[1][2] The story deals with Savior 28, a Golden Age superhero who over the course of seven decades renounces violence:[2] "'To be... or not to be!'

"[3] In an interview, writer DeMatteis discussed the impetus for Savior 28: 'S-28' has a direct line to my past work.

The idea grew out of something I wanted to do 25 years ago when I was writing Captain America — a storyline the Powers That Be didn't allow me to do.

The story, at its core, has to do with violence in superhero comics, in pop culture in general and, ultimately, in our world.

As I continued to develop the idea, it grew into a saga that spanned seventy years of American pop culture and politics.