Then you look at the product and look at your idea then think, well, there are similarities, but hopefully not enough to warrant a copryright/trademark suit over.
But then while you're still working on your product, that product becomes creepily more and more like the idea that you'd been working on and never told anyone about, to the point where you just want to delete all the files on your computer associate with the idea?
That's how I feel. If it weren't for Wikipedia, I'd have remained ignorant. Maybe that's a good thing because at least I won't merely think the manuscript got rejected for the same reason as 99% of prospective ones do -- because it's poorly wriiten, derivative junk. At least I know that it's be rejected because it sounded like something I blatantly stole from a comic book company, even though I haven't picked up a comic book in years.
The sad thing is Sunday I felt good. Actually, today I felt good, good enough to work on the project.
Then I read what I read, and all that good feeling just left. Good to know that I wasted the last few years of my life on nothing.
As Ron Simmons would say....damn.