

103 Letters from readers immediately filled the mailbox of the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

"...I think Superman should prepare as soon as possible and get the troublemakers to join forces with them. This evil entity once plunged the entire Metropolis into chaos because of the Eagle Tax!"

"Why didn't the prison react, allowing such a dangerous person as the Prankster King to escape so easily!"

“I think the Metropolitan Association is bound to fail because Luthor is clearly not the kind of person who would want to be under the King of Mischief. He's an ambitious villain, unlike Toy Man!”

"Why not let Mr. Mischief join the Metropolitan Association? If Mr. Mischief becomes a member of the association, then Superman will definitely be in great danger."

"I strongly recommend that we add Human Torch to the Metropolitan Association. Luther is the creator of Human Torch, and he can definitely control him to fight Superman."

...

"...Mr. Xu Fu was very adept at incorporating contemporary New York events into his cartoons, such as the character 'Mr. Huang,' and 'Metropolitan World,' which alludes to the 'New York World Journal.' In fact, this was a newspaper that was competing with the 'Messenger' in New York at the time."

Chapter 616 Roosevelt

Good evening, Mr. Laguardia.

Inside the restaurant at 21 West 52nd Street.

Xu Fu took off his hat to welcome LaGuardia into the restaurant.

His gaze then fell on the wheelchair, which looked somewhat out of place with its surroundings, and he smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good evening, Mr. Franklin Roosevelt."

Because he was in a wheelchair, Roosevelt looked paler than usual. When he heard Xu Fu's greeting, he looked up, met the young man's gaze, and then smiled and nodded in return.

Good evening, Mr. Xu Fu.

Although Roosevelt was now effectively running for the Democratic Party, he actually had deep ties to the Republican Party, including the fact that the 26th Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, was Roosevelt's cousin. Even when Roosevelt first informed his father, the Republican President Roosevelt, of his decision to run as a Democrat, the latter angrily berated him: "You despicable brat! You traitor..."

Of course, even this did not stop Roosevelt from entering politics.

Especially after his injury and disability, Roosevelt gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of politics.

Although he couldn't travel around like other politicians, his life in a wheelchair had a profound impact on Roosevelt, giving him more time to contemplate the nature of politics.

He's been in a wheelchair for a long time; it's time to do something.

That's why, when Roosevelt heard from LaGuardia that Xu Fu wanted to meet him, he thought about it and agreed.

Among the many Democratic presidential candidates, he was not a particularly impressive figure. On the contrary, the vast majority of Democrats preferred Al Smith to be the nominee; after all, Al Smith already had experience running against Hoover for president, and the other candidate's Catholic faith could effectively attract religious voters.

It was the failure to secure the party nomination that forced Roosevelt to compromise: within the party, he tried to gain the support of insiders and convince them that he could lead the Democratic Party to victory this time. Externally, he frequently engaged with influential public figures, intending to leverage their power to win over more social groups.

Initially, Roosevelt's efforts were not successful.

Under the influence of the Great Depression, not only did the public lose hope in the government, but even the Democratic Party believed that there was no chance of winning.

But Washington’s crackdown in July confirmed that Roosevelt saw an opportunity for change.

Although it is unclear why Hoover issued such an absurd order, Roosevelt, as his opponent, would obviously not let such an opportunity pass.

Through the crackdown, he persuaded the Democratic caucus to support his candidacy for the nomination.

The meeting with Hsu Fu was also to prepare for his next election campaign after he received the party's nomination.

As for LaGuardia, although he is a Republican congressman, he actually disagrees with many of the Hoover administration's policy decisions, particularly the ban on dry laws and fiscal policies during the Great Depression.

Furthermore, he had long expressed his intention to run for mayor of New York City, and Roosevelt, as the governor of New York, enjoyed great prestige in New York. If he could get Roosevelt's support, it would be a great boost to LaGuardia's next campaign.

This is why, for example, LaGuardia was willing to help Xu Fu arrange a meeting with Roosevelt.

As for Xu Fu, looking at future history...

Both Roosevelt and LaGuardia had a profound impact on American politics in the years that followed.

Their rule lasted at least ten years, because establishing relations with these two men was itself an unambiguous transaction with Xu Fu.

Inside Restaurant 21, each of the three had their own thoughts, but they didn't show them on the surface.

"For some time now, I have been a regular subscriber to your newspaper, The Messenger, Mr. Xu Fu."

Roosevelt, sitting in a wheelchair, spoke first. He looked at Xu Fu standing in front of him and spoke in a meaningful tone.

Clearly, Roosevelt's purpose in subscribing to the Courier was certainly not to read the Superman series.

Even Roosevelt was somewhat affected by the bribery scandal involving former New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker.

After all, this was a scandal that occurred in New York State during his presidency, and Jimmy Walker was a Democrat from the same party as Roosevelt.

However, there is still a glimmer of hope.

Roosevelt reacted quickly, preventing the Jimmy Walker scandal from affecting him and impacting his campaign for the Democratic nomination.

“If you go back in time, Mr. Roosevelt, you will find that the Courier has in fact always been the voice of the people, and has even criticized the president on more than one occasion.”

Upon hearing Roosevelt's words, Xu Fu first nodded to the restaurant waiter to confirm the menu, and then turned to the wheelchair-bound man who would later be considered the most popular president in American history.

Although the Messenger newspaper initially focused on Hoover solely to attract attention and boost sales.

Upon hearing these words, Roosevelt nodded.

Before the release of "Superman," he did see some articles in the "Messenger" in which Xu Fu expressed his dissatisfaction with President Hoover in harsh terms.

In fact, this was one of the reasons why Roosevelt was willing to meet with Xu Fu.

Based on previous news reports in the Messenger, Xu Fu's stance is either Democratic or at least not Republican.

Some have mentioned that The Courier had previously criticized Hoover.

As the only Republican and a member of Congress among the three, LaGuardia must have felt somewhat embarrassed.

But he displayed the maturity expected of a politician, pretending not to hear anything and continuing to enjoy his food.

LaGuardia was oblivious to his surroundings, engrossed in cutting his steak and enjoying his meal.

Xu Fu continued his conversation with Roosevelt.

"...As far as I know, Mr. Roosevelt's nomination by the Democratic Party was not going smoothly?"

"It's no secret."