Given our strange fascination with celebrity, I believe (and have touched on this in my stories) that we will have very popular metahumans. They will be like new Gods, beloved, respected, and hated at the same time. Just like real world celebrities, really.

Let's look at Jade. I have often called her "the most popular woman in the world", and for good reason. She went public, she is constantly doing everything she can to help, and she's a very charismatic and strong-willed person. Her convictions are rock solid, and she's someone people can believe in. She's not afraid to tackle the tough questions either; she's doing a job, and she's not going to let politicians or approval ratings slow her down.

I think we need heroes like that today, where our leaders are never fully black or white, but some tolerable shade of grey. Will there be people who dislike what she stands for? Hell yes, but she's not some inaccesible vigilante; she wants to work with the governments of Earth if she can, she'd much rather uphold the laws than break them, and she genuinely wants to help.

And does. Sure, you can argue that she has too much power, that she is beholden to no authority on Earth, etc. etc...but all you can really do is complain, at this point. No one can really stop her, and why would you want to?

That's why, to date, the U.S. government is tolerating these new heroes. They can do things the government can't, and it's not like they can really say "no, don't save human lives without permission"...that won't get anyone far.

Will there be 'mutant-haters'? Yes, always. And they may become organized, and become a threat. But I don't see a return to McCarthyism. Not when people start to realize anyone can be a metahuman. Your co-worker, your neighbor, your kids.

Now those metahumans who abuse their powers, that's a different story, but again, the only people who can stop the 'supervillains' are superheroes. Not that I think the classic supervillain will work very well in a real world type setting. As I've said before, the idea of a sociopatch like the Joker endangering thousands of people, getting beat up, and merely exiled to an asylum for six months just won't fly.

Heroes will be in every aspect of pop culture, another theme I've touched on. Some heroes will license their image, while others will prefer not to. You'll see tv shows, movies, and the like. Comic books, paradoxically enough, will benefit, and we'll see more superhero movies and the like. Because seeing someone fly overhead never gets old.

As far as a metahuman arms race goes, while the U.S. came up with one super-soldier, that's not really a threat. If more appear, then yes, other countries might get nervous. But right now, I think everyone is trying to recruit superhumans as they appear.

Right now, most of the metahumans have shown up in America. Even a country as small as Japan has had three. But think of nations with higher population density. I mean, think about this. If one out of a million people can get superpowers, what does that mean for a country like China? 1,324 potential metahumans?

Any one of whom could have godlike powers? Yeah, it may look like the U.S. has a near-monopoly now, but that may very well soon change.

Hucksters offering "make a metahuman out of you" treatments? Doubtful. Not when it can be made into a legitimate business enterprise; in the U.S., Lex Luthor is already trying to corner the market on that idea!

Religious groups will have a hard time tackling the metahuman question. Nobody really foresaw this event, so milleniarist faiths will be in trouble. Some will condemnt them, others will say this is a test of some kind, a few may even try to worship the new heroes.

Which might get amusing when you consider Thor... (come to think about it, I believe the Marvel 2099 imprint had a Church of Thor as one of the world's most prevalent faiths!).

I do think however, that oppressed peoples of all kinds will find that the fearful and the hateful will be turning their eyes upward. Who's worried about non-heterosexual marriage when there are demigods running around?

Although when the gender-bending aspect of the metahuman factor comes out, things will really start to hit the fan...