Superman Comic Story that Predicted 2020 and 2021 back in 1980

 

Science fiction stories, comic books, movies, and television often make attempts at telling us what the future may hold. Sometimes, they get it right other times not so much. Back in 1980 Cary Bates started a 8 page back up story for Superman issue 354 that imagined what the year 2020 would look like from the view of Superman’s grandson, Superman the third.

This eight-page backup story appeared in Superman #354, 355, 357, 361, 364, 368, and 372 and would eventually run into the year 2021.

First let’s look at the fictional predictions for the comic book world of 2020.

Story wise, the first Superman had been aged greatly by Lex Luthor, otherwise being Superman he likely would only have a few grey hairs by 2020.  Superman the third killed off his Kent identity, Kalel Kent in favor of Jon Hudson and worked as an traffic controller. I guess, he wanted to make sure he would be instantly aware of any traffic accidents.

In the future Superman still uses words like, “Gosh” and acts nervous when asking out the ladies on dates much like Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent only wearing much more futuristic hip clothing.

Jimmy Olsen is old still working in the news profession, but has two grandchildren named Lois and Clark.

The bad guys are a Nazi like group called Purists that hate Superman for having married an Earth woman. They believe that Earth people should not mate with people from other planets.

Now how about those general predictions of how society and technology would develop in 40 years time?

Ice cream cones have almost went the way of the dinosaur, and come to think of it, I think most of the people shown were skinny so that explains it, but ice cream still exists, but is so rare young Superman’s date hasn’t even heard of it. They sure missed the boat on that one. Ice cream and other sugar snacks are still being ate today, obviously, and at much greater rates than 1980.

Fashion, especially for women appears to be like something out of the Jetsons cartoon. I think it looks kind of neat. Why aren’t women wearing space age looking clothes today?

Pennies are extremely rare and very valuable in the year 2020. According to the story the government had recalled them all in 1988 to make better use of the metal. Now pennies are the targets of theft by bad guys. Also, there’s a new slang word for rich people, Roycer. I have no idea why.

Also, air cars as they are called will replace ground cars. I have no idea why they aren’t referred to as flying cars. Apparently, traffic jams are still bad which they are still bad today, but of course, we all aren’t riding around in flying cars although flying cars are technically in existence. Also, a huge prediction was that we would have floating cities by now. Can you imagine how much that would cost?

Next, they predicted that Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Metropolis, Gotham, and Baltimore would join to create one vast city called Megalopus.

News could be had anywhere, anytime with the push of a button, which it can be sort of through pulling it up on a smart phone today. In the story it shows up on the dome of the flying cities.

The breadbasket of America is a polluted wasteland which you know is actually several states. No wonder the cities are so big, but then why would farm land become more polluted than cities?

People are living in mountains and in undersea dwellings in the story which I always have thought the idea of living under the ocean would be really neat, but also, probably very scary.

Now one of these 8 page stories is called, “Deadly New Year 2021” and features a man-made plague created by the evil group of bad guys we’ve mentioned already called the Purists. In the story, this was thwarted by Superman who inhales the antidote and blows it out across the city saving everyone.

That almost could be taken as a very spooky Twilight Zone like prediction of 2021 and you know the weird plague we’ve been dealing with for a while now. Sort of gives me the creeps.

Apparently, the word, “Krazbit” is now a swear word. They missed that one I haven’t heard anyone yelling, “Krazbit” whenever a toe gets smashed.

One panel shows communication through what looks like a giant tv screen. It looks a lot like face to face communication we have today using computer monitors. So, I guess that one was pretty dead on, but to be honest a lot of movies, comics, and television shows predicted visual communication.

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