SUPERMAN_SAYS: YOUR SOURCE FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING SUPERMAN
When I was sixteen, the Kryptonian known as Superman returned to Earth. I was fascinated by the righteous flying man, the personification of all the superheroes in the comic books that filled my days even then.
I started Superman Says as a blog on , filling it with links to interviews with the Man of Steel, pictures, video clips, and sound bites. That site still exists, ready for fans to comment and add links.
However, in 2027, Wolfgang Turner of the New York Times, Superman's unofficial press agent since 2008, passed away. Superman contacted me in May of that year, and Superman_ was created as a free, accessible source of official, Superman-authorized information on his rescues and opinions.
Everything on this website has been authorized by Superman. All interviews—reactions to world events, rescues, pop culture, fan inquisitions and just about anything else imaginable—and media links were approved by the Man of Steel.
…Mitchell scanned down to the bottom of the welcome-letter-style opening of the familiar site…
Sincerely, Mitchell Hinkley
The website was designed in the primary colors of Superman's suit. The background was cerulean; the lettering across the top of the page was the brightest red. When the cursor was moved over a link, it was highlighted in yellow.
Links to old interview archives—Lois Lane had emailed Mitchell digital copies of her original tapes, even—articles, press conference appearances and the like were arranged down the left side of the page. The central panel was a constantly updated flow of information related to Superman's latest rescues and worldwide appearances. The far right featured tabs for all the latest Superman news—audio files of his latest interviews, links to newspaper articles in which he featured, the stylized "S" symbol in the top corner of the page that led to an "Easter Egg" feature of sorts, where random stock information—such as Superman's Oscar picks, shoe size, photo album, etc.—was projected, different with each viewing.
It was a very popular sight.
Mitchell Hinkley hadn't considered himself a super-fan when he was sixteen. He'd been interested in something, and his mother had been after him to get a few hobbies. It had turned into his life.
He'd been more surprised than anybody when Superman knocked on his dorm room door wearing street clothes—though he did have the famous suit on beneath the jeans and white button-down shirt—and asked, ever so politely, if he had time for a proposition. He'd been eighteen, and, terrified as he'd been, he hadn't been about to turn Superman away.
It turned out, Superman preferred to be called Kal-El, his name from Krypton, during regular conversation, though, showing wit, of which Mitchell had been completely unaware, he didn't think calling himself by that name would've sold as many papers.
Once he had gotten over the sheer shock of Superman sitting in the desk chair while Mitchell himself sat on the bed, both of them drinking insta-coffee amidst the stacks of books and newspapers, video game paraphernalia and dirty laundry spilling out of the basket in the corner, Mitchell had still been shocked. The Man of Steel himself expressed interest in joining his blogging effort, making the site official, getting a real domain.
There had never been any doubt that it would be a huge success.
"I am fully aware that people want to know what I think about things. In the past, I have filled that interest by answering reporters' questions on-site and being interviewed by Lois Lane or Wolfgang Turner. It occurred to me, though, that the internet is the best way to get information to people. It's free, it's easily accessible, and I can have a measure of control over it."
"You want to censor what people know about you?"
"I wouldn't put it as such," Superman, Kal-El, had responded calmly while Mitchell tried to wrap his brain around the fact that he'd just snapped at Superman. "I would just like there to be an official place for official information, the whole story. Nothing could be taken out of context or misunderstood. Or, at least, it is less likely to be taken out of context or misunderstood than otherwise."
And so it had begun.
Mitchell had handed over the reins on his project to his former roommate and gone about securing himself a domain, hardly believing it was all real. If Kal-El hadn't dropped by for coffee and an update every few evenings, he wouldn't have believed it.
The website had come together relatively quickly. Superman was more involved in the process than Mitchell had expected. It was an odd sight to return to his dorm and see the Man of Steel sitting in his office chair, typing. He was the fastest typist Mitchell had ever seen.
The site took form. Superman provided copies of his first interviews on Earth as well as many significant ones that came later. Lois Lane cooperated more than her reputation suggested she would, writing a few things for the site, helping with the links to her old articles at the Daily Planet. The fun information in the random generator had actually been Kal-El's idea. Mitchell had spent most of the process in complete shock.
Even several years after he'd graduated from college—majoring in Journalism with a Graphic Design minor—when the advertising had picked up properly, paying his living expenses and the costs of the website and he'd realized that he'd never have to apply for a 'real job' at a newspaper like he'd planned, it hadn't quite clicked. Every time he saw Superman—in uniform or dressed down—it didn't feel real. When he met Lois Lane for the first time, it had still felt like a weird dream and he'd wake up at any moment back in his dorm room, late for his Modern History exam.
"I know what you mean," Lane had said when he'd, in a self-deprecating sort of way, told her about the dream-like quality of his daily life. "It doesn't seem real to me most of the time, either, and I've known him for going on 30 years."
Disclaimer: The standard 'I don't own Superman!' disclaimers apply. Additionally, I don't own superman_, or even know if such a domain exists.