Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Walking with Superman: Day 328

For every popular fad, there's someone who finds a way to make money off of it, and superheroes are no exception. Where others saw colorful vigilantes working to fight crime, Sam Tanner saw opportunity. He marshaled all the resources of the United Broadcasting Company's multimedia empire toward developing the world's first wholly-owned corporate superhero. Thus was born Blackrock, the first superhero invented by committee and tested by focus groups, the first superhero with his own Twitter feed and a live-streaming camera in his cowl, giving fans a first-person perspective of a superhero's life. Armed with a powersuit that draws energy from the ambient microwaves and radio waves that power modern technology, Blackrock was an overnight sensation. His mask's communication system allowed him to be the first at every bank robbery or minor supervillain attack, and a team of scriptwriters ensured that his banter was the wittiest, his battle cries the most macho. But if he wanted to stay on top, if he wanted his ratings to continue like this, he'd need to raise the stakes. The producers decided that a team-up with Superman was in order, one where Blackrock could appear to be at least as great a hero as the Man of Steel. The script was perfect, hinging on Superman's upcoming visit to the aptly named Black Rock, AR. The Action Ace would fall into a carefully-set but totally reversible trap, and Blackrock would be the one to rescue him. The last thing the multimedia marvel expected was for the trap to turn Superman into a woman!

Blackrock fumbled briefly until the scriptwriters could come up with a solution, and he tussled with the distaff Kryptonian. Quickly they cleared up the confusion, and Blackrock tried to move the plot toward a new angle--superhuman romance! He would woo the Woman of Steel, despite her talk of "returning to her own world." Better yet, he'd easily come out to be the better man!

That is, until now--Superman reappears over the skies of Black Rock, AR, alongside his allies from Earth-11's Legion of Super-Heroines. The truth is quickly revealed, and suddenly Blackrock finds himself up against the combined strength of Superman and Superwoman! Is this Blackrock's series finale?

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