Metropolis (manga)

Metropolis
Cover of the 1979 reprint
メトロポリス (Metoroporisu)
Genre	Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Osamu Tezuka
Published by	Ikuei Shuppan Kodansha
English publisher	NA Dark Horse
Published	September 15, 1949
Volumes	1

Metropolis (メトロポリス, Metoroporisu^?), also known as Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis or Robotic Angel (in Germany, due to an objection by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation), is a Japanese manga by Osamu Tezuka published in 1949. It has been adapted into a feature-length anime, released in 2001. It has some parallels to the 1927 film of the same name, though Tezuka stated that he had only seen a single still image of the movie in a magazine at the time of creating his manga.

The story begins with a scientist, Dr. Yorkshire Bell, noting that dinosaurs once flourished and became extinct when they advanced beyond their ability to adapt to change. Giant mammals, such as the saber-toothed tiger and the mammoth, came and went the same way. Humans, Earth's current dominant life form, had one special asset – intelligence – enabling them to advance further than all creatures before them. Dr. Bell wondered if, one day, humans might advance beyond the point of no return and render themselves extinct.

In the summer of 19XX, a bulletin reveals that a prolonged investigation by the United Nations Police has discovered a plot by a murderous secret society known as "The Red Party", led by master of disguise Duke Red, has infiltrated the International Scientists Conference held in Metropolis. While Duke Red orders his henchman Acetylene Lamp to follow Dr. Charles Lawton, M.D., all the scientists notice that the Sun is now covered with sunspots, causing its radiation levels to rise. Lawton, back in his laboratory, had almost given up on his thirty-year experiment into synthetic cells (imitation eukaryotes composed of non-organic material and designed to mimic organic cells, in order for enough of them to be fashioned into true-to-life prosthetic organs and body parts) when he noticed the sunspots had irradiated his tank of synthetic proteins and brought them to "life". So had Duke Red, who ordered Lawton to create an entire human body out of synthetic tissue, its face modeled after a marble statue and possessing several superpowers. Fearing his creation would be used for evil, Lawton brought it to "life" and destroyed his lab, making Duke Red believe their creation had been destroyed.