Logline: A rookie Baltimore Sun reporter will uncover a fascist plot to kill all superheroes and take over the U.S. or die trying.
Summary: Max Catalano is a journalist in a growingly more dystopian near future Baltimore. As he grows from a teen to adulthood, the country grows more paranoid and more angry at and opposed to supers, beings with extra talents other humans don't have. As he's becoming a journalist, the world is becoming a dark and dangerous place. While in college, a super named the Patriot saves Max's life and he's skeptical of the hate against supers.
Someone starts sending Max anonymous pieces of the puzzle to undercover a government conspiracy driven by religious right extremists to identify and kill all supers. Max makes several contacts in the community of supers and they help him uncover the plot. Or are they agents of the conspiracy sent to silence him. Max commits to find the truth or die trying.
This short was written for KaoticKlone Productions in 2022. It is a prequel and introduction to the themes in “Anti Hero.”
Keywords: drama, superhero, thriller, LGBTQ+, comic book, political, African American lead