What if superheroes were real? Or, heaven forbid, supervillains? How would the world be a different place? Or would it be any different at all? How would a real superhero or villain react to current social movements, economic realities and political events? How much difference could a superhero or supervillain make in the "real" world?

1. The hero's back-story is to remain unchanged until the moment he or she was recognized as active by the public at large, e.g. Superman makes his first appearance in Metropolis, Tony Stark announces he is Iron Man, the hero or villain makes the front page of the newspaper, etc.

2. All superpowers and extraordinary abilities are to be retained, regardless of their illogical or impossible nature.

3. The hero is (for simplicity's sake) to exist in a universe of their own, meaning that there are no crossover heroes (e.g. Batman and Superman team-ups are excluded for the first round), but sidekicks and hero-centric villains can be included (e.g. Batman, Robin and the Riddler). Similarly, major plot lines from the comics or cartoons can be included if desired.

4. An approximate date for the hero's recognition by the public (step 1) should be provided so that technological advancements can be integrated into the storyline. The story is not restricted to the original dates for the superhero, e.g. Batman doesn't have to begin in 1939, he can begin in the 1980's, the first decade of the 21st century, etc.

5. It is up to the author how the superhero's personality and modus operandi develops over time.

6. It is encouraged that real world events, organizations, movements, people, prevailing conditions etc. play a central role in the hero's development. Hyperlinks are a viable text enrichment - is the hero responsible for mysterious or newsworthy events?

7. You can focus on a particular scene or short episode or try to cover their entire career. If the latter, then the story of the hero should be presented until such time as the hero retires or is retired. The legacy of the hero for the world they leave behind should be briefly addressed.

8. Contributions can be funny, serious, tragic, romantic, etc. Your imagination is the limit!

9. Please leave a link to your contribution in this thread so that we can find it! Please title your contribution as "If Superheroes Were Real: Name of Hero/Villain by Author" to help with internet search engines. See my first contribution in "If Superheroes Were Real: Batman by Cupid Zero" for a non-binding example in which I treat Batman's career with very broad strokes. If NSFW, be sure to mark it as such!

I would really enjoy seeing how others think superheroes would operate in the real world and I hope you enjoy the idea as well!

If the project gets enough attention, I am definitely interested in holding a contest, perhaps with specific heroes or villains, a time limit for submissions and limited word count. The first round of this project is indefinite, and though I do anticipate people will want to address entire superhero teams, I think starting small is the way to go.

Let's see what happens!