01.01.12 — Supergods — the Acrostic

Sunday, January 1, 2012

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This fine first-of-the-year acrostic draws a quotation from Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison.

The first superhero comic ever published, Action Comics no. 1 in 1938, introduced the world to something both unprecedented and timeless: Superman, a caped god for the modern age. In a matter of years, the skies of the imaginary world were filled with strange mutants, aliens, and vigilantes: Batman, Wonder Woman, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the X-Men—the list of names as familiar as our own. In less than a century, they’ve gone from not existing at all to being everywhere we look: on our movie and television screens, in our videogames and dreams. But what are they trying to tell us? ~ Amazon.com

The quotation: IT WAS COMMON FOR … ADVANCED RACES IN PULP ILLUSTRATIONS TO SPORT CAPES, TIGHTS, AND EXTERIOR UNDERPANTS, AS IF FOREMOST AMONG THE NATURAL CONSEQUENCES OF MILLENNIA OF PEACE… WOULD BE A VOGUE FOR KNEE-LENGTH BOOTS ON MEN.

The author’s name and the title of the work: GRANT MORRISON, SUPERGODS

The defined words:

A. The world of organized crime, GANGLAND
B. One whose morals inspire contempt, REPROBATE
C. Like the vowel sounds in “Flash has flat abs”, ASSONANT
D. Earning infamy through sheer wickedness, NEFARIOUS
E. One of Batman’s foes (hyph.), TWO-FACE
F., Type of fellow like Clark Kent, MILQUETOAST
G. Opposite of fame, OBLIVION
H. Manifestation of pure ecstasy, RAPTURE
I. Means of station-to-station transfer, REMOTE
J. How Spider-Man appears (2 wds.), IN COSTUME
K. Where you may hide from storms or robbers (2 wds.), SAFE ROOM
L. Under pressure; present (3 wds.), ON THE SPOT
M. “Well, that explains the mystery” (2wds.), NO WONDER
N. Made more stylish, dressed to the nines (2 wds.), SPIFFIED UP
O. Set free from restraint, UNSHACKLED
P. Kind of race engaged in by Giants, PENNANT
Q. Result of returning waves, ECHO
R. First Top 40 hit for the Police, ROXANNE
S. Water that rises in the Himalayas, GANGES
T. Those who supply uniforms and gear, OUTFITTERS
U. Publisher of the Justice League’s exploits (2 wds.), DC COMICS
V. Hometown of Lana Lang, SMALLVILLE

Growing up with Superman, I accepted his “action suit” as part of the package. It was common for the advanced races in pulp illustrations to sport capes, tights, and exterior underpants, as if foremost among the natural consequences of millennia of peace, progress, and one-world government would be a vogue for knee-length boots on men. For me, the real insight into Superman’s distinctive look arrived much later, when I discovered some photographs of circus strongmen in the 1930s. There among the taut tent guy ropes and painted caravans at the country fair was the familiar, faintly disturbing overpants-belt combo, here worn by men with handlebar mustaches, pumping dumbells in their meaty fists and staring bullishly at the camera. ~ Supergods

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.