Staying in the metahuman closet
With the world-altering news that metahumans and other powered beings exist (in many places, yes, an open secret or at least the source of many an urban legend or tall tale), there will definitely more than a few people with powers who will reveal themselves - and there will also be individuals who will discover their powers, but will no longer be almost immediately ushered into 'the world of The Masquerade'... the pre-Revelation world before Puerto Rico.
For those people, they'll have to deal with how their revelations will affect them and their own worlds in an intimately personal manner. What will happen in terms of their careers, or academic lives, or personal relationships? Obviously, there will be people who are exposed to the extremes on the spectrum; there will be those who are ostracized by family and friends as fiercely as those who deal with racist, misogynist or homophobic responses from family members when they come out or enter into relationships or other opportunities; we have also seen over the years the reactions to such people by various businesses and even governmental figures/bodies, who try to legislate discriminatory practices into law for dealing with them. It's almost certain that we will see some attempt to do so - however, with the heroic reputation that the Legion will almost certainly garner for their actions in Puerto Rico, there will be few to gain real traction on this front...
...especially when the further revelations of an super-powered population in the nation (global?) and how they have existed for decades, if not centuries or even longer without immense tragedy or persons trying to openly 'take over the world'. (Of course, those who already have taken over the world, so to speak, will never be noticed.) Add to this the reveal of the U.S. Special Powers Command and its various facets, such as USAES and the Exclusion Zones (see the Daria Wiki for more details) and the eventual disclosure of the Bowman Acts as a decades-long legal framework for interactions and dealing with the metahuman population (let alone the fact that it has worked in its goals of policing and protecting those metahumans and mundanes alike)...
Then, there's the other extreme - the happy medium that we see in films such as Sky High, and... you know, it just occurs to me that I can't offhand think of a show where you have people with powers who simply live their lives in a normal manner, with their abilities not being seen as something unusual, different or worse. Okay. Sky High (or the Disney Channel Original Movie Up, Up and Away). There will be some people who are simply going to see those family members, co-workers, friends and so forth as not being really any different, save for being to do this or that. Those will be the happy people.
There's even those who will reveal themselves and want to cash in/exploit their abilities to the fullest. The Bowman Acts will still apply to those folks - I don't expect to see a rash of RLSHs (Real-Life Super-Heroes - check out the concept on the Great Wiki, and NCIS actually did an interesting episode on the subject) appear, but there will be a few, and oh, the metahuman reality shows will be soon to appear. (Remember, someone already tried to foist that off on the Legion. it didn't go well, but the producers will be back with divine vengeance to try again, now that Streaky is out of the bag.)
That is all well and good. The problem is, now - what about those people who don't want to go into the light of day? What protections will be available for those individuals who wish to keep their powers a secret, and don't want to be outed, hounded, or seen as anything but who they currently are? What will become the new social mores for dealing with some of these issues? Personally, I think that 'outing' a metahuman should be looked at and treated the same manner as the unwanted revelation of a person's LGBTQ status - or for that manner, anything concerning their sexual identity, lifestyle or habits. (It's no one's effing business but theirs, unless they share, and even then - the best way of dealing with such issues is NOT 'the Golden Rule'. Don't treat others as you would have then treat you; treat those persons as they themselves would want to be treated.)
In other words - treat them like people, learn about them AS people, and then you'll know how to treat them. That's how people learn to get along.
It's one of the things why Uncanny X-Men has always been my default position in terms of comics (although, to be honest, The New Teen Titans, Infinity, Inc., StormWatch and Power Pack have always been close rivals in that horse race). The School for Gifted Youngsters has always been of primary importance, even moreso than the X-Men themselves, and for one purpose: while the X-Men are a combat-trained cadre of mutants who have the skills to fight and contain rogue mutants and other threats before they can hurt themselves or others, the purpose of the School is to train mutants to control and safely use their powers, so that they can return to their normal lives without harming themselves or others.
It also means that for those who want to remain nothing more than average persons, they should have and retain that right. All metahumans who want that should have that right - and if they want to return to a life outside of the spotlight (like others who have been awash in the glare of celebrity), they should have the right to not be .harassed by the media or others. I have the feeling that the anti-papparazzi laws, and privacy laws in general, are about to get a bit more teeth in them.
There's a new day dawning in the LLH universe. Let's see how people learn to deal with the world that the light of realization and new knowledge brings upon them. I think that we're going to see a world not unlike our own TAG's entry into the old 1980's Marvel Super Heroes RPG module Gates of What If?, where TAG (also known as Roger E. Moore) writes:
Mutants, once regarded with suspicion, are welcomed into the ranks of humanity, since mutant heroes played such an important part in the conquest. The Skrulls' capture and killing of the crippled Professor Xavier, revealed after the rebellion to have been a major force within the Defenders and a powerful mutant himself, garners enormous sympathy for mutants everywhere. Government-sponsored programs (called "X Schools," in memory of Professor Xavier) are established for educating and training mutants. Being a mutant becomes a symbol of being special and different. Evil mutants exist, of course, but they do little to tarnish the shining reputation earned during the Skrull overthrow.
