Born here. Raised here.
Man-Man is one of us.
But how long will it take our world to accept him?
Davis James never wanted to be a hero. He didn’t think it was his place, and as long as the world wasn’t being threatened, why bother? Better to remain anonymous. Let the people of this planet sort out their own problems.
Instead, Davis lived. He lived everywhere he could, saw everything he could see, and took in everything this planet had to offer.
And as he turns 20, he wonders, ‘Is this it?’ What is my purpose?
But how did we get here?
When their home planet, YONDRIA, suffers an apocalyptic fate, a contingent is forced to abandon it. But tragedy strikes, and a wormhole sends Grace, pregnant with a son, to Earth.
She births and raises him here with the help of a kindly social worker, Ms. Cartwright, who takes both of them in and teaches them about life on Earth, in America as Black people. She teaches them how to survive, the history and how to belong. They find community here.
When a monster arrives, crazed and dangerous, Man-Man flies into action, his first time, but he can’t avoid it, Ms. Cartwright is in direct danger.
This act puts him on the world stage, open to all the scrutiny, praise, and vitriol that comes with being the most powerful person on the planet all of a sudden.
You think you know viral? This is mega-viral…times a billion.
About seven billion.
And now our Earth is on the intergalactic map. Man-Man’s emergence triggered an intergalactic event that alerts others to our presence.
As alien species target the planet, humans have to rely on Man-Man to save them.
But many don’t want that. Many hate that, and they hate him. They fear him. Who he is and what he represents. They fear their own fantasies of what he could do.
He could lead a revolution. He could change the fate of people that look like him. He could kill anyone that doesn’t. At least, that’s the brush with which that paint him.
How does Man-Man defend a planet that won’t embrace him? Will he? Is there a point when the will to help just snaps?
Life is crazy, man. Good luck to you, young bull. Just know that we’re pulling for you if the rest of them aren’t.