In practical actions, Phil chose to represent the white lower-middle class groups that had always been ignored by others; in his slogans, he claimed he actually represented all the citizens of Hope City, and even all American people.
Phil declared on Twitter that the Super Hero Association, along with the superheroes who joined it, though still claiming verbally to be “World Captain’s successor,” had actually completely deviated from World Captain’s spirit. These superheroes were merely content with giving speeches, putting on shows, lying and profiting, not actually doing real work, which was why Hope City’s crime rate remained so high.
Phil himself was the one who truly inherited World Captain’s spirit. As long as he could gain more support, he would definitely change this stagnant status quo, continuously reduce Hope City’s crime rate, and prevent superheroes from being mired in deception and infighting, uniting them under his leadership to restore World Captain’s former glory.
Phil’s statement sparked heated responses.
During the first election, the Super Hero Association only gave Phil a nominal position, not even allowing him to speak on site. Despite this, Phil’s Twitter statements still gathered many fans, crushing his opponent with an overwhelming vote margin, entering the next round of elections and becoming a rising star.
Only then did other superheroes realize something was wrong.
Threatened superheroes frantically dug up Phil’s scandals through television media, hoping to shatter Phil’s fabricated image among his fans with these dirt.
But what surprised them was that this tactic, which always worked before, completely failed this time.
Because traditional superhero personas were perfect—finding just one scandal to broadcast would deal heavy damage. Although these superheroes were careful with words and actions, they ultimately couldn’t be flawless, and finding faults always succeeded.
Phil had countless scandals, including his education, his company, his promiscuous relationships, even the scripting matter in the “Successor” show was exposed.
These media outlets controlled by corporations and superheroes began bombarding Phil, hoping to collapse his image and lose public support.
But they didn’t expect this approach to completely fail.
Because Phil didn’t become a superhero through conventional means—he already had countless scandals, including his promiscuity, which the public already knew. These scandals didn’t hurt him at all.
The only threat was the “Successor” scripting matter, but Phil denied it vehemently, saying it was suppression and smearing by vested interest groups within the Super Hero Association.
Both sides argued, with no conclusive evidence visible to the public, who could only choose one side to believe.
However, with multiple instances of major corporations and superheroes fabricating fake news through media to attack competitors, these traditional television outlets had lost most public trust.
Phil’s supporters became even more convinced he was being targeted, supporting him more firmly. More people even joined Phil’s support ranks for this reason.
In fact, Phil created a special “information cocoon” effect through his Twitter, trapping all his supporters within, only receiving information they were willing to accept and believe, naturally invincible.
For Phil’s supporters, they needed a spokesperson to protect their interests. They yearned to restore World Captain’s glory, reduce crime rates for peaceful lives, and reform the stagnant superhero group.
They desperately wanted this, and no one except Phil could meet their demands.
Of course, Phil wouldn’t actually fulfill their demands—he was deceiving them. But Phil’s supporters willingly accepted the deception because they were also deceiving themselves.
Therefore, no matter how many scandals were exposed about Phil, they would choose to believe him unconditionally, only accepting information that met their expectations while ignoring what they didn’t want to see.
Thus, Phil’s power grew stronger. Without even participating in live speeches or debates, he defeated opponents round after round.
Although opposition voices grew louder, his approval ratings continuously rose, gradually breaking into the top ten superheroes.
With newfound power, Phil began selectively intervening in other superheroes’ missions. If successful, he’d heavily publicize his crucial role and how the Association’s original plan would have caused serious consequences; if failed, he’d emphasize how the Association didn’t share action information with him, blaming the executing superheroes and Association.
Additionally, Phil arranged people to dig up competitors’ scandals, either using them to threaten other superheroes for benefits or anonymously releasing them to attack opponents. Phil’s special position meant even his scandals would be interpreted as “authenticity,” remaining unassailable.
According to Cui Geng’s vision, the first half’s plot showed Phil using these methods, even creating large-scale public safety incidents causing hundreds of deaths, ultimately replacing the currently strongest superhero.
But this wasn’t the end.
In the second half, though Phil became the top superhero, his position remained unstable as traditional interest groups and emerging superheroes wanted to dethrone him. His elevated position brought even greater threats than before.
In this latter section, Phil used his power to eliminate dissidents, suppress new superheroes, exploit them to become his vassals, gradually consolidating his power.
Phil returned to “Successor” as a mentor, cultivating his own superhero faction through the show.
Eventually, he successfully brought almost all superheroes under his command, profiting extensively through his special position while deceiving citizens with false crime statistics.
The billions his father spent were recovered with interest, while people’s lives worsened. Yet citizens still viewed Phil as a selfless superhero uninterested in fame or profit, blaming their misfortunes on other countries and domestic forces opposing Phil.
Phil sat securely on the superhero throne, exacting revenge on all who once wronged him.
But at the story’s end, these persecuted, struggling superheroes and few citizens who saw Phil’s true nature secretly united, continuously working to overthrow his rule.
…
During actual creation, Cui Geng would add various landmark events. Each critical juncture in Phil Simmons’ seizing superhero power would correspond to a landmark incident.
These events would feature many spectacular battle scenes, from initial robberies, murders, capturing fugitives, to later terrorist attacks, hijackings, even overseas conflicts, basically covering common combat scenarios in superhero stories.
But all these events’ truths would contradict traditional superhero stories, with citizens only knowing whitewashed truths…
Cui Geng’s outline was relatively long, reaching the word limit for inspiration class commissioned works—500,000 words.
To perfectly complete the story would take considerable time.
But since Mr. Pei funded the work, Cui Geng had no concerns, simply needing to collect inspiration daily and write leisurely.
After finishing, he could even spend time refining the entire work, ensuring every plot segment met his expectations.