Superman 2020 | Superman 357 | The Troublemaker of New Metropolis

Superman 354, cover dated December 1980, offered readers a glimpse 40 years into the future with the back-up feature "Superman 2020."  Superman 2020 introduces us to "Superman III," the grandson of the familiar Kal-El/Clark Kent Superman.  The story of Superman III would continue as a back-up in subsequent issues of the Superman comic.  In this blog, we'll take a look at the Superman that might have been...

 Superman 357: "The Troublemaker of New Metropolis!"  Superman III, faster than a speeding laser beam, saves a rich man (carrying a rare and super valuable copper penny) from an armed robber on a flycycle.  After turning the criminal in to the police center, Superman III returns to his civilian traffic controller job as Jon Hudson, his new secret identity.  His computer alerts him that the solar power which fuels all the air-cars in the city cuts out, so he quickly ditches his civilian togs once again to save the people of New Metropolis.  Returning again to his office, he works up the nerve to ask his supervisor Melodee Sellers for a date, before another crisis calls him away from his work station.  Eventually, Superman III realizes that his own super-speed caused a molecular change to the dome of New Metropolis, which prevented an adequate quantity of solar rays from powering the city.  Using his icy super-breath, Superman III fixes the dome and returns to work in time for his 5:30 date with Ms. Sellers--a trip to an ice cream parlor, the "newest rage in town."  

BONUS: Slang of 2020: "Roycer," slang for a rich man.  "Ten-er," slang for a beautiful woman, based on a one-to-ten scale.
   
Look for more Superman 2020 stories in forthcoming blogs! 

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