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For 2 days, Metropolis soars with Superman: The Indian Express
Metropolis, June 16: In this town, for this weekend, everyone was a kid. Fathers and grandfathers sat outside long past midnight, debating plot twists in comic books. Middle-aged men pulled on blue tights and red capes and forgot about their paunches. They puffed their chests and flexed their biceps and felt, for a moment, like heroes. The 25th annual Superman Celebration drew more than 20,000 fans of all ages - effectively doubling the population of rural Massac County, in the southernmost tip
Metropolis, June 16: In this town, for this weekend, everyone was a kid. Fathers and grandfathers sat outside long past midnight, debating plot twists in comic books. Middle-aged men pulled on blue tights and red capes and forgot about their paunches. They puffed their chests and flexed their biceps and felt, for a moment, like heroes. The 25th annual Superman Celebration drew more than 20,000 fans of all ages — effectively doubling the population of rural Massac County, in the southernmost tip of Illinois.
Some came for the carnival rides and the corn dogs. Some for the arm wrestling competition. Mostly everyone was here for Superman. They flew in from California, Hawaii and Texas, wearing Superman T-shirts, visors and capes. From Florida, South Carolina and New York they came to honour the comic world’s oldest superhero — a defender of truth, justice and the American way for 65 years.
Steve Leslie, in full costume — boots, briefs and all — thrust his arms joyously into the sky, as though to take off in flight, when two little kids ran up to ask for a photo. He is 51. He wears a hearing aid. He admits he could use a few more muscles. But for this day, in this town, he could live out his dream. He almost felt he could fly. ‘‘I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a kid,’’ he said.‘‘I like what Superman stands for. He stands for morals. For strength of character,’’ said Paul Jouvenat, 27, a graphic designer from Dallas.
Metropolis does not look much like the big, brooding city where Clark Kent works as a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, when he’s not zipping around the universe fighting crime. A faded riverfront town of about 7,000 set amid farmland that stretches flat to the horizon, it looks more like Mayberry— or maybe, Smallville, the fictional Kansas town where Clark Kent grew up. But the Illinois state Legislature, seeking to boost tourism, officially recognised Metropolis as the Hometown of Superman in 1972.
‘‘Metropolis is like Mecca for Superman fans. You have to come,’’ said Steve Younis, 31, a graphic designer who came from Australia. ‘‘You see the Metropolis signs and you pick up the Metropolis phone booth and for a few moments, you get to pretend he’s real,’’ said Jeff Germann, 41, of Springfield, Missouri.
Some came for the carnival rides and the corn dogs. Some for the arm wrestling competition. Mostly everyone was here for Superman. They flew in from California, Hawaii and Texas, wearing Superman T-shirts, visors and capes. From Florida, South Carolina and New York they came to honour the comic world’s oldest superhero — a defender of truth, justice and the American way for 65 years.
Steve Leslie, in full costume — boots, briefs and all — thrust his arms joyously into the sky, as though to take off in flight, when two little kids ran up to ask for a photo. He is 51. He wears a hearing aid. He admits he could use a few more muscles. But for this day, in this town, he could live out his dream. He almost felt he could fly. ‘‘I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a kid,’’ he said.‘‘I like what Superman stands for. He stands for morals. For strength of character,’’ said Paul Jouvenat, 27, a graphic designer from Dallas.
Metropolis does not look much like the big, brooding city where Clark Kent works as a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, when he’s not zipping around the universe fighting crime. A faded riverfront town of about 7,000 set amid farmland that stretches flat to the horizon, it looks more like Mayberry— or maybe, Smallville, the fictional Kansas town where Clark Kent grew up. But the Illinois state Legislature, seeking to boost tourism, officially recognised Metropolis as the Hometown of Superman in 1972.
‘‘Metropolis is like Mecca for Superman fans. You have to come,’’ said Steve Younis, 31, a graphic designer who came from Australia. ‘‘You see the Metropolis signs and you pick up the Metropolis phone booth and for a few moments, you get to pretend he’s real,’’ said Jeff Germann, 41, of Springfield, Missouri.