DC HERO AT MARVEL

Originally, before the Superman movie release, Jim had planned to host a grand premiere, inviting numerous celebrities for an exclusive screening.

It the standard process for any major blockbuster, and naturally, this "child of the company" deserved no less.

However, the news of the alien invasion had taken the world by storm, throwing society into a frenzy.

Jim seized the opportunity, with Anton approval, to move up the movie release date.

This disrupted Jim original plans.

The premiere was scrapped.

While it wasn't impossible to organize a last-minute event, trying to gather busy, constantly globe-trotting celebrities within a few days was utterly impractical.

It was worth noting that Jim had done something similar once before.

When Batman surpassed $600 million globally, a celebratory party was held. Under Anton inexplicable insistence, the event was moved up by a day.

That time, however, the guest list had been finalized well in advance.

Despite the schedule change, everyone was willing to show up, leveraging the event to gain mutual publicity.

This time, however, Superman didn't have such groundwork laid, so Jim didn't bother with the hassle. Instead, he focused on releasing additional trailers, which was more practical and effective.

As Jim had anticipated, the promotional efforts for Superman were successful, garnering significant attention within just a week.

The audience ranged from regular movie enthusiasts to teens fascinated by the alien invasion, as well as loyal DC fans and followers of Batman, Cyborg, and other heroes.

Particularly the latter group.

They were well aware of Superman original role in DC lore—not just an alien but one of the "Big Seven" of the Justice League, a teammate of Batman and other superheroes.

In the real world, according to the Daily Bugle reporting, Batman had indeed formed a Justice League-like superhero team.

Recently, during the alien invasion, Batman had even led this nascent Justice League to resolve Earth crisis.

Fans were ecstatic.

Among DC enthusiasts, a rumor circulated:

If the fictional Batman, Green Arrow, and Cyborg had already appeared in reality, would the remaining heroes be far behind?

Some fans even deduced a pattern:

Of the three DC heroes who had crossed over into the real world, two already had standalone movies.

Why Green Arrow didn't get the spotlight, they couldn't say.

But that didn't dampen their enthusiasm for Superman.

After the film release, would Superman, a hero from another planet, Clark Kent, appear in the real world as they hoped?

With this thought, DC fans flocked to the theaters.

The movie premiered as scheduled.

Eddie even asked Anton for a day off to take his girlfriend, April, to see Superman.

For the sake of boosting revenue, Anton granted Eddie leave request.

What Anton didn't know was that Eddie wasn't the only one curious about the movie.

Even Tony Stark, all the way in Los Angeles, couldn't resist his curiosity and went to a theater.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury, Coulson, Hawkeye, and Natasha also booked a private screening, contributing to Anton box office earnings.

However, their motivations weren't to enjoy the film but to analyze Superman portrayal.

They were well aware of the mysterious connection between DC and Anton.

Though they couldn't fathom why Batman, Green Arrow, and Cyborg had emerged from fiction into reality, they knew these figures were closely tied to DC—or more specifically, Anton.

This led to a pressing question:

Would the next DC character to cross into reality be this alien hero, Superman?

Was the movie release Anton way of dropping a hint?

Such a playful twist was beyond Nick Fury and the others' understanding, but they couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility.

So, they found themselves in a theater, intending to get a head start on deciphering the story of Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, within this fictional cinematic universe.

The movie begins.

Just as depicted in the first trailer, Superman home planet Krypton is destroyed due to the destabilization of its star.

Krypton leading scientist, Jor-El, warns of the impending disaster, but the Kryptonian Council dismisses his claims as fear-mongering.

In the final moments before Krypton annihilation, Jor-El and his wife place their infant son, Kal-El, into a spacecraft and send him into the vastness of space, carrying Krypton last hope.

Kal-El is later found and adopted by Earthlings Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark Kent.

Nick Fury and his team watched the opening of the film with rapt attention, each of them lost in thought.

Krypton.

Aliens.

The movie beginning wasn't exactly a direct blow, but it did leave them deeply unsettled.

They already believed that Superman might exist in the real world, just like Batman, Green Arrow, and Cyborg, who had already appeared.

Despite the changes in the film context, they couldn't help but wonder to what extent the identities and backgrounds of these characters overlapped with their real-world counterparts.

Until now, they had largely assumed that the backstories of Batman and others were fictional.

After all, locations like Gotham City (Batman home), Star City (Green Arrow base), and even Central City (where Cyborg is from) were all unheard of in reality, seemingly allegorical representations.

But Cyborg alien technology had always stood out as a mystery.

The most vocal proponent of the idea that Cyborg tech was indeed extraterrestrial was none other than Tony Stark.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Tony had carefully probed Cyborg during their brief encounter.

The technology embedded in Cyborg was fundamentally different from anything on Earth.

Tony found it deeply unsettling.

Especially Cyborg energy source—an almost inexhaustible power supply that was entirely unlike Tony Arc Reactor.

Tony was certain that Cyborg, like his movie counterpart, was a half-human, half-machine bio-entity.

Energy was critical for Cyborg function, akin to blood in a human body.

Without it, Cyborg would be as lifeless as a corpse, his consciousness unable to operate.

Such technology was at least a generation ahead of Earth.

Tony admitted to himself that while he could create robots, he could never replicate someone like Cyborg.

In short, could he convert a human body with only a surviving brain into a "Cyborg"?

Tony answer was a definitive no.

And now.

With the release of the Superman movie.

Superman origin on Krypton was unveiled.

Krypton!

Could such a planet really exist in the universe?

Kryptonians!

Could Superman actually be an alien hidden on Earth?

Watching Superman grow under the care of his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, gradually discovering his extraordinary abilities, both S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Tony Stark narrowed their eyes.

They were both astonished and deep in thought.

Nick Fury even considered pulling out his pager to have a serious conversation with Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers—currently several galaxies away—about the possibility of Krypton.