A Look Back on the 20th Century: Some Unanswered Questions

Take a look at this. This is a list of Time Magazine's "Man Of The Year" winners for the 20th Century (they only started awarding the distinction in '27):

1927 Charles A. Lindbergh
1928 Walter P. Chrysler
1929 Owen D. Young
1930 Mohandas K. Gandhi
1931 Pierre Laval
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933 Hugh S. Johnson
1934 Franklin D. Roosevelt
1935 Haile Selassie
1936 Mrs. Wallis W. Simpson
1937 Generalissimo & Mme Chiang K. Shek
1938 Adolf Hitler
1939 Joseph Stalin
1940 Winston L. S. Churchill
1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt
1942 Joseph Stalin
1943 George C. Marshall
1944 Dwight D. Eisenhower
1945 Harry Truman
1946 James F. Byrnes
1947 George C. Marshall
1948 Harry Truman
1949 Winston L. S. Churchill
1950 American Fighting-Man
1951 Mohammed Mossadegh
1952 Elizabeth II
1953 Konrad Adenauer
1954 John F. Dulles
1955 Harlow H. Curtice
1956 Hungarian Freedom Fighter
1957 Nikita Krushchev
1958 Charles D. Gaulle
1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower
1960 U.S. Scientists
1961 John F. Kennedy
1962 Pope John XXIII
1963 Martin L. King Jr.
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson
1965 General W. C. Westmoreland
1966 Twenty-Five and Under
1967 Lyndon B. Johnson
1968 Astronauts Anders, Borman and Lovell
1969 The Middle Americans
1970 Willy Brandt
1971 Richard M. Nixon
1972 Nixon and Kissinger
1973 John J. Sirica
1974 King Faisal
1975 American Women
1976 Jimmy Carter
1977 Anwar Sadat
1978 Teng H. P'ing
1979 Ayatullah Khomeini
1980 Ronald Reagan
1981 Lech Walesa
1982 The Computer
1983 Ronald Reagan & Yuri Andropov
1984 Peter Ueberroth
1985 Deng Xiaoping
1986 Corazon Aquino
1987 Mikhail S. Gorbachev
1988 Endangered Earth
1989 Mikhail S. Gorbachev
1990 The Two George Bushes
1991 Ted Turner
1992 Bill Clinton
1993 The Peacemakers
1994 Pope John Paul II
1995 Newt Gingrich
1996 Dr. David Ho
1997 Andy Grove
1998 Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr
1999 Jeff Bezos

That's quite a list. But leave aside some of the minor peculiarities like Joseph Stalin on there twice (once following Hitler! '38 and '39 must have been lean pickings, Man-wise!). What I want to know about is the apparent inclusion of what clearly appear to be Super-Heroes. Who is American Fighting-Man? What did this mysterious costumed avenger do to win distinction in 1950, and why has his existence been so thoroughly hushed-up since? Did it come out that he was in fact gay, or something? Couldn't they have figured that out just from the costume? I mean, I'm sure it was suitably patriotically-colored and all, but come on. Tights.

Anyway, I want to hear more about this guy. What did he do? Who were his enemies? Did he battle Hungarian Freedom-Fighter (who by '56 had clearly gained the upper hand)? What were their super-powers? Why was Hungarian Freedom-Fighter so intent on fighting Freedom, and how did he eventually triumph over American Fighting-Man in so spectacular a fashion as to win a place on the same list with such arch-villains as Hitler and Stalin (twice!)? Was it by spreading rumors about American Fighting-Man's manhood and sexuality? Did the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy evolve out of a macho overreaction to the revelation that American Fighting-Man, hero to untold millions and Time Magazine's 1950 Man of the Year, may in fact have been a homosexual?

I feel like I've just discovered a whole untold secret history of our nation and the world. Stuff like this - hey, I can understand it's painful and everything, but it shouldn't be hushed up. It happened. It all really happened.