Social Changes
New York, the epicenter of disasters in the Marvel Universe. In the history of animation worldwide, perhaps only Tokyo, the most popular location for monsters, can rival New York in the number of disasters it has experienced. Perhaps even more?
Unlike the superheroes in DC Comics, everyone there guards their own territory. Although they are just fictional cities, each person's territory is relatively clear.
However, the vast majority of Marvel's superheroes and villains are concentrated in the major city of New York. At the very least, they are located within the New York metropolitan area.
This results in a situation where, despite the gunfire and shootouts between police and criminals on the next street, the superheroes on this street are like blind and deaf people who can neither see nor hear it.
Because if everyone gets too enthusiastic, they'll discover something. With the number of superheroes per square meter in New York, let alone supervillains, even petty thieves wouldn't be able to survive.
Even though it was just a routine free purchase, and I didn't even take out my gun, when I ran out of the store, I saw a line of people dressed as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Defenders, with the X-Men's Blackbird Jet preparing to land.
Those who try to buy it for free will definitely think: Is it really necessary?!
If the Punisher also arrives, the Civil War will break out ahead of schedule, and the camps of legal punishment and eradicating evil will immediately clash. The guy who bought it for free escaped unscathed.
However, New York in '99 hadn't yet reached the point where the curtain was rising and heroes were gathering. The Sentry, who had been praised by the media and given the title of "superhero," had his memories erased from everyone's minds.
The closest supernatural protective force is the X-Men, who are hiding in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester County.
Of course, most people were unaware of this. Even within the U.S. government, only a very small number knew about it, and even the president was kept in the dark. In most people's minds, it was just a special boarding school open to all by invitation.
Intelligence can be controlled so thoroughly that anyone who believes Professor X's claim that he doesn't easily influence others' thoughts and statements is simply naive and endearing.
The most terrifying thing is never the crude practice of deleting a person's thoughts and then inputting new ones.
Rather, it is a subtle, gradual influence that goes unnoticed, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water.
Whether or not Professor X did this, United States society in the past improved gradually in the most gentle way.
What If...? so, then a question that everyone avoids discussing arises: whether evil deeds can be tolerated as long as they bring about good results, once again standing on both ends of the scale, testing people's hearts Moral.
Regardless of whether it existed or not, the good reputation that the X-Men had built in the minds of the Legion plummeted to the point of indifference and even disgust as the school was renamed Jean Grey's Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters Mystique took over as principal, and Professor X was retired.
They demand excessive benefits from Mutants while being unwilling to pay the price. This doesn't even include crimes involving Mutants; while the situation might be resolved after the X-Men are called for backup, the criminals are often secretly released.
This biased stance left the U.S. government confused about the current state of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto. Discontent between the two sides began to build.
Just before things went to extremes, Mystique Darkholme) and Beast (Hank McCoy) left the X-Men. The school was renamed Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and Professor X returned to his position as principal.
Unfortunately, rebuilding trust that has already crumbled is not so easy. The presidential hotline that used to be on the principal's desk at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is still there, but the line has been disconnected for a long time.
Professor X, now sixty years old, is no longer as arrogant and impulsive as he used to be, thinking himself so clever that he can control everything.
He continues to try to mend the relationship between Mutants and humans and reduce conflict. But—many things are gone forever.
Thanks to the long-term efforts of Black people and the influence of left-wing trends within United States society, racial discrimination has begun to move beyond skin color. People are gradually shifting their focus of discrimination towards Mutants.
Compared to eradicating inherent flaws from people's hearts, shifting the focus is an easier and more effective method. Therefore, the Mutants threat theory began to emerge, and news reports about Mutants crimes increased in newspapers and on television.
It seems that the era in which Henry could use the excuse of his Mutants abilities as a shield is coming to an end.
The hardest hit by discrimination are still Mutants whose appearance differs from that of normal humans. Someone like Henry, with a normal human appearance, shouldn't be mistaken for Mutants at first glance, as long as he doesn't get shot and demonstrates an invulnerable physique.
As the world's leading financial center, New York has long held the top spot in various indicators, making it an undisputed metropolis of extravagance and glamour. Wall Street's notorious reputation does not diminish its allure, continuing to draw countless people.
Mutants crimes are trivial matters in this place. An insider trade in the shadows of Wall Street could be the amount a Mutants could never accumulate in a lifetime by playing the zero-dollar game.
In addition, with what is arguably the world's richest police department, the NYPD deploys a large number of officers in Manhattan, making the Manhattan quite safe.
After all, wealthy people who value their lives would never allow themselves to be constantly exposed to danger.
The only exception is probably the area in the western part of central Manhattan, which extends south to 34th Street, north to 59th Street, east to Eighth Avenue, and west to the Hudson River.
The official name here is Clinton District, but it's more commonly known as Hell's Kitchen.
This place existed in the world Henry lived in before he traveled through time; it's not a region exclusive to the Marvel Universe. The only difference is that his world didn't have Kingpin and Daredevil, so this place was cleared out just like the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong Island.
The chaos in Hell's Kitchen has historical roots. In the 19th century, the Great Famine led to a large influx of Irish immigrants into New York.
These immigrants and their descendants, a poor and working-class Irish- United States, made Hell's Kitchen a hub. Gang activity caused housing prices in the area to remain consistently lower than in other parts of Manhattan.
As for why there aren't any wealthy and successful Irish United States? Of course, it's because those who had the means to move away have already moved away, leaving behind only struggling, impoverished people.
In the eyes of real estate developers, Hell's Kitchen is a prime location, just like Central Park in New York New York! But while no one can touch Central Park, there is room for Hell's Kitchen to operate.
The combination of gangsters and land interests is a source of chaos in any country, and the United States is no exception.
But in this worldview of individual power, Hell's Kitchen didn't disappear like Kowloon Walled City. Instead, it stood out like a rusty nail, abruptly anchored on this prime piece of Manhattan Island.
Therefore, beneath the glitz and glamour of Manhattan lies a darker side than most people can imagine.
Henry had previously come to New York as Audrey Hepburn's assistant, and his activities were largely confined to the area around the United Nations headquarters and nearby hotels. He did not gain a deep understanding of the city.
Looking at this United States Big Apple from a different perspective has truly broadened Henry's understanding.
To put it simply, while some may ride the United States Dream to great heights, many more may end up as the unseen bones lying beneath the surface.
Holding hands with the elderly Catherine Hepburn, Henry strolled and exercised in Central Park New York, pondering how he wanted to live in this city.