I think that the LLH universe will be like this, and its parent DC universe, where people see the super-humans who act as such to be heroes, and those who abuse their powers to be villains - but not representatives of the entirety of metahumanity.
For those people, they'll have to deal with how their revelations will affect them and their own worlds in an intimately personal manner. What will happen in terms of their careers, or academic lives, or personal relationships? Obviously, there will be people who are exposed to the extremes on the spectrum; there will be those who are ostracized by family and friends as fiercely as those who deal with racist, misogynist or homophobic responses from family members when they come out or enter into relationships or other opportunities; we have also seen over the years the reactions to such people by various businesses and even governmental figures/bodies, who try to legislate discriminatory practices into law for dealing with them. It's almost certain that we will see some attempt to do so - however, with the heroic reputation that the Legion will almost certainly garner for their actions in Puerto Rico, there will be few to gain real traction on this front...
...especially when the further revelations of an super-powered population in the nation (global?) and how they have existed for decades, if not centuries or even longer without immense tragedy or persons trying to openly 'take over the world'. (Of course, those who already have taken over the world, so to speak, will never be noticed.) Add to this the reveal of the U.S. Special Powers Command and its various facets, such as USAES and the Exclusion Zones (see the Daria Wiki for more details) and the eventual disclosure of the Bowman Acts as a decades-long legal framework for interactions and dealing with the metahuman population (let alone the fact that it has worked in its goals of policing and protecting those metahumans and mundanes alike)...
Then, there's the other extreme - the happy medium that we see in films such as Sky High, and... you know, it just occurs to me that I can't offhand think of a show where you have people with powers who simply live their lives in a normal manner, with their abilities not being seen as something unusual, different or worse. Okay. Sky High (or the Disney Channel Original Movie Up, Up and Away). There will be some people who are simply going to see those family members, co-workers, friends and so forth as not being really any different, save for being to do this or that. Those will be the happy people.
There's even those who will reveal themselves and want to cash in/exploit their abilities to the fullest. The Bowman Acts will still apply to those folks - I don't expect to see a rash of RLSHs (Real-Life Super-Heroes - check out the concept on the Great Wiki, and NCIS actually did an interesting episode on the subject) appear, but there will be a few, and oh, the metahuman reality shows will be soon to appear. (Remember, someone already tried to foist that off on the Legion. it didn't go well, but the producers will be back with divine vengeance to try again, now that Streaky is out of the bag.)
That is all well and good. The problem is, now - what about those people who don't want to go into the light of day? What protections will be available for those individuals who wish to keep their powers a secret, and don't want to be outed, hounded, or seen as anything but who they currently are? What will become the new social mores for dealing with some of these issues? Personally, I think that 'outing' a metahuman should be looked at and treated the same manner as the unwanted revelation of a person's LGBTQ status - or for that manner, anything concerning their sexual identity, lifestyle or habits. (It's no one's effing business but theirs, unless they share, and even then - the best way of dealing with such issues is NOT 'the Golden Rule'. Don't treat others as you would have then treat you; treat those persons as they themselves would want to be treated.)
In other words - treat them like people, learn about them AS people, and then you'll know how to treat them. That's how people learn to get along.
It's one of the things why Uncanny X-Men has always been my default position in terms of comics (although, to be honest, The New Teen Titans, Infinity, Inc., StormWatch and Power Pack have always been close rivals in that horse race). The School for Gifted Youngsters has always been of primary importance, even moreso than the X-Men themselves, and for one purpose: while the X-Men are a combat-trained cadre of mutants who have the skills to fight and contain rogue mutants and other threats before they can hurt themselves or others, the purpose of the School is to train mutants to control and safely use their powers, so that they can return to their normal lives without harming themselves or others.
It also means that for those who want to remain nothing more than average persons, they should have and retain that right. All metahumans who want that should have that right - and if they want to return to a life outside of the spotlight (like others who have been awash in the glare of celebrity), they should have the right to not be .harassed by the media or others. I have the feeling that the anti-papparazzi laws, and privacy laws in general, are about to get a bit more teeth in them.
There's a new day dawning in the LLH universe. Let's see how people learn to deal with the world that the light of realization and new knowledge brings upon them. I think that we're going to see a world not unlike our own TAG's entry into the old 1980's Marvel Super Heroes RPG module Gates of What If?, where TAG (also known as Roger E. Moore) writes:
Mutants, once regarded with suspicion, are welcomed into the ranks of humanity, since mutant heroes played such an important part in the conquest. The Skrulls' capture and killing of the crippled Professor Xavier, revealed after the rebellion to have been a major force within the Defenders and a powerful mutant himself, garners enormous sympathy for mutants everywhere. Government-sponsored programs (called "X Schools," in memory of Professor Xavier) are established for educating and training mutants. Being a mutant becomes a symbol of being special and different. Evil mutants exist, of course, but they do little to tarnish the shining reputation earned during the Skrull overthrow.
I think that the LLH universe will be like this, and its parent DC universe, where people see the super-humans who act as such to be heroes, and those who abuse their powers to be villains - but not representatives of the entirety of metahumanity.
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