The cablecar’s bell clanged merrily as it came up the hill and the tourists waved happily to all the people they passed. Joe Smith waved back from his position at the rear of the armored van parked outside the Sunset City National Bank, enjoying the wide-eyed stare of the children as they saw his uniform and holstered gun. "Looks like a bunch of tourists from the Midwest, here to get away from the snow," he observed to his partner.
Frank Jones nodded as he threw the last of the moneybags into the back of the van. "Probably," he replied laconically. "Help me close this door."
As Joe turned to help Frank close the thick armor-plated door of the van a woman screamed. They both spun around, drawing their pistols and prepared for trouble. But they weren’t prepared for what they saw.
A man was falling from the roof of a nearby building, the sun reflecting dully off his iron-grey form. He hit the ground with a loud "KRAK!" and the pavement shattered beneath him. Pedestrians scattered as he slowly rose to his feet, and Joe and Frank stared in astonishment at the nearly 7-foot-tall armored figure in front of them. His body was completely sheathed in articulated metal, and on his head he wore a metal facemask.
"I think you boys have something that belongs to me!" an amplified voice boomed as the strange figure began to stride towards them.
"Just back off, fellow!" Joe shouted, his pistol aimed squarely at the approaching man. There was no response, and Frank shook his head.
"He ain’t gonna stop, Joe," he said. "Fire!"
Both men emptied their pistols, the bullets all making direct hits. But without effect. The bizarre figure made a single mighty leap, and landed directly between the two men. Without apparent effort he swept his arms up from his sides, hitting Joe and Frank and knocking them a good ten feet away from him in either direction. He then grabbed the armored door of the van, and began to pull it from its hinges with a scream of tortured steel......
The world is weary and frightened. The scars of the Second World War are still painfully evident and unhealed, and the Cold War is in full flower. Many if not most of the world’s populace believe that World War III is a case of when, not if, and this time civilization itself will fall to the flames of nuclear destruction. Hysteria threatens to overwhelm the United States as rumors of shifty-eyed foreign spies spread, and unidentified objects are seen in the night skies.
Sunset City, the pearl of the West Coast, suffers along with the rest of the world. Over the past few months the newspapers have reported costumed villains wielding strange powers. The jewel thief known asFoxfire seems able to enter any home or museum at will. An unknown civilian with a German accent has been overheard speaking with top military officials, who afterwards claim no memory of him. The boastful and arrogant criminal Ironclad carries off brazen daylight robberies in his suit of bulletproof armor. Chinatown lies in fear of the Tong called the Dread Dragons, and its residents refuse to answer outsiders’ questions even as their businesses burn and their young men are savagely beaten. The police, struggling to deal with these extraordinary menaces, fall behind in their day-to-day duties, and street crime becomes ever more prevalent.
But now, a new hope has arisen. In the twin East Coast cities of Metropolis and Gotham costumed heroes have appeared to offer a terrified populace new heroes. Among the noble buildings of Capitol City Captain Liberty strides proudly, battling foreign agents and protecting the President and Congress. And within the last couple of weeks a new costumed figure has been reported in Sunset City itself. An elegantly costumed masked gentleman has rescued several people threatened by criminal gangs in the dangerous Devil’s Point area, thwarted several late-night burglary attempts, and just recently fought Ironclad hand-to-hand, and forced that armored villain to flee.
The Sunset City Sentinel has christened him "Vigilance," and loudly proclaimed him the city’s savior. The Gateway Gazette is a little more cautious, admitting that he has aided the city but worrying in editorials that the reliance on vigilantism threatens the rule of law.
And in the cozy corner coffee shops and neon-lit diners of Sunset City people discuss this latest turn of events, and wonder aloud whether other heroes will be inspired to take arms against the many threats to the safety and security of the City on the Bay. Will there be a new dawn in Sunset City......